First Certificate in English

Examination Report

Syllabuses 0100 and 0102

June 2001

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. Candidates took either FCE Syllabus
0100 (Tuesday) or FCE Syllabus 0102 (Saturday).

The overall pass rate for 0100 was 74.09% and for 0102 was 75.91%.

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

0100

0102

GRADE

PERCENTAGE

6.66

7.92

26.48

25.56

40.95

42.44

9.93

10.13

15.98

13.96

Grading

Grading took place during July 2001 (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 questions, 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 EFL Awards Committee and the EFL Malpractice Committee meet after the grade
boundaries have been confirmed. They deal with all cases presented for special
consideration e.g., temporary handicap, unsatisfactory examination conditions, suspected
collusion, etc. These committees can decide to ask for scripts to be remarked, to check
results, to change grades, to withhold results, etc. Withheld results may be due to suspected
infringement of regulations or results which need further investigation.

The reports on individual papers which follow are intended to provide a general view of how
candidates performed on each paper and to offer guidance on the preparation of candidates.

Notification of Results

Statements of results are issued through centres 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 centres, 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 Packs. These, together with further copies of this report are available
from:

EFL Information

University of Cambridge Local Examination Syndicate

1 Hills Road

Cambridge

CB1 2EU

Tel:

+44 (1)223 553355

Fax:

+44 (1)223 460278

email:

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 the above address. Please use the feedback form at the end of this report.

PAPER 1 – READING

Part

Task Type and Focus

Number of

Questions

Task Format

Multiple-matching

Main focus: main points

Syllabus

0100

Syllabus

0102

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

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 four task formats of the papers. The difficulty
levels of the two papers, as ascertained from pretesting, were comparable. Statistical evidence
showed that the questions in all four parts provided a very reliable assessment of candidates'
relative ability levels.

Syllabus 0100 (Tuesday)

Part 1, Rags to riches

This headings task, focusing on the understanding of the main points in the text, was very
competently handled by most candidates, and this was the easiest part of the paper on this
occasion. Questions 3 and 7 received the most correct responses, while Question 4 caused
most problems for weaker candidates. Incorrect responses to the question were very widely
spread across the incorrect options.

Part 2, Mountain-biking in Mexico

This four-option multiple-choice task focused mainly on candidates' detailed comprehension
of the text. Candidates found this to be the hardest part of the paper, with Questions 8 and 9
proving to be the most difficult. For Question 8, weaker candidates struggled with the choice
of a word to sum up ‘packing much more into a single day’, while for Question 9, while the
Key D is definitely stated in the text, we are told nothing about how the trip concluded (C was
the most common incorrect response).

Part 3, A zoo in my luggage

This gapped-sentence task, focusing on text structure, discriminated well, and proved to be
slightly easier than Part 2. Question 16 was the easiest, while 18 stood out as the most
difficult overall. In 18, the clues to the key lie mainly in the nature of the discourse. It is not
unusual for such questions to confuse weaker candidates, as here, while the stronger
candidates have few or no problems.

Part 4, What makes us forgetful?

This multiple-matching task focused on candidates' ability to retrieve specific information
from the text. The easiest questions on this occasion were 26 and 28. None of the questions
caused particular difficulty, with well over half the candidates providing the correct response
to the most difficult questions.

Syllabus 0102 (Saturday)

Part 1, The making of a musician

This headings task, focusing on the understanding of the main points in the text, was
competently handled by most candidates, although this did turn out to be the most difficult
part of the paper overall. Question 5 proved particularly difficult. The responses of the
weaker candidates were widely spread across the incorrect options, as they missed the
match between ‘Agreeing with criticism’ and ‘she sympathises with the charge that twentieth-
century music can be rather difficult to understand’. Candidates at this level would not be
expected to be confident of this meaning of ‘charge’, but they would be expected to work
with the wider context of the sentence to find the match, and this the stronger candidates did
without difficulty.

Part 2, The student with £6 million

This four-option multiple-choice task focused mainly on candidates' detailed comprehension
of the text, but also included a reference question. This task was very well answered and no
questions caused particular difficulty.

Part 3, Exploring the North Pole

This gapped-sentence task, focusing on text structure, discriminated very well, despite being
the easiest part of the paper on this occasion. Only Question 19 caused particular difficulty,
with the weaker candidates preferring E to the key. The correct answer, D, depends on a
pronoun reference, which often confuses the weaker candidates, while their choice of E
suggests they were focusing on the inclusion of other information about temperature (‘slightly
too cold’) and missing the fact that the second half of sentence E does not make sense in the
context of gap 19.

Part 4, Perfect pictures

This multiple-matching task focused on candidates' ability to retrieve specific information
from the text. This was once again the easiest part of the paper for most candidates and
many of the questions were extremely well answered. No questions caused undue difficulty.

· 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.

· DOs and DON’Ts for FCE PAPER 1 READING

consider possible alternative meanings of headings before attempting to
match them to the text. (Part 1).

avoid being attracted solely by the presence in the text of a word used in the
question ('word-spotting'). The mere presence of the word is no guarantee
that it is the correct answer (all parts).

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

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 rhythm of the language and help to
increase your reading speed.

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

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.

DON’T

ignore similar information in other sections of the text, when you decide on an
answer in Parts 1 and 4. There are usually some similarities between
sections, and you need to make sure that your choice matches the question
you are asked.

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:
· an article

· a non-transactional

letter

· a report

· a discursive

composition

· a 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 session 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

Syllabus 0100 (Tuesday)

Part 1, Question 1

This compulsory question required candidates to write a reply to the letter on the question
paper, requesting information about arrangements for an international student conference at
the candidate’s college. There were five points, itemised in the notes surrounding the letter
(see the Task-specific Mark Scheme that is published in the Past Paper Booklet).

Generally, the answers were full and varied, showing average to good range. Most
candidates wrote in a consistently appropriate register, either formal or semi-formal, which
the tone of Maria Smith’s letter allows for.

Many candidates opened their letters in a polite and natural way, expressing regret at
Richard Brown’s illness and reassuring the reader that all would be well. Weaker candidates
went directly into the first point of the task, specifying the hotel. This gave their letters a
rather abrupt start (see recommendations for candidate preparation below).

With reference to the point about the hotel, many candidates chose other hotel names rather
than the Palace Hotel, thus technically not informing the reader accurately. On this occasion,
leniency was shown and other hotel names were accepted. However, candidates should be
reminded that they must read the question carefully and include the information given.

The second point caused the most problems in relation to task achievement, as many
candidates did not read Maria’s letter carefully enough and gave directions from the point of
arrival to the hotel instead of from the hotel to the conference centre. These answers were
penalised and could only obtain a maximum mark in Band 2. Dealing accurately with
requests for information is a real life skill and in the examination, candidates need to carry
out the necessary processing of text before they start their answers. Weaker candidates
also often gave inappropriately lengthy directions which led to a lack of balance in their
letters. Better candidates were able to produce appropriate and natural expressions, such as
‘turn left out of the hotel’ or ‘there’s a bus every ten minutes’. Some included realistic
alternatives like ‘I am enclosing a map’, ‘there will be a map left at Reception in case you
want to go on foot’ or ‘a mini-bus will be provided’, for which they were duly credited. Note
the structural range that has been achieved in the last two examples, in contrast to the
‘average’ language of directions.

There was mostly good expansion on the points about the party and the clothes, with the
parties taking place in a variety of settings: ‘in a posh bar’, ‘in the dining hall of a castle’ or ‘in
a local disco’. The advice about clothes was usually helpful: ‘there is no strict dress code’,
‘comfortable but elegant’, ‘no jeans or trainers please’. Better candidates often gave the
advice with appropriate justification: ‘there will be VIPs there’ or ‘the College Director will
make a speech’. Weaker candidates produced common errors in relation to the clothes, for
example ‘smart cloths’, ‘wear your best nightdress’ or ‘nightgown’.

