FCE (TEACHER TRAINING)

FCE – FIRST CERTIFICATE OF ENGLISH

Teachers’ training

FCE and the CEF (Common European Framework)

Note that students in the
level B2 are ready for the
exam FCE.

Our books prepare students
to take this exam since the
first level.

Speak Up Idiomas - Brazil - http://www.speakupidiomas.com/

Why take a Cambridge ESOL exam?
 Develop good communication skills
 • Cambridge ESOL exams cover all four language skills – listening, speaking, reading
 and writing – as well as testing your use of grammar and vocabulary.
 • Yet, the prep course for the exam enables students to review everything they have learned
so far and thus improve their communication skills.

 A world of opportunity
 • Thousands of employers, universities and government departments around the world
 recognise Cambridge ESOL examinations, so a Cambridge ESOL exam is a valuable
 qualification to have when you need to provide evidence of your level of English for a
 job or when you apply for a place to study (see the list on the next slide).

 Quality you can trust
 • School certificates of course completition are not a proof of fluent English, as well as other
unknown certificates. Cambridge certificates are.


Companies who use Cambridge exams
3M Disney PricewaterhouseCoopers
Adidas DuPont Procter & Gamble
Agfa-Gevaert Ericsson Rank Xerox
AstraZeneca Estée Lauder Roche
AT&T General Motors Rolls-Royce
Barclays Bank Gillette Shell
BASF GlaxoSmithKline Siemens
Bayer Goodyear Sony
BP Hertz Sun Microsystems
British Airways Hewlett-Packard Texaco
Cable & Wireless HSBC Toyota
Carrefour IBM Unilever
Citibank Johnson & Johnson Vodafone
Coca-Cola KPMG World Bank
Colgate-Palmolive Microsoft World Health
Credit Suisse Mobil Oil Organization
DaimlerChrysler Nestlé (WHO)
Dell Nokia World Wide Fund for
Deutsche PepsiCo Nature (WWF)
DHL Philips


Parts of the NEW test
TYPE PAPER TIMING

Reading 1 1 hour

Writing 2 1 hour 20 minutes

Use of English 3 45 minutes

Listening 4 40 minutes (approximately)

Speaking 5 14 minutes


MARKS AND RESULTS (correction)
 A candidate‟s overall FCE grade is based on the total score gained by the
candidate in all five papers.

 It is NOT necessary to achieve a satisfactory level in all five papers in
order to pass the examination.

 Results are reported as three passing grades (A, B and C) and two failing grades
(D and E)

 All the papers are equally weighted, each contributing 40 marks to the
examination‟s overall total number of 200 marks. This final mark is then
converted to the standardised score out of 100. See below:
Grade A = 80-100 marks
Grade B = 75-79 marks
Grade C = 60-74 marks
Grade D = 55-59 marks
Grade E = 54 marks or below.


PAPER 1 : READING


PAPER 1: Reading

 This paper consists of 3 parts, with a range of texts

and accompanying comprehension tasks.

 It lasts 1 hour

 There are 30 questions in total, including multiple
choice, gapped text, and matching questions.


PAPER 1: READING
PART 1
Task type: Multiple choice.
Focus: Detail, opinion, main idea,
meaning from context, etc).
 In this part of the Reading paper students
have to read a text carefully and answer 8
questions.

 The questions are multiple choice, each
with four options (A, B, C or D) and they
follow the same order as the information
in the text.

 HOW TO CORRECT : Each
correct answer receives 2
marks.


PAPER 1: READING
PART 2
Task type: Gapped text.
Focus: text structure, cohesion and
coherence.

 In Part 2, students have to read a text
from which 7 sentences or
paragraphs have been removed.

 After the text they will find some
sentences or paragraphs and you
have to choose one of them to fit
each space.

 There is one option which does not
fit anywhere.

 HOW TO CORRECT : Each
correct answer receives 2
marks.


PAPER 1: READING
PART 3
Task type: Multiple matching
Focus: Specific information, detail,
opinion and attitude.

 In Part 3, students have to read 15
prompts followed either by a long
text divided into paragraphs or by a
series of short texts.

 They have to scan the text(s) and
decide which of the prompts
matches which paragraph/text.
There may be two or more
„matches‟ for each prompt, unlike
Part 2.

 HOW TO CORRECT :
Each correct answer
receives 1 mark.


PAPER 1: Answer sheet


PAPER 2: WRITING


PAPER 2: Writing

 This paper consists of 2 parts: a compulsory one in Part
1 and one from a choice of five in Part 2.

 It lasts 1 hour 20 minutes.

 There are 30 questions in total, including multiple

choice, gapped text and matching questions.
 Candidates are penalised for inclusion of content
irrelevant to the task set


PAPER 2: WRITING
PART 1
Focus: Writing a letter or email.
Focus on: advising, apologising,
comparing, describing, explaining,
expressing opinions, justifying,
persuading, recommending and
suggesting.

 For this part of the Writing paper,
students have to write either a letter
or an email based on some input
material of up to 250 words.

 The input material will be a letter or
an email with notes. Students have
to write 120–150 words.

