fce june2000 0101 GNGMQLZNHNV267JNWFADMAYQ6MABSQVAG7TN4XY

First Certificate in English

Examination Report

Syllabus 0101

JUNE 2000

CONTENTS

Page

Introduction

Paper 1 - Reading

Paper 2 - Writing

Paper 3 - Use of English

Paper 4 - Listening

Paper 5 - Speaking

Feedback Form

INTRODUCTION

The First Certificate in English examination appeared in its revised format for the first time in
December 1996.

This Report is intended to provide a general view of how candidates performed on each
paper and to offer guidance on the preparation of candidates.

The overall pass rate for Syllabus 0101 was 50.08%

The following table gives details of the percentage of candidates at each grade.

0101

GRADE

PERCENTAGE

3.86

10.95

35.26

13.21

36.72

•

Grading

Grading took place during July 2000 (approximately six weeks after the examination).

The five FCE papers total 200 marks, after weighting. Papers 1-5 are each weighted to 40
marks. The candidate’s overall FCE grade is based on the total score gained by the
candidate in all five papers. Candidates do not ‘pass’ or ‘fail’ in a particular paper, but rather
in the examination as a whole.

The overall grades (A, B, C, D and E) are set according to the following information:

•

statistics on the candidature;

•

statistics on the overall candidate performance;

•

statistics on individual items, for those parts of the examination for which this is
appropriate (Papers 1, 3 and 4);

•

the advice of the Principal Examiners, based on the performance of candidates, and on
the recommendation of examiners where this is relevant (Papers 2 and 5);

•

comparison with statistics from previous years' examination performance and
candidature.

Results are reported as three passing grades (A, B and C) and two failing grades (D and E).
The minimum successful performance which a candidate typically requires in order to
achieve a grade C corresponds to about 60% of the total marks. Every candidate is provided
with a Statement of Results which includes a graphical display of the candidate’s
performance in each component. These are shown against the scale Exceptional – Good –
Borderline – Weak and indicate the candidate’s relative performance in each paper.

•

Awards

The Awarding Committee meets after the grade boundaries have been confirmed. It deals
with all cases for special consideration, e.g. temporary disability, unsatisfactory examination
conditions, suspected collusion, etc. The committee can ask for scripts to be re-marked,
check results, change grades, withhold results, etc. Results may be withheld because of
infringement of the regulations or because further investigation is needed. Schools are
notified if a candidate’s result has been scrutinised by the Awarding Committee.

•

Notification of Results

Candidates’ statements of results are issued through their local centre approximately two
months after the examination has been taken. Certificates are issued about six weeks after
the issue of statements of results. Requests for a check on results may be made through the
local centre within one month of the issue of statements

of results.

UCLES produces the following documents which may be of use in preparing candidates for
FCE:

•

Regulations (produced annually, for information on dates, etc.);

•

FCE Handbook (for detailed information on the examination and sample materials);

•

Examination Report (produced after each administration);

•

Past Paper Pack (available approximately 10 weeks after each examination session,
including Question Papers for Papers 1 - 4, sample Speaking Test materials, answer
keys, cassette, and Paper 2 mark schemes and sample scripts).

Users of this Examination Report may find it useful to refer simultaneously to the
relevant Past Paper Pack. This, together with further copies of this report, is available from
the centre through which candidates entered, or from

EFL Information

University of Cambridge Local Examination Syndicate

1 Hills Road

Cambridge

CB1 2EU

Tel:

+44 (1)223 553930

Fax: +44 (1)223 460278

efl@ucles.org.uk

www.cambridge-efl.org.uk

Feedback on this Report is very welcome and should be sent to the Reports Co-ordinator,

EFL, at UCLES. Please use the feedback form at the end of this report.

PAPER 1 - READING

•

Marking

Candidates record their answers on a separate answer sheet, which is scanned by computer.
Questions in Parts 1, 2 and 3 carry two marks each. Questions in Part 4 carry one mark
each. The total score is adjusted to give a mark out of 40.

•

Candidate performance

In general, candidates coped competently with the task formats of the paper. Statistics
showed that the questions in all four parts provided a very reliable assessment of candidates'
relative ability levels.

Part 1, The art of motorcycling

This summary sentence task, focusing on the understanding of the main points in the text,
was fairly well answered by most candidates. Question 3 stood out as the easiest, while
Question 1 was the most difficult. Good candidates fared well with Question 1, while weaker
candidates tended to miss the connection with personal finances.

Part

Task Type and Focus

Number of
Questions
Syllabus 0101

Task Format

Multiple-matching

Main focus: main points

A text preceded by multiple-
matching questions.

Candidates must match a
prompt from one list to a
prompt in another list, or match
prompts to elements in the text.

Multiple-choice

Main focus: detail

A text followed by four-option
multiple-choice questions.

Gapped text

Main focus: text structure

A text from which paragraphs
or sentences have been
removed and placed in jumbled
order after the text. Candidates
must decide from where in the
text the paragraphs or
sentences have been removed.

Multiple-matching,
multiple-choice

Main focus: specific
information

As Part 1

Part 2, Beauty at the edge

This four-option multiple-choice task focused mainly on candidates' detailed comprehension.
Candidates found it to be the easiest part of the paper on this occasion. Questions 13, 14
and 15 were generally very well handled, while 10 caused particular difficulty for weaker
candidates. There is no indication that the writer questions Paul's decision to live in Healy
(A was the weaker candidates' favoured option), only that she herself was ill at ease (Key B).

Part 3, The youthful sailor's tale

This gapped-paragraph task, focusing on text structure, discriminated extremely well. On
average, candidates found this task slightly more difficult than Parts 1 and 2. Number 17
was the easiest question. The incorrect responses of weaker candidates were frequently
evenly spread amongst the distractors, while the good candidates generally achieved a high
score on the task.