The final point, where candidates had to give suggestions for what the group could do at the
end of their stay, produced a similarly good range and ideas. Inaccurate choices of structure
with the verb ‘suggest’ were widespread, however: for example ‘I would suggest you to visit’.

Better candidates used appropriate expressions at the end and correct closing formulae,
whereas some weaker candidates ended their letters as they had begun them, too abruptly.

Part 2

There was a reasonable spread of candidates across Questions 2, 3 and 4, with more
candidates than usual choosing Question 5a. Around 37.5% of candidates chose Question
4, the story, and 36% chose Question 3, the article about important inventions. Question 2,
the report, was fairly popular, and chosen by just over 20% of candidates. Regarding the set
text question, 4.1% chose Question 5a, the letter to a friend, and 0.7% chose Question 5b,
the composition.

Question 2

The topic of this question allowed candidates to focus on a building they knew, either in their
home town or in another city they had visited. All kinds of buildings were chosen, including
churches, cathedrals, castles, aqueducts, museums and town halls. A few less successful
answers chose to focus on sports centres, and although these were not penalised per se,
such answers fitted the question less well because they were places that would be visited
regularly. Candidates who wrote about hills or mountains, with no reference to a building,
were held in Band 2 of the mark scheme.

Many candidates have clearly been trained to write a particular kind of report that relies on
surveys and findings. This approach does not fit here and led to a lot of unnecessary or
irrelevant language. Also, within the ‘findings’ type of report, there are inevitably negative
responses, which were extremely inappropriate to this question, which asked for a
recommendation.

Question 3

This was by far the most popular question. There were some good answers about the
usefulness of mobile phones, as well as on computers, television, cars and electricity.
However, many candidates attempted to reproduce ‘prepared answers’ on the advantages
and disadvantages of the chosen invention, which in many cases failed to address the issue
of importance and also gave rise to an inappropriate style, which was more akin to a
composition than an article.

Candidates appeared to limit their choice to one of the inventions shown in the five small
drawings, which was not the intention of the question. Where artwork such as this is included
on the paper, it is there merely to suggest some initial ideas to candidates, rather than be
seen as a limiting factor.

Question 4

This task produced some good answers and Question 4 had the highest mean mark of the
whole paper. When writing a story, candidates do not need to be particularly creative to
score good marks, but they do need to have a sound grasp of narrative tenses.

The concept of a ‘special day’ led to weddings, surprise parties, the holiday of a lifetime and
even the birth of a baby (called Alice). A few candidates wrote about ‘negative’ special days,
such as undergoing surgery in hospital. While these answers were a little unexpected, they
were not penalized.

Questions 5a and 5b

As already indicated, there were more answers to Question 5 than in previous sessions.
Among the answers to Question 5a, those on Animal Farm worked particularly well. Question
5b produced many satisfactory and some very good answers. There appeared to be no
misinterpretation of the task.

This session, there were far fewer instances of candidates who failed to mention the book or
who wrote about a book not on the list. Such answers score 0.

· Candidate performance

Syllabus 0102 (Saturday)

Part 1, Question 1

This compulsory question required candidates to write a letter to a British novelist, inviting
her to give a talk at their English club and giving her information about the club and the
event. It was well done by candidates, with very little misinterpretation. There were five points
to be covered (see the Task-specific Mark Scheme that is published in the Past Paper
Booklet).

The first point, the invitation, proved straightforward for most candidates. A few failed to be
overt and the invitation was only there by implication, so these answers were held in Band 3
of the mark scheme, being reasonable (but not good) attempts at the task.

The information about the club was generally well dealt with and many candidates expanded
beyond merely giving the age of members, as the three dots in the notes encouraged them
to do. Some weaker candidates lifted information from the rubric for this point, saying the
club was ‘for people who want to improve their English’. While the point was accepted as
covered, this lifted language could not form part of the examiner’s assessment of the
candidate’s range.

The third point, suggesting a topic for the speaker, was usually kept fairly brief, although
better candidates tended to give more developed suggestions.

Several candidates found the point relating to the dates problematic, appearing to disregard
the note ‘ask which’ and often asking the writer to come ‘between the 15 and 22 February’, or
giving the wrong date, for example 20 not 22. This underlines the fact that candidates must
read the question carefully and do what is required. Candidates who only offered the writer
one date, or who failed to include the month, were penalized.

The final point, offering the speaker dinner after her talk, was sometimes omitted altogether,
and where it was included, was only minimally dealt with. If it was omitted, answers were
held in Band 2 of the mark scheme.

Part 2

There was a reasonable spread of candidates across Questions 2, 3 and 4, but a small take-
up for Question 5. Around 40% of candidates chose Question 2, the composition on
shopping, and just over 36% chose Question 4, the story about electricity failure. Question 3,
the article on a special birthday, was also fairly popular, and chosen by nearly 21% of
candidates. The two set text questions, both compositions, were chosen by similar numbers
of candidates, around 1% in each case.

Question 2

This question was generally well done. Better candidates put forward quite complex
arguments and showed good range of language. Many candidates achieved a good balance
of personal experience and general discussion.

Some candidates chose to focus on one element of the statement (either 24-hour shopping
or seven days a week), which was acceptable provided that both were mentioned.

Question 3

This question had the second highest mean mark on the paper and there were some very
good answers. Many candidates chose to write about a surprise party, which is clearly an
accessible topic for them. Some candidates still cannot produce appropriate article style and
format, a problem that has been highlighted in previous examination reports.

Question 4

This was a popular question and had the highest mean mark on the paper. Though there
were many imaginative answers, in some, there was little or no reference to electricity
beyond the copied prompt sentence. This usually meant that the story failed to follow on
satisfactorily and was consequently penalised. Answers with absolutely no reference to
electricity scored 0 for total irrelevance.

Questions 5a and 5b

Both set text questions were reasonably well answered. Question 5a produced some good
answers on Animal Farm and A Tale of Two Cities, while Question 5b elicited answers on the
full range of five books, though Wuthering Heights was particularly popular.

There were noticeably fewer 0s awarded on Question 5 this session for writing about the
wrong book and candidates almost always attempted to answer the question rather than
simply retelling the plot, also a problem in previous sessions.

•

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 attempt to tailor a question to an earlier piece of
writing done in class, which rarely works in the candidate’s favour. 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 practice. Working with past papers in pairs or
groups, where students spend time identifying the reader, the text type, and for Part 1, the
important content points, is all useful preparation.

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. Candidates will score higher marks if they can
develop the points in this way.

It would be useful for time to be spent in class looking at the reformulation of Part 1 notes
into grammatically accurate sentences, written in an appropriate register.

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.

It is also worth spending some time in class considering appropriate ways of starting and
ending a letter, referring to past papers. Candidates who fully engage with the task,
producing a relevant opening and natural ending, will score better marks. The tendency to
end with what is often an inappropriate stock sentence like I look forward to hearing from you
at your earliest convenience can mar an otherwise reasonable or good attempt.

Part 2

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 plot clarity, their
effectiveness in holding attention, their general language range. Here, especially, a second
draft approach is often useful. Students should also be encouraged to lead on relevantly and
logically from the prompt sentence. Showing them examples of poor attempts might make
the point more clearly.

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.

Students need to be made more aware of article style and format. Draw their attention to the
features of articles in suitable texts from their course book (many will be taken from
newspapers and magazines). Encourage them to write short, snappy titles and work with
them on producing strong opening paragraphs, which engage the reader’s attention.

As already highlighted in the report on Version 0100 above, there is more than one kind of
report and students should be discouraged from adopting a ‘default’ position and reproducing
inappropriate facts and figures. What is needed in all forms of reports is a clear layout,
neutral register and an impersonal tone. Work could usefully be done in class on these
aspects of report writing.

· DOs and DON'Ts for FCE PAPER 2 WRITING

read the question thoroughly and underline important parts.

make a plan for each answer.

spell key words from the question paper correctly.

