BEC Wizard

Good communication requires clear speaking and writing and in Business English tests it is important to be familiar with words and terms which are commonly used in a business context or scenario. Developing good business writing, listening, reading and speaking skills is essential to be an effective communicator in business. Check out the examples below of Business English vocabulary and phrases used in context. They include many words used in various Business English exam preparation materials and Business English vocabulary for advanced English learners. How to Use Business English Vocabulary appraisal : Next month the company will carry out the annual staff appraisals. bonus scheme : The bank offers its executives a very attractive performance related bonus scheme. book-keeping : Accurate book-keeping is critical for financial control. computer literate : All candidates for the position must be computer literate. core : The core business of the company is t

BEC Vantage Writing Test | How to Write a report sample You work as an assistant in the Press and Information Office of a large multinational corporation. You and your boss are part of a team working on drafting the company’s initial ethics code. You are due to present a report to the department heads regarding the progress of the project. Read through the memo and the list of things to do given below. Then, use all the notes to write your report. Write 120-140 words. Memo From: Tom Richardson, Press and Information Officer To: You Subject: Company code of ethics I have to attend an urgent meeting. Can you please write the progress report for the heads of department, please? Tell them everything we have already done and what we plan to do next, and don’t forget to include the suggestion for the sales department and buyers. You will see I have included some notes on the list of things to do. Thanks Tom LIST Things To Do Circulation

This is an example of a report written in response to a Task 2 writing question in the BEC Vantage exam. Some of the words have been removed. See if you can complete the report by selecting the best word from the selection below. The correct answers are given at the bottom. BEC Vantage Report Introduction The 1 _____ of this report is to show the performance of the Kinetic Sports Centre last year and its projected performance in the 2 ____ year. Use of Sports Centre The 3 _____ of days that the sports centre is used has 4 _____ by approximately 15% this year, from 310 to 362, 5 _____ to the fact that it now opens on Sundays. This situation is projected to continue next year as well. 6 _____ , the number of members using the sports centre each day has fallen: last year, there was a(an) 7 ____ of 163 people per day, whereas the average was just 148 this year. However, this figure is 8 _____ to recover next year to approximately 160. Financial Performance The turno

Written communication is very important in a business context. It is essential to develop good business writing skills to score well in Business English exams and learn to write clearly and concisely. Here is some practice identifying some errors made in a business fax. This is an example of a typical business fax communcation. There is one extra word in each numbered line of this fax. Read the fax carefully and try to decide which of the words is not necessary? When you have finished, you can check your answers at the end by clicking on the [+]. Good luck! Business English BEC Vantage Writing | Identify the unnecessary words in this business fax [+] [-]   Answers 1. being 2. my 3. a 4. then 5. is 6. not 7. also 8. to

Quick Tips for the BEC Vantage Reading Test How to Ace the B2 BEC Vantage Reading Test The B2 Vantage Reading Test is a challenging exam, but don't worry! We're here to help. In this blog post, we'll give you our top tips for how to succeed on the test. 1. Underline key words/phrases To help you identify the correct answers, underline vocabulary or sections of the text while reading. 2. Don’t get stuck on a question you think is difficult. Move on to the next question and come back and look at it again when you have completed all the questions you can, and if you have time left at the end. 3. Don’t leave any questions not answered Even if you just guess, you have a chance of getting the answer correct! That’s better than leaving a blank space on the answer sheet. 4. Write only one answer on the answer sheet Don’t write two alternative answers on the answer sheet if you are not sure about your first choice. They will both be marked wrong, e

BEC Vantage writing test - how to write a business proposal Here is an example of a business proposal written for the writing section of the Cambridge BEC Vantage Business English Certificate exam. Proposal for launching our products in Eastern Europe Introduction The purpose of this proposal is to suggest that we begin to market our product range in Eastern Europe and to present a possible plan of action in order to achieve this. Current situation At present, our main markets are Western Europe, North America and Japan. As many countries in Eastern Europe have recently joined the EU, there is a now a new emerging market close to our production facilities that is gradually becoming more prosperous and that we could take advantage of. Market research Initial market research should be carried out with the aim of discovering: Who likely competitors are in the market Prices customers would be prepared to pay Which retail shops would be suitable and willing to st

BEC Vantage Report Writing Sample As part of a project to redesign the office space at your company’s head office, you have carried out a survey of staff attitudes to the current workspace. You now have to write a report summarizing the main findings and recommending changes that need to be incorporated in the new design. Look at the results of the survey below, on which you have already made some handwritten notes. Write your report using the notes in 120-140 words. What people most want to change about their workplace How information is stored NOTES: Storage problem: lack of personal space likely to get worse as company grows Recommend: more storage for personal items, more meeting rooms/places Too much information printed out: mention figure, will probably get worse Recommend: training course in electronic data storage An Informal Report Making Proposals New Office Design Proposals Background As part of the office redesign proje