Part 4, I started as a secretary

This multiple-matching task focused on candidates' ability to retrieve specific information from
the text. Candidates found this task somewhat more difficult overall than the rest of the
paper. However, a very positive sign was that extremely few candidates failed to complete
all 14 questions, which has not always been the case in the past. Numbers 25, 30 and 34
were the easiest questions, while Questions 24 and 27 caused difficulty for the weaker
candidates. In 24, they ignored the phrase 'I was a hopeless typist' and tended to choose B
(whose first job had no future, but who personally 'excelled at typing and ... dictation') or C
(where the comment about having no talent refers to her acting ability, not her first job). In
27, the key phrase was 'I ... stepped outside my place and put in some programme ideas'. In
both cases, the incorrect responses were evenly spread, and good candidates experienced
few problems with either question.

•

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR CANDIDATE PREPARATION

Teachers and students should note that no single FCE 1 paper includes all possible tasks or
question-types. The FCE Handbook lists all the task types which may appear on the paper.

In addition to specific examination practice, students should be advised to read as widely as
they can, with a range of reading purposes reflecting those sampled in the paper (retrieving
relevant information, getting the 'gist', understanding detail, etc.). Many of the texts for the
Reading Paper are drawn from magazines and newspapers, rather than books, and students
will benefit from being familiar with these types of text.

Specific work on the identification, location and presentation of main ideas would benefit
candidates in Parts 1 and 3.

Focusing on the sequence of tenses in running text and extended noun/pronoun sequences
would also be beneficial, particularly in Part 3 (see Dos and Don’ts).

•

DOs AND DON’Ts for FCE PAPER 1 READING

pay attention to the complete meaning of the statements or questions in Part
4. The problem experienced with Question 24 is fairly typical of weaker
performance in that the most popular incorrect choices matched one key
element in the prompt ('being skilled'), but not the other ('at her first job').

read the whole text first. In Part 3, concentrate on the overall direction of the
text, and try to predict what information is missing from each of the gaps.
Research indicates that strong candidates can use a variety of strategies in
this task with some success. However, working on the extracts before forming
a sound grasp of the base text tends to lead to confusion among weaker
candidates.

pay careful attention to pronouns at the beginning and/or end of extracted
sentences or paragraphs in Part 3. Where appropriate, they must refer
correctly to the nouns which precede and / or follow the gap in the text which
you are considering.

constantly review your choices. In Parts 1 and 3, as you work through the
task, difficulty in finding a particular answer may indicate that you have already
used the correct answer for an earlier question. Always be prepared to go
back and check, and review the completed text at the end.

spend plenty of time reading English, both fiction and non-fiction. There is no
need to look up everything you don't know in every piece you look at: just
reading for fun will get you used to the rhythms of the language and help to
increase your reading speed, leaving more time to focus on the examination
tasks and review your answers.

DON'T

ignore similar information in other sections of the text (Part 4) when you
decide on an answer. There are usually some similarities between sections,
and you need to make sure that your choice matches the question you are
asked.

DON'T

forget that, if a Part 2 multiple-choice question is an incomplete sentence, the
whole sentence must match the text, not just the phrase presented as A, B, C
or D. The information in these options may be true in itself, but not work with
the sentence beginning you are given.

DON'T

choose your answers too quickly in Part 3. Look at the whole task (i.e., all the
extracts), once you have a good idea of the base text. Fill what you think are
the easy gaps first and deal with the problem areas last.

DON'T

ignore the need in Part 3 to connect introductory adverbs or phrases with the
ideas which go before the gap you are working on (e.g. However must be
preceded by a contrasting idea; 'Another mistake we made... ' must be
preceded by a previous mistake etc.).

DON'T

ignore the need in Part 3 for the tenses in the extract to fit logically with those
already present in the base text.

PAPER 2 - WRITING

Part

Task Type and Focus

Number of Tasks
and Length

Task Format

Q. 1

Writing a transactional
letter (formal/informal)

1 compulsory task

120 – 180 words

Candidates are required to deal
with input material of up to 250
words, which may include
graphic and pictorial material.
Texts may include
advertisements, letters,
postcards, diaries, short
articles, etc.

Q. 2-4

Writing one of the
following:

•

article

•

non-transactional

letter

•

report

•

discursive

composition

•

descriptive/narrative

composition/short story

4 tasks from which
the candidates
choose 1

120 – 180 words

A situationally-based writing
task specified in no more than
70 words.

Q. 5

Writing one of the above
on a prescribed
background reading text

Q. 5 has two
options

•

Marking

All scripts are marked by experienced examiners, who must attend a training and
standardisation day before they commence any marking. Examiners award marks according
to a General Mark Scheme, which has detailed Performance Bands from 0 - 5, where Band 3
describes a ‘satisfactory’ level. Within the bands, examiners place the script more exactly at
bottom, mid or top of the band range, e.g., 3·1, 3·2, 3·3. These scores are converted to
provide a mark out of 20 for each piece of writing.

Examiners also use a Task Specific Mark Scheme for each question. This describes
satisfactory Band 3 performance and covers content, organisation, range, register and
format, and effect on target reader. Examples of the mark schemes are included in the FCE
Past Paper Packs.

Examiners work in small teams and are monitored and advised by Team Leaders, who in
turn are monitored by the Principal Examiner.

•

Candidate performance

Part 1, Question 1

All candidates answered this compulsory question, which required them to write a letter
about a surprise party for their teacher. Generally, candidates had no difficulty relating to the
topic of the question and for the most part wrote enthusiastic letters of invitation with
appropriate detail added – live music, chips and pizza, a chocolate birthday cake, literary
books and CDs of ballads for their teacher. Most candidates also showed that they had been
well trained in dealing with the transactional letter and included all five points of the task.