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 questions 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 Syllabus 100 (Tuesday)

Part 1, Gold

Multiple-choice Cloze

Candidates found this to be the easiest part of the paper. The only question that caused
major problems for candidates was number 13. All the options in this question proved
attractive, especially D (‘required’). This would, of course, have been correct if the following
word had been ‘in’ rather than ‘to’. Some candidates also found Questions 8 and 14 difficult.
In 8, many of the weaker candidates chose D or A, suggesting that the difference in meaning
between ‘keeps’, ‘lies’, and ‘stays’ was not known. In 14, A (‘widely’) was a common choice,
presumably because candidates had come across its use more often than ‘highly’.
Questions which were done particularly well were 1, 5, 7 and 9.

Part 2, Fear of Flying

Open Cloze

The performance of candidates was rather more varied on this part of the paper. Questions
16, 19, 23, 29 and 30 were dealt with well by all but a few candidates. However, Question 17
proved to be difficult for most candidates; it was clear that the expression ‘get over’ in the
sense of ‘overcome’ was rarely known. Candidates often used the verb ‘take’ rather than
‘get’. Problems also occurred with Question 26 even though the mark scheme allowed for a
variety of possible answers. Questions 21 and 25 were also found to be difficult. In the
former, many candidates wrote ‘one’, confusing the construction ‘one another’ with ‘each
other’.

Part 3

‘Key’ Word Transformations

Although certain questions were handled well, this part generally proved to be rather difficult.
In 31, ‘rid’ was often followed by ‘off’ or ‘out’. The double ‘m’ in ‘swimmer’ led many
candidates to assume that ‘swims’ must also have a double ‘m’ in 35. In 36, some
candidates had problems with ‘frightening’ and wrote ‘frightened’ and ‘frightener’. Although
37 was generally handled well, some candidates had problems with the spelling of ‘helped’,
‘helpt’ being a not uncommon version. In 38, many candidates failed to realise that a
passive was required and wrote ‘said he had stolen’. In 39, it would seem that most
candidates had some vague, but incomplete, knowledge of the expression ‘take advantage
of’ giving answers such as ‘accept an advantage of’ or ‘take an/the advantage of’. In 40, the
most difficult question in this part, many candidates, as in 38, failed to use a passive and
produced answers such as ‘(we) prevented from finding/to find’.

Part 4, High-heeled Shoes

Error Correction

This was quite a difficult exercise for candidates. The first four questions turned out to be
particularly difficult. In 41, ‘and’ and ‘although’ were often thought to be wrong. In 43, it was
surprising that so many candidates failed to realise that ‘at’ was wrong. Many candidates did
not realise that lines 42 and 44 were correct; in 42, it was often assumed that ‘up’ was a
mistake rather than just a superfluous word. However, most candidates successfully
identified the other two correct lines, 45 and 50. In 48, many candidates decided that ‘being’
was wrong although the actual error was ‘back’. On the other hand, all but the very weakest
candidates realised that in line 49 ‘in’ was an error in the expression ‘in wrong’.

Part 5, The ‘Home Learning’ Series of Books

Word Formation

Candidates generally performed well on this part. Some candidates had problems with 56
but the only questions causing major difficulties were 57 and 65. In 56, it was not always
realised that an adverb was required and only one change was made to ‘care’ giving ‘careful’
rather than the two changes needed to produce ‘carefully’. Answers to 57 suggested that
candidates were making wild guesses as they were not familiar with the word ‘fluency’;
common answers were ‘influence’, ‘fluence’, ‘fluentness’ and ‘affluent’. In 65, many
candidates realised what word was necessary but struggled with the spelling. Items 58, 59,
60, 63 and 64 were answered correctly by most candidates.

· Candidate Performance Syllabus 0102 (Saturday)

Please note that the report below is based on performance in December 2000. The report
on June 2001 will be available at a later date.

Part 1, The need for bigger planes

Multiple-choice Cloze

Some of the questions in this section proved extremely easy for candidates (3, 4, 8, 11, 12,
13). On the other hand, certain questions proved difficult (2, 6, 7, 14, 15). In Question 2, all
options proved attractive to candidates, ‘sit’ (D) being quite a popular choice with the more
able candidates. Question 6 was the most difficult on the paper with ‘look’ (C) as the most
popular choice; it would seem that candidates were not aware that ‘allow’ could be used in
the sense required here. In Question 15, ‘equal’ was a very strong distractor; ‘equal’ did not
carry the necessary adverbial force.

Part 2, Charles Dickens’ childhood experience

Open Cloze

This was the part of the paper which candidates found the most difficult. Candidates had
problems with Question 19, as ‘him’ was a common choice, presumably because candidates
took ‘and’ in the previous line to have the same force as ‘who’. A common mistake in
Question 28 was to put ‘until’; this was tempting if only the phrase which followed was read,
but meaningless in the context of the whole sentence. Candidates were puzzled by Question
29 and produced a variety of inappropriate answers, apparently based on wild guesses. The
question giving fewest difficulties in this part was 25.

Part 3

‘Key’ Word Transformations

Question 34 was quite difficult for candidates as many failed to realise that the initial
sentence referred to the past and wrote ‘ought to lock’ instead of ‘ought to have locked’.
Question 35 was the most difficult in this part. A few candidates read the prompt word
wrongly as ‘change’ but the most common mistake was for candidates not to realise the
significance of ‘changing’ and to write ‘any chance that Robert will’. In 36, many candidates
assumed that ‘apart’ should be followed by ‘of’; others thought that no preposition was
needed after ‘apart’. In 37, the commonest errors were ‘been used to’ and, the basically

misunderstood, ‘used to be familiar with’. The questions which gave candidates fewest
problems were 31, 32 and 40.

Part 4, Report on an English language course

Error Correction

This part was done well by the majority of candidates. Only the very weakest candidates had
problems in identifying the incorrect words in lines 42, 50, 51. Few candidates had problems
in spotting the lines which did not contain errors. However, many candidates decided that
two incorrect lines were correct, namely 48 and 52 (the two questions causing most difficulty
in this part). In line 48, candidates failed to realise that ‘had’ was in the wrong tense. In line
52, candidates confused ‘despite’ with ‘in spite’ and assumed that it had to be followed by
‘of’, thus, in their minds, making the line correct.

Part 5, The London underground map

Word Formation

This was the part which was the easiest for candidates. Few candidates had problems with
56, 58, 61 and, especially, 63. None of the questions in this part proved to be extremely
difficult; the ones which gave a few problems were 59 and 65. In 59, those candidates who
had not read the passage with any care simply assumed the word required would be
‘employment’. In 65, the correct word, ‘appearance’, was generally chosen but quite often
contained spelling errors.

· RECOMMENDATIONS FOR CANDIDATE PREPARATION

In Parts 1 and 2 candidates sometimes make mistakes by not looking at the words which follow
the gap. It can be tempting to choose to write down a word which seems obvious but which turns
out to be incorrect because of a following word. Here is an example:

John missed the train and did not (1) ….. at his office until almost ten o’clock.

A candidate on reading this quickly might be tempted to write ‘get’ or ‘reach’, as both fit in
perfectly well with the meaning of the sentence. However, ‘get’ would need to be followed by ‘to’
while ‘reach’ would be followed by the object of the sentence without any preceding preposition.
In fact, the gap is followed by ‘at’, which has to be preceded by ‘arrive’.

In Part 3, some candidates not only write out the answer to fill the gap but also all the words
before and after the gap, i.e., the whole of the second sentence. This is not necessary.

Other candidates in Part 3 write out their answer but omit the prompt word, presumably because
this is given on the question paper. Candidates must not do this; they must always write out the
prompt word in full as, if they do not do this, the marker cannot tell whether or not they had
planned to change the prompt word in some way.
.
In Part 5 candidates sometimes write the base word (i.e., the word at the end of the line) without
changing it in any way. Candidates should note that it is always necessary to change this word.

