INFO BLOG 1. Key Changes in Cambridge English First and Advanced examinations as of January 2015.

12.14.2017

Key changes to the Cambridge English: Advanced exam as of January 2015.
 

Description

Current version

Revised version (2015)

Format

Five papers

Four papers: Reading
and Use of English have been combined

Timing

4 hours 40 minutes

3 hours 55 minutes

Number of Parts

19

18

Number of questions

114

86


Reading and Use of English
  • The Reading and Use of English papers have been combined.
  • The revised exam takes 1 hour 30 minutes, which is 45 minutes shorter than the current Reading and Use of English papers.
  • From 2015, there are 8 parts and 56 questions.
  • The task types in the revised Advanced exam are now the same as the task types for First. The differences are in levels, content and relative abstraction/cognitive challenges in the texts.
  • Some of the tasks from the current Reading and Use of English paper (short texts and gapped sentences) have been dropped.
  • There is a new cross-text multiple matching task.
  • Use of English tasks are before Reading tasks so that there is a clear progression from a focus at word and sentence level to a focus on whole text content and structure.
  • The content has a stronger academic flavour, reflecting its intended use by late teens and young adults who plan to study abroad or need a CEFR Level C1 qualification for career or immigration purposes.
     
Writing
  • There is a new compulsory essay in Part 1. The input takes the form of notes made during a seminar, lecture or panel discussion.
  • Part 2 will remain essentially unchanged; however, it will no longer include an article, an information sheet, a competition entry, a contribution to a longer piece or an essay, as output text types.
  • There will no longer be questions on set texts.

     
Listening
  • All the current listening tasks are retained.
  • The Part 3 multiple choice task is slightly changed to focus more on interaction between speakers.

     
Speaking

  • In Part 1, Phase 2 is modified to reduce the number of follow up questions.
  • Part 1 timing is reduced by one minute.
  • In Part 3, visuals are replaced with written prompts. The task is now split into two to include a discussion phase and a decision-making phase.
  • The Part 4 timing is extended by one minute.
  • Some tasks may have more of a study or work theme.


 

Key changes to the Cambridge English: First exam as of January 2015.
 

Description

Current version

Revised version (2015)

Format

Five papers

Four papers

(Reading and Use of English have been combined)

Timing

3 hours 59 minutes

3 hours 29 minutes

Number of Parts

17

17

Number of questions

104

84


 

Reading and Use of English
  • The Reading and Use of English papers have been combined.
  • The revised paper takes 1 hour 15 minutes, which is 30 minutes shorter than the current Reading and Use of English papers.
  • All the task types from both papers have been kept but the number of items in each task has been reduced.
  • From 2015, there will be 7 parts and 52 questions.
  • Use of English tasks come before Reading tasks so that there is a clear progression from a focus at word and sentence level to a focus on whole text.
     
Writing
  • The compulsory Part 1 question is now an essay rather than an email or letter.
  • The word count for both parts has increased to 140–190 words.
  • In Part 2, candidates now choose from three questions rather than five, and candidates can decide to write an article, a report, a review or an email/letter.
  • There will no longer be questions on set texts.
     
Listening
  • All the current listening tasks are retained.
  • In Part 1 the options are now not read out.
  • In the Part 3 question there are now two additional distractors – so there are three distractors in all.
     
Speaking
  • Overall the revised Speaking paper takes the same length of time and has the same number of parts and tasks but there are changes to each part.
  • In Part 1, the timing has been reduced from 3 minutes to 2 minutes.
  • In Part 2, the candidate response time has increased from 20 seconds to 30 seconds.
  • In Part 3, the picture prompts are replaced with written prompts. The task is now split into two to include a discussion phase and a decision-making phase.
  • The Part 4 timing has increased by one minute.