Answers which mentioned that the party was a surprise but which did not develop this aspect
were accepted, but candidates who failed to say that the party was a surprise were
penalised, since this was the point of the letter to Mrs Brown. There were many variants of
invitation and most were acceptable, (‘we look forward to seeing you at the party’, ‘we hope
to see you…’) as long as there was some suggestion of Mrs Brown being welcome.
However, casual or off-hand invitations, and mere afterthoughts (‘you will be there...’ ‘you
have to come…see you’) were penalised.

There was mostly good expansion of the points on food and music, though candidates often
dealt with both in list form, rather than showing their maximum language range. The
explanation of the invited guests exposed much poor control of word order, even with good
candidates (‘at the party is coming/will be the class…’), and the request for advice about the
present often produced lifting without due attention to the necessary inclusion of articles.
Failure to ask about the present, for example merely reporting the decision (‘we have
decided to…’) was penalised.

Generally, candidates were good at producing a polite and quite formal tone, basic linking
and some expansion of points. Mrs Brown had various demands made of her, mostly
appropriate (‘you know Mr Brown better than we do so please tell us……’ ‘it would be nice if
you could help us with the decoration…’ ‘please keep this party a secret’) and only
occasionally less so (‘you must cook all the dinner …’ ‘you must bring a band’).

While the task was done well, basic command of structures, vocabulary and spelling let many
candidates down in this question. Poor control of indirect questions (‘you can tell us what
does he like Mr Brown’), omissions which impeded meaning (‘we want (you)to come to the
party’), incorrect usage (‘the party will become in June…’ ‘does Mr Brown want to take a
book as a present…’) and frequent spelling errors (‘surprise’, ‘supise’, ‘birtday’, ‘hasband’,
‘sanwitches’, ‘humbergers’) kept many candidates’ marks low.

Part 2

Over 40% of candidates chose Question 2, the article about the favourite season.
Question 3, the story, was also popular, chosen by around 38% of candidates, while
Question 4, the composition on family life, was answered by nearly 20%. Regarding the set
text question, only 0.3% chose Question 5a, the report, and a similar number of candidates,
0.3%, chose Question 5b, the composition.

Question 2

This was a very popular question, which was answered adequately, on the whole. However,
many answers received only average marks because of repetition of content and use of
simple structures (‘I like…’ ‘I prefer…’).

Many candidates did not approach the question in an organised way and had to repeat and
recycle points in order to write enough words. There were only limited attempts to explain
how the season (usually summer) made them feel and why it was special for them. Answers
which developed into travel book descriptions in the present tense (‘Rodos is one of Greece’s
most…’) were penalised for irrelevance.

Candidates who chose other seasons often displayed better range by comparing seasons (‘I
choose winter, not summer, because winter is more…’) or by describing various activities
connected with winter (‘I read my favourite novel by the warm fireside…I throw snowballs
at…’)

Question 3

This question was reasonably well done. Many stories displayed good imagination and
produced controlled narrative.

Some candidates largely ignored the prompt sentence and reproduced a story which was
unconnected to the task, featuring neither John nor good news. Candidates should be made
aware that it is not sensible to draw on a previously-written story, which they can retell
accurately but which, in reality, has little link with the prompt and will therefore fail on task
achievement grounds.

Question 4

The topic of this question clearly appealed to candidates and there were many satisfactory
answers with good linking of ideas and average range of structure and vocabulary.

The main problems were the inability to link an idea with appropriate illustration and the lack
of development of an idea. This led to over-simplistic and at times repetitive answers.
Weaker candidates were not only prone to repetition but also suffered from language
difficulties with definite articles (‘family’ vs ‘a family ‘vs ‘family life’ vs ‘the family’).

Questions 5a and 5b

As already said, there were very few answers to Question 5. Among the few answers to
Question 5a, many candidates focused on the features of a successful poster to the
detriment of the book. Question 5b seemed to produce satisfactory answers, on the whole.
For answers which did not mention the book or wrote about a book not on the list, a mark of
0 was awarded.

•

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR CANDIDATE PREPARATION

In general, the continuing message has to be for candidates to read each question carefully
and carry out the task required, rather than ‘bending’ the question to fit an earlier piece of
writing they may have done. Information about the target reader and the reason for writing is
given in each question to help the candidate, and this should be borne in mind during
classroom preparation. Working with past papers in pairs or groups, where students spend
time identifying the reader, the text type, and the important content points, is all useful
planning.

It is often very instructive for students to work on a second draft of a homework answer. In
this way, the teacher, or fellow students, can make useful suggestions regarding
organisation, language, and content omissions. The second draft can then be compared to
the first, which is not only instructive regarding weaknesses, but also builds confidence.

Part 1

Students should be encouraged to make a plan that includes all the content points, and
should then think carefully about what they can say on each one. Here too, paired
discussion can often lead to more ideas for expansion.

It is important for students to be made aware of formal and informal register, and then to use
one or the other consistently, as appropriate. Specific work on phrasal verbs and informal
expressions, with their more formal counterparts, would be helpful.

Candidates often score lower marks because they haven’t organised their writing well.
Spending time on paragraphing and the use of linkers is recommended, although students
should try to use linkers selectively, rather than fronting every sentence with one.

Part 2

A lot of work can be done in class to raise awareness of how articles are written. Textbooks
usually contain a number of real articles and their presentation can be examined as a starting
point for writing, for example the relationship between the title and opening paragraph, the
devices used to engage the reader, the register used.

Stories generally require a range of past tenses to be used and this area can be practised in
class: for example, the use of the past perfect to show time sequence. Fellow students can
be asked to give their opinion about other students’ stories, in terms of their clarity of plot,
their effectiveness in holding attention, their general language range. Here, especially, a
second draft approach is often useful.

For any composition, students should ideally brainstorm their ideas in class, as often they
need to think through an argument, or review what language they need in order to express
their opinions. Planning before writing the answer is also important, to avoid repetition and to
ensure that the argument is presented in the most logical way.