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

read the words following the gaps in Parts 1 and 2 as they may have an
effect on the answer.

make sure that any verb you write in a gap in Part 2 agrees with its subject.

write the prompt word in your answer in Part 3 without changing it in any way.

remember that in Part 4 incorrect words can occur in any line including the
first and last.

remember that the base word at the end of each line in Part 5 might have to
change into a negative or a plural.

DON’T

write the answers to any of the examples on your answer sheets.

DON’T

choose your answer in Part 1 before you have read all the options.

DON’T

write out the full sentence when answering the questions in Part 3.

DON’T

decide on the incorrect word in Part 4 before reading to the end of the
sentence.

DON’T

leave the base word at the end of the line in Part 5 unchanged.

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 did very well in all versions of the Paper; no one Part was significantly more
difficult than another.

NB The test being discussed is Test A. This is the one which is released in the Past Paper
Pack.

Part 1

The eight short texts in Part 1 provide a range of text types and voices as well as a range of
focus in the questions. Candidates taking Test A had few difficulties with these questions
which aim to provide a gentle lead-in to the test, although some did prove more challenging
than others. In Question 4, candidates had little difficulty in picking up the gist of the
speaker’s message about the responsible disposal of rubbish, and this question attracted the
largest number of correct answers. Questions 1, 3 and 6 also proved relatively
straightforward. Most challenging, however, was Question 8, an informal dialogue in which a
piece of advice is given. Weaker candidates failed to distinguish between the main piece of
information given by the caller, Tom, and the comparison made by the presenter, and so
chose the incorrect option C. Questions 2 and 5 also proved more challenging, whilst a
surprising number of candidates failed to pick up the various clues to the identity of the
speaker in Question 7.

Part 2

This was a sentence-completion task based on an interview with a woman involved in
adventure sports. Candidates clearly found the topic and delivery accessible and the task
presented them with few difficulties. Question 11 proved to be the easiest, with various
alternative ways of phrasing the answer being accepted as correct, e.g., USA, the States,
America, etc. Questions 9, 16 and 18 were also high-scoring.
The most challenging question, surprisingly, was Question 13, calling as it did for the answer
‘72 kilometres’. Although both singular and plural answers were accepted, as well as both
British and American spellings and abbreviations of the word ‘kilometre’, a number of
candidates had problems with the number itself, producing quite a range from ‘42 kilometres’
to ‘7.2 kilometres’ to ‘72,000 kilometres’. Clearly, students at this level still find numerical
information difficult to deal with in listening tests. Question 10 also proved quite challenging.
In this question, the inclusion of the word ‘and’ in the box is designed to help candidates see
that two words are required in the answer. They, therefore, only need to write the missing
words, i.e., ‘forest’ , ‘desert’, on the answer sheet, although they are not penalised for also
copying over the word ‘and’.

In this type of task, candidates should complete the sentence by adding only the missing
information. For example, in Question 12, only the simple word ‘horses’ is needed to do this,
although many candidates attempted longer answers, some of which repeated information
already given in the stem. In writing such overlong answers, candidates waste time and
energy and run the risk of making their answers wrong through error or the inclusion of
information that contradicts the key.

Part 3

This multiple-matching task is based on five short texts in which people describe why they
have moved from the country to the city. It presented candidates with few problems and the
questions proved to be of a more or less equal level of difficulty, discriminating well between
weak and strong candidates. In Question 19, good candidates picked up references to the
farm ‘not doing very well’ and the speaker’s need to ‘earn a living’ and chose the key option,

whilst weaker candidates tended to choose D, having failed to distinguish between the
speaker’s reason for moving, and an incidental benefit of the move, his proximity to cinemas.
Similarly, in Question 22, good candidates picked up the various references to health issues
and chose the key option A, whilst weaker candidates tended to opt for B, again failing to
distinguish between the speaker’s reason for moving and something which happened as a
result. In both cases, weak candidates had been attracted to the last thing mentioned rather
than concentrating on the gist of the whole piece.

Part 4

This set of multiple-choice questions is based on an interview with an actress. Candidates
coped well with the questions, which test understanding of both her biographical details and
of the opinions and feelings she reveals as she talks about her family background and career
to date. Question 25 was the easiest, whilst Questions 29 and 30 proved more challenging.
In Question 29, the focus is on gist understanding. Good candidates correctly interpreted Iris’
description of the TV series to arrive at the key, whilst weaker candidates, possibly picking
up on individual vocabulary items and phrases such as ‘fun-loving’ and ‘her own life’ were
attracted to the other two options. Similarly, in Question 30, although Iris talks about both
great actresses and her father, her answer to the interviewer’s question regarding her future
is clearly in the phrase, ‘you’ve got to get into films, that’s where I’m looking now’.

· RECOMMENDATIONS FOR CANDIDATE PREPARATION

The Listening Paper is based on recorded material taken from various authentic contexts and
is designed to test a range of listening skills. The test lasts around 40 minutes and contains
30 questions. There are four parts to the test, each of which is heard twice, and a range of
text and task types is represented. All instructions and pauses are recorded on to the tape,
as is the transfer time at the end.

Candidates record their answers in one of two ways. In Parts 1/3/4, candidates must choose
the appropriate answer from those provided. Candidates write only the appropriate letter
(A,B,C, etc.) on to the answer sheet, and should not attempt to copy out the wording of the
answer. In Part 2, candidates must write a word, number or short phrase in response to a
written prompt. Only the candidate’s answer should be copied on to the answer sheet.

Part 1

There are eight texts in Part 1 and candidates can expect to hear a range of voices and
styles of delivery in different listening contexts. As the questions are read out on the tape,
candidates have plenty of time to think about both the context and the task before they listen.
A contextualising rubric sets the scene for the text, and candidates should be encouraged to
use the information about speaker(s), context, topic, etc., to prepare themselves for what
they are about to hear. The question itself provides a focus for the task and candidates
should be encouraged to think about what it is they are listening for. Although in some texts
points of detail may be targeted in the question, the majority call for elements of gist
understanding. It may be the speakers’ attitudes, opinions or feelings, for example, or the
focus could be on the topic, function or main point of what the speaker says. As was evident
in the report on Test A above, weak candidates often pick up on individual words used in the
text, but fail to grasp the overall meaning. This may be because they are employing
inappropriate listening strategies, and this may, therefore, be a useful point to address during
preparation. A full list of task focuses for this part can be found on page 20.

Part 2

In Part 2, candidates are required to produce written answers in response to various types of
prompts. There may be gaps in a set of notes or sentences, or a list of question prompts to
be answered. Texts may be either monologues or dialogues and, as in Part 1, a
contextualising rubric sets the scene in terms of speaker, topic and context. Candidates
should be reminded that questions follow the order of information presented in the text, and
so provide additional support to the listener. Therefore, they should use the reading time
before the text begins to look through the questions and think about the context and the type
of information which is missing. It is important to remind candidates that there may be
information on the page both before and after the gap and their answer must make sense in
this context, without repeating information already given in the prompt.

The various task formats used in this part all target the same kind of listening skills; the
retrieval and recording of stated information from the text. Whether the prompts are framed
as notes or sentences, for example, the target language will be of the same kind and the
focus is on listening. Candidates are not required to use or interpret language in note form in
note-completion tasks, nor are they required to make grammatical transformations from text
to task in sentence-completion tasks. Preparation should, therefore, be focussed on listening
skills, on using the information on the page to guide one through the text, and on the
identification and recording of the correct piece of information to complete the task.

In certain questions, some extra help is given within the box where candidates write their
answers. In Test A, for example, the word ‘and’ was used to indicate that two pieces of
information were required. On other occasions, a £ sign may appear in the box to indicate
that a price is required, so that candidates need not concern themselves with how to write
the appropriate symbol. In both cases, candidates do not need to copy the given information
on to the answer sheet, but neither are they penalised for doing so.

