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There
are many tests that you can take during your language learning. You can choose to take one at each level, or wait until
you are
happy with your progress and ready for one final exam.
If you decide to take one at each level, then you may like to stay with the main suite of Cambridge exams which are as
follows:
Cambridge
ESOL: The Main Suite: (details of the exams below)
- KET - The Key English Test is for students at
the Pre-Intermediate level.
- PET - The Preliminary English Test is for the
Intermediate level..
- FCE - The First Certificate in English is for
the Upper-Intermediate level.
- CAE - The Certificate in Advanced English is for
advanced level students.
- CPE - The Certificate of Proficiency in English
is the highest level of all.
If
however, you decide to take just one exam when you feel that you
are reasonably fluent in the language, you still have a choice. Among
the
many available, the two most recognized in the world are:
- IELTS - International English
Language Testing Service
- TOEFL - Test of English as a Foreign
Language
Both of these
English language tests are accepted world-wide by universities
and employers alike.
The main difference between them is that if you want to apply
to an English university, IELTS is the qualification they will ask you
for; whereas in the U.S. the
TOEFL is necessary for entry to all universities..
The IELTS is jointly managed by the University of Cambridge ESOL
Examinations, the British Council and IDP, IELTS Education Australia.
The two exams are very similar and both test the student's reading,
writing, listening and speaking abilities, but with the IELTS
there is more focus on the speaking and the student is asked to spend
between 10 and 15 minutes in conversation with the examiner. (See
details below). With the TOEFL, the student merely answers
a few questions, speaking into a microphone, and is then marked
according to
his/her answers.
The charge for both the IELTS and the TOEFL exams will be somewhere
between 110 to 125 GBP (approximately 190-200 Euros, or 200-250
US Dollars) depending on which country you are living in. Click here to find more details for your particular area.
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KET
is the Cambridge ESOL exam which recognizes the ability to deal with
everyday
written and spoken English at a basic level. KET has three papers:
Reading and Writing: 1
hour 10 minutes
You will need to be able to understand simple written information such
as
signs, brochures, newspapers and magazines. You will also have to fill
gaps in
simple sentences and write a short piece of around 25 words.
Listening: 30 minutes
You need to show your ability to understand announcements and other
spoken
material when given reasonably slowly.
Speaking:
up to 10 minutes
You will need to demonstrate that you can take part in a conversation
by asking and answering simple questions. Speaking tests are normally
held with two
candidates.
KET has two pass grades: “Pass”
and “Pass with merit “.
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PET is a
certificate for people who can use everyday written and
spoken English at an intermediate level. The PET is also
recognized by some employers and universities. PET has three
papers:
Reading and Writing: 1
hour 30 minutes
You need to be able to read texts from signs, journals, newspapers and
magazines and understand the main points. You will need to show that
you can use
vocabulary and structure by completing tasks such as writing a short
message,
and a story or letter of around 100 words. You will also need to
complete an
exercise involving changing the meaning of sentences.
Listening: 30 minutes
(approximately)
You have to show that you understand the meaning of recorded spoken
material, including announcements and discussions about everyday life.
You need to be able to follow the attitudes and intentions of the
speakers.
Speaking: up to 10 minutes
Candidates do the Speaking test in pairs. You have to take part in a
conversation, asking and answering questions, and
talking freely about your likes and dislikes.
PET
has two pass grades, “Pass” and “Pass with merit “.
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FCE is aimed at people who can use
everyday written and spoken
English at an upper-intermediate level. It
is widely recognized by employers and educational institutions and is
very popular with students who want to study or work abroad. FCE has five papers:
Reading: 1
hour
You will need to be able to understand information in fiction and
non-fiction
books, journals, newspapers and magazines.
Writing: 1
hour 20 minutes
You will have to produce two different pieces of writing such as a
short story, a letter, an article, a report, a review or an essay.
Use of
English: 45 minutes
Your use of English will be tested by tasks which show how well you
control
your grammar and vocabulary.
Listening:
40 minutes
You need to show you can understand the meaning of a range of spoken
material,
including news programmes, speeches, stories and anecdotes and public
announcements.
Speaking:
14 minutes
You will take the Speaking test with another candidate or in a group of
three,
and you will be tested on your ability to take part in different types
of
interaction: with the examiner, with the other candidates and by
yourself.
FCE has five grades, A-E, of which A-C are passes.
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CAE is
an exam for advanced users of English. This exam is aimed
at people who can use written and spoken English for most professional
and
social purposes. It is widely recognized for work or study purposes. CAE has five papers:
Reading:
1 hour 15 minutes
You will need to be able to understand texts from publications such as
fiction
and non-fiction books, journals, newspapers and magazines.
Writing 1 hour 30 minutes
You will have to show you can produce two different pieces of writing
such as
an article, a report, a proposal or a review.
Use of English Paper 1 hour
Your use of English will be tested by tasks which show how well you can
control
your grammar and vocabulary.
Listening: 40 minutes
You need to show you can understand the meaning of a range of spoken
material,
including lectures, radio broadcasts, speeches and talks.
Speaking:
15 minutes
You will take the Speaking test with another candidate or in a group of
three,
and you will be tested on your ability to take part in different types
of
interaction: with the examiner, with the other candidate and by
yourself.
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CPE is
Cambridge ESOL's most advanced exam. It is aimed at
people who can use English for professional or study purposes and is a typical requirement for non-native speakers who want to
train as English
teachers CPE has five papers:
Reading 1 hour 30 minutes
You will need to be able to understand the meaning of written English
at word,
sentence, paragraph and whole text level.