There are many ways to incorporate a set text into the classroom, and parts of it can be
assigned for homework. Students will benefit from reading on their own, both in terms of new
vocabulary and the reinforcement of structures already learnt. Early examination in class of
past papers will allow students to practise questions regularly, in relation to different parts of
the book.

•

DOs and DON'Ts for FCE PAPER 2 WRITING

read the question thoroughly and underline important parts.

make a plan for each answer.

write in paragraphs, whenever appropriate.

use a range of vocabulary, even if you are unsure of the correct spelling.

check past tense endings, plural forms, and word order in sentences.

write clearly, so that the examiner can read your answer.

use the extra blank pages at the back of the booklet if necessary.

DON’T

mix formal and informal language.

DON’T

‘lift’ too much language from the question paper.

DON’T

waste time writing addresses for a letter, as they are not required.

DON’T

answer Question 5 if you haven’t read one of the books.

DON’T

worry if you run slightly over the 180-word limit.

PAPER 3 – USE OF ENGLISH

Part

Task Type and Focus

Number of

Questions

Task Format

Multiple-choice cloze

Focus: Vocabulary

A modified cloze text containing
15 gaps and followed by 15
four-option multiple-choice
questions.

Open cloze

Focus: Grammar and
vocabulary

A modified cloze text containing
15 gaps.

‘Key’ word transformations

Focus: Grammar and
vocabulary

Discrete items with a lead-in
sentence and a gapped
response to complete using a
given word.

Error correction

Focus: Grammar

A text containing errors. Some
lines of the text are correct,
other lines contain an extra and
unnecessary word which must
be identified.

Word formation

Focus: Vocabulary

A text containing 10 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 word.

•

Marking

Candidates write their answers on a separate answer sheet, which is marked according to a
mark scheme and then scanned by computer.

Questions 1-30 and 41-65 carry one mark each. Questions 31-40 are marked on a scale
0-1-2. The total score is adjusted to give a mark out of 40.

•

Candidate performance

Part 1 Learning to make a perfect pizza

Multiple-Choice Cloze

Questions 11, 12 and 15 proved to be particularly difficult in this part of the paper. In 11,
‘ache’ (C) was a particularly popular choice. Candidates were, presumably, aware of the
term ‘stomach ache’ but did not know that as a verb ‘ache’ may not be used transitively. In
12, the most popular choice was ‘heavily’ (D) with less than a quarter of the candidates
choosing the correct option (C ‘uncomfortably’). It would seem from number 15 that the idea
of ‘filling’ a job was not widely known; the answer most often given was ‘covered’ (D). Most
of the other questions were answered relatively well, particularly numbers 6 and 9.

Part 2 Hollywood

Open Cloze

The passage began well for candidates with high scores on five of the first six questions (number
19 being the one that was difficult). Numbers 22 and 25 gave candidates problems but the
questions causing the greatest difficulty were numbers 28 and 29. In 28, few candidates came up
with the correct answer (‘a’); it was more common for candidates to put ‘the’. However, this was
incorrect as there had at that point in the text been no reference to any law. In 29, very few
candidates seemed to realise what type of word was required here and, hence, many answers
seemed to be a result of wild guessing. The questions which caused the least difficulty were 16,
17, 18, 20, 21, 24, 26.

Part 3

‘Key’ Word Transformations

For the most part candidates did quite well on this part of the paper. Most candidates scored
well on the first two questions. In 33 and, particularly, in 34, many candidates added an extra
word which was not vital to the meaning (e.g. in 33 ‘on’, in 34 ‘much’). Such additional
words, provided they do not alter the meaning, are not penalised, but caution should be
exercised in inserting extra words as they risk exceeding the five word limit. In 35, some
candidates mixed negative elements in their answers, e.g. ‘unless she doesn’t do’. In 36,
some candidates wrote simply ‘what time’ as the answer; this failed to convey the meaning of
the initial sentence. Questions 38 and 40 were the most difficult in this part. Question 40
relied on the correct usage of ‘following’ as a preposition. However, the majority of
candidates were unfamiliar with this usage and tended to produce complicated (incorrect)
answers such as ‘after following they appeared’.

Part 4 Taking better photographs

Error Correction

Candidates found this part of the test to be rather difficult. Line 45 was a correct line but
candidates tended to think that ‘and’ or ‘so’ were wrong when, in fact, these words were
merely superfluous, not incorrect. Line 51 was often thought to be correct, presumably,
because the words ‘taking out the same old pictures’ do make sense in isolation. However,
as the text was concerned with the actual taking of photographs, it was wrong to have ‘out’ in
the sentence. The line causing the greatest difficulty by far, though, was line 55 where very
few candidates realised that 'because' was incorrect. For 'because’ to have been correct
here, it would have been necessary to have a phrase such as ‘so much’ after ‘achieved’.

Part 5 A new supermarket for the town

Word Formation

This was the part of the paper which candidates found hardest. It was extremely rare for a
candidate to gain full marks here. Some answers seemed to be decided on at random
without any reference to the context, thus, in 57 ‘direction’, ‘directive’, ‘directory’ were given
as answers and in line 64 ‘available’ and ‘disabled’. Spelling mistakes were common and
many candidates did not seem to know how to form the nouns ‘inhabitants’ (line 58) and
‘growth’ (line 60). On the positive side, most candidates were able to produce ‘variety‘ (line
56) and ‘decision’ (line 65).

•

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR CANDIDATE PREPARATION

In Part 3, some candidates continue to alter the prompt word, sometimes to another form of
the same word, sometimes to a completely different word. Candidates will always lose marks
for doing this as they are changing the point being tested. Other candidates in Part 3
sometimes simply omit the prompt word in their answers and indicate its presence by a dash
or a blank. This is not satisfactory as markers cannot tell if such candidates had, in their
minds, changed the word in some way. Once again, it is important that candidates write the
prompt word out in full in just the same way as it appears on the question paper.

In Part 4, candidates must read the two initial lines which contain the examples. As well as
indicating how to present the answers, these lines set the theme for the passage and often
are of importance in deciding how to answer the first tested line.

