Whether you know it by the names B2 First, FCE, or First Certificate or wherever you are in the world, if you have ever studied English, you are undoubtedly already familiar with the Cambridge Assessment English tests. These tests reveal your English level to potential employers and educational institutions, and they may even be necessary to secure a certain job, promotion, or admission to a university course.
B2 First (FCE Exam) Tips
1. Identify your motivations
Before you do anything, it’s really important to understand why you are taking the test. Is your motivation intrinsic (you want to do this for a sense of personal achievement or improve your career prospects) or extrinsic (you are being asked by an employer or university). Often it is a mixture of both. It’s important to remind yourself of these reasons if you ever lose enthusiasm or drive when things get tough.
2. Do a diagnostic test and get to know your strengths and weaknesses
By finding out which parts of the test you are good and bad at, will help you decide what areas to work on the most. You may want to focus on your weakest areas, in order to improve them or work on making your strengths even stronger. This depends on how much time you have to prepare. Doing a course in school with us, or booking some online lessons will allow a teacher to help you decide what is best for you.
3. Use authentic exam past papers from Cambridge to practice
Familiarizing yourself with the exam structure and the type of questions found in each paper will help you feel more secure and know what to expect on exam day.
4. Pay attention!
The Cambridge exams are General English exams, so make sure you pay attention to all the English being used around you (if you are in the UK) or in any English media that you consume like English podcasts, songs or TV shows. Notice the language used in signs and announcements, write these phrases down and any unusual collocations you may notice, especially if they do not translate well into your language. What prepositions follow certain words? What intonation do people use to convey how they feel? The more you notice about ‘real-life’ English, the easier you will find the material used in the exam.
5. Know the common mistakes
Cambridge has published a book of the mistakes that are most often made in their tests. Buy this and inform yourself so you can avoid doing the same!
6. Do a mock test
Avoid exam-day nerves by experiencing what it feels like beforehand. Familiarising yourself with the procedure and knowing what to expect will help you manage your nerves and get the best possible result.
7. Watch YouTube recordings of the speaking test
You can watch recordings of the exam speaking tests online. You can also see the examiners comments on the candidate's performance, which can help you benchmark your own abilities and identify areas you need to improve. You can also steal some useful phrases and tips from the participants!
8. Immerse yourself in English
Have the radio on in the background. Set your phone language to English. Listen to podcasts on the bus. The more you absorb the way the language is used and get to know common phrases and vocabulary, the more instinctive you will become as to what does and doesn’t ‘sound right’ in English.
9. Read the question and write a plan!
This is so important. In the writing paper, you get marks for how well your answer addresses the question but it is so easy to just start writing and not realize that by the end, you have answered the question you wanted, not the one on the question paper. Underline the keywords and identify the main things the question is asking of you (is it asking for your opinion? If so, give it. If not, then don’t)! If it is asking for problems and solutions, how many does it ask you for? Then spend at least 10 minutes planning your answer. The more time you spend planning, the quicker it will be to write your answer.
10. Analyse model answers with the mark scheme
Looking at good examples of writing or speaking, and understanding the mark scheme will help you know exactly what you need to do to get a good result. How did the student answer the question? What structure did they use? What language did they use to express their ideas?
11. It can worse before it gets better
When you start looking at English in a whole new way, it can feel that you are getting worse rather than better. This is normal! It’s like when you tidy your bedroom – there is always a point when it looks messier than when you started. Keep going and following the advice in this blog and you will come out a better, more confident user of English with the best possible chance of exam success.
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