FCE SAMPLE TESTS (updated 2008).pdf

Exper ts in Language Assessment

Certiﬁcate in

English

Handbook for teachers

for examinations from December 2008

EMC/4483/7Y09

First

The First Certificate in English is at Level B2 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, teaching,

assessment published by the Council of Europe

FCE content and overview

Part/timing

Content

Test focus

Part 1 A text followed by eight multiple-choice questions.

Candidates are expected to show understanding of

specific information, text organisation features, tone,

and text structure.

READING

1 hour

Part 2 A text from which seven sentences have been removed

and placed in a jumbled order, together with an

additional sentence, after the text.

Part 3 A text or several short texts preceded by 15 multiple-

matching questions.

Part 1 One compulsory question.

Candidates are expected to be able to write non-

specialised text types such as an article, an essay, a

letter, an email, a report, a review, or a short story,

with a focus on advising, apologising, comparing,

describing, explaining, expressing opinions,

justifying, persuading, recommending, suggesting.

WRITING

1 hour 20 minutes

Part 2 Candidates choose one task from a choice of five

questions (including the set text options).

Part 1 A modified cloze test containing 12 gaps and followed by

12 multiple-choice items.

Candidates are expected to demonstrate the ability to

apply their knowledge of the language system by

completing a number of tasks.

Part 2 A modified open cloze test containing 12 gaps.

USE OF ENGLISH

45 minutes

Part 3 A text containing 10 gaps. Each gap corresponds to a

word. The stems of the missing words are given beside

the text and must be changed to form the missing word.

Part 4 Eight separate questions, each with a lead-in sentence

and a gapped second sentence to be completed in two to

five words, one of which is a given ‘key word’.

Part 1 A series of eight short unrelated extracts from

monologues or exchanges between interacting speakers.

There is one multiple-choice question per extract.

Candidates are expected to be able to show

understanding of attitude, detail, function, genre, gist,

main idea, opinion, place, purpose, situation, specific

information, relationship, topic, agreement etc.

LISTENING

Approximately

40 minutes

Part 2 A monologue or text involving interacting speakers, with a

sentence completion task which has 10 questions.

Part 3 Five short related monologues, with five multiple-

matching questions.

Part 4 A monologue or text involving interacting speakers, with

seven multiple-choice questions.

Part 1 A conversation between the interlocutor and each

candidate (spoken questions).

Candidates are expected to be able to respond to

questions and to interact in conversational English.

SPEAKING

14 minutes

Part 2 An individual ‘long turn’ for each candidate, with a brief

response from the second candidate (visual and written

stimuli, with spoken instructions).

Part 3 A two-way conversation between the candidates (visual

and written stimuli, with spoken instructions).

Part 4 A discussion on topics related to Part 3 (spoken

questions).

Preface

This handbook is for anyone who is preparing candidates for the Cambridge ESOL First Certificate in English examination (FCE).

The introduction gives an overview of FCE and its place within Cambridge ESOL. This is followed by a focus on each paper and

includes content, advice on preparation and example papers.

Further information on the examination will be issued in the form of:

• regular update bulletins

• an extensive programme of seminars and conference presentations.

If you require additional CDs or further copies of this booklet, please email ESOLinfo@CambridgeESOL.org

