What’s in the Listening paper?
The A1 Movers Listening test has five parts. Each part begins with one or two examples. Children will hear each recording twice.
Summary
| Time allowed: |
About 25 minutes
|
| Number of parts: |
5
|
| Number of questions: |
25
|
| Marks: |
a maximum of five shields
|
Part 1
| What's in Part 1? |
A big picture which shows people doing different things. Above and below the picture, there are some names. Children have to listen carefully to a conversation between an adult and a child and draw a line from each name to the correct person on the big picture.
|
| What should children practise? |
Listening for names and descriptions.
|
| How many questions are there? |
5
|
Part 2
| What's in Part 2? |
A short conversation between two people. There is a form or a page of a notebook with some missing words (gaps). Children have to listen to the recording and write a missing word or number in each gap.
|
| What should children practise? |
Listening for names, spellings and other information.
|
| How many questions are there? |
5
|
Part 3
| What's in Part 3? |
Two sets of pictures. On the left, there are some pictures of people and their names, or other named places or objects. On the right, there is a set of pictures with letters but no words. Children have to listen to a conversation between two people and match each of the pictures on the right to one of the named pictures on the left.
|
| What should children practise? |
Listening for words, names and detailed information.
|
| How many questions are there? |
5
|
Part 4
| What's in Part 4? |
Five short conversations. There is a question and three pictures for each conversation. Children have to decide which picture shows the right answer to the question and put a tick in the box under it.
|
| What should children practise? |
Listening for specific information.
|
| How many questions are there? |
5 |
Part 5
| What's in Part 5? |
A big picture. Children have to listen carefully to a conversation between an adult and a child. The adult asks the child to colour different objects in the picture and to write a simple word. Children have to follow the instructions.
|
| What should children practise? |
Listening for words, colours and specific information.
|
| How many questions are there? |
5 |
What’s in the Writing paper?
In the two parts of the B2 First for Schools Writing paper, the student has to show that they can write different types of text in English.
Summary
| Time allowed: |
1 hour 20 minutes |
| Number of parts: |
2 |
| Number of questions: |
Part 1: one compulsory question
Part 2: one question from a choice of four, including one set text question |
| Marks: |
20% of total |
| Types of task: |
Article, email, essay, letter, review, story. |
Set texts
- Set text for January 2017–December 2018: Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson (Oxford Bookworms Edition).
Teachers may choose to prepare candidates for questions on this set text by studying any film version of Treasure Island, as well as, or instead of, the book.
- Set text for January 2019–December 2020: Great Expectations by Charles Dickens (Oxford Bookworms Edition).
Teachers may choose to prepare candidates for questions on this set text by studying any film version of Great Expectations, as well as, or instead of, the book.
Students should not attempt the optional set text question in Part 2 unless they have the necessary understanding of the text to answer the task set. Teachers are best placed to judge if the set texts and/or film version may be appropriate and stimulating for a given teaching situation. The suggested edition is a graded reader which has been adapted to the level and is suitable for B2 First for Schools candidates. Other editions of this book may be available. Teachers and students should be aware that the language level in other editions may be less accessible.
Part 1
| What’s in Part 1? |
Students are given an essay title and two ideas. They write an essay giving their opinion about the title, using the ideas given and adding an idea of their own. The title will be a subject of general interest – students won’t need any specialised knowledge. |
| What do students have to practise? |
Giving an opinion and providing reasons for that opinion. |
| How many questions are there? |
One compulsory question. |
| How much do students have to write? |
140–190 words |
Part 2
| What’s in Part 2? |
A choice of four questions. The answer students have to write will be one of the following: article, email/letter, essay, review, story. |
| What do students have to practise? |
Writing different types of text: articles, essays, letters/emails, reviews. Depending on the question, students will have to advise, compare, describe, explain, express opinions, justify and/or recommend something. |
| How many questions are there? |
Students choose one question from a choice of four, including one set text question. |
| How much do students have to write? |
140–190 words |
What’s in the Listening paper?