 HOW TO CORRECT: Quantity
of marks = 20 (maximum).


PAPER 2: WRITING
PART 2
Questions 2 to 5
Focus: (for questions 1 to 4) Writing
one of the following: an article, an
essay, a letter, a report, a review, a
story.
(for question 5) writing one of the
above, based on one of two
prescribed readers (books). There
are 2 options of tasks.
Focus on: advising, apologizing,
comparing, describing, explaining,
expressing opinions, justifying,
persuading, recommending and
suggesting.

 Students can choose one of
the five options.

 They should write 120180 words

 HOW TO CORRECT: Quantity
of marks = 20 (maximum).

BANDS FOR ASSESSING WRITING
BAND 5 For a Band 5 to be awarded, the candidate‟s writing fully achieves the
desired effect on the target reader. All the content points required in
20 points the task are included* and expanded appropriately. Ideas are organised
effectively, with the use of a variety of linking devices and a wide range
of structure and vocabulary. The language is well developed, and any
Adequate errors that do occur are minimal and perhaps due to ambitious
for FCE attempts at more complex language. Register and format which is
consistently appropriate to the purpose of the task and the audience is
used.
BAND 4 For a Band 4 to be awarded, the candidate‟s writing achieves the
desired effect on the target reader. All the content points required in
18,5 points the task are included*. Ideas are clearly organised, with the use of
suitable linking devices and a good range of structure and vocabulary.
Adequate Generally, the language is accurate, and any errors that do occur are
for FCE mainly due to attempts at more complex language. Register and format
which is, on the whole, appropriate to the purpose of the task and the
audience is used.


BAND 3 For a Band 3 to be awarded, the candidate‟s writing, on the whole,
achieves the desired effect on the target reader. All the content points
15 points required in the task are included*. Ideas are organised adequately, with
the use of simple linking devices and an adequate range of structure and
vocabulary. A number of errors may be present, but they do not impede
Adequate communication. A reasonable, if not always successful, attempt is made
for FCE at register and format which is appropriate to the purpose of the task
and the audience.
BAND 2 For a Band 2 to be awarded, the candidate‟s writing does not
clearly communicate the message to the target reader. Some
10 points content points required in the task are inadequately covered or
omitted, and/or there is some irrelevant material. Ideas are
Inadequate inadequately organised, linking devices are rarely used, and the
for FCE range of structure and vocabulary is limited. Errors distract the
reader and may obscure communication at times. Attempts at
appropriate register and format are unsuccessful or inconsistent.


BAND 1 For a Band 1 to be awarded, the candidate‟s writing has a very
negative effect on the target reader. There is notable omission of
05 points content points and/or considerable irrelevance, possibly due to
misinterpretation of the task. There is a lack of organisation or
linking devices, and there is little evidence of language control.
Inadequate The range of structure and vocabulary is narrow, and frequent
for FCE errors obscure communication. There is little or no awareness of
appropriate register and format.
BAND 0 For a Band zero to be awarded, there is either too little language
for assessment or the candidate‟s writing is totally irrelevant or
0 points totally illegible.

Inadequate
for FCE


EXAMPLES

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http://www.speakupidiomas.com/

EXAMPLES


PAPER 3:
USE OF ENGLISH


PAPER 3: Use of English

 This paper consists of 4 parts.

 It lasts 45 minutes.

 It has 42 questions


PART 1
Task type: Multiple-choice cloze.
Focus: Lexical/lexico-grammatical.
No. of Quetions: 12.

 Students have a text to read in which
there are 12 numbered gaps (plus one
gap as an example).
 Each gap represents a missing word or
phrase.
 For each gap, there are four possible
answers (A, B, C or D) and they have to
choose which word or phrase fills the
gap correctly.
 Sometimes they have to choose
between words with a similar meaning.
They can sometimes identify the word
you need because it is always followed
by a particular preposition.

 HOW TO CORRECT: Each correct
answer receives 1 mark.


PART 2
Task type: Open cloze
Focus: Grammatical/lexico-
grammatical.
No. of Qs: 12.

 Part 2 also consists of a text with 12
numbered gaps and you have to
think of a single word which will fill
each gap correctly.

 The example below shows the first
part of a text called „The temple in
the lake‟. The first gap (0) is an
example and the answer was „as‟.



PART 3
Task type: Word formation.
Focus: Lexical/lexico-grammatical.
No. of Qs: 10

 Part 3 consists of a text in which
there are 10 gaps.

 Number “0” is an example.

 At the end of the line, separated from
the text, is a word in capital letters.
Students have to use this word to
make a new word which fills the gap
to complete the sentence correctly.



PART 4
Task type: Key word transformations
Focus: Lexical and grammatical.
No. of Qs: 8

 In Part 4, students have to rewrite a
sentence so that the meaning is the same,
but it is written in different words.

 There are eight sentences for them to
rewrite in this way. Each sentence is
followed by a „key word‟ and a second
sentence with a gap in the middle.

 They have to use the „key word‟ to
complete the second sentence so that it
means the same as the first one. They must
use between two and five words, including
the word given.

answer receives 2 marks.