In Part 4, there were examples of candidates identifying certain words as being wrong when,
in fact, they were simply superfluous. A superfluous word is not an error and must not be
identified as such. Only words which are actually wrong in the context should be given as
answers. Note the following:

She told me that her father now spends a lot of his time in Spain.

This sentence is perfectly correct. Although ‘his’ is by no means vital and can be omitted
without changing the meaning, the word is not wrong but merely superfluous. However, in
the following sentence ‘his’ is not merely superfluous, but is actually wrong:

She told me how much his time her father now spends in Spain.

In both Parts 4 and 5, some candidates continue to misalign their answers, i.e. they put, for
example, the answer for line 46 in the space for line 47. This often happens when a
candidate accidentally forgets to put an answer for one line. Markers try not to penalise
candidates for making such slips. Candidates should be careful to write an answer in every
space.

•

DOs and DON’Ts for FCE PAPER 3 USE OF ENGLISH

make sure that any verb in your answer is in the appropriate tense.

remember that your answer in Part 3 must not consist of more than five words.

read the lines containing the examples in Part 4 before beginning to write your
answers.

check the context in Part 5 before deciding on your answer.

remember that in Part 5 some words may be in the plural.

DON’T

use abbreviations in your answers (e.g. ‘sthg’ for ‘something’).

DON’T

choose more than one option for any one question in Part 1.

DON’T

change the prompt word at all in Part 3.

DON’T

leave a blank in your answers for Part 3 where the prompt word should be;
write the word in full.

DON’T

copy out the whole of the sentence in Part 3 when giving your answer.

DON’T

decide that words are wrong in Part 4 simply because they are superfluous.

PAPER 4 - LISTENING

Part

Task Type and Focus

Number of

Questions

Task Format

Multiple-choice

Understanding gist, main
points, detail, function,
location, roles and
relationships, mood,
attitude, intention, feeling
or opinion

A series of short unrelated
extracts, of approximately 30
seconds each, from
monologues or exchanges
between interacting speakers.
The multiple-choice questions
have three options.

Note-taking or blank-filling

Understanding gist, main
points, detail or specific
information, or deducing
meaning

A monologue or text involving
interacting speakers and lasting
approximately 3 minutes.

Multiple-matching

As for Part 1

A series of short related
extracts, of approximately 30
seconds each, from
monologues or exchanges
between interacting speakers.
The multiple-matching
questions require selection of
the correct option from a list of
6.

Selection from 2 or 3
possible answers

As for Part 2

A monologue or text involving
interacting speakers and lasting
approximately 3 minutes. The
questions require candidates to
select between 2 or 3 possible
answers, e.g., true/false;
yes/no; three-option multiple-
choice; which speaker said
what, etc.

•

Marking

Candidates write their answers on a separate answer sheet, which is marked according to a
detailed mark scheme and then scanned by computer.

Each question carries one mark. The total score is adjusted to give a mark out of 40.

For security reasons, more than one version of the Paper 4 Listening Test is made available
at each session. As with all other FCE papers, rigorous checks are built into the question
paper production process to ensure all versions of the test are of comparable content and
difficulty. In addition, for Paper 4, the marks are adjusted to ensure that there is no
advantage or disadvantage to candidates taking one particular version.

All texts and tasks were representative of what can be expected in future versions of the
Paper. In Part 4, three-way matching tasks as outlined in the FCE Specifications may
appear in future versions.

•

Candidate performance

Candidates generally performed reasonably well on both versions of the Paper, with some
variation in performance on the different tasks, although this is not to suggest that any
particular task types generally prove significantly more difficult than others.

Part 1

Candidate performance on this part was generally good in Test A. Some questions presented
more difficulty than others, although there was again nothing to suggest that questions with
particular test focuses generally present greater difficulty than questions with other test
focuses.

In Test A, the most challenging questions were 3 and 8. For 3, many candidates chose C
rather than B. However, the man's comment to the woman at the end that he would be
‘putting everything down on your records’ pointed firmly to him being the shop manager and
not another store detective; the woman was probably a store detective and some candidates
may have chosen this option through not paying enough attention to the question, which
asked them who she was talking to and not who she was. For 8, a significant number of
candidates chose A or B rather than C. The speaker concludes by emphasising that, with
regard to the problem of packaging that has been thrown away, the issue is not ‘whether to
do something now about this but what to do’ - the speaker is therefore saying that action is
definitely required. No comparison is made and no particular product praised during the
piece, making both A and B incorrect.

Part 2

Candidates performed competently on this part. In Test A, the most challenging question
was 10, where a great many candidates were unable to produce ‘door handles’, even with
some allowance made for minor misspellings of ‘handle’. Other questions which a significant
number of candidates did not answer correctly were 12 and 14, where the answers were
(‘his’) ‘employer ‘and variations on ‘closed’ and ‘closed’ down respectively. There was no
particular complexity in the parts of the piece relating to these questions to explain why they
should have proved too difficult for some candidates, although perhaps for 14, some had
difficulty in equating ‘almost’ in the prompt with ‘on the point of’ in the piece. On the other
hand, candidates did very well on Questions 9, 17 and 18 (‘engineer’, ‘radio’ and variations
on ‘computers’ or ‘computer parts’ respectively).

Part 3

Candidates found this Part of the Paper the most difficult in Test A.

