Student Examinations

The Callan School runs certificate courses for the following exams - Preliminary English Test (PET) - First Certificate English Test (FCE) and the Cambridge Advanced English Test.

To download and view sample papers for the above exams please follow this link www.cambridgeesol.org/support/handbooks.htm

Initial Assessment for FCE Exam Courses

Firstly, prospective students are tested to ascertain whether they are at an appropriate level to enter a preparation course for the exam. The complete process takes an hour. The test includes a reading comprehension (format of FCE Reading, part 2), a structural test (format of FCE Use Of English, part 3), and composition (format of FCE structural writing, part2). Those students at a suitable level are allowed to pay for the exam and the course; those who are weak are urged to wait till the next sitting.

Course Timetable

Courses commence 8 or 9 weeks prior to the exams held in March, June and December. For the first 4 weeks, the course runs for one 50-minute period each day. Thereafter it runs for two 50-minute periods a day until the exam.

Period of Study for Students

Students can make payments for a study period of their choice. This can vary between 1 and 9 weeks, though nearly all students stay for the duration of the whole course

Course Structure

• The course includes practice in all areas relevant to FCE.
• Initially, students are introduced to the format of the different papers in FCE and practise the tests in class and as homework.
• Throughout the course, teachers will discuss and advise on appropriate technique for tackling each test format.
• As regards individual language areas, teachers generally adopt a 'test-teach-test' approach and differentiate according to individual student needs. A grammatical syllabus guide is available for teachers, but it is their prerogative to decide what their class needs are.
• In class students work in pairs, groups and individually.
• Homework is given daily and is generally exam format work to practice the Writing, Reading and use of English papers.
• Listening and Speaking work is done in class.
• As a class approaches exam time, more exam-form tests are conducted in class.

Materials

• All classes use 'Cambridge First Certificate In English Past Papers' books. Students must purchase these.
• In addition, teachers use a variety of materials including approved coursebooks or workbooks (e.g. First Certificate Gold Exam Maximiser), and worksheets of their own devising. Teachers may instruct their students to purchase a certain workbook.