Whatever task format is used, keys generally focus on concrete items of information or stated
opinions and are designed to be short and fit comfortably into the space on the answer
sheet. Most answers will be single words, numbers or very short phrases such as noun
groups. Candidates should therefore be discouraged from attempting longer answers, and
told, the keys focus on the actual words used in the test. It is these words which candidates
should try to write. Candidates who paraphrase the information may still get the mark, but
only if their answers are fully meaningful in the context of the question prompts. As seen in
Test A above, attempts by candidates to use abbreviations or to give redundant information
may result in unclear or ambiguous answers which may not get the mark. Correct spelling is
not always expected at this level, and some variations are allowed, as long as the
candidate’s answer is unambiguously correct. Both US and English spellings are accepted.

Part 3

In Part 3, the focus returns to gist listening skills. Here there are five short texts on a theme,
which is indicated in the contextualising rubric, and the task is multiple-matching. As in Part
1, candidates should be encouraged to think carefully about the context before they listen.
The question itself provides a focus for the task and candidates should be encouraged to
think about exactly what it is they are listening for. In Test A, for example, the task focussed
on the speakers’ reason for moving, but weaker candidates may have lost sight of this when
listening to the texts and so focussed in on the wrong piece of text for their answer. Once
again, candidates should be encouraged to listen for the meaning of the whole text, but they
should also be prepared to amend their answers on the second listening if necessary. This is
because in a matching task, the answers are interdependent, e.g., if A is the answer to the
first question, it cannot also be the answer to a subsequent question. Candidates are
unlikely, therefore, to be completely sure of their answers until they have heard the full set of
texts through once, and all answers will need to be checked on the second listening.

Part 4

There are various task formats used in Part 4, but in each of them the questions focus on a
range of listening skills. Candidates may be tested on points of detail, the stated opinions
and feelings of speakers, plus elements of gist meaning. As in other parts of the test,
candidates should use the information given in the rubric and the reading time before the text
begins to think about what they are going to hear. As in Part 2, the question prompts follow
the order of the text and so provide support by guiding the listener through the text. As was
seen in Test A, each question will deal with one piece of text, and will generally test
understanding of that whole piece of text rather than isolated words and phrases. Candidates
should be encouraged to read the question prompts carefully, underlining the key ideas,
before they hear the text. It is always worth reminding candidates that in multiple-choice
questions, all three options will include ideas and information from the text, but only one will
combine with the question prompt to reflect the exact meaning expressed in the text.

· DOs and DON'Ts for FCE PAPER 4 LISTENING

listen to and read the rubric. Make sure you understand what you are listening
for and what you have to do.

use the preparation time before each text is played to read through the
questions and think about the context.

use the information on the page to help you follow the text.

look carefully at what is printed before and after the gap in Part 2 and think
about the kind of information that you are listening for. Write only the missing
information on the answer sheet.

write your answers as clearly as possible in Part 2.

concentrate on understanding what speakers say, especially in Parts 1, 3 and
4, in as much depth as possible, rather than just being satisfied with the
surface meaning.

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

think about the gist of what people are saying in Parts 1/3/4; don’t be
distracted by individual words and phrases.

answer all the questions – even if you’re not sure, you’ve probably understood
more than think.

DON’T

rephrase what you hear in Part 2; do write down the figure(s) or word(s) that
you hear spoken.

DON'T

complicate an answer in Part 2 by writing extra, irrelevant information.

DON'T

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

DON’T

forget to make sure that you transfer 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 2000 and
historical norms. Feedback from Oral Examiners has once again been very positive and
students overall were very well prepared for this paper. Students who performed less well
were those who did not listen carefully to the instructions. 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.

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

In this part of the test, some candidates 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 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 spoken for the full minute. 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

Finding Out

Candidates were shown two photographs of the central squares in two different cities. The
first showed Trafalgar Square with Big Ben in the background, and the second was a leafy
square which looked more like a market place with small craft stalls. (Candidates were not
expected to recognise either of the squares). Candidates were asked to compare and
contrast the photographs and say what they thought it would be like to spend time in each of
the squares. Candidates whose responses were restricted to ‘In this picture I can see a town
square. I can see a lion. In this picture there’s a market’, will not have performed as well as
candidates who moved beyond the pictures to talk about how enjoyable it would be to
actually spend time there, whether they enjoy visiting historical places, whether they would
like to visit the market, whether they like busy towns or would prefer to visit a quieter place,
and so on. In this way candidates will not run out of things to say and will make full use of
their long turn.

People and Animals

second. They should then have moved on to talk about e.g., what the people could learn
from spending time with the wild animals, the importance of actually seeing wild animals
close up, of appreciating them, giving reasons why they should be important to people, why
they need our protection, in contrast with the benefit of spending time as a family and the
advantages of having a pet, how walking the family pet has brought the family together, how
important it is for families to spend time together in this way, the advantages that owning a
pet can bring, 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 stimuli, 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, 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 stimuli 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

Arctic Expedition

Candidates were asked to imagine that two people were planning to cross the Arctic on foot.
They were then shown eight pictures representing different items that might be useful on their
journey.
The pictures showed:

· matches

· a

rucksack

· a

dog

· a writing set

· a bar of chocolate

· a mobile phone

· a

gun

· a thick jacket

· a

frying

pan

Candidates were asked to talk to each other about how important these things would be for
their journey and then decide which three would be the most useful. Candidates are often
tempted to start with the words ‘I think the bar of chocolate would be most useful 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 pictures before making their decision. Candidates should therefore be trained
to discuss the different ideas offered as fully as possible in the available time 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 explore the
reasons why the different items might or might not prove useful on the journey e.g., how the
chocolate might provide energy, how the mobile phone would probably be useless because it
wouldn’t work in the Arctic, how the matches might be useful for cooking and warmth but
would they be able to find anything to burn, how the writing set would be good for writing a
diary of their experiences but useless for letters home because they would have no way of
sending the letters, and so on. Candidates were then expected to try to agree about the three
most useful items but 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 three-way discussion with their partner and 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 very confidently in this part of the test.

Comments on Released Test Materials

Following the discussion of the different pictures (see Part 3), candidates were asked why
they thought people chose to do adventurous things like crossing the Arctic on foot, what we
could learn from a journey like this and if they could choose to do something exciting like
going to the Arctic, what it would be. The discussion then became more general and
candidates were asked which they thought was more important – trying to do something, or
being successful, and how important it is to have places in the world where nature is
protected. Finally they were asked which was the most beautiful place they had ever been to
and why they thought it was beautiful. 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
explaining 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
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.
(See the FCE Handbook for a list of topic areas.)

Part 4

As in Part 3, candidates will benefit from being given as many opportunities as possible to
give 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 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 both inside
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
own turn. Do 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 2001 - 0100 and 0102

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

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First Certificate in English

Examination Report

Syllabus 0101

June 2001

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 49.89%

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

0101

GRADE

PERCENTAGE

3.90

10.72

35.28

11.60

38.51

Grading

Grading took place during July 2001 (approximately six weeks after the examination).

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 questions, 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.

Awards

The reports on individual papers which follow are intended to provide a general view of how
candidates performed on each paper and to offer guidance on the preparation of candidates.

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)

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 the above address. 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 reasonably well with the four 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

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 1 Take a walk on the quiet side

This summary-sentence task focused on the understanding of the main points in the text.
Individually the questions discriminated well between strong and weak candidates. Question
1 was the easiest, while Question 2 was the most difficult. Good candidates fared extremely
well with this question, and incorrect responses were widely spread across the incorrect
options. E was the most favoured incorrect choice, with weaker candidates failing to
distinguish between ‘excursions’ and the initial drive into the area.

Part 2 Who’s the lady with the answer to everything?

This four-option multiple-choice task focused mainly on candidates' detailed comprehension
and included a reference question. Candidates had more difficulty than usual with this task
type, but discrimination levels remained satisfactory. Question 11 stood out as the easiest,
while Questions 14, and to a lesser extent, 9, caused problems for weaker candidates in
particular. In 14, candidates may have failed to discriminate between ‘I have to try to
remember the clues’ with regard to a puzzle lost in the post, and the nearby ‘I’m always
thinking about new clues’, which was a more general statement.