In Test A, candidates encountered some difficulties in each question. For 19, many chose E
rather than B. The speaker says that ‘the days drag on a bit’ and that he wishes that he ‘had
more to occupy me’, which points firmly to B. He has to ‘keep filling up the shelves with new
supplies’, but this is because of his manager, not demanding customers, and some

candidates may also have chosen E because he mentions the word ‘demanding’, although
this is in the context of him wanting more demanding things to do and not in connection with
customers. For 20, a number of candidates chose F rather than C. The speaker says that
she and other members of staff ‘have a laugh sometimes’ and that without them the job
would be ‘quite a struggle’, pointing firmly at C. The speaker does refer to money, saying
that some of the others are only doing the job for money and that she is saving up for
something, but she does not say that the pay is better than she had expected. For 21, many
candidates chose B rather than D. The speaker says that he does ‘all sorts of jobs’ in the
shop, making D correct. He also says that there is ‘never a dull moment’, which rules out B,
which candidates may have chosen because he says that ‘he might get a bit bored’ if he was
doing the job full-time, but he isn't. For 22, many candidates chose E rather than A. The
speaker says that working in a shop ‘you're there to help out with whatever the customer
wants’, which equates with A. She does refer to the fact that ‘people might want to know
where a product has been moved to or what's on special offer’, but she clearly regards this
as her duty and does not express a criticism of customers as too demanding. For 23, a great
many candidates chose C rather than F. She says that when she got her first pay, ‘she
hadn't realised how good it would be,’ pointing firmly at F. She does refer to the ‘friendly
atmosphere’ in the shop, but she says that it is the customers not the staff who produce this;
she says that some of the staff ‘have been a bit bossy with me’ and this rules out C.

Part 4

Candidates found this Part quite difficult. In Test A, the task was true/false. There is nothing
to suggest that any of the three possible task types in Part 4, matching, true/false, multiple-
choice is more difficult than any other.

In Test A, Questions 24, 25, 26 and 30 proved the most challenging. For 24, Gary says that
when he is walking in the street, he has a baseball cap in his pocket and ‘as soon as it looks
like trouble’ (by which he means as soon as he thinks someone has recognised him) he puts
it on and covers his eyes with it; he therefore doesn't always wear it when he's outside, he
only wears it if he thinks someone has recognised him. For 25, he says that ‘he thought at
one time that I'd have to give up using the underground’, which indicates that he in fact has
not given up travelling on the London underground, making the answer False. For 26, he
says that his mother knew what going to stage school involved and ‘how easy it was to fail’,
but he does not say that she thought he was too young to go there. For 30, he says of diving
that ‘it'll be a good idea to give it another go one day’, which means that he does intend to try
it again.

•

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR CANDIDATE PREPARATION

Part 1

Candidates should be aware that, by design, this part gives them a chance to orientate
themselves to the Listening Test in a relatively gentle way. Unlike elsewhere, they both hear
and read the questions and they should realise that this gives them ample time to predict the
possible content of the text. However, careful listening is still required, particularly since an
option that may seem to be obviously correct on a superficial listening may not in fact be
correct. Additionally, teachers should give adequate practice in dealing with all the text types
and focuses listed on page 15, as all Part 1 sections in the test include as wide a range as
possible of these.

Part 2

In preparing for this part of the test, candidates should be encouraged to establish the best
approach to writing words and phrases, as opposed to choosing from options, since the
productive task presents different challenges from those presented by the other tasks. They
should not detain themselves on a question they are struggling with, as this may prevent
them from answering subsequent questions which may have provided them with little or no
difficulty. They should also be aware that most, if not all, the questions involve them writing a
word or phrase that they actually hear; attempting to rephrase what is heard is not expected,
and it may result in candidates giving incorrect answers despite having understood what was
said. Candidates should also know that minor spelling errors are accepted, although the
intention is that most of the words and phrases tested in this task are limited to those which
candidates can reasonably be expected to spell correctly.

Part 3

Candidates should be advised to make good use of the second listening, even if they have
answered every question on the first listening. They may discover that they need to change
more than one answer if they discover an error, because one incorrect answer may have a
knock-on effect on other questions.

Part 4

For multiple-choice question tasks, candidates should be aware that they are given a full
minute in which to read the questions before they hear the piece and that they should use
this time to acquaint themselves with the aspects of the piece they are to be tested on. In
addition, they should realise that, although a particular option is true according to what is said
in the piece, it is not necessarily the correct answer to the question that has been asked.
Thus, the question 'What did he find annoying about his journey?' may be followed by more
than one option describing something that really did happen to a speaker, but only one option
will be something that he found annoying.

Candidates should be prepared to encounter any of the three task types in the Specifications
(multiple-choice, true/false, matching) as any of them could appear in any version. They
should know that with all three types they are given adequate time to read the questions
before the piece is heard. With regard to matching tasks, any of the following formats may
arise:

•

choosing from 3 options, e.g., which of the three places does this statement refer to?

•

choosing from one option, another option or both, e.g., which book mentions this: Book A,

Book B or Both of them?
choosing from one option, another option or neither option, e.g., which person is this true
of, Person A, Person B or Neither of them?

•

DO's AND DON'Ts for FCE PAPER 4 LISTENING

use the full time you are allowed to read the questions carefully before you
hear each piece. If you are familiar with what you are being asked, it is likely
that it will be easier for you to focus precisely on the points you are being
tested on. In Part 2, this will also help you to anticipate what kind of answer
you will be required to give.

check that your idea of what the correct answer is when you first hear the
piece is confirmed when you hear it for the second time.

expect to write a word or words that you hear on the tape in Part 2.

remember that any error you discover in Part 3 when hearing the piece for the
second time may have an effect on your other answers.

concentrate on gaining an in-depth understanding of what the speakers say
rather than only a superficial one, particularly in Parts 1, 3 and 4.

DON’T

worry if you cannot get all the answers the first time you hear each piece.

DON'T

try to write a more complicated word or phrase than the one you hear in
Part 2.

DON'T

spend too much time on a question you are having difficulty with, as this may
make it harder for you to answer other questions.

DON’T

forget to make sure you have transferred your answers correctly to the answer
sheet.

PAPER 5 - SPEAKING

Part

Task Type and Focus

Length of Parts

Task Format

Short exchanges between
each candidate and the
interlocutor

3 minutes

The interlocutor encourages
the candidates to give
information about themselves.

