cae_sample_test.pdf

Exper ts in Language Assessment

Certiﬁcate in

English

CAE Speciﬁcations and Sample Papers for

examinations from December 2008

Advanced

CAE content and overview

Part/timing

Content

Test focus

Part 1 Three texts on one theme from a range of sources. Each text

has two multiple-choice questions.

Candidates are expected to show understanding of

attitude, detail, implication, main idea, opinion,

purpose, specific information, text organisation fea-

tures, tone, text structure.

READING

1 hour 15 mins

Part 2 A text from which six paragraphs have been removed and

placed in a jumbled order, together with an additional para-

graph, after the text.

Part 3 A text followed by seven multiple-choice questions.

Part 4 A text or several short texts preceded by 15 multiple-match-

ing questions.

Part 1 One compulsory question.

Candidates are expected to be able to write non-

specialised text types such as article, contribution

to a longer piece, essay, letter, proposal, report,

review, competition entry, with a focus on advising,

comparing, evaluating, expressing opinions,

hypothesising, justifying, persuading.

WRITING

1 hour 30 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 15 gaps.

USE OF ENGLISH

1 hour

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 Five questions, each one containing three discrete sen-

tences. Each sentence contains one gap, which must be

completed with one word which is appropriate in all three

sentences.

Part 5 Eight separate questions, each with a lead-in sentence and

a gapped second sentence to be completed in three to six

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

LISTENING

Approximately 40

minutes

Part 1 Three short extracts, from exchanges between interacting

speakers. There are two multiple-choice questions for each

extract.

Candidates are expected to be able to show under-

standing of agreement, attitude, course of action,

detail, feeling, function, gist, interpreting context,

main points, opinion, purpose, specific information

etc.

Part 2 A monologue with a sentence completion task which has

eight items.

Part 3 A text involving interacting speakers, with six multiple-

choice questions.

Part 4 Five short themed monologues, with 10 multiple-matching

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

15 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 booklet contains speciﬁcations and sample papers for changes to the Certiﬁcate in Advanced English, which

are to be introduced for the ﬁrst time in December 2008.

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

• regular update bulletins

• a comprehensive CAE handbook containing an additional set of sample papers

• 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

CAE content and overview

OVERVIEW OF CAE

2 The purpose of the review project

3 The level of CAE

INTRODUCTION

2 The process of the project

4 Recognition

2 Content of Cambridge ESOL General

English examinations (FCE, CAE and

CPE)

4 The CAE candidature

4 Factors affecting the design of the

examination

4 Marks and results

EXAMINATION CONTENT

AND PROCESSING

4 Administrative information

6 General description

7 Sample paper

READING PAPER

6 Structure and tasks

16 Answer keys

18 General description

20 Sample paper

WRITING PAPER

18 Structure and tasks

24 Assessment

19 Task types in the Writing paper

25 Sample scripts and mark schemes

31 General description

32 Sample paper

31 Structure and tasks

40 Answer keys

USE OF ENGLISH PAPER

41 General description

47 Sample tapescript

41 Structure and tasks

51 Answer keys

42 Sample paper

LISTENING PAPER

53 General description

60 Assessment

53 Structure and tasks

60 Marking

54 Sample paper

SPEAKING TEST

cae specifications and sample papers | contents

Introduction

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.

The Certiﬁcate in Advanced English (CAE) was originally

offered in 1991. An update in 1999 allowed the examination to

keep pace with changes in language teaching and testing.

Following the successful revision of the Certiﬁcate of

Proﬁciency in English (CPE) in 2002 and in the light of feedback

received, it was decided to review CAE and implement changes

as appropriate.

Content of Cambridge ESOL General English

examinations (FCE, CAE and CPE)

This booklet gives information on the outcome of the review

of CAE. Changes will be introduced in December 2008.

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 purpose of the review project

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

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

centres and other users in terms of content and length.

