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FCE (First Certificate in English)
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The First Certificate was originally offered in 1939. FCE is at Level B1 of the Council of Europe Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). The Association of Language Testers in Europe (ALTE) has developed a framework which covers six levels of proficiency aligned to the CEFR and shows what learners can typically do at FCE level.
FCE has five papers:
- Reading
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- Writing
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- Use of English
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- Listening
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- Speaking
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Reading (Paper 1), 1 hour
This paper assesses the ability to read and understand texts taken from newspaper and magazine articles, reports, fiction, advertisements, correspondence, messages, and informational material. It contains three parts, with a range of texts and accompanying comprehension tasks. Students are expected to be able to show understanding of gist, detail and text structure, and deduce meaning.
Writing (Paper 2), 1 hour 20 minutes
This paper contains two parts. It assesses the ability to write non-specialised text types such as letters, articles, reports, compositions and reviews of 120-150 (Part 1) or 120-180 (part 2) words covering a range of topics and target readers and also set texts.
Use of English (Paper 3), 45 minutes
This paper requires students to demonstrate knowledge and control of the language system by completing various tasks at text and sentence level. These include filling gaps, transforming words and phrases, and word formation. It contains four parts.
Listening (Paper 4), 40 minutes
This paper assesses the ability to understand the meaning of spoken English, and to extract gist and meaning from spoken text. The texts are taken from a variety of text types including interviews, discussions, lectures and conversations.
Speaking (Paper 5), 14 minutes
The Speaking Test assesses the ability to interact in conversational English in a range of contexts. It contains four parts, including an interview section, individual long turns of about one minute, a collaborative task and a discussion. Students are provided with stimulus material such as photographs and drawings. They normally take the Speaking Test in pairs.
Results
Each component carries 20% of the total marks. There are three pass grades (A, B and C) and certificates are awarded to candidates who achieve these grades. Candidates who achieve a grade D or E are judged not to have reached the required standard for FCE.
Once awarded Cambridge ESOL FCE certificates are valid for life.
Find out more about FCE.
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