http://dictionaries.sourceforge.net/index.

php/fce

UsefuladjectivesforFCE

longlistofadjectiveshttp://www3.sympatico.ca/canvasit/canvasit/words.pdf
NEW!adjectivespractice

GrammarpracticeactivitiesforFCE

http://www.tinyteflteacher.co.uk/learningenglish/fce.html

usefulexpressionsforfcespeaking
PART1INTRODUCINGYOURSELF
I'mspeakingEnglishformyownsatisfaction/myjob/inordertoimprovemyemployment
prospects.
Ifyouwanttogoaheadthesedays,youneedtohaveagoodcommandofEnglish.

Ivealwaysloved(thesea).

Inthebackgroundwecanseeafamilysittingaroundatableoutsideacaf

I'dlovetovisitplacesuntouchedbyman.
However,there'snoplacelikehome.
That'sabigquestion!
I'mkeenon...
I'manavid(traveler,swimmer)...

Ihaven'tgivenitmuchthoughtuntilnow.
PART2DESCRIBINGPHOTOS
Describingthephotographs
Thefirstphotographshowsawomanreadingabook

Whatstrikesmeaboutthefirstpictureisthefactthat...
Thispictureremindsmeof...
Judgingfromthephotograph,thechildren...
Themanappearstobe...
Fromwhatwecanseehere,hemust...
Whenyougiveitacloserlookitreveals...
Comparingthephotographs
Bothpicturesareaboutbeingaparent
Ithinkthecommonthemehereiscommunication
Therearemanysimilarities...
Bothpicturesdepict...

Bothpicturesarequitesimilarinthattheyshow...
Contrasting
Incontrast,thepeopleinthesecondimagelookworried
Ontheotherhand,thescenelooksmuchmoremodern
Unlikethefirstphoto,thislookslikeahappyoccasion
Thefirstpicture...whereastheotherpicture...
Anotherimportantdifferenceis...
Picture...doesn'tshow...asclearlyas...
Picture...attemptsto...butIthinkpicture...doesthismoreeffectively...
Allpicturesareinteresting,but...givesastrongerideaof...
Speculating
Perhapstheyarecelebratingsomething
Maybethereasontheylooksoseriousisbecause...
Shemightbeabusyworkingmother
Theymustbeworkingveryhard
It'sdifficulttotellfromaphotographbutthispicturecouldhavebeentakenin...
Imightbewrong,butI'dsaythatthispicture...
Iwouldimagine/guessthatthispicturecomesfrom...
Personalfeelings
Iwouldn'tliketobeintheirshoes
Thefirstphotoremindsmeofmyownchildhood
Personally,I'dlovetovisitaplacelikethat
Thefollowingphrasesareforhelpingyouwhileyouspeak.
I'msurprisedthereisnopictureshowing...
Apictureof...wouldgetthemessageacrossmoreeffectively.
Thecoverwouldbesomuchbetterifwehadapictureof...
Solet'slookatthealternatives...
Picture...isbyfarthebesttoshowbecause...
Tome,thepicturehere...isessentialforthiskindofpublication.
Rephrasing
WhatIreallymeanisthat...
Itakethatback
WhatIamtryingtosayisthat...
Hesitators(gainingtime)
Well,...
Hmmm...letmesee
Whatelse(canIsay?)
IsthereanythingIcanaddtothat?
Imnotquitesure,butIthink
Ihaventthoughtaboutitbefore,butperhaps
Idontreallyknow,butIimagine
Ifyouveforgottenthewordforsomething
Thenameforthisescapesmeatpresent,butit'sfor/it'slike...

Thenameforitisonthetipofmytongue...

PART3COMMUNICATIONTASK

Uptotheprobleminquestion...
Themainproblemcentresaround...
It'smybelief...
Formypart...
AsIseeit...
AsIwassaying...
Iforgottomention...
I'moftheopinionthat...
Tomymind...
Tomywayofthinking...
Iamconvincedthat...
Iaminclinedtobelievethat...
Don'tgetmewrongbutshouldn'twe...?
Judgingby...theymustbe...
...isaseparateissue.
Movingonto...
Takingeverythingintoaccount...
Icouldn'tagreemore.
Iagreeuptoapoint.
IthinkIseewhatyoumean,but...
I'mintwomindsaboutit./I'mambivalentabout...
Idon'tseeeyetoeyewithyouhere...
That'strueinaway,Isuppose,but...
Idon'tfeelconvinced...
That'sonewayoflookingatit.Ontheotherhand...
Canyoutakeaclearstandonthatmatter?
Itbringstothequestion/idea/problemof...
Perhapsweshouldput...first?Whatdoyouthink?
Astrongpointinfavourof...isthat...
Whatdoyouthinkshouldgonext?
Areyouhappywiththisorderthen?
Doyougoalongwiththat?