Part 3 Looking for trouble at sea

This gapped-sentence task, focusing on text structure, once again turned out to be the most
difficult part of the paper. The stronger candidates scored well throughout the task, whereas
the weaker candidates struggled consistently. Question 18 was the easiest question overall
and Question 17 the most difficult, with the responses of the weak group widely spread
amongst the options.

Part 4 Photo training in Tunisia

This multiple-matching task focused on candidates' ability to retrieve specific information from
the text. There was markedly better performance on this task than on the rest of the paper.
Many of the questions were extremely well answered by the vast majority of the candidature,
while 27 and 28 posed some problems, though not significantly for the stronger candidates.
Weaker candidates are often distracted by identical or similar words in the question and text,
and this ‘word-spotting’ can sometimes prevent them from evaluating the wider context
successfully. For example, many weak candidates were content to choose D, Gary Talbot, as
a ‘course leader’ (Questions 28/29), presumably because he is described in the text as a
‘leading’ portrait photographer.

· 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.

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

avoid being attracted solely by the presence in the text of a word used in the
question ('word-spotting'). The mere presence of the same, or a similar, word
is no guarantee that it is the correct answer. (All parts, but specifically, in this
instance, Part 4).

spend as much time as is feasible familiarising yourself with the base text, and
the content of the extracts before attempting to choose any answers in Part 3.

attempt to predict what is missing in the gaps in Part 3 by looking carefully at
the text before and after each gap. Read through the relevant parts of the
text with your chosen answers in place to check that everything flows
naturally.

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.

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 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.

DON’T

fall into the trap of answering on the basis of what you think the extracts say,
possibly because of preconceived ideas about the subject matter. You should
always be able to underline the section of text which has provided you with
your chosen response.

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

Q. 2–4

Writing one of the
following:
· an article

· a non-transactional

letter

· a report

· a discursive

composition

· a 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 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

This compulsory question required candidates to write to the editor of a newspaper,
correcting information in an article. The article was about an activities weekend of courses
held at the candidate’s college. It was clear that some candidates found it difficult to relate to
this scenario, since there were misinterpretations of the task, including letters of complaint to
the college itself. However, many candidates dealt with the task reasonably well and
included all five necessary points (see the Task-specific Mark Scheme published in the Past
Paper Booklet).

With reference to the point about the teacher being ill, most candidates interpreted this as
meaning that the class was cancelled just on the final afternoon, but some candidates
referred to the course only starting on the last afternoon. Both interpretations were accepted.

The second point, refuting the inaccurate information about lack of registrations for the local
history course, was covered in a rather pedestrian fashion, with the line of newspaper text
being copied out and then summarily denied. While it may not be straightforward to reword
‘nobody registered for the local history course’, candidates should always try to avoid lifting
text, even if they merely refer to the relevant information, for example: Your statement about
the local history course was untrue. Better candidates handled this point quite well, however,
for example: Of course there were participants on the local history course. I should know, as I
was one of them.

There was mostly good expansion in the explanation of why the photography and painting
courses were popular, with some interesting ideas. This point gave better candidates a
chance to show their range. Some candidates chose to interpret the bracketed ‘say why’ in
the note as meaning ‘the newspaper should have explained why they were popular’. This
was acceptable as an alternative way of covering the point, though obviously did not lead to
any further expansion. For those candidates who had started the letter as a complaint to the
college, this positive point was difficult to handle and some appear to have realised their
mistaken direction at this stage, producing a rather confused paragraph as a result.

The point about the cost of the course seemed to be the most straightforward, but even here,
some weaker candidates misunderstood the note ‘only £60 including lunch’ and talked about
the lunch alone costing £60.

The final point about the next course being sooner than next year was poorly done, often
because candidates failed to understand the word ‘term’. This caused candidates to write
statements like: the next term will be sooner or soon will be next term or and also very
sooner will be next term. None of these were accepted, as they would have confused the
editor and the real information, that another activities weekend would run next term not next
year, was omitted.

Candidates must spend time reading the question thoroughly before they start to write.
Frequent references made to an ‘advertisement’ rather than to the article would have been
irritating to the editor at the outset of the letter. More seriously, those candidates who wrote
letters of complaint to the college, often ended their letters with references to partial refunds,
or threatened legal action. Clearly this would have meant nothing to the target reader.

Better candidates organised their letters effectively, gave an exact early reference to where
they had seen the article and why they were writing, and avoided lifting unduly from the
article. Unfortunately, there were very few Band 5 answers like these. See candidate
preparation below.

Part 2

The vast majority of candidates, over 76%, chose Question 3, the informal letter about the
two jobs. Question 2, the story, was chosen by around 12.5% of candidates, while Question
4, the composition on telephones, was answered by just under 10%. Less than 0.4% of
candidates chose one of the set text questions: Question 5a, the article, or Question 5b, the
composition.

Question 2

This question was generally well attempted, with some good stories about dangerous or
memorable boat trips. Clearly the topic was accessible to the candidates, and many wrote
about visits to their relatives on other Greek islands. Some candidates strayed immediately
from the prompt sentence, writing about seemingly unlikely events like a car chase or a
robbery. Where such narrative failed to follow on adequately from the prompt sentence,
candidates were penalised.

Question 3

As stated, this was by far the most popular question and had the highest mean mark on the
whole paper. Candidates had plenty to say about the two jobs and came up with good
reasons for choosing one or the other. Stronger candidates often related each job to their
penfriend’s personality, educational background or previous experience, and were able to
use some impressive language.

Candidates often had problems deciding whether to use –ing or –ed adjectives, which led to
common errors such as: ‘the museum job will be very bored’, ‘you will be tiring standing
around all day’. With reference to the restaurant job, many candidates produced the noun
‘cooker’ instead of ‘cook’ or ‘chef’.

A minor but frequent occurrence was the mis-spelling of key words from the question,
notably: museam, musuem, restaurand, resturant. Candidates must check any key words
used, as such glaring errors can mar the overall performance. In this question, weaker
candidates also lifted unnecessarily from the penfriend’s letter, referring to ‘a very nice
restaurant’ or saying ‘the pay is about the same’. There are many other ways of expressing
these phrases, and those candidates who manage to reformulate in this way score higher
marks.

Question 4

Few candidates chose to tackle this question but there were some quite good answers.
Better candidates structured their compositions well and included a variety of reasons and
examples to support their argument. Those with a good range of language were able to refer
to the development of the telephone over the past century, while others chose to focus on the
overuse of telephones today, especially mobile phones. Answers were generally well-linked
with good use of language of opinion.

Weaker candidates were prone to unclear expression of ideas and repetition with the given
statement often included verbatim two or three times. There was also some confusion over
whether the telephone was ‘discovered’ or ‘invented’!

Questions 5a and 5b

A small minority of candidates chose Question 5 and there were very few good answers to
either question. Among the 27 answers to Question 5a, there was one excellent comparison
of the landscape in Wuthering Heights with the Greek countryside. Question 5b seemed to
produce satisfactory answers, mainly referring to the Best Detective Stories of Agatha
Christie.

This session, there were far fewer instances of candidates who failed to mention the book or
who wrote about a book not on the list. Such answers score 0.

· RECOMMENDATIONS FOR CANDIDATE PREPARATION

Part 1

Students must take enough time to read the question, to avoid misinterpreting what is
required. In this session, those candidates who went into ‘letter of complaint mode’ ended up
with a low mark, for an inadequate attempt at the task.

It would be useful for time to be spent in class looking at the reformulation of Part 1 notes into
grammatically accurate sentences, written in an appropriate register.

It is also worth spending some time in class considering appropriate ways of starting and
ending a letter, referring to past papers. For example, the ‘letter to editor’ task will always
require a specific reference to where the candidate read the original article; suitably detailed
opening paragraphs are helpful and have a positive effect. In the same way, candidates who
can produce a natural ending that relates to the given scenario, rather than producing what is
an often inappropriate stock sentence like I look forward to hearing from you at your earliest
convenience will score higher marks.