The B2 First for Schools Listening paper has four parts. For each part students have to listen to a recorded text or texts and answer some questions. They will hear each recording twice.
Summary
| Time allowed: |
About 40 minutes |
| Number of parts: |
4 |
| Number of questions: |
30 |
Part 1 (Multiple choice)
| What’s in Part 1? |
A series of short, unrelated recordings of approximately 30 seconds each. Students have to listen to the recordings and answer one multiple-choice question for each. Each question has three options (A, B or C). |
| What do students have to practise? |
Listening for feeling, attitude, opinion, purpose, function, agreement, gist and detail. |
| How many questions are there? |
8 |
| How many marks are there? |
1 mark for each correct answer. |
Part 2 (Sentence completion)
| What’s in Part 2? |
A monologue (one person speaking) lasting 3–4 minutes. Students have to complete the sentences on the question paper with information they hear on the recording. |
| What do students have to practise? |
Listening for detail, specific information, stated opinion. |
| How many questions are there? |
10 |
| How many marks are there? |
1 mark for each correct answer. |
Part 3 (Multiple matching)
| What’s in Part 3? |
Five short related monologues of approximately 30 seconds each. Students listen to the recordings and choose which statement from a list of eight best matches what each speaker says. |
| What do students have to practise? |
Listening for general gist, purpose, feeling, main points and detail. |
| How many questions are there? |
5 |
| How many marks are there? |
1 mark for each correct answer. |
Part 4 (Multiple choice)
| What’s in Part 4? |
An interview or exchange between two speakers and lasting 3–4 minutes. Students have to listen to the recording and answer seven multiple-choice questions. Each question has three options (A, B or C). |
| What do students have to practise? |
Listening for opinion, attitude, gist, main idea, specific information. |
| How many questions are there? |
7 |
| How many marks are there? |
1 mark for each correct answer. |
What’s in the Speaking paper?
The B2 First for Schools Speaking test has four parts and the student takes it together with another candidate.
There are two examiners. One of the examiners conducts the test (asks questions, gives the student a booklet with things to talk about, and so on). The other examiner listens to what the student says.
Summary
| Time allowed: |
14 minutes per pair of candidates |
| Number of parts: |
4 |
| The student has to talk: |
with the examiner
with the other candidate
on their own |
Part 1 (Interview)
| What’s in Part 1? |
Conversation with the examiner. The examiner asks questions and students may have to give information about themselves, talk about past experiences, present circumstances and future plans. |
| What do students have to practise? |
Giving information about themselves and expressing opinions about various topics. |
| How long does each student have to speak? |
2 minutes |
Part 2 (Long turn)
| What’s in Part 2? |
The examiner gives the student a pair of photographs to talk about and they have to speak for 1 minute without interruption. The questions about the photographs are written at the top of the page to remind the student what they should talk about. When they have finished speaking, the student’s partner then has to answer a short question from the examiner about their photographs. |
| What do students have to practise? |
Talking on their own about something: comparing, describing, expressing opinions. |
| How long does each student have to speak? |
1 minute per candidate, plus a 30-second response |
Part 3 (Collaborative task)
| What’s in Part 3? |
Conversation with the other candidate. The examiner gives the students a question and some written prompts. The students discuss these together for two minutes. The examiner will then ask them to make a decision together about the topic they have been discussing. |
| What do students have to practise? |
Exchanging ideas, expressing and justifying opinions, agreeing and/or disagreeing, suggesting, speculating, evaluating, reaching a decision through negotiation, etc. |
| How long does each student have to speak? |
A 2-minute discussion followed by a 1-minute decision-making task |
Part 4 (Discussion)
| What’s in Part 4? |
Further discussion with the other candidate, guided by questions from the examiner, about the same topic as the task in Part 3. |
| What do students have to practise? |
Expressing and justifying opinions, agreeing and/or disagreeing. |
| How long does each student have to speak? |
The discussion should last 4 minutes |