PART4DISCUSSION

JustfollowingfromwhatXwassaying,Ialsofeel...
WhilegenerallyagreeingwithX,Imustsaythat...
AddingtowhatXhasjustsaid,Ithink...
IcansympathisewithwhatXsaidbut...
OnethingXdidn'tmentionis...

Surprising,asitmayseem,Idon'tsupportX'sviewon...
Perhapsitshouldbealsoemphasizedthat.../itshouldbepointedoutthat...

fcepracticetests
Dearstudents,
ItseemslikeagoodtimetoputyourEnglishskillstothetestandseehowgoodyouareatanreal,
authenticFCEtest.
BelowyouwillfindallthefilesyouneedtocompleteafullFCEpracticetest.Youwillfind.pdffiles(print
those,theyareapproximately20pagesandtheyincludetheanswersheets,ontowhichIwouldlikeyouto
writeyouranswers)andthe.mp3files(downloadthoseandplaythemonyourfavouritemediaplayer)and,
ofcourse,the.pdffileswiththeanswers(downloadthose,butthere'snorealneedtoprintthem.
Onceyou'vedoneallthat,thenextbigstepisfindingsometime.Istronglyrecommendyoudoingallthe
partsatonce,oneafteranother,likeinarealFCEtest.Pleasetimeyourselfcarefullythisisvery
important.Thiswillgiveyouanideaofhowtherealexamwillfeelitisquitelong:reading(1hour),writing
(1hour20minutes),useofEnglish(45minutes)andlistening(40minutes).That'salmost4hours.Iknow
it'salot,butpleasefindthetime,youwillneedthepractice.Dothisatleastoncetoseehowwellyoudo
undertimepressure.
Whenyoucompleteafulltest,pleasebringallthecompletedanswersheetstoclassIwillcheckyour
writingandhavealookathowwellyoudid.
Goodluck!
(andremember:practicemakesperfect)

Useful expressions for the speaking exam Home Town / Family / Home
Ive lived here in Granada since ....................................................................
for.........................................................................
Im from ....................................... but Ive been living here since.................
What I like most about living here is............................................................
I come from quite a ............................ family, there are .......... of us.
I have ..... brothers and .... sisters and we ............................................ well.
People say I ........................................ my Mother as were both tall.
I think I ....................................... my Father as were both open- minded.

I live in a really nice .......................... in .................................. If I could

change anything about my home, Id probably ...........................
I dont do much around the house but I usually help with ..........................
I hate housework so I try to ........................................ it! But I always
........... my bed.
Studies / Work / School days
I started learning English at school in ............... / when I was ..................
I wish I had started when I was younger...I think a good age to start is ....
Ive been studying English since ............................... I ...............................
English classes again recently.
I dont remember much about my school days, but .....................................
I think my school days were the best days of my life! I was very good at
.................................. but I hated ............................

My favourite / worst teacher was a person called ...................................

I prefer working alone because ....................................... I like having the
radio on in the background.
I use a computer every day at work.
The computer is an essential part of my work.
I use a computer at home, to look for things on the Internet, or to chat
with my friends.

Holidays / Travelling
I usually go............................................................ in the summer. I love
going to the coast because ...................................
For me the most important thing about a hoiliday is..................................
If I visit a new place, I always like going sightseeing.
I had a wonderful time when I went to ........................ ......... years ago.
What I enjoyed most was ...............................................................................
I went to ................. a few years ago and Id love to go back.
The worst part of the holiday was..................................................................
If I could afford it Id really like to go to ...................................... because...
...................................
Im too busy to have a holiday!!
I usually work in the summer so I dont really have a holiday.
I dont have any plans yet for summer but Ill hopefully go somewhere
nice.
Hobbies / Sports
In my free time I enjoy ...................................... I started .................... years
ago / when I was ......................
Im really keen on ................................. and I play ................. a week I try to
............................... regularly.
Im not very keen on sports, I prefer.....................................
I took up ........................... 2 years ago and Im really enjoying it.
I love ....................... but I wish I had more time to do more. Im really
interested in cinema and films, I usually go to the cinema about ............. a
month.

