Cambridge English: First (FCE)

The Cambridge English: First (FCE) preparation course certificate is recognized by some universities and a number of businesses worldwide. Our Cambridge English: First (FCE) preparation course is a high-intermediate intensive 11-week course designed to help students develop the skills needed in order to pass the official exam. Utilizing authentic past exams, the course covers strategies for all four parts of the exam enabling students to gain confidence and effectively use English. Students achieve confidence in communicating in English by practicing speaking in English on a variety of  subjects, including role-play, conversation, debates and discussing a wide range of topics.

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After completing our Cambridge course, students receive a Certificate of Achievement and course transcript which includes their highest practice test score and assessed completed work from the course.

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The Cambridge English: First (FCE) is offered in 11 week sessions. 

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Course Objectives and Goal

• Test Taking: identify and understand different question types, learn tips for handling each section of the test, take practice tests to build familiarity with the test and track progress.

• Language Skills: improve skills in listening, speaking, reading, and writing.

• Language Control: learn, practice, and review English grammar, pronunciation, word forms, and vocabulary.

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By the end of the course students will be able to:

• Speak with native speakers fluently, flexibly, spontaneously, and confidently

• Understand, read and write, well-structured text on complex subjects, both concrete and abstract, and show recognition of implicit meanings. Take notes and write formatted and logical text for professional purposes

CEFR B2 Global Scale

• According to the official CEFR guidelines, someone at the B2 level in English:

• Can understand the main ideas of complex text on both concrete and abstract topics, including technical discussions in their field of specialization;

• can interact with a degree of fluency and spontaneity that makes regular interaction with native speakers quite possible without strain for either party;

• can produce clear, detailed text on a wide range of subjects and explain a viewpoint on a topical issue giving the advantages and disadvantages of various options.

Cambridge English: Advanced (CAE)

The Cambridge English Advanced (CAE) Certificate is recognized throughout the world by most universities and a large number of businesses. Our Cambridge English: Advanced (CAE)  is offered in 11 week sessions at the advanced level; this course is designed to help students develop the skills needed in order to pass the official exam. The course covers strategies for all five parts of the exam enabling students to gain confidence and effectively use English.

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After completing the Cambridge English: Advanced (CAE) course, students receive a Certificate of Achievement and course which includes their highest practice test score and assessed completed work from the course.

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Course Goal

The goal of the CAE Preparation Course is to prepare students to take the Cambridge English: Advanced Examination (CAE) and receive the C1‐level certificate by helping students improve their English proficiency to the C1‐level as well as equipping students with effective test‐taking strategies. CAE is recognized around the world by employers as an English qualification for working at professional or managerial level, and as a qualification for studying at university level.

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After successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

• GRAMMAR –Apply of phrasal verbs, gerund and infinitive construction, reporting clauses in the passive, sentence adverbs, double comparatives, optional and required relative pronouns, subjunctive mode, noun-clauses, compound adjectives, subject-verb inversions in conditional sentences, and passive voice in other tenses at the advanced level.

• VOCABULARY –Define advanced level vocabulary words from less familiar themes (i.e. as friendship, style, technology, movies and TV programs, entertainment industries, marketing strategies, physical features of animals, nature-related idioms, discourse markers, idioms related to the use of language, expressions related to success in the workplace, and truth and fabrication).

• LISTENING –Recognize main ideas and details from advanced level listening passages.

• SPEAKING/PRONUNCIATION –Cite advanced level content and function words and sounds with correct intonation and create long conversation and participate in discussions appropriate for the advanced level.

• READING/WRITING –Identify grammar and content from advanced level reading passages and construct sentences in writing using advanced level grammar and vocabulary.

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Our student-centered teaching methods include

• active learning, in which students solve problems, answer questions, formulate questions of their own, discuss, explain, debate, or brainstorm during class;

• cooperative learning, in which students work in teams on problems and projects under conditions that assure both positive interdependence and individual accountability; and

• inductive teaching and learning, in which students are first presented with challenges (questions or problems) and learn the course material in the context of addressing the challenges.

English Language Level Descriptors

AFI College uses the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) to determine your English level. There are six levels, ranging from A1 to C2 that correspond to Beginning through Cambridge CAE levels.

For each of these you can download below a description of each level and the learning outcomes for each level. Student Learning Outcomes are things you will be able to do when you have that level of English:

• Level A1

• Level A2

• Level B1

• Level B2

• Level C1

• Level C2