The aims were to:

• reﬂect developments in the ﬁeld of language teaching

and learning

• reﬂect developments in Cambridge ESOL’s other General

English examinations, e.g. the revision of CPE

• 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

• ensure the examination meets the needs of candidates

and other users.

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 CAE

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 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.

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, CAE 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.

The process of the project

The project has included the following main stages:

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 CAE is

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

candidates and examiners.

• 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.

• 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.

A ﬁfth test component in CAE (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.

• The production of examination support materials,

including public speciﬁcations, and training materials

for examiners and writers of examination materials.

Each of these ﬁve test components in CAE provides a unique

contribution to a proﬁle of overall communicative language

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

cae specifications and sample papers | introduction

The level of CAE

reached by the C1 learner, but certain more difﬁcult situations,

e.g. discussing abstract or cultural topics with a good degree of

ﬂuency, demand this level of language. Users at this level can

enjoy a wide range of social contacts.

The updated CAE will measure the same level of general

language ability as the current CAE and to the same standards.

CAE is at Level C1 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.

What a CAE candidate can do

Examinations at Level C1 may be used as proof of the level of

language necessary to work at a managerial or professional

level or follow a course of academic study at university level.

The type of material a CAE candidate can deal with

The ALTE ‘Can Do’ Project

At this level, learners are expected to be able to use the

structures of the language with ease and ﬂuency. They are

aware of the relationship between the language and the

culture it exists in, and of the signiﬁcance of register. This

means that to some extent they are able to adapt their

language use to a variety of social situations, and express

opinions and take part in discussions and arguments in a

culturally appropriate way. Learners at this level can develop

their own interests in reading both factual and ﬁctional texts.

They can also produce a variety of types of texts and

utterances, such as letters of varying degrees of formality.

They can use language in a creative and ﬂexible way, with the

ability to respond appropriately to unforeseen as well as

predictable situations, producing, if required, extended and

complex utterances.

The Association of Language Testers in Europe (ALTE) has

developed a framework which covers ﬁve levels of language

proﬁciency aligned to the Council of Europe Common

European Framework of Reference for Languages.

(See Table 1.)

Table 1

Cambridge Main Suite

ALTE levels

CEF Levels

Certiﬁcate of Proﬁciency in English

Certiﬁcate in Advanced English

First Certiﬁcate in English

Preliminary English Test

Key English Test

Research carried out by ALTE has shown what language

learners can typically do at each level. Table 2 gives some

examples at CAE level of typical general ability plus ability in

each of the skill areas and in a range of contexts.

The written and spoken texts encountered in most common

everyday situations can be dealt with at a level below that

Table 2

‘Can Do’ summary

Typical abilities

Listening and Speaking

Reading and Writing

Overall general ability

CAN contribute effectively to meetings and seminars within

own area of work or keep up a casual conversation with a

good degree of ﬂuency, coping with abstract expressions.

CAN read quickly enough to cope with an academic course,

and CAN take reasonably accurate notes in meetings or

write a piece of work which shows an ability to

communicate.

Social & Tourist

CAN pick up nuances of meaning/opinion.

CAN understand complex opinions/arguments as expressed

in serious newspapers.

CAN keep up conversations of a casual nature for an

extended period of time and discuss abstract/cultural

topics with a good degree of ﬂuency and range of

expression.

CAN write most letters they are likely to be asked to do;

such errors as occur will not prevent understanding of the

message.

Work

CAN follow discussion and argument with only occasional

need for clariﬁcation, employing good compensation

strategies to overcome inadequacies.

CAN understand the general meaning of more complex

articles without serious misunderstanding.

CAN deal with unpredictable questions.

CAN, given enough time, write a report that communicates

the desired message.

Study

CAN follow up questions by probing for more detail.

CAN make critical remarks/express disagreement without

causing offence.

CAN scan texts for relevant information, and grasp main

topic of text. CAN write a piece of work whose message can

be followed throughout.

cae specifications and sample papers | introduction

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