I like ....................... to the theatre but I dont go very often as I cant

..................... it.
I love going to the cinema, it doesnt .......................... what film is on, I try
to go once a week!
Nusic / Going out
I like all .................. of music but probably my favourite is.....................
I cant stand the typical commercial pop music that is around nowadays.
I prefer ..........................
The last concert I went to was to see .............................. in ..........................
Granada isnt as good as places like Madrid or Barcelona for concerts.
I like listening to music but I dont buy much music.
At weekends I usually get together with my friends. We go out for a drink
and we have a good time.
I dont usually spend much money when I go out but I always have fun
with my friends.
Granada isnt as expensive as other cities.
There are a lot of things for young people to do here.
We usually get together on Friday night, buy some drinks and hang
around in the streets!(Botelln!!)
Special occasions
My favourite month is .................. because..........................
On my birthday I usually go out for a meal with my family and throw a
party with my friends!
One thing I like doing is going out somewhere special.
The last special event I went to was ..............................
The next thing Im going to celebrate is ............................

Part Three collaborative task

FCEWordFormation1
TotalQuestions:10
CambridgeFirstCertificateWordFormationexercises.
TimeRemaining09min26secs

Q.1)
Themoodintheclass____________whentheteachersaidthattheclasswasover

BRIGHT

Q.2)
Weareinthe_____________oftheworstrecessionsincethe1930s,butpeoplearegenerallystill
quiteoptimistic.

DEEP

Q.3)
SomepeoplesaythatschoolsinSpainhave________________inthelastfewyears.

WORSE

Q.4)
IhadeatentoomuchsoI________________mytrousersandbreathedout.

LOOSE

Q.5)
Becarefulwhenyouare_________________theknife.Youcouldcutyourself.

SHARP

Q.6)
Theskinovermywoundhas________________toformascar.

TOUGH

Q.7)
Ifwehadmorecomputersintheschool,wedbeabletodomoreprojectwork,butwedhaveto
________________theclasstimes.

LONG

Q.8)
Charlottesuffersfromaskinconditionandherfacehad______________becauseofthis.

RED

Q.9)
Thepoliceare_________________upondrugusebecausetoomanyyoungpeoplearebecoming
addicted

TIGHT

Q.10)
Beethovensufferedfrom_________________,buthemanagedtowritethemostamazingmusic!.

DEAF

CambridgeFirstCertificateWordFormationexercises.
TimeRemaining09min44secs

Q.1)
Parentsshouldthink________________beforetheysendtheirchildrenabroad.

CARE

Q.2)
Some________________offertohelpschoolswiththeirexchangetrips

ORGANISE

Q.3)
The____________________ofyoungpeoplefinditdifficulttofindworkatthemoment.

MAJOR

Q.4)
Whenyougotoliveinanothercountry,itcanbedifficulttoovercomesome________________differences.

CULTURE

Q.5)
Abasic_________________________ofcomputersisrequiredformostjobsthesedays.

KNOW

Q.6)
Themost_______________waytolearnalanguageistoliveinacountrywhereitisspoken.

EFFECT

Q.7)
Thepurposeofemailistoexchange___________________________betweendifferentpeople.

CORRESPOND

Q.8)
Youshouldnotfeelany___________________toworkonSunday,butthejobisreallyurgent!

OBLIGE

Q.9)
Youtubeprovidesanexcellentsourceof_____________________foreveryone.

ENTERTAIN

Q.10)
Learninganewlanguagecan_________________themind.

Ihad
eate
n
too
muc
hso
I
___
___

___
___
___
_
my
trou
sers
and
brea
thed
out.
LO
OS
E

Possiblecorrectanswers:

loosened

Unanswered

Q. SomepeoplesaythatschoolsinSpainhave
2) ________________inthelastfewyears.
WORSE

Possiblecorrectanswers:

worsened

Unanswered

Q. Ifwehadmorecomputersintheschool,wed
3) beabletodomoreprojectwork,butwedhave
to________________theclasstimes.LONG

Possiblecorrectanswers:

lengthen

Unanswered

Q. Beethovensufferedfrom_________________,
4) buthemanagedtowritethemostamazing
music!.DEAF

Possiblecorrectanswers:

deafness

Unanswered

Q. Charlottesuffersfromaskinconditionandher
5) facehad______________becauseofthis.
RED

Possiblecorrectanswers:

reddened

Unanswered

Q. Weareinthe_____________oftheworst
6) recessionsincethe1930s,butpeopleare
generallystillquiteoptimistic.DEEP

Possiblecorrectanswers:

depths

Unanswered

Q. Becarefulwhenyouare_________________
7) theknife.Youcouldcutyourself.SHARP

Possiblecorrectanswers:

sharpening