Giving personal
information; socialising

Long turn from each
candidate, with a brief
response from the other
candidate

Exchanging personal and
factual information;
expressing attitudes and
opinions; employing
discourse functions related
to managing a long turn

4 minutes

The candidates are in turn
given visual prompts (two
colour photographs) which they
each talk about for
approximately 1 minute. They
are also asked to comment
briefly on each other’s
photographs.

Candidates talk with one
another

Exchanging information,
expressing attitudes and
opinions

3 minutes

The candidates are given visual
prompts (photographs, line
drawings, diagrams, etc.) which
generate discussion through
engagement in tasks such as
planning, problem solving,
decision making, prioritising,
speculating, etc.

Candidates talk with one
another and the
interlocutor

Exchanging and justifying
opinions

4 minutes

The interlocutor encourages a
discussion of matters related to
the theme of Part 3.

•

Marking

The Speaking tests are conducted by trained examiners, who attend biannual co-ordination
sessions to ensure that standards are maintained.

The Assessor awards marks to each candidate for performance throughout the test
according to the four Analytical Criteria (Grammar and Vocabulary, Discourse Management,
Pronunciation and Interactive Communication). The Interlocutor awards marks according to
the Global Achievement scale, which assesses the candidate’s overall effectiveness in
tackling the tasks. These scores are converted by computer to provide a mark out of 40.

•

Candidate performance

Candidate performance in this administration was consistent with that of December 1999 and
historical norms. Feedback from Oral Examiners has been very positive and students overall
were very well prepared for this paper. Feedback indicates that this year's test materials have
been well received. Students who performed less well were those who did not listen carefully
to the instructions given or those who dominated the interaction at the expense of their
partner. To perform well a candidate should answer the task set and therefore should not be
afraid to ask for repetition of instructions before embarking on the task. Candidates should
be made aware that asking for the instructions to be repeated will not affect their marks in
any way, whereas redirection by the examiner once the task has begun may affect their
performance.

Part 1

This part of the test gives the examiners their first impression of the candidates and it is
therefore important that the candidates speak about themselves and their lives with
appropriate detail. One word responses are inadequate and will affect the score for
Interactive Communication. Candidates should also be advised not to prepare long
responses to questions that they feel they may be asked, as this often means that they do
not answer appropriately. This tactic does not lead to effective interactive communication,
and is easily noticed by examiners. Candidates who have not met prior to the test should not
feel concerned, as feedback from examiners indicates that this does not affect performance
and in some cases leads to a more natural interaction in this part of the test.

Part 2

The tendency in this part of the test is for candidates to focus on the pictures without listening
carefully to the task set by the examiner. Simply comparing and contrasting the two pictures
is unlikely to provide the candidate with enough to talk about for a full minute. Candidates
will always be asked to Compare/contrast 'and say ... (something specific about the
photographs)...'. They should be trained to listen very carefully for the 'and say......' so that
they fully complete the task and are able to continue for the full minute. Candidates should
not feel concerned if the examiner interrupts as this simply means that they have completed
the task. It is important for candidates to start talking as soon as they can, in order to make
full use of their long turn.

Comments on released Test Materials

Families

Candidates were shown two photographs of families spending time together. The first
photograph showed a family on a walking holiday with bags on their backs and the second
showed a family enjoying a meal together. Candidates were asked to compare and contrast
the photographs and say how important they thought it was for families to spend time
together. Candidates whose responses were restricted to ‘In this picture I can see a family.
They’re eating. In this picture the family is walking’, will not have performed as well as those
who went on to find further points of comparison e.g. the family inside / outside, family
involved in physical activity / family relaxing. Candidates could also have moved beyond the
pictures themselves to discuss e.g. how important it is for families to sit down to a meal
together, whether families find time to do this today, how enjoyable family holidays are

compared to holidays with friends. In this way candidates will not run out of things to say and
will make full use of their long turn.

Something special

Candidates were given two photographs showing people who had done something special.
The first photograph showed a woman standing on a plane as the plane was flying through
the countryside and the second showed a schoolboy building a model of a street of houses.
Candidates were asked to compare and contrast the photographs, and say which person
they thought had worked harder. Candidates could have compared the dangerous nature of
flying on top of a plane and the courage required to do this with the patience and artistic skill
necessary to build the model village. They could then have moved on to talk about how
much training is necessary to be able to do the first activity and how much time and effort
might have gone in to the second, which activity they thought would be harder, which they
might like to try and so on.

Part 3

The aim of this part of the test is for candidates to discuss the task outlined by the examiner
as fully as possible, and to work towards a negotiated outcome in the time available. In this
part of the test candidates are always invited to do two things. They are required to respond
to, and give their views on, a range of visual prompts, then to come to a negotiated decision.
The wording of the rubric is:

First talk to each other about......... Then decide......................

Candidates, presented with the visual stimulus, sometimes fail to hear the first part of the
instructions, which is, in fact, the bulk of the task. Candidates who performed less well were
therefore those who made their decisions very early on in the interaction, without first
considering and discussing as fully as possible the range of suggestions presented to them
and, as a result, they ran out of things to say. Candidates should be trained to listen carefully
for the words First talk to each other about..... and to internalise the task set. As already
mentioned in the section on candidate performance, candidates should be made aware that
they will not lose marks if they need to ask the examiner to repeat the rubric.

To perform well in this part of the test, candidates should be able to take a full and active part
in the interaction, making use of the range of visual stimulus available, expressing their own
views clearly, listening to their partner and developing their partner's comments. However,
candidates should be aware of the importance of inviting their partner to respond, ensuring
that both candidates take an equal part in the development of the interaction. Candidates
are expected to negotiate an outcome and should not be concerned if they do not agree.
Disagreeing in a friendly way can be an effective part of interactive communication. However,
strong disagreement can undermine their partner's confidence, and an overbearing candidate
may lose marks. Candidates should make full use of the time available, starting promptly
and finishing only when the examiner interjects. They should not feel concerned if they are
asked to stop as this will probably mean that they have talked for the allotted time.

