FCE content and marking
All these comments should be interpreted at FCE level, and referred to in
conjunction with a task-specific mark scheme.
Marking
The panel of examiners is divided into small teams, each with a very experienced
examiner as Team Leader. The Principal Examiner guides and monitors the
marking process. This begins with a meeting of the Principal Examiner and the
Team Leaders. This is held immediately after the examination and begins the
process of establishing a common standard of assessment by the selection of
sample scripts for all five questions in Paper 2. Sample scripts are chosen to
demonstrate the range of responses and different levels of competence, and a taskspecific mark scheme is finalised for each individual question on the paper. The
accuracy of language, including spelling and punctuation, is assessed on the general
impression scale for all tasks. Markers discuss these mark schemes and refer to
them regularly while they are working. A rigorous process of co-ordination and
checking is carried out before and throughout the marking process.
Paper 3
Use of English
The FCE Use of English paper contains five parts. There is a total of 65 questions.
The time allowed for completion of all five parts, including answer sheet
completion, is one hour fifteen minutes.
Test focus
This paper tests the ability of candidates to apply their knowledge of the language
system. Part 1 emphasises vocabulary; Parts 2 and 3 focus on both grammar and
vocabulary; Part 4 emphasises grammar and Part 5 focuses closely on grammar.
Tasks
There are 65 questions in the Use of English paper. Each part of the paper contains
a set of questions as follows:
Part 1
A cloze text of approximately 200 words, modified to place emphasis on lexical
items, with 15 four-option multiple-choice items.
Part 2
An open cloze text of approximately 200 words, modified to place emphasis on
structural words. The text contains 15 gaps to be completed by the candidate.
There may be a small number of lexico-grammatical items.
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FCE content and marking
Part 3
A set of ten sentences, each accompanied by a ‘key’ word and a gapped
reformulation of the initial sentence. Candidates are required to complete the
gapped sentence, using the key word, so that it has a similar meaning to the
prompt sentence.
Part 4
A text of approximately 200 words which contains 15 lines (plus two example
lines). Some lines of the text are correct, other lines contain an extra incorrect
word, which candidates are required to identify. No line contains more than one
error.
Part 5
A text of approximately 150 words which contains ten gaps. Each gap corresponds
to a word. The ‘stems’ of the missing words are given beside the text and must be
transformed to provide the missing words.
Marks
One mark is given for each correct answer in Parts 1, 2, 4 and 5. For Part 3,
candidates are awarded a mark of 2, 1 or 0 for each question according to the
accuracy of their response. Correct spelling is required in Parts 2, 3, 4 and 5. The
total mark is subsequently weighted to 40.
Marking
Part 1 of the Use of English paper is directly scanned by computer. The other parts
of the paper are marked under the supervision of a co-ordinating examiner. A
mark scheme is drawn up in the light of pre-testing. This is adjusted at the
beginning of the marking procedure to take account of actual candidate
performance and then finalised. All scripts are double-marked. Question papers
may be scrutinised during the marking if there is any doubt about candidate
responses on the answer sheets.
Paper 4
Listening
The Listening paper is divided into four parts and is approximately 40 minutes in
length. Each part contains a recorded text or texts and corresponding
comprehension tasks. There is a total of 30 questions in the Listening paper. Each
text is heard twice.
Recordings contain a variety of accents corresponding to standard variants of
English native-speaker accent, and to English non-native speaker accents that
approximate to the norms of native-speaker accents. Background sounds may be
included before speaking begins, to provide contextual information.
The instructions for each task are heard and read by the candidate. They give
the general context for the input and explain the task.
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FCE content and marking
Candidates are advised to write their answers on the question paper while
listening. Five minutes are allowed at the end of the test for candidates to transfer
their answers onto an answer sheet.
You will need to pause your audio CD before Parts 2, 3 and 4, and at the end of
the test. The length of the pauses is announced to you. The audio cassettes,
however, contain all pauses between parts, and only need to be paused for five
minutes at the end of the test.
Texts
Different text types appropriate to the particular test focus are used in each part of
the paper. They may be any of the following types:
Monologues:
• answerphone/freephone messages
• commentaries
• documentaries/features
• instructions
• lectures
• news
• public announcements
• publicity/advertisements
• reports
• speeches
• stories/anecdotes
• talks
Interacting speakers:
• chats
• conversations
• discussions
• interviews
• quizzes
• radio plays
• transactions
Part 1 consists of eight short, unrelated extracts of approximately 30 seconds
which may be in the form of monologues or conversations. Part 2 is a monologue
or text involving interacting speakers and lasts approximately 3 minutes. Part 3
consists of five short related pieces, each with a different speaker, of approximately
30 seconds each. Part 4 is also a monologue or text involving interacting speakers
and lasts approximately 3 minutes.
Test focus
The tasks in the Listening paper test candidates’ ability to understand:
Parts 1 and 3
gist, main points, function, location, roles and relationships, mood, attitude,
intention, feeling or opinion.
Parts 2 and 4
gist, main points, detail or specific information, or deduce meaning.
Tasks
Each listening text is accompanied by a set of questions as follows:
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FCE content and marking
Part
Task
Number of
questions
1
Multiple choice
8
2
Note taking, blank filling,
sentence completion
10
3
Multiple matching
5
4
Selection from 2 or 3 possible
answers
7
In Part 4, questions may have two alternatives or three, e.g. multiple choice,
matching and true/false.
