FCE – Center School

Cambridge English: First (FCE)

General information

Cambridge English: First (FCE) is an internationally recognized exam in general English. According to a scale established by the Council of Europe, the certificate corresponds to level B2. It confirms that you are able to independently use everyday written and spoken English for work or study.

About the exam

Recognition of exams

FCE certificate is recognized by educational institutions around the world, including leading universities and colleges in the UK, Australia and North America, such as: The University of Warwick (UK), the Universities of London, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Manchester (UK) The University of Sydney (Australia) and McGill (Canada).

Also, the possession of this certificate can open the door to many leading companies that recognize this exam, including Hewlett-Packard (HP), KPMG, IBM, Sony, Marks and Spencers.

A complete list can be found here .

Deadlines, dates and places exams

British Council in Serbia is responsible for the organization of taking the exam. There are several examination periods throughout the year, usually in March, May, June, October, November and December.

Application deadlines are one month before the term, and all the detailed information together with the locations where examinations were maintained you can get at our school.

Exam format

B2 First is a test of all areas of language ability.

The updated exam (for exam sessions from January 2015) is made up of four papers developed to test your English language skills. You can see exactly what’s in each paper below.

The Speaking test is taken face to face, with two candidates and two examiners. This creates a more realistic and reliable measure of your ability to use English to communicate.

Paper	Content	Purpose
Reading and Use of English (1 hour 15 minutes) more	7 parts/52 questions	Shows you can deal confidently with different types of text, such as fiction, newspapers and magazines. Tests your use of English with tasks that show how well you can control your grammar and vocabulary.
Writing (1 hour 20 minutes) more	2 parts	Requires you to be able to produce two different pieces of writing, such as letters, reports, reviews and essays.
Listening (about 40 minutes) more	4 parts/30 questions	Requires you to be able to follow and understand a range of spoken materials, such as news programmes, presentations and everyday conversations.
Speaking (14 minutes per pair of candidates) more	4 parts	Tests your ability to communicate effectively in face to face situations. You will take the Speaking test with one or two other candidates.

What’s in the Reading and Use of English paper?

The B2 First Reading and Use of English paper is in seven parts and has a mix of text types and questions.

For Parts 1 to 4, you read a range of texts and do grammar and vocabulary tasks.

For Parts 5 to 7, you read a series of texts and answer questions that test your reading ability and show that you can deal with a variety of different types of texts.

Summary

Time allowed:	1 hour 15 minutes
Number of parts:	7
Number of questions:	52
Marks:	40% of total
Length of texts:	About 2,200 words to read in total.
Texts may be from:	Newspapers and magazines, journals, books (fiction and non-fiction), promotional and informational material.

Part 1 (Multiple-choice cloze)

What's in Part 1?	A text with some multiple-choice questions. Each question has four options (A, B, C or D) – you have to decide which is the correct answer.
What do I have to practise?	Vocabulary – idioms, collocations, shades of meaning, phrasal verbs, fixed phrases etc.
How many questions are there?	8
How many marks are there?	1 mark for each correct answer.

Part 2 (Open cloze)

What's in Part 2?	A text in which there are some gaps, each of which represents one missing word. You have to think of the correct word for each gap.
What do I have to practise?	Grammar and vocabulary.
How many questions are there?	8
How many marks are there?	1 mark for each correct answer.

Part 3 (Word formation)

What's in Part 3?	A text containing eight 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 complete the sentence correctly.
What do I have to practise?	Vocabulary.
How many questions are there?	8
How many marks are there?	1 mark for each correct answer.

Part 4 (Key word transformations)

What's in Part 4?	Each question consists of a sentence followed by a ‘key’ word and a second sentence with a gap in the middle. You have to use this key word to complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first sentence.
What do I have to practise?	Grammar and vocabulary.
How many questions are there?	6
How many marks are there?	Up to 2 marks for each correct answer.

Part 5 (Multiple choice)

What's in Part 5?	A text with some multiple-choice questions. For each question, there are four options and you have to choose A, B, C or D.
What do I have to practise?	Reading for detail, opinion, tone, purpose, main idea, implication, attitude.
How many questions are there?	6
How many marks are there?	2 marks for each correct answer.

Part 6 (Gapped text)

What's in Part 6?	A single page of text with some numbered gaps which represent missing paragraphs. After the text there are some paragraphs which are not in the right order. You have to read the text and the paragraphs and decide which paragraph best fits each gap.
What do I have to practise?	How to understand the structure and development of a text.
How many questions are there?	6
How many marks are there?	2 marks for each correct answer.

