What is the Cambridge First Exam?
The Cambridge First exam or FCE(First Certificate exam) is an internationally recognised exam which tests English language skills of candidates at a level of B2.
You can take the exam in the traditional way as a paper exam or as a computer exam and all written exams are done on the same day.
There are five parts to the exam with the Reading and Use of English combined as one single exam.
The exam is 1 hour and 15 minutes and combines Reading and Use of English. Parts 5-7 are the reading tasks and there are four Use of English exercises, which are questions 1-4. The Reading and Use of English parts are marked separately.
The Writing exam is 1 hour and 20 minutes and consists of two parts. Part 1 is an essay which candidates must answer. Part 2 has a choice of three questions and candidates choose one. Each question has a word limit of 140-190 words.
The listening test is about 45 minutes. It consists of 4 parts which candidates will hear twice. There is extra time at the end of the exam to copy answer on to the answer sheet.
The speaking exam is 14 minutes and is generally done in pairs with a partner. It can either take place the same day as the rest of the exams or some time before or after them, depending on the centre where you choose to do your exam. It consists of four parts and includes some tasks where you speak on your own and some tasks in discussion with a partner.
B2 Computer Exam
How is it different?
The exam time is also 1 hour and 15 minutes and combines Reading and Use of English. There is a timer on the computer screen which counts down to zero. Once the exam finishes the computer will log out the user, automatically.
The Writing exam is also 1 hour and 20 minutes. Like all parts of the computer exam there is a timer on the screen which counts down to zero.
In the writing exam there is also a word counter on screen so candidates can see how many words they have written.
The listening test is about 40 minutes and for the test all candidates will use headphones. There are a few minutes at the end of test to check answers and the test stops automatically at the end.