2. WHAT DO THE ACRONYMS STAND FOR?
The First Certificate in English (FCE) is a
general proficiency examination at level B2 in
the Council of Europe's common European
Framework of Reference .
3. First Certificate in English
WHAT IS THE HIGHEST SCORE?
Results
Score
Pass at Grade A
C1
80 to 100
Pass at Grade B
75 to 79
Pass at Grade C
60 to 74
Level B1
45 to 59
Fail
0 to 44
Level
4. First Certificate in English
First Certification in English
WHAT IS THE SCORE NEEDED TO GET AN ACADEMIC
EXCHANGE PROGRAM?
Grade A
Grade B
Grade C
Level B1
Level
of
English
needed
for
most
academic purposes
5. First Certificate in English
First Certification in English
TYPES OF EXERCISES
The exam is divided into 5 sections:
6. First Certificate in English
HOW LONG DOES THE EXAM LAST?
APPROXIMATELY
FIVE HOURS
The exam may be taken on paper or by computer.
7. First Certificate in English
READING
Time allowed: 1 hour 15 minutes
Number of parts: 3
Number of questions: 30
This section is worth 20% of the total score
Lengths of texts: 550–700 words per text: about 2,000 words to read
in total
Texts may be from: newspaper and magazine articles, reports,
fiction, advertisements, letters, messages, informational material
(e.g. brochures, guides, manuals, etc.)
8. First Certificate in English
READING
PART 1: MULTIPLE CHOICE
- It’s a text with some multiplechoice questions. Each question
has four options (A, B, C or D) and
you have to decide which is the
correct answer.
- What do I have to practice?
How to understand the details of a
text, including opinions and
attitudes
- How many questions are
there? 8
9. First Certificate in English
READING:
PART 2: GAPPED TEXT
- It’s a text with some empty spaces
(gaps). After the text there are some
sentences taken from the text. You
have to choose the correct sentence for
each gap.
- What do I have to practice? How to
understand the structure and follow the
development of a text.
- How many questions are there?
7
10. First Certificate in English
READING
PART 3: READING FOR
SPECIFIC INFORMATION
It’s a series of questions and a long text
or several short texts to read. For each
question, you have to decide which text
or part of the text mentions some
specific information.
- What do I have to practice? How to
find specific information in a text or texts
-How many questions are there?
15
11. First Certificate in English
WRITING
Time allowed: 1 hour 20 minutes
Number of parts: 2
Number of questions:
Part 1: one compulsory question
Part 2: one question from a choice of five
This section is worth 20% of the total score
Types of task:
article, email, essay, letter, report, review, story
12. First Certificate in English
WRITING
PART 1: LETTER / E-MAIL
- You have to write a letter or email
using this information.
You may have to:
apologize, compare, describe, explain,
express opinions, justify, persuade,
recommend, and/or suggest
something.
-How many questions are there?
One compulsory question.
-How much do I have to write?
120–150 words
13. First Certificate in English
WRITING
PART 2: ARTICLE, ESSAY, LETTER,
REPORT, REVIEW OR STORY
-You have to write will be one of the following:
-an article, essay, letter, report, review or story.
-What do I have to practice?
Writing different types of text: articles, essays,
letters, reports, reviews
-How many questions are there?
One
task to be selected from a choice of five.
How much do I have to write?
120– 180 words
14. First Certificate in English
USE OF ENGLISH
Time
allowed: 45 minutes
Number of parts: 4
Number of questions: 42
This section is worth 20% of
the total score
15. First Certificate in English
USE OF ENGLISH
PART 1: GAP FILLING. MULTIPLE
CHOICE CLOZE
- It’s a text in which there are some
missing words or phrases (gaps). After the
text there are four possible answers for
each gap and you have to choose the
correct answer (A, B, C or D).
- What do I have to practice? Vocabulary
- How many questions are there?
12
16. First Certificate in English
USE OF ENGLISH
PART 2: GAP FILLING: WORD
PRODUCTION
- It’s a text in which there are some
missing words (gaps). You have to
find the correct word for each gap.
-What
do I have to practice?
Grammar and vocabulary.
- How many questions are there?
12
17. First Certificate in English
USE OF ENGLISH
PART 3: GAP FILLING:
WORD FAMILIES/ WORD
FORMATION
It´s a text containing ten gaps. Each gap
represents a word. At the end of the line
is a ‘prompt’ word which you have to
change in some way to make the correct
missing word and complete the
sentence correctly.
What do I have to practice?
Vocabulary, word building
How many questions are there? 10
18. First Certificate in English
USE OF ENGLISH
PART 4: KEY WORD
TRANSFORMATIONS
- You will have a sentence followed
by a key word and a second
sentence which has a gap in it. You
have to use the key word to
complete the second sentence so
that it means the same as the first
sentence.
-What do I have to practice?
Grammar and vocabulary.
How many questions are there? 8
19. First Certificate in English
LISTENING
Time
allowed: about 40 minutes
Number of parts: 4
Number of questions: 30
This section is worth 20% of the
total score
20. First Certificate in English
LISTENING
PART 1: LISTENING. MULTIPLE CHOICE FOR DIFFERENT
SITUATIONS
Eight questions to test candidates’ ability to listen for gist in a series of
unrelated texts. The testing focuses spelled out in each question.
21. First Certificate in English
LISTENING
PART 2: LISTENING. SENTENCE COMPLETION
This part tests candidates’ ability to listen for specific words or phrases
focusing on detail and specific information. The test is presented in the form
of 10 questions. Candidates need to listen and complete the questions.
22. First Certificate in English
LISTENING
PART 3: LISTENING. MULTIPLE MATCHING
This part focuses on the skill of listening for general gist, detail, purpose,
attitude, opinion, etc. Candidates listen to five short texts with different
speakers, which are related in some way.
23. First Certificate in English
LISTENING
PART 4: LISTENING. MULTIPLE CHOICE
In this part, the predominant focus is on testing the candidates’ ability to
listen for opinion, main idea, gist and specific info, and based on one
long test.
24. First Certificate in English
SPEAKING
Time allowed: 14 minutes
per pair of candidates
Number of parts: 4
This section is worth 20% of the total
score
You have to talk:
- with the examiner
- with the other candidate
- on your own
25. First Certificate in English
SPEAKING
Part 1: Interview (3 minutes)
You usually take the speaking exam together with one
other student.
Each of you will be asked basic questions about your
home town, family, work or study, leisure and future
plans.
26. First Certificate in English
SPEAKING
Part 2: Individual tasks (4 minutes):
Each of you will be asked to compare two colour photographs and
compare and contrast them. (You will be asked to speak for 1 minute,
without any interruption).
You will also be asked to give your opinion about the other student's
photographs (you will be expected to speak for about 20 seconds).
27. First Certificate in English
SPEAKING
Part 3: Joint task (3 minutes)
You will be shown some pictures. You will be asked to discuss these with
the other student and to argue your own point of view. Sometimes you will
be asked to agree on a conclusion, and sometimes you will be told that
you may make different decisions.
28. First Certificate in English
SPEAKING
Part 4: Three-way discussion (4 minutes):
You will be asked to discuss (together with the other student and the
examiner) some ideas that are connected with the joint task.