Contents

Inside front cover

FCE content and overview

OVERVIEW OF FCE

2 University of Cambridge ESOL

Examinations

2 Key features of Cambridge ESOL

examinations

INTRODUCTION TO

CAMBRIDGE ESOL

2 The purpose of the review project

3 The process of the project

3 Factors affecting the design of the

examination

INTRODUCTION TO FCE

3 Content of FCE

3 The level of FCE

4 Varieties of English

4 Recognition

4 Official accreditation in the UK

4 The FCE candidature

4 Marks and results

5 Special circumstances

EXAMINATION CONTENT

AND PROCESSING

6 Course materials

6 Past papers and examination reports

6 Online support

6 Seminars for teachers

6 Administrative information

6 Further information

FCE SUPPORT

7 General description

7 Structure and tasks

8 The three parts of the Reading paper

8 Preparation

10 Sample paper – test 1

13 Answer keys – test 1

14 Sample paper – test 2

17 Answer keys – test 2

17 Candidate answer sheet

READING PAPER

18 General description

18 Structure and tasks

19 The two parts of the Writing paper

20 Preparation

21 Task types

23 Sample paper – test 1

26 Sample paper – test 2

28 Assessment

29 Cambridge ESOL Common Scale for

Writing

30 Sample scripts and mark schemes –

tests 1 and 2

WRITING PAPER

40 General description

40 Structure and tasks

41 The four parts of the Use of English

paper

41 Preparation

44 Sample paper – test 1

47 Answer keys – test 1

48 Sample paper – test 2

51 Answer keys – test 2

52 Candidate answer sheet

USE OF ENGLISH PAPER

53 General description

53 Structure and tasks

54 The four parts of the Listening paper

54 Preparation

56 Sample paper – test 1

59 Sample tapescript – test 1

64 Answer keys – test 1

65 Sample paper – test 2

68 Sample tapescript – test 2

73 Answer keys – test 2

74 Candidate answer sheet

LISTENING PAPER

75 General description

75 Structure and tasks

76 The four parts of the the Speaking

test

77 Preparation

79 Sample paper – test 1

83 Sample paper – test 2

86 Assessment

87 Cambridge ESOL Common Scale for

Speaking

SPEAKING TEST

88 FCE Glossary and Acronyms

fce handbook for teachers | contents

Introduction to Cambridge ESOL

• to provide accurate and consistent assessment of each

language skill at the appropriate level

University of Cambridge ESOL Examinations

• to relate the examinations to the teaching curriculum in

such a way that they encourage positive learning

experiences, and to seek to achieve a positive impact

wherever possible

University of Cambridge ESOL Examinations (Cambridge ESOL)

is a part of the Cambridge Assessment Group, which is a

department of the University of Cambridge*. It has a tradition

of language assessment dating back to 1913, and is one of the

world’s largest educational assessment agencies. Cambridge

ESOL offers an extensive range of examinations, certificates

and diplomas for learners and teachers of English. In 2006,

over 2 million people took these examinations at centres in

over 140 countries.

• to endeavour to be fair to all candidates, whatever their

national, ethnic and linguistic background, gender or

disability.

Cambridge ESOL examinations are designed around four

essential qualities: validity, reliability, impact and practicality.

Validity is normally taken to be the extent to which a test can

be shown to produce scores which are an accurate reflection

of the candidate’s true level of language skills. Reliability

concerns the extent to which test results are stable, consistent

and accurate, and therefore the extent to which they can be

depended on for making decisions about the candidate.

Impact concerns the effects, beneficial or otherwise, which an

examination has on the candidates and other users, whether

these are educational, social, economic or political, or various

combinations of these. Practicality can be defined as the

extent to which an examination is practicable in terms of the

resources needed to produce and administer it. All these

factors underpin the development and production of

Cambridge ESOL examinations.

Cambridge ESOL’s systems and processes for designing,

developing and delivering examinations and assessment

services are certified as meeting the internationally

recognised ISO9001:2000 standard for quality management.

Cambridge ESOL examinations are suitable for learners of all

nationalities, whatever their first language and cultural

background, and there are examinations suitable for learners

of almost any age. Although they are designed for native

speakers of languages other than English, no language related

restrictions apply. The range of Cambridge ESOL examinations

includes specialist examinations in Business English and

English for Academic Purposes, as well as tests for young

learners and a suite of certificates and diplomas for language

teachers.

The examinations cover all four language skills – reading,

writing, listening and speaking. They include a range of tasks

which assess candidates’ ability to use English, so that in

preparing for the examinations, candidates develop the skills

they need to make practical use of the language in a variety of

contexts. Above all, what the Cambridge ESOL examinations

assess is the ability to communicate effectively in English.

Introduction to FCE

The First Certificate in English (FCE) was originally offered in

1939. Regular updating has allowed the examination to keep

pace with changes in language teaching and testing, and the

last major revision of FCE took place in 1996. Following the

successful revision of the Certificate of Proficiency in English

(CPE) in 2002 and in light of feedback received, it was decided

to review FCE and implement changes as appropriate.

Cambridge ESOL is committed to providing examinations of

the highest possible quality. This commitment is underpinned

by an extensive programme of research and evaluation, and by

continuous monitoring of the marking and grading of all

Cambridge ESOL examinations. Of particular importance is the

rigorous set of procedures which are used in the production

and pretesting of question papers.

The purpose of the review project

The purpose of the project was to review FCE in order to

ensure that it met the current needs of candidates, teachers,

centres and other users in terms of content and length.

