Structure of the examen

LANGUAGE CERT C1

The first thing you must do if you’re determined to take this exam is to create an account. Then, choose the English ESOL option in the certificates section and check the prices. You can pay both exams separately or together.

You can do this exam whenever you want. Almost literally. Check the website and you’ll see there’s plenty of available dates and hours (you can even do it on Sunday at 5am if you want to) and choose the best one for you.

You’ll receive your results and your certificates within three working days and you’ll be able to check the certificate in your account.

Written exam

The written part of the exam lasts three hours more or less. You can finish earlier. You have the three whole hours to do all the written exam. The listening lasts around 30 minutes and you can use the remaining time (2:40 minutes) as you wish.

●        Listening:

– Task 1: Listen twice to 6 short different extracts and choose the correct option between A, B and C.

– Task 2: Listen twice to 3 different extracts and answer two questions about each one.

– Task 3: Listen twice to an extract talking for more or less 1:30 minutes about one topic. Then, answer eight questions.

– Task 4: Listen twice to two people talking and answer then around 7 questions about their conversation.

●        Reading:

– Task 1: Read a short text and answer five True or False questions.

– Task 2: Read four different short extracts said by 4 people about one topic. Then answer 6 questions about who said what.

– Task 3: Fill in the gaps with the sentences and complete the meaning of the text. There are two extra sentences.

– Task 4: Read a text and write the correct answer for some questions.

●        Writing:

– Task 1: Write an opinion article or an essay of 150 words. You will be given a question or a premise to answer.

– Task 2: Write a story or an essay of 200 words tops.

Speaking exam

The speaking part of the exam lasts fifteen minutes and each part is explained below. Your interlocutor will manage the time, so be careful and pay attention to his or her words to see if you have to stop or continue.

●        Speaking:

– Task 1: You’ll be asked two or three questions about your ideas on certain topics. Your answer won’t be longer than 30 seconds.

– Task 2: Role playing. You’ll be asked to perform two different scenes in which your interlocutor will give you a premise or you’ll start the conversation. Both speeches should be 1 minute long.

– Task 3: You’ll be asked to choose three out of six options to comment on about one main topic. You’ll be given 20 seconds to check the options and choose them. After talking about your choices for more or less 1:30 you’ll be asked a short question about one of the remaining options by your interlocutor.

– Task 4: You’ll be asked to speak for two minutes about one topic. You’ll be given around one minute to prepare what you’re going to say. After you finish, you’ll be asked one short question related to the topic.