Marks
One mark is given for each correct answer. The total is weighted to give a mark
out of 40 for the paper. In Part 2 minor spelling errors are allowed, provided that
the candidate’s intention is clear. Occasionally candidates are asked to write a
word which has been dictated letter-by-letter. This must be spelt correctly.
For security reasons, several versions of the Listening paper are used at each
administration of the examination. Before grading, the performance of the
candidates in each of the versions is compared and marks adjusted to compensate
for any imbalance in levels of difficulty.
Marking
Part 1 and Part 3 of the Listening paper are directly scanned by computer. The
other parts of the paper are marked under the supervision of a co-ordinating
examiner. A mark scheme for each version of the Listening paper is drawn up in
the light of pre-testing. This is adjusted at the beginning of the marking procedure
to take account of actual candidate performance, and then finalised. All scripts are
double-marked. Question papers may be scrutinised during the marking if there is
any doubt about candidates’ responses on the answer sheets.
Paper 5
Speaking test
The FCE Speaking test is conducted by two examiners (an interlocutor who will
conduct the test and speak to the candidates, and an assessor who will just listen to
the candidates) with pairs of candidates. The test takes fourteen minutes for each
pair of candidates and is divided into four parts:
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Interview
Individual long turn
Two-way collaborative task
Three-way discussion
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FCE content and marking
A pair of colour photographs is provided for each candidate as the visual prompts
for Part 2, together with a verbal rubric. The prompts for Part 3 may be in the
form of photographs, line drawings, diagrams, etc., together with a verbal rubric.
Parts 1 and 4 do not require visual prompts.
Test focus
The tasks in the Speaking test require candidates to interact in conversational
English in a range of contexts. Candidates demonstrate their ability to do this
through appropriate control of grammar and vocabulary, discourse management,
pronunciation and interactive communication.
Tasks include different interaction patterns (examiner to candidate, candidate to
candidate), different discourse types (short turn, long turn, etc.), and focus on
different features, such as comparing and contrasting, exchanging information,
stating and supporting an opinion, agreeing and disagreeing, expressing certainty
and uncertainty, initiating and responding, collaborating, and turn-taking.
Tasks
The purpose of Part 1 (‘interview’: three minutes) is to test general interactional
and social language.
In this part of the test, candidates respond to direct questions asked by the
interlocutor. Candidates are expected to expand on their responses, talking about
present circumstances, past experiences and future plans.
The purpose of Part 2 (‘individual long turn’: one minute per candidate) is to
elicit a sample of transactional language from each candidate.
In Part 2 each candidate is given the opportunity to talk without interruption for
one minute. Candidates demonstrate their ability to organise their language and
ideas with an appropriate use of grammar and vocabulary. Each candidate gives
information and expresses opinions through comparing and contrasting two colour
photographs.
The purpose of Part 3 (‘collaborative task’: approximately three minutes) is to
elicit short transactional turns from each candidate by engaging both of them in
the same problem-solving activity.
The tasks are designed to give candidates the opportunity to demonstrate their
range of language; the metalanguage of the exchange is as much a part of the test
as the utterances directly connected with the prompt. All Part 3 tasks are shared;
candidates are encouraged to talk together, without the interlocutor, and should be
able to express and justify their own views, invite the opinions and ideas of their
partner and negotiate a decision.
The purpose of Part 4 (‘three-way discussion’: approximately four minutes)
is to elicit a further sample of speech from the candidates by allowing them to
participate in a wider discussion with the interlocutor of the issues raised in Part 3.
At the end of the Speaking test, candidates are thanked for attending but are
given no indication of their level of achievement.
NB If there is an uneven number of candidates at a session, the last three
candidates will be examined together.
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FCE content and marking
Assessment
Candidates are assessed on their own individual performance and not in relation to
each other, according to the following four analytical criteria: grammar and
vocabulary, discourse management, pronunciation and interactive communication.
These criteria are interpreted at FCE level. Assessment is based on performance in
the whole test and not in particular parts of the test.
Both examiners assess the candidates. The assessor applies detailed, analytical
scales, and the interlocutor applies a global achievement scale, which is based on
the analytical scales.
FCE typical minimum adequate performance
Although there are some inaccuracies, grammar and vocabulary are sufficiently
accurate in dealing with the tasks. Mostly coherent, with some extended discourse.
Can generally be understood. Able to maintain the interaction and deal with the
tasks without major prompting.
Analytical scales
Grammar and vocabulary
This refers to the accurate and appropriate use of grammatical forms and
vocabulary. It also includes the range of both grammatical forms and vocabulary.
Performance is viewed in terms of the overall effectiveness of the language used.
Discourse management
This refers to the coherence, extent and relevance of each candidate’s individual
contribution. In this scale the candidate’s ability to maintain a coherent flow of
language is assessed, either within a single utterance or a string of utterances. Also
assessed here is how relevant the contributions are to what has gone before.
Pronunciation
This refers to the candidate’s ability to produce comprehensible utterances to fulfil
the task requirements. This includes stress, rhythm and intonation as well as
individual sounds. Examiners put themselves in the position of the non-EFL
specialist and assess the overall impact of the pronunciation and the degree of
effort required to understand the candidate.
Interactive communication
This refers to the candidate’s ability to use language to achieve meaningful
communication. This includes initiating and responding without undue hesitation,
the ability to use interactive strategies to maintain or repair communication, and
sensitivity to the norms of turn taking.
Global achievement scale
This refers to the candidate’s overall performance throughout the test.
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