Are you preparing for the BEC Vantage exam? If you are planning to do the Cambridge BEC Vantage Business English Certificate exam then the best way to prepare for the exam is by using authentic BEC Vantage exam papers. The advantage of this is that you will quickly become accustomed to the format of the BEC Vantage exam and the types of tasks and questions in it. You will also become familiar with English vocabulary which is common in business situations and the length and quality of answer you are expected to provide. Another advantage of using BEC Vantage exam papers to practice is that you will be able to practice your time management skills for the exam as each section of the exam has a time limit. There are four sections in total in the BEC Vantage exam: Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking. It is essential that you learn the format of each section and what is expected so that you can obtain the best score possible. Practicing with BEC Vantage exam pa

Cambridge BEC Vantage Speaking Test - Part 1 You will normally participate with another candidate in the BEC Vantage Speaking test. Before the test you should practice speaking with a partner to develop certain speaking and listening skills such as taking turns, listening carefully to what your speaking partner says and agreeing or disagreeing with the points he/she makes. In BEC speaking Part 1 of the BEC Vantage Speaking test you and the other speaking candidate will take turns to respond to some general and more specific business related questions the interlocutor will ask you. You will be tested on your ability to speak briefly about yourself, to give concise information about your home, personal interests and job, and to demonstrate your ability to use certain language functions for example, expressing agreement, disagreement, and talking about preferences. BEC Vantage Speaking Test Preparation BEC vantage speaking topics Make sure you are familiar with the

BEC Vantage Grammar Read the following paragraph which recommends how a new restaurant should be promoted. Choose a word to fill in each blank space to complete the paragraph. The restaurant should have a website, 1.__________ that potential customers can see the menu and the installations before they come here. 2.__________ would also be a good idea to advertise in local and regional newspapers in 3._________ to make our name known to people in the area. We should also invite some journailists to eat here, 4.________ that if they like the restaurant, they can write articles about it. Finally, it’s important to give really excellent food and service 5._________ get people talking about the restaurant, 6.__________ word-of-mouth publicity is by far the cheapest and most effective of marketing. [+] [-]   Answers so It order so to because / as / since Learn more about BEC Vantage test

The listening section of the test is 40 minutes. You will hear recorded extracts while you answer various questions on the written question paper. The instructions are given on the recording and on the question paper. There are three parts to the listening test which takes 30 minutes in total. You will hear each section of the recording twice. At the end of the listening test you will have 10 minutes to transfer your answers to the listening test answer sheet. The test has 30 questions in total and each question is worth one mark. BEC Vantage Listening Test Part One There are three conversations or messages. On the question paper (screen) you will see a text with gaps (spaces) which you have to fill with information you hear in the recording. Each text has four gaps. The texts used in the test may be: forms message pads invoices extracts from a diary or other similar documents In this part of the test you are being evaluated on your ability to listen

Cambridge BEC (Business English Certificate) Exam preparation pack This excellent BEC exam resource pack provides a wide range of BEC exam type tasks for students to practice and gain confidence. BEC Vantage Masterclass CD1 and CD2 provide hours of BEC exam listening practice for students to develop their listening skills and business vocabulary. The BEC Vantage coursebook contains fourteen units of business related topics developing both grammar and vocabulary for students preparaing for the BEC exam. It also contains a dedicated section full of advice and tips for the different BEC exam questions, how to deal with them and the best BEC exam strategies. A full grammar reference section is included as well as a glossary of business terminology common in the BEC exam. Complete scripts for all audio exercises are included in the book. A complementray BEC Vantage Masterclass workbook gives extra practice for students preparing for the BEC exam and is based on each unit in the cour

BEC Vantage Writing Part 1 In Part 1 of the Cambridge BEC Vantage writing test you have to write a short communication, typically 40-50 words. here is an example of a BEC Vantage writing questions which asks you to write a memo about a training course. BEC Vantage Writing Part 1 Question Your company has introduced new SAGA accounting software and you think you need training in its use. Write a memo to your line manager: saying what you need describing a suitable course asking for permission to attend Write 40-50 words. BEC Vantage Writing Sample Answer Memo To: Line Manager From: Date: 8th June Subject: new SAGA accounting software I need training in how to use our new SAGA accounting software. The local business college is offering a course next month which deals with SAGA. The cost of the course is very reasonable and it won't interfere with my work. Can you please give me authorization to attend? [49 words]

Business English Certificate (BEC) Speaking Topics In this section of the BEC speaking test, you have to choose one topic from three choices and give a short talk, typically on a business topic. You are expected to talk for around one minute. the interlocutor/examiner will tell you when the time is finished. You are given one minute to think about your answer and prepare your talk. Sample Part 2 BEC Vantage Speaking Topics Topic A What is important when interviewing someone for a job deciding what qualifications are needed deciding what questions to ask Topic B What is important when arrangiing a meeting deciding who needs to be there sending out important papers Topic C What is important when giving a presentation preparing materials carefully keeping calm When you have finished your mini-presentation, your BEC speaking partner will ