Tag Archives: exams

The CPE or Cambridge Proficiency in English exam, the most advanced test from Cambridge ESOL is changing from March 2013 so, if you are preparing for the test, be careful when choosing study materials or preparation courses. While the difficulty level of the exam remains the same as before (i.e. level C2 on the Common European Framework of Reference for Language), the structure of the exam is quite different, particularly with regard to the Reading and Use of English Papers, which are now to be combined.

In this post, we will detail the changes which take effect from this year, and explain what you can now expect when taking the exam.

CPE Changes 2013

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In the FCE reading part 1, you must read a text and answer 8 multiple choice questions. For each question, there are 4 options to choose from. Each question is worth 2 marks towards your final score. This part is testing you on a number of skills including reading for detail, tone, opinion and gist. In this post, we will examine the best way to approach FCE reading part 1.

1. Read the title. Think what the text is going to be about. Doing this will help you immediately engage with the text
2. Read the first paragraph. This will give you an overview of what the text is actually about.

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Describe a photograph competition

Desktop English has launched a monthly photo competition open to anyone and everyone with the prize being a £20 discount on any of our exam courses.

We want you to send us one of your favourite photos (that you, a friend, or a member of your family has taken) with a description of the photo and what it means to you.

Each month will have a theme which will be announced on our Facebook page on the first Friday of each month

The rules are as follows:

• Find this month’s theme on our Facebook page
• Post your photo on our timeline including a full description of the photo. Don’t forget to say why the photo is special to you.
• Make sure your entry is in by the 28th of the month for it to be considered by our judges

Describing photos for Cambridge exams

Remember, Part 2 of the Cambridge FCE and CAE speaking paper is called the “Long Turn”. Candidates are required to speak uninterrupted for a minute about a pair of photographs. You have to describe the photos, compare them, and answer a question about them so the descriptive systems, i.e. grammar and vocabulary, you need to describe your competition photo are the same as the skills you need to succeed in the Cambridge speaking exam. Entering the photo competition is a great opportunity for you to practice for an exam and have your contribution evaluated by trained Cambridge exam specialists.

All winners will be announced on this page and on our Facebook page.

Winners so far….

Month 1 – June 2012

June’s winner was Greg, from Greece. Greg is currently studying for his IELTS exam with Steve. He is a proud Greek and he sends this photo to illustrate the beauty of his country. Next time it could be you winning a special Desktop English prize!

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I live in Greece which is a wonderful country, with many beautiful places. For the funs of swimming there are a lot of places with crystal clear water. Especially, chalkidiki has the most beautiful beaches. Also there are many mountains with a significant biodiversity and amazing picturesque sceneries. My favourite place is mountain Olympos, because it is a really virgin place with the biggest variety of plants in my country and also you can breath fresh air and relax far away of the everyday’s problems. Also, It’s a really fantastic place for walking. It’s a so wooded area and it’s got an amazing atmosphere. Here is a photo of that area

Month 2 – July 2012

This month’s theme is “Around the home”. Your photo can be anything associated with your home, family or daily life. Don’t forget, the closing date for this months competition is the 28th July so get your entries in now,

If you want to see all the other competition entries, visit our Facebook page. Don’t forget to keep a look out for the next competition, especially if you want to practise for your Cambridge Speaking paper.

Try an English course with our expert teachers

The CPE speaking test is divided into 3 parts, each testing your speaking ability in distinctive contexts. The speaking test is best viewed as an opportunity to demonstrate the breadth of vocabulary and the range of grammatical structures that someone with a C2 level of English is expected to possess.

Preparation for the CPE speaking test

Firstly, consider taking a preparatory course such as the one offered by Desktop English. Cambridge estimate that 80% of CPE candidates complete a preparation course before taking the exam. This should be the first consideration if you are interested in the Proficiency exam. An experienced Cambridge exam teacher will be able to manage your preparation regime and identify weak areas where you need to concentrate your energy during your study. Once you have chosen a course, your teacher will help you to:

• Practise the speaking test with other students preparing for the exam and you get feedback about your performance
• Familiarise yourself with the format of each part of the test, including the interaction patterns (i.e. when you are required to speak alone, with the other candidate, with the examiner, or both).
• Become familiar with the timings of each part of the exam and practise speaking for fully 2 minutes in preparation for the long turn in part 3.
• Practise using an expansive vocabulary and a variety of complex structures that enable you to speculate, talk about perception, discuss abstract concepts and to paraphrase where necessary
• Learn how to listen to the questions in the exam to identify what kind of language is required in your answer
• Recognise opportunities in each part to produce the kind of structures and vocabulary required to prove your level

We at Desktop English offer an online preparation course for the Cambridge Certificate of Proficiency in English (CPE). Take a look at how we can help you pass.

Desktop English CPE Preparation Course

Intensive 4 week preparation course

If you have recently failed a Cambridge exam and wish to retake and pass it soon, we can help. We are offering a 4 week intensive preparation course for people planning to re-take Cambridge exam, be it FCE, CAE or CPE in April or May 2012.

During the 4 week course, you will:

• Take 8 x 1hour classes by Skype with an experienced Cambridge exam specialist teacher
• Do 2 x full mock / simulation exams over the 4 weeks which will be assessed by your teacher
• Receive an in-depth error analysis stating your problem areas and prioritising where you need to improve
• Receive extra homework practice on the areas identified as key to your improvement
• Get help with exam strategy and find out how you can improve your writing and speaking scores in particular
• Use our daily chat support facility to get help with your homework or answers to your questions about the exam

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In IELTS and Cambridge exams, you are required to read several texts of considerable total length. This can be a daunting task for students and you may feel that you don’t have time to read everything.

You’ve probably heard the terms skim reading and scan reading and are probably aware that these skills are important when answering questions on a text. But what is skim reading? Is it just reading quickly or trying to find specific words in a text?

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Hello and welcome to our new blog on Phrasal verbs. As an experienced teacher of Cambridge exams I have come to recognise many of the phrasal verbs that commonly appear in reading, listening and use of English papers. In this series of blogs, we will take a look at some of these verbs and help you to understand their meaning.

To cope with something

Also to manage, to handle, to deal with.

This phrasal verbs follows the structure: to cope with + object. It cannot be split by it’s object.

Example 1:
The town hall decided to build more houses in order to cope with the increasing number of immigrants.
The meaning of this sentence is that because of the amount of immigrants entering the town, the town hall decided to build more houses to manage the situation. Continue reading →

To get the IELTS band score you need, you must provide a minimum number of correct answers in the reading and listening papers. The minimum score required varies depending on whether you take the General Training or Academic papers.

The table on this page shows how your score in each paper translates into your eventual band score. The “raw score” is the number of correct answers you get, while the band score is what will appear on your final assessment document.

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Take a look at the exam dates for the Cambridge Business English Certificate this year. Remember to check with your centre to find out which dates they offer.

Key
Paper 1 – reading & writing
Paper 2 – listening
Paper 3 – speaking

January (computer based exams)
Saturday 28th January – papers 1 & 2
January 21st- 29th – window for paper 3

February (computer based exam)
Friday 24th February – papers 1 & 2
February 18th – 26th – window for paper 3
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Take a look at the IELTS exam dates for 2012. Remember to check with your exam centre and look carefully to see if the date is for the Academic or General Training exam.

January
Academic- 7th, 12th, 14th, 21st
General- 7th, 21st

February
Academic- 4th, 9th, 18th, 25th
General- 9th, 18th
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