Part 2

Although candidates are generally well prepared for writing informal letters, more work could
be done on register. Phrasal verbs fit appropriately in letters of this kind, as do many other
informal and friendly expressions. Candidates should be actively discouraged from including
introductory paragraphs that have nothing to do with the task set; these are at best seen as
digression and, at worst, viewed as totally irrelevant.

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 plot clarity, their
effectiveness in holding attention, their general language range. Here especially, a second
draft approach is often useful.

· 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, Charles Dickens

Multiple-Choice Cloze

Many candidates had major difficulties with several of the questions in this part of the paper.
In 2, B (‘memory’) was a common choice. The presence of ‘deep’ before the gapped word
made this incorrect. In 3, all four options were popular choices, suggesting that most
candidates were not really sure of the different shades of meaning in the words ‘work’, ‘job’,
‘occupation’ and ‘employment’. The question which proved most difficult in this section was
11 where relatively few candidates chose option A (‘found’), the most popular choice being C
(‘spent’), presumably because ‘spent time’ is a well-known expression, even though it was
not appropriate here. In 13, all four options were common choices, suggesting that few
candidates knew the expression ‘to go beyond’ and that most had resorted to guessing the
answer. Questions 5 and 8 were answered well by the majority of candidates.

Part 2, Staying with a British Family

Open Cloze

This was the part of the paper which candidates found the most difficult. Although most
candidates produced correct answers for 16, 22 and 24, many of the other questions proved
difficult. This was particularly the case with Questions 19, 23, 25 and 26. In 19, it was
generally thought that a preposition (‘in’, ‘under’, ‘of’) or an adjective (‘big’) was needed
rather than the indefinite article. In 23, many candidates failed to realise the significance of
‘to’ after the gap, common answers being ‘reached’, and ‘made’. Others were simply
unaware of the expression and produced answers such as ‘been’, ‘taken’, ‘done’, ‘met’,
‘gone’. In 25, although several prepositions were allowed for in the mark scheme, other
(wrong) prepositions such as ‘of’, ‘with’, ‘about’ appeared, as, occasionally, did the noun
‘inspector’. In 26, perhaps inevitably, ‘do’, ‘will’, ‘would’, ‘can’, ‘have’ were common wrong
answers.

Part 3

‘Key’ Word Transformations

This part was generally done well. The main problems occurred in Questions 34 and 40. In
34, candidates had difficulty deciding on the appropriate verb to use with ‘down’; a very wide
variety appeared (e.g., ‘break’, ‘force’, ‘get’, ‘keep’, ‘sack’, ‘turn’). In 40, a large number of
inappropriate expressions occurred – ‘take care’, ‘take a test’, ‘take aware’, ‘take a view’,
‘take off’. Amongst other fairly common errors was a wrong positioning of ‘more’ in 36,
‘interested in more fishing’ instead of ‘more interested in fishing’. In 38, it was wrongly
assumed that ‘such’ had to be followed by ‘a’. In 39, the initial sentence was sometimes
misunderstood and it was thought that the request was for someone else to sing.

Part 4, Sailing

Error Correction

In this part some questions appeared to be extremely easy and others difficult. One of the
apparently difficult lines was, perhaps rather surprisingly, 45. This was usually considered to be
free of error. Line 50 proved to be the most difficult question in the whole paper with the great
majority of candidates deciding that ‘to’ was incorrect. Many candidates thought that line 55 was
correct, having not noticed the presence of ‘to’. Others chose a variety of words as being
incorrect – ‘open’, ‘air’, ‘a’, ‘increasingly’. Most candidates had few difficulties in identifying the
correct lines. The one exception was line 54 where ‘out’ was often thought to be an error. Lines
that were dealt with particularly well were 42, 46, and 51.

Part 5, The Stars in our Sky

Word Formation

This was the easiest part of the paper for candidates. All but the weakest candidates
produced correct answers for Questions 56, 60, 61 and 63. The main problems occurred in
Questions 64 and 65. In 64, many candidates had little idea of the word that was needed
and invented words such as ‘measurely’, ‘measureness’, ‘measureless’. In 65, it was often
not realised that a negative was required.

· RECOMMENDATIONS FOR CANDIDATE PREPARATION

In Parts 1 and 2 candidates sometimes make mistakes by not looking at the words which
follow the gap. It can be tempting to choose to write down a word which seems obvious but
which turns out to be incorrect because of a following word. Here is an example:

John missed the train and did not (1) ….. at his office until almost ten o’clock.

A candidate on reading this quickly might be tempted to write ‘get’ or ‘reach’, as both fit in
perfectly well with the meaning of the sentence. However, ‘get’ would need to be followed by
‘to’ while ‘reach’ would be followed by the object of the sentence without any preceding
preposition. In fact, the gap is followed by ‘at’, which has to be preceded by ‘arrive’.

In Part 3, some candidates not only write out the answer to fill the gap but also all the words
before and after the gap, i.e., the whole of the second sentence. This is not necessary.

In Part 5 candidates sometimes write the base word (i.e., the word at the end of the line)
without changing it in any way. Candidates should note that it is always necessary to change
this word.

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

read the words following the gaps in Parts 1 and 2 as they may have an effect
on the answer.

make sure that any verb you write in a gap in Part 2 agrees with its subject.

write the prompt word in your answer in Part 3 without changing it in any way.

remember that in Part 4 incorrect words can occur in any line including the first
and last.

remember that the base word at the end of each line in Part 5 might have to
change into a negative or a plural.

DON’T

write the answers to any of the examples on your answer sheets.

DON’T

choose your answer in Part 1 before you have read all the options.

DON’T

write out the full sentence when answering the questions in Part 3.

DON’T

decide on the incorrect word in Part 4 before reading to the end of the
sentence.

DON’T

leave the base word at the end of the line in Part 5 unchanged.

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

Selection from 2 or 3
possible answers

As for Part 2

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.

· Candidate Performance

Candidates performed reasonably well overall in both versions of the Paper but found Parts 3
and 4 more challenging than Parts 1 and 2.

NB The test being discussed is Test A. This is the one which is released in the Past Paper
Pack.

Part 1

The eight short texts in Part 1 provide a range of text types and voices as well as a range of
focus in the questions. Candidates taking Test A had few difficulties with these questions
which aim to provide a gentle lead-in to the test, although some did prove more challenging
than others. In Question 4 candidates had little difficulty in picking up the gist of the speaker’s
message about the responsible disposal of rubbish, and this question attracted a large
number of correct answers. Questions 1, 3 and 6 also proved relatively straightforward. Most
challenging, however, was Question 8, an informal dialogue in which a piece of advice is
given. Weaker candidates failed to distinguish between the main piece of information given
by the caller, Tom, and the comparison made by the presenter, and so chose the incorrect
option C. Questions 2 and 5 also proved more challenging, whilst a surprising number of
candidates failed to pick up the various clues to the identity of the speaker in Question 7.

Part 2

This was a sentence-completion task based on an interview with a woman involved in
adventure sports. Candidates generally found the topic and delivery accessible, although
some items proved more challenging than others. Question 11 proved to be the easiest, with
various alternative ways of phrasing the answer being accepted as correct, e.g., USA, the
States, America, etc. Questions 9, 16 and 18 were also high-scoring.
The most challenging question, surprisingly, was Question 13, calling as it did for the answer
‘72 kilometres’. Although both singular and plural answers were accepted, as well as both
British and American spellings and abbreviations of the word ‘kilometre’, a number of
candidates had problems with the number itself, producing quite a range from ‘42 kilometres’
to ‘7.2 kilometres’ to ‘72,000 kilometres’. Clearly, students at this level still find numerical
information difficult to deal with in listening tests. Question 10 also proved quite challenging.
In this question, the inclusion of the word ‘and’ in the box is designed to help candidates see
that two words are required in the answer. They, therefore, only need to write the missing
words, i.e., ‘forest’ , ‘desert’, on the answer sheet, although they are not penalised for also
copying over the word ‘and’.
In this type of task, candidates should complete the sentence by adding only the missing
information. For example, in Question 12, only the simple word ‘horses’ is needed to do this,
although many candidates attempted longer answers, some of which repeated information
already given in the stem. In writing such overlong answers, candidates waste time and
energy and run the risk of making their answers wrong through error or the inclusion of
information that contradicts the key.