Comments on released Test Materials

High speed train

Candidates were asked to imagine that there was going to be a new long-distance train
service in their country and were shown some suggestions for things that could be included
on the train. These suggestions fell into four broad categories:

Facilities available - baby changing, hairdresser, shower room
Food - drinks dispenser, sandwich bar, proper restaurant
For passengers’ use - telephone, newspaper rack, TV in back of seats
Seating - ordinary seats, reclining seats, cabins with beds available

Candidates were asked to talk to each other about how useful these ideas would be for
passengers, then to decide which suggestion in each group would be the most popular.
Candidates are often tempted to start with the words ‘I think the telephone would be the most
popular suggestion because.......’ Candidates who did this often performed less well because
they came to their final decision without having fully explored the alternatives. Candidates
should not feel concerned if they are unable to make use of the full range of visual prompts,
but they should have managed to discuss several areas before making their decision.
Candidates should therefore be trained to make full use of the different suggestions or ideas
offered and come to a negotiated decision towards the end of their three minutes, rather than
making a decision at the outset and running out of things to say. In this case, candidates
needed to come to a decision over the four different areas, but candidates were not
penalised if they ran out of time.

Part 4

In this part of the test candidates are given a further opportunity to demonstrate their
language ability by engaging in a discussion with their partner, prompted by questions from
the examiner. It is therefore vital that candidates offer more than a minimal response and
take the opportunity to initiate discussion as well as answer the examiner's questions.
Candidates who performed well in this part of the test were those able to develop and
illustrate the topic, demonstrating a range of vocabulary. Candidates generally performed
confidently in this part of the test and were often so enthusiastic that it became necessary for
examiners to draw the Speaking Test to a close!

Comments on released Test Materials

Following the discussion of the High Speed Train (see Part 3), candidates were asked why
they thought some people find long train journeys exciting and how travelling by train
compares with travelling by car. The discussion then became more general and candidates
were asked what public transport is like in their country, whether they thought people would
ever stop using cars, and how long-distance travel has changed the way we live. Finally they
were asked what kind of transport they would like to see in the future.
Candidates who performed well were those who responded fully to the questions asked.

•

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR CANDIDATE PREPARATION

Candidates are expected to take a full and active part in the test. It is important, therefore,
that candidates seek as many opportunities to practise their spoken English as possible,
inside and outside the classroom. 'Exam training' can help with nervousness, and

candidates certainly benefit from being familiar with the different parts of the test, but this is
no substitute for a genuine interest in the language. Candidates who put themselves in a
position where they need to use English on a regular basis are likely to perform well.

Part 1

For this part of the test candidates will benefit from finding opportunities to practise talking
about themselves, their likes and dislikes, personal / educational history, present
circumstances, plans and hopes for the future, etc.

Part 2

Candidates can improve their performance in this part of the test by choosing pairs of
thematically linked photographs, practising comparing and contrasting them, and going on to
talk about the theme in a more general way. Candidates should time themselves to check
that they are able to keep going for a full minute. Without practice, candidates may find it
difficult to speak for a full minute in the test.

Part 3

The best preparation for this part of the test is for candidates to practise taking part in
discussions in small groups, so that all candidates have the opportunity to take the floor.
Candidates with a quieter disposition should be encouraged to develop strategies to ensure
that they are able to take their turn. Stronger candidates should be encouraged to invite
opinions from others. Suitable thematic areas for discussion can be found in FCE
coursebooks and should relate to the candidate's own experience, rather than more abstract
concepts.

Part 4

As in Part 3, candidates will benefit from being given as many opportunities as possible to
express their opinions on a range of issues, and to expand on their views, while inviting
opinions from others and responding to them.

•

DOs and DON'Ts for FCE PAPER 5 SPEAKING

familiarize yourself with the focus, function and procedures of all parts of the
test.

take every opportunity to practise your English in groups and pairs and outside
the classroom before the test.

listen carefully to instructions given and questions asked throughout the test
and focus your answers appropriately.

respond to your partner's contributions and invite your partner to contribute in
Parts 3 and 4.

speak clearly so that both the assessor and the interlocutor can hear you.

make use of opportunities to speak in all parts of the test and give extended
contributions where you can.

ask for repetition of instructions if you are unclear about what you should do.

make sure that you answer the additional question in Part 2 as well as
comparing and contrasting the photographs.

be prepared to initiate discussion as well as responding to what your partner
has said.

DON'T

prepare long responses in advance. You are unlikely to answer questions
appropriately.

DON'T

try to give your views during your partner's long turn.

DON'T

try to dominate your partner or to interrupt him or her in an abrupt way.

DON'T

allow frequent pauses and hesitations during the interaction or during your
long turn. Make full use of the time available.

DON'T

worry if you disagree with your partner in Parts 3 and 4. As long as you are
not overbearing this is all part of interactive communication.

DON'T

worry about being interrupted by the examiner. For administrative reasons it
is important that tests do not overrun.

FCE Examination Report June 2000 - 0101

We are interested in hearing your views on how useful this report has been.

We would be most grateful if you could briefly answer the following questions and return a
photocopy of this page to the following address:

UCLES
Reports Co-ordinator
EFL
1 Hills Road
Cambridge
CB1 2EU

Fax:

+ 44 1223 460278

Please describe your situation: (e.g. EFL teacher, Director of Studies, School
Owner, etc.)

Have you prepared candidates for FCE?

YES/NO

Do you plan to prepare candidates for FCE in the future?

YES/NO

How have you used this report? (e.g. to provide feedback to other teachers, for
examination practice, etc.)

Which parts of this report did you find most useful?

Which parts are not so useful?

What extra information would you like to see included in this report?

Your name (optional)......................................................................................

School ...........................................................................................................

Thank you.

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