English Language Centre
ul. Warszawska 102, 66-400 Gorzów Wlkp., Poland
tel: +48 (0) 95 - 7367868 or (0) 95 - 7281631
fax. + 44 870 130 67 30 e-mail: info@angielski.co.uk
Taking the Cambridge FCE exam
Candidates taking the FCE exam through our centre in Gorzów normally take the exam in Szczecin. Where conditions are ideal and examinations are held in June and December every year. Your teacher will advise you when you are ready to take the exam. Then some time before the examination takes place, you/we will be told the dates and times of your papers, and where the examination will be held. Be sure to make a careful note of your candidate number.
Papers 1, 2 1nd 3 always take place on the same day. Papers 4 and 5 usually take place on one or two days close to the written papers. We will provide you with clear directions and a map showing the location of the examination centre. Arrive in good time and follow the instructions carefully.
Before you start
Check all the examination materials you are given (question papers, answer sheets, marksheet, etc.) to make sure they are the correct level, i.e. First certificate, and if they come with a candidate name already printed on, that the material carries your own name. If anything seems to be wrong, tell the supervisor immediately. Do not wait until the end of the examination, when it may be too late to do anything about it.
This is also important in the listening paper. if you cannot hear the tape properly during the introduction to the examination, you must tell the supervisor immediately. Nothing can be done if you complain after the test!
Writing your answers
Paper 1
For papers 1, 3 and 4 you will be provided with special answer sheets. Your teacher will have already shown these to you before the exam. In paper 2, you answer in the question paper booklet. Many candidates prefer to mark their answers on the question paper first, and then copy them onto the answer sheet later. If you prefer to do this, you must learn to answer the questions quickly enough to allow plenty of time to put your answers on the answer sheet before the end of the paper without rushing. If you have to hurry, you may make mistakes by copying your answers wrongly, or by putting your answers against the wrong question numbers. In many ways it is best to write straight onto the answer sheet.
For paper 1 you need a soft pencil and a good quality eraser (avoid the cheap Chinese ones!). Notice that the answer sheet includes nine choices (A-I) for each question number, although the question paper itself will have fewer choices for many of the questions (e.g. four choices in Part 2). Just ignore the unnecessary letters. You must mark your answers in pencil. If you change your mind, you must rub out your first answer completely since two marks against any question number will automatically be marked wrong. Be sure to work cleanly on the answer sheet. This answer sheet will be 'read' by an electronic eye and any dirty marks may be misinterpreted by it.
Paper 2
You must write your answers for paper 2 in the spaces provided on the question paper. You must write in pen and you must hand in your rough notes and plans at the end of the test. If you want to change something, cross it out neatly. Don't use brackets () for this. Write as clearly as possible. This paper is marked by examiners and tidy, legible work is appreciated. Bad handwriting or messy changes to your answer can actually lose marks if your final decisions are not clear.
Rember it is important to plan your answer before you begin. This should mean that you do not need to change to a new question or rewrite large parts of your answer on the examination paper.
Paper 3 and 4
For these papers, it is quite a good idea to write your answers on the question paper and then transfer them to the special answer sheet. There is usually plenty of time during paper 3 to do this and for paper 4 you are given five minutes at the end of the test.
With the listening paper, as with the speaking (see below), it is a good idea to spend the time immediately before the test getting yourself ready to work in English. Find someone to talk to in English, or concentrate quietly on the task ahead. Avoid friends who want to chat in Polish - you will have plenty of time for that afterwards!
Paper 5
It's worth remembering some general advice when you think about the speaking paper: find out exactly where it is and get ther in good time, but not too early if you think this will make you nervous. The supervisor will give you a computerised marksheet to hand to the examiner at the start of your test. Make sure it has your name on it - you don't want someone else to get your mark!
You will then go into the exam room with your partner, the examiners will ask you for your marksheet. Then the test begins. Remember that one of the examiners will not be joining in the conversation, and may sit some distance away in a corner. You should concentrate on the examiner working with you (the interloctor) and on your partner. Do not worry about the other examiner during the test. In Poland the interloctor is most often Polish and the other examiner a native-speaker from England.
At the end of the test, the examiner will thank you both. You should thank the examiners and leave promptly. The examiners will keep your marksheet, and they are not allowed to discuss your marks with you, so do not ask them how you have done.
Extra Tips
You may have a chance to say hello to your exam partner before the test begins. If you do, do not miss this opportunity to get to know each other.
You will get off to a better start if you have been speaking and/or thinking in English before the examination. This will help you to have your vocabulary close to the front of your mind, and to have your best pronunciation ready. Candidates often make the mistake of spending the last half hour before their test chatting to friends in Polish. Unless you are very good indeed, this is not the best preparartion for a test in a foreign language!
It is a good idea to go through in your mind what you will have to do in the different parts of the paper, so that you are ready to do the right job at the right time.
Results
When you receive your result , you will be given a grade for the whole exam. If you get A (the highest grade), B or C, you have passed, and will receive a certificate from the University of Cambridge. If you get D, E or U (Unclassified), you have failed, and will not receive a certificate (but, as we have a100% passrate at our centre, this shouldn't happen if you studied at Countdown!).
All candidates receive a results slip. If you pass the exam, your results slip will mention any papers in which you did particularly well. For example, it might show your exam grade is C, but you scored particularly good marks in the speaking paper.
Good luck!
Page last updated December 2001