Key features of Cambridge ESOL examinations

The aims were to:

Cambridge ESOL undertakes:

• reﬂect developments in the field of language teaching

and learning

• to assess language skills at a range of levels, each of

them having a clearly defined relevance to the needs of

language learners

• reﬂect developments in Cambridge ESOL’s other General

English examinations, e.g. the revision of CPE

• to assess skills which are directly relevant to the range

of uses for which learners will need the language they

have learned, and which cover the four language skills –

reading, writing, listening and speaking – as well as

knowledge of language structure and use

• take account of information about candidates gained

through the Candidate Information Sheets completed by

all candidates at each administration of the examination

• ensure a thoroughly validated examination

• define a specific test focus for each part of each paper

*Cambridge Assessment is the operating name for the University

of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate (UCLES).

• ensure the examination meets the needs of candidates

and other users.

fce handbook for teachers | introduction to cambridge esol

The outcome, in terms of benefits for the various areas and

stakeholders, is the result of extensive research and several

rounds of consultation with all users, both online and face-to-

face.

Examination content and

processing

Content of FCE

The process of the project

Cambridge ESOL examinations reﬂect a view of language

proficiency in terms of a language user’s overall

communicative ability; at the same time, for the purposes of

practical language assessment, the notion of overall ability is

subdivided into different skills and subskills. This ‘skills and

components’ view is well established in the language research

and teaching literature.

The project included the following main stages:

• Data collection, e.g. market information including survey

questionnaires sent to candidates, teachers, Oral

Examiners and examination administrators; information

on candidature collected on Candidate Information

Sheets.

Four main skills of reading, writing, listening and speaking are

recognised, and each of these is assessed in a test component

of the same name. Reading and listening are multi-

dimensional skills involving the interaction of the

reader/listener’s mental processing capacities with their

language and content knowledge; further interaction takes

place between the reader/listener and the external features of

the text and task. Purpose and context for reading/listening

shape these interactions and this is reﬂected in the FCE

Reading and Listening components through the use of

different text and task types which link to a relevant target

language use context beyond the test.

• The development of examination specifications,

including the development of the test construct, test

content and the definition of the test focuses; the

production, editing and trialling of draft task types and

materials; the development and trialling of assessment

criteria; and research into the validity and reliability of

the material and assessment procedures.

• The production of examination support materials,

including public specifications, and training materials

for examiners and writers of examination materials.

Throughout the project, Cambridge ESOL has gathered

feedback on its proposals for the examination by holding

meetings with representatives of key ESOL organisations and

English language specialists, and by holding consultative

seminars with teachers and Directors of Studies. During

trialling, teachers and students have been asked to complete

questionnaires on trial materials.

Writing ability is also regarded as a linguistic, cognitive, social

and cultural phenomenon that takes place in a speciﬁc

context and for a particular purpose. Like Reading and

Listening, FCE Writing involves a series of complex

interactions between the task and the writers, who are

required to draw on different aspects of their knowledge and

experience to produce a written performance for evaluation.

Factors affecting the design of the examination

Like Writing, Speaking involves multiple competences

including vocabulary and grammatical knowledge,

phonological control, knowledge of discourse, and pragmatic

awareness, which are partially distinct from their equivalents

in the written language. Since speaking generally involves

reciprocal oral interaction with others, Speaking in FCE is

assessed directly, through a face-to-face encounter between

candidates and examiners.

Analysis of FCE Candidate Information Sheets and FCE market

survey questionnaires showed consistent agreement on the

kind of candidate taking FCE, on how the examination should

reﬂect candidates’ needs and interests, and on administrative

aspects of the examination. Extensive research was also

conducted into the current examination.

The design of the updated examination has incorporated the

insights provided by this information and aims to provide:

A fifth test component in FCE (Use of English) focuses on the

language knowledge structures or system(s) that underpin a

user’s communicative language ability in the written medium;

these are sometimes referred to as ‘enabling’ (sub)skills and

include knowledge of vocabulary, morphology, syntax,

punctuation, and discourse structure.

• coverage of candidates’ needs and interests

• coverage of language abilities underlying these needs

and interests (in reading, writing, language systems,

listening and speaking)

• reliable assessment (range of testing focuses broadened)

Each of these five test components in FCE provides a unique

contribution to a profile of overall communicative language

ability that defines what a candidate can do at this level.

• positive educational impact

• ease of examination administration

The level of FCE

• an examination which is more user friendly for

candidates in terms of its length.

FCE is at Level B2 of the Council of Europe Common European

Framework of Reference for Languages, and a description of

this level is given below in terms of:

• what material learners can handle

• what learners can be expected to be able to do.

fce handbook for teachers | examination content and processing

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