FCE for Schools Preparation Course

The FCE exam evaluates your command of English grammar and vocabulary used in day to day communications.  While the FCE for Schools has the same format as the FCE exam; the topics of the questions are different.  FCE for Schools is geared more towards school children while the FCE is for individuals who are no longer in school.  This exam covers the following: reading, writing, use of English, listening and speaking. 

The Reading section is comprised of three parts that have thirty questions that need to be completed in one hour.  In the first part, you are expected to answer multiple choice questions based off of a provided long text.  In the second part, you are provided with a long paragraph that has a small number of missing sentences and a few sentences in a matching bank.  The task is to match the correct sentences from the matching bank to the blanks in the paragraph.  In the third part, you are given the option of reading one long text or six short texts and will be expected to match certain elements from the text to a question about the reading.   

The Writing portion of the FCE exam has two parts and a time limit of one hour and twenty minutes.  The first part requires you to write a one-hundred and twenty to one-hundred and fifty word e-mail or letter that is based off of a given topic.  The second part allows you to choose to write an article, letter, report, essay, short story, or a review that must be at least one-hundred and twenty words and no more than one-hundred and eighty. 

In the Use of English section, there are four parts in which you will be allocated a total of forty-five minutes to complete forty-two questions.  The first part requires you to read a paragraph that has a number of words missing and you will need to fill in the blanks with the correct word from a bank that has been provided.  The second part is exactly like the first except there is no word bank present and you must write in the correct word without any assistance.  In the third part, you are again given a paragraph with specific words missing but this time, you are given a word as a hint to the side.  You are supposed to rewrite the hinted word in the correct grammatical form so that it will fit perfectly in the gap.  In the fourth part, you will be provided with a word and two identical sentences but one of them will have a gap in it.  You are required to rewrite the complete sentence using the provided word. 

The Listening section includes four parts and an approximate time limit of forty minutes in which you are supposed to answer thirty questions.  In the first part, you will encounter multiple choice questions on eight short recordings of individuals speaking in different situations.  The second section requires you to listen for answers in a recording.  In the third section, you will listen to five different short recordings that are all connected in one way or another and match the speaker to their statements or opinions that you just listened to.  The fourth part requires you to listen critically for attitudes, opinions, and main ideas from a long recording and choose the best answer that satisfies the question the best. 

In the Speaking portion, you will be given fourteen minutes to complete four parts.  This part will be done in a group with examiners and another test taker.  In the first part of the speaking test, you will be interviewed by one of the examiners and will have to answer questions about your life such as where you like to spend your holidays, where you go to school, what you do in your free time and so on.  The second part requires you to speak for a whole minute without interruption or pausing.  You will be given two pictures that you must compare and contrast.