Writing 2 hours
You will have to show that you can produce a number of different items
such as a
short story, a letter, an article, a report or a composition, each of
about
300—350 words.
Use of English 1 hour 30
minutes
Your use of English will be tested by tasks which show how well you
control
your grammar and vocabulary and how well you can summarise information.
Listening: 45 minutes
You need to show you can understand the meaning of a range of spoken
material,
including lectures, news programmes and public announcements.
Speaking: 19 minutes
You will take the Speaking test with another candidate or in groups of
three,
and you will be tested on your ability to take part in different types
of
interaction: with the examiner, with the other candidates and by
yourself.
CPE has five grades, A-E, of which A-C are
passes.
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IELTS
(International English Language Testing
System)
IELTS is the world’s most popular, proven English
testing system. Over 1.4 million candidates take this test each
year in order to attain international education and employment. IELTS
is recognised by more than 6000 institutions in over 135 countries.
You can choose from two types of IELTS test: Academic or General
Training, and the test is made up of four modules: Listening, Reading,
Writing and Speaking.
Listening Module
of the IELTS
The Listening Module lasts for 30 minutes. You will listen to an audio
and answer
questions at the same time. There are four sections, containing 10 to
12
questions each. This part is the same for both the Academic and General
Modules.
Reading Module of
the IELTS
The Reading Module is made up of three reading 'passages' and you have
one hour to answer around 40 questions. The questions will be
varied, for example: choosing titles for certain paragraphs from the
text, completing sentences, matching words, etc.
Writing Module of
the IELTS
The Writing Module has two tasks:
Task I (Academic) requires you to study certain charts, graphs or
tables and you are given 20 minutes to write 150 words about them.
Task I (General) requires you to write formal and informal
letters, deal with complaints and requests, recognize notices etc.
Task-II is the same for both the Academic and the General Training and
gives you 40 minutes to write an essay of 250 words. Total time
for Writing Module is one hour.
Speaking Module of
the IELTS
The IELTS speaking test is separated into three parts. Each part takes
about 4 or 5 minutes, 15 minutes in total..
In Part 1 you will introduce yourself and answer questions about your
family, your work and other personal and familiar themes.
In Part 2 you will speak for 4 or 5 minutes on a given topic.
(See example topics below).
Then in Part 3 there will be a short conversation between yourself and
the examiner.
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TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language)
There
are more than 6,000 schools in over 100 countries that include TOEFL as a bench
mark for accepting applicants who are not native English speakers.
The test lasts 4.5 hours, with four individually timed sections and you need a
Pass mark in all four sections.
The reading comprehension takes between 60 and 100 minutes, the listening
section takes from 60 to 90 minutes, the writing section is 50 minutes and the
speaking section lasts for 20 minutes. There should also be a 10 minute break.
Listening Section of the TOEFL
The Listening Section of TOEFL test is made up of three parts. In the first
part you will hear short conversations, usually containing two sentences, which
are followed by a single question.
In the second part you will hear a longer dialogue between two people. After
the dialogue there will be 4 or 5 multiple choice questions. You must select
the answer A, B, C, or D.
Some questions however, may ask you to recognize pictures and may have 2
correct answers. There may also be some quesitions that ask you to match
certain objects, words, or phrases.
In the third part there are longer pieces of spoken dialogue given by a single
speaker. For example: TV announcements, radio broadcasts, lectures
etc. Each of these talks will last for 1 or 2 minutes and then you must
answer 4 or 5 questions.
Structure Section of the TOEFL
In the Structure Section of the TOEFL you have to demonstrate your knowledge
and skills in vocabulary, grammar and proper usage of standard North American
written English.
You will have to recognize vocabulary items of an academic nature, this means,
there will be subjects related to science, the arts, literature, culture and
history. To answer the questions correctly it will be sufficient if you have an
average level of knowledge on those subjects
You will find two types of questions in the Structure Section of the TOEFL
test. The first question type is a sentence containing a gap. You must select a
word or phrase that fills in the gap appropriately.
The second question type can be called "Errors in Sentences". These
questions consist of complete sentences with four separate underlined words.
You must select which of the four underlinded words or word combinations
contains an error in grammar or usage.
Reading Section of TOEFL
In the Reading Section of TOEFL you will find short passages similar to the
sort of texts used for academic purposes in the US, Canada or other
internationally recognized universities. For example there will be texts about
the arts, literature, biographies of important people, science and scientific
research as well as history related to North America. Even if you know a lot
about any of the subjects covered in the Reading Section of the TOEFL test, it
will not necessarily be to your advantage in answering the questions correctly
because the TOEFL measures your English language proficiency rather than your
knowledge of a specific area.
Writing Section of TOEFL
In the Writing Section of TOEFL you have to compose an essay based on one
single given topic. Your essay should include original thought, analysis,
examples, evidence and organization in English.
Thirty percent of the TOEFL test questions are categorized as easy, forty
percent are medium and thirty percent are difficult. At the beginning of each
section you will find easy-level questions which are followed by medium-level
questions and difficult questions at the end.
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| BEC | Business English Certificates
| BULATS
| Business Language Testing Service
| CAE
| Certificate in Advanced English
| CCSE
| Certificates in Communicative Skills in English
| CEELT
| Cambridge English Examinations for Language Teachers
| CEIBT
| Certificate in English for International Business and Trade
| CILTS
| Cambridge Integrated Language Teaching Schemes
| CPE
| Certificate of Proficiency in English
| FCE
| First Certificate in English
| IELTS
| International English Language Testing Service
| KET
| Key English Test
| PET
| Preliminary English Test
| YLE
| Cambridge Young Learners English Tests
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