Part 7 (Multiple matching)

What's in Part 7?	A series of statements followed by a text divided into sections or several short texts. You have to match each statement to the section or text in which you can find the information.
What do I have to practise?	Reading for specific information, detail, opinion and attitude.
How many questions are there?	10
How many marks are there?	1 mark for each correct answer.

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 three
Types of task:	Articles, email, essay, letter, report, review.

What's in Part 1?	You’re given an essay title and two ideas clearly linked to the title. You write an essay giving your opinions about the title, using the ideas given. You must also add a third, different idea of your own linked to the title. The title will be a subject of general interest – you won’t need any specialised knowledge.
What do I have to practise?	Using language functions, such as evaluating, expressing opinions, hypothesising, justifying, persuading.
How many questions are there?	One compulsory question.
How much do I have to write?	140–190 words

What's in Part 2?	You write a text from a choice of text types – article, email/letter, report or review. To guide your writing, you’ll be given information about context, topic purpose and target reader.
What do I have to practise?	Writing different types of text that could be included in the exam.
How many questions are there?	One task to be selected from a choice of three.
How much do I have to write?	140–190 words

What’s in the Listening paper?

The B2 First Listening paper has four parts. For each part you have to listen to a recorded text or texts and answer some questions. You hear each recording twice.

Summary

Time allowed:	About 40 minutes
Number of parts:	4
Number of questions:	30
Marks:	20% total
Recordings may be from:	Monologues: answer phone messages, radio broadcasts and features, news, public announcements, stories and anecdotes, lectures and talks; or interacting speakers: conversations, interviews, discussions, radio plays.

Part 1 (Multiple choice)

What's in Part 1?	Eight short extracts from monologues or conversations between interacting speakers. There is one multiple-choice question for each extract, and you have to choose A, B or C.
What do I have to practise?	Listening for feeling, attitude, opinion, purpose, function, agreement, gist and detail.
How many questions are there?	8
How many marks are there?	1 mark for each correct answer.

Part 2 (Sentence completion)

What's in Part 2?	A monologue (which may be introduced by a presenter) lasting approximately 3 minutes. You have to complete the sentences on the question paper with the missing information which you hear on the recording.
What do I have to practise?	Listening for specific information, stated opinion.
How many questions are there?	10
How many marks are there?	1 mark for each correct answer.

Part 3 (Multiple matching)

What's in Part 3?	A series of five themed monologues of approximately 30 seconds each. On the question paper, you have to select five correct options from a list of eight possible answers.
What do I have to practise?	Listening for gist, attitude, opinion, purpose, feeling, main points and detail.
How many questions are there?	5
How many marks are there?	1 mark for each correct answer.

Part 4 (Multiple choice)

What's in Part 4?	A conversation between two or more speakers of approximately 3–4 minutes. You have to answer some multiple-choice questions by choosing the correct answer from three options (A, B or C).
What do I have to practise?	Listening for attitude, opinion, detail, gist, main idea and specific information.
How many questions are there?	7
How many marks are there?	1 mark for each correct answer.

B2 First Scale Scores

All candidates receive a statement of results. FCE certificates are issued to candidates who obtain a positive mark (A, B or C). If a candidate does not pass the FCE exam or pushing meet the requirements B1 level, will receive a certificate that confirms it.

Depending on which university, college or organisation you are applying to, you may be asked to achieve a specific score or grade, either overall or for a particular skill. For B2 First, the following scores will be used to report results:

Cambridge English Scale Score	Grade/CEFR	CEFR level
180–190	Grade A	C1
173–179	Grade B	B2
160–172	Grade C	B2
140–159	Level B1	B1

The exam is targeted at Level B2 of the CEFR. The examination also provides reliable assessment at the level above B2 (Level C1) and the level below (Level B1).

Scores between 122 and 139 are also reported for B2 First. You will not receive a certificate, but your Cambridge English Scale score will be shown on your Statement of Results.

The relationship between the CEFR levels, the Cambridge English Scale and the grades awarded in B2 First is illustrated below:

About a month after the exam is issued a report on the results, and the certificate after 2 months.

Your Cambridge English certificate does not expire. Recognising organisations such as universities, colleges and employers can choose how long to accept results for, so make sure you always check their requirements.