IGCSE Preparation Course

The International General Certificate of Secondary Education is recognized by learning institutions and companies around the globe as certified evidence of an individual’s level of the English language.  The IGSCE exam is comprised of a core version and an add-on extended version.  Every test taker must take the core version, which is for students who have beginner to upper-intermediate language levels.  The extended version of the test is more challenging and is an add-on designed for students with high language levels in the range of pre-intermediate to the highest proficiency level.  Each test has three sections: listening, speaking and reading and writing which are combined into the same section. 

In order to successfully pass the Reading section, the test taker will need to be able to understand as well as respond to specific information given in various forms, follow printed directions, organize certain material and understand the differences between facts, opinions and ideas.  If students elect to take the Extended edition, they will also have to know how to gather certain information from given passages.  In the core Reading section, they will be evaluated on their ability to read critically in order to find particular pieces of information and to comprehend public signs, advertisements, and notices in addition to what is required to know for in the Core section.  The students who take the extended test will be evaluated on their ability to critically read through large amounts of data of various types of materials, such as magazines or newspapers, in order to discover certain information, come to conclusions from evidence gathered texts, find relationships between passages and identify the main ideas, themes and certain opinions in long texts.

Both the core and extended Writing sections evaluate the test taker’s skills in written English communication.  They will be graded on their ability to write coherently, accurately write about given information, use a wide range of grammar as well vocabulary, create fluid transitions between paragraphs and punctuate and spell correctly.  In order to succeed in the core Writing section, the student should be able to follow simple instructions, write short letters, fill out a form, describe and relay personal information and present certain information in a specified manner.  In the extended edition, they will be expected to compose lengthier writings on a wide variety of topics. 

In the core Listening section, students will be assessed on their abilities to comprehend spoken English presented in different ways, understand the differences between facts, opinions and ideas.  In the extended version, test takers will have to be able to gather a wider range of specific information from the dialogue or monologue.  They will need to demonstrate that they can understand specific details that were heard through various mediums such as news reports, normal conversations on the street or in travel locations and telephone conversations.  If students take the extended edition, they will need to be able to identify main points, attitudes and themes of conversations or monologues, come to conclusions about what has been said and find correlations between given exchanges.

In both the core and extended versions of the Speaking portion, test takers will need to demonstrate that they can speak in an appropriate and coherent manner, effectively express their personal opinions on given matters, use different grammatical structures in sentences, speak using a wide array of vocabulary, speak confidently and guide a conversation and pronounce words correctly putting the stress in the right locations.  The pupils will be evaluated on their ability to participate in conversations and their performance in responding to topical questions within a distinct range of topics such as school, their past and plans for the future.   The extended version assesses the student’s ability to respond to questions from a wide range of topics and express conventional wisdom.