Part 3

This multiple-matching task is based on five short texts in which people describe why they
have moved from the country to the city. Candidates performed well on Questions 21 and 23,
but found 20 and 22 more challenging. In Question 19, good candidates picked up
references to the farm ‘not doing very well’ and the speaker’s need to ‘earn a living’ and
chose the key option, whilst weaker candidates tended to choose D, having failed to
distinguish between the speaker’s reason for moving, and an incidental benefit of the move,
his proximity to cinemas. Similarly, in Question 22, good candidates picked up the various

references to health issues and chose the key option A, whilst weaker candidates tended to
opt for B, again failing to distinguish between the speaker’s reason for moving and something
which happened as a result. In both cases, weak candidates had been attracted to the last
thing mentioned rather than concentrating on the gist of the whole piece.

Part 4

This set of multiple-choice questions is based on an interview with an actress. Candidates
coped well with the questions, which test understanding of both her biographical details and
of the opinions and feelings she reveals as she talks about her family background and career
to date. Question 25 was the easiest, whilst Questions 29 and 30 proved more challenging.
In Question 29, the focus is on gist understanding. Good candidates correctly interpreted Iris’
description of the TV series to arrive at the key, whilst weaker candidates, possibly picking up
on individual vocabulary items and phrases such as ‘fun-loving’ and ‘her own life’ were
attracted to the other two options. Similarly, in Question 30, although Iris talks about both
great actresses and her father, her answer to the interviewer’s question regarding her future
is clearly in the phrase, ‘you’ve got to get into films, that’s where I’m looking now’.

· RECOMMENDATIONS FOR CANDIDATE PREPARATION

Part 1

Part 2

In Part 2, candidates are required to produce written answers in response to various types of
prompts. There may be gaps in a set of notes or sentences, or a list of questions prompts to
be answered. Texts may be either monologues or dialogues and, as in Part 1, a
contextualising rubric sets the scene in terms of speaker, topic and context. Candidates

should be reminded that questions follow the order of information presented in the text, and
so provide additional support to the listener. Therefore, they should use the reading time
before the text begins to look through the questions and think about the context and the type
of information which is missing. It is important to remind candidates that there may be
information on the page both before and after the gap and their answer must make sense in
this context, without repeating information already given in the prompt.

In certain questions, some extra help is given within the box where candidates write their
answers. In Test A, for example, the word ‘and’ was used to indicate that two pieces of
information were required. On other occasions, a £ sign may appear in the box to indicate
that a price is required, so that candidates need not concern themselves with how to write the
appropriate symbol. In both cases, candidates do not need to copy the given information on
to the answer sheet, but neither are they penalised for doing so.

Whatever task format is used, keys generally focus on concrete items of information or stated
opinions and are designed to be short and fit comfortably into the space on the answer sheet.
Most answers will be single words, numbers or very short phrases such as noun groups.
Candidates should therefore be discouraged from attempting longer answers, and told that
the keys focus on the actual words used in the test. It is these words which candidates
should try to write. Candidates who paraphrase the information may still get the mark, but
only if their answers are fully meaningful in the context of the question prompts. As seen in
Test A above, attempts by candidates to use abbreviations or to give redundant information
may result in unclear or ambiguous answers which may not get the mark. Correct spelling is
not always expected at this level, and some variations are allowed, as long as the
candidate’s answer is unambiguously correct. Both US and English spellings are accepted.

Part 3

Part 4

There are various task formats used in Part 4, but in each of them the questions focus on a
range of listening skills. Candidates may be tested on points of detail, the stated opinions and

feelings of speakers, plus elements of gist meaning. As in other parts of the test, candidates
should use the information given in the rubric and the reading time before the text begins to
think about what they are going to hear. As in Part 2, the question prompts follow the order of
the text and so provide support by guiding the listener through the text. As was seen in Test
A, each question will deal with one piece of text, and will generally test understanding of that
whole piece of text rather than isolated words and phrases. Candidates should be
encouraged to read the question prompts carefully, underlining the key ideas, before they
hear the text. It is always worth reminding candidates that in multiple-choice questions all
three options will include ideas and information from the text, but only one will combine with
the question prompt to reflect the exact meaning expressed in the text.

· DO's and DON'Ts for FCE PAPER 4 LISTENING

listen to and read the rubric. Make sure you understand what you are listening
for and what you have to do.

use the preparation time before each text is played to read through the
questions and think about the context.

use the information on the page to help you follow the text.

look carefully at what is printed before and after the gap in Part 2 and think
about the kind of information that you are listening for. Write only the missing
information on the answer sheet.

write your answers as clearly as possible in Part 2.

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

think about the gist of what people are saying in Parts 1/3/4; don’t be
distracted by individual words and phrases.

answer all the questions – even if you’re not sure, you’ve probably understood
more than think.

DON’T

rephrase what you hear in Part 2; do write down the figure(s) or word(s) that
you hear spoken.

DON'T

complicate an answer in Part 2 by writing extra, irrelevant information.

DON'T

spend too much time on a question you are having difficulty with, as you may
miss the next question.

DON’T

forget to make sure you have transferred your answers accurately 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

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.

· Candidate Performance

Part 1

Part 2

Comments on Released Test Materials

Finding Out

People and Animals

Candidates were given two photographs showing people with animals in different situations.
The first showed a safari scene with two women observing, at close quarters, a group of
cheetahs feeding, and the second showed a family group walking their dog. Candidates
were asked to compare and contrast the photographs and say why they thought the animals
were important to the different people. Candidates were expected to compare the two
different scenes, talking about the possible danger in the first situation in contrast with the
calm peaceful walk in the second and the dry climate in the first with the green countryside
in the second. They should then have moved on to talk about e.g., what the people could
learn from spending time with the wild animals, the importance of actually seeing wild
animals close up, of appreciating them, giving reasons why they should be important to
people, why they need our protection, in contrast with the benefit of spending time as a family
and the advantages of having a pet, how walking the family pet has brought the family
together, how important it is for families to spend time together in this way, the advantages
that owning a pet can bring, 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, 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.

Comments on Released Test Materials

Arctic Expedition

Candidates were asked to imagine that two people were planning to cross the Arctic on foot.
They were then shown eight pictures representing different items that might be useful on
their journey.

The pictures showed:

· matches

· a

rucksack

· a

dog

· a writing set

· a bar of chocolate

· a mobile phone

· a

gun

· a thick jacket

· a

frying

pan

Candidates were asked to talk to each other about how important these things would be for
their journey and then decide which three would be the most useful. Candidates are often
tempted to start with the words ‘I think the bar of chocolate would be most useful because...’
Candidates who did this often performed less well because they come 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 pictures before making their decision. Candidates should therefore be
trained to discuss the different ideas offered as fully as possible in the available time 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
explore the reasons why the different items might or might not prove useful on the journey
e.g., how the chocolate might provide energy, how the mobile phone would probably be
useless because it wouldn’t work in the Arctic, how the matches might be useful for cooking
and warmth but would they be able to find anything to burn, how the writing set would be
good for writing a diary of their experiences but useless for letters home because they would
have no way of sending the letters, and so on. Candidates were then expected to try to
agree about the three most useful items but 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 three-way discussion with their partner and 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 very confidently in
this part of the test.

Comments on Released Test Materials

· 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

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

· 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 2001 - 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
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Cambridge
CB1 2EU

Fax:

+ 44 1223 460278

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Owner, etc.)

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Document Outline

FCE June 2001 Examiners Report
Syllabuses 0100 & 0102
Syllabus 0101

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