PAPER 4: LISTENING


PAPER 4: Listening



 It has 30 questions

 Students hear all the recordings twice in the exam


PAPER 4: Listening
PART 1
Task type: Multiple choice
Focus: General gist, detail, function,
purpose, attitude, opinion,
relationship, topic, place, situation,
genre, agreement,etc.
No. of Qs: 8

 In Part 1, students will hear eight
short recordings of people talking in
different situations.

 For each recording, you have a
question with three possible
answers. Students have to choose
the right answer (A, B or C).

 HOW TO CORRECT: Each
correct answer receives 1 mark.


PAPER 4: Listening
PART 2
Task type: Sentence completion
Focus: Detail, specific information, stated
opinion..
No. of Qs: 10

 In this part of the paper, students have
to listen for specific words or phrases in
one longer recording.

 They have to complete sentences which
have gaps in them.



PAPER 4: Listening
PART 3
Task type: Multiple matching.
 Focus: General gist, detail, function,
purpose, attitude, opinion, relationship,
topic, place, situation, genre, agreement,
etc..
No. of Qs: 5
 In Part 3, students will hear five short
recordings of five different speakers.
 The recordings are all connected in some
way – for example by the topic the
speakers are talking about (e.g. travel), or
the function of their speech (e.g.
apologizing).
 Students then have to match a statement
or opinion to each speaker.



PAPER 4: Listening
PART 4
Task type: Multiple choice.
 Focus: Opinion, attitude, gist, main
idea, specific information.
No. of Qs: 7

 In Part 4 of the test, students have to
listen for opinions, attitudes and main
ideas from a longer text.

 They have to listen to the recording and
then answer seven questions.

 Each question has three possible
answers (A, B or C) and they have to
choose the right one.



PAPER 5: SPEAKING


PAPER 5: Speaking


 2 candidates and 2 examiners participate.

 One examiner acts as both interlocutor and assessor and
manages the interaction either by asking questions or
providing cues for the candidates. The other acts as
assessor and does not join in the conversation.


PAPER 5: Speaking
PART 1
Task type: conversation between the interlocutor and each candidate (spoken questions).
Focus: General interactional and social language.
Timing: 3 minutes.

 In this first part of the Speaking test, the
examiner will ask students questions about
topics such as family life, daily routines, free-
time activities, etc.

 They will be expected to provide information
about themselves and give your opinions.

 HOW TO CORRECT: Candidates are
assessed on their performance
throughout.


PAPER 5: Speaking
PART 2
Task type: An individual ‘long turn’ for each candidate with a brief response from the second
candidate. In turn, the candidates are given a pair of photographs to talk about.
Focus: Organizing a larger unit of discourse; comparing, describing, expressing opinions.
Timing: A 1 minute „long turn‟ for each candidate, plus 20-second response from the second
candidate.

 In this part of the test students have to speak for 1
minute without interruption.
 The examiner will give them 2 color photographs
and they have to compare and contrast them as
well as talking about your reaction to them.
 Their partner will get a different set of
photographs and has to do the same thing.
 When each of them has finished speaking, the
other will be invited to comment on the topic of
the photographs (for about 20 seconds).
throughout.


PAPER 5: Speaking
PART 3
Task type: A two-way conversation between the candidates. The candidates are given
spoken instructions with written and visual stimuli, which are used in a decision-making task.
Focus: Sustaining an interaction; exchanging ideas, expressing and justifying opinions,
agreeing and/or disagreeing, suggesting, speculating, evaluating, reaching a decision
through negotiation, etc.
Timing: 3 minutes

 This part tests students’ ability to take part in a
discussion.

 They have to work with the other candidate to
carry out a task based on some pictures which
the examiner will give them.

 They have to talk for about 3 minutes.

throughout.


PAPER 5: Speaking
PART 4
Task type: A discussion on topics related to the collaborative task (spoken questions).
Focus: Expressing and justifying opinions, agreeing and/or disagreeing.
Timing: 4 minutes

 In this part of the test students have to take
part in a discussion with the other candidate
related to the topic of the task they did in Part
3.

 The examiner will ask them both some
questions.

throughout.


RESULTS
 Candidates are issued with statements of results
approximately two months after the examination
has been taken.

 Certificates are issued to candidates gaining a passing
grade (A, B or C), approximately six weeks after the
issue of statements of results.

 Certificates are not issued to candidates awarded the
failing grades D and E.


Assessing Speaking
 Grammar and Vocabulary: it refer to the accurate and
appropriate use of a range of grammatical forms and
vocabulary.
 Discourse Management: it refers to the candidate‟s ability
to link utterances together to form coherent speech, without
undue hesitation.

 Pronunciation: it includes stress and intonation as well as
individual sounds

 Interactive Communication: refers to the candidate‟s
ability to take an active part in the development of the
discourse


FURTHER INFORMATION

 1) See the handbook for teachers (available at Speak Up
Idiomas)

 2) Visit the website below:
http://www.cambridgeesol.org/exams/general-
english/fce.html


Hope this training helped you...

Gisele Siqueira / Coordinator

FCE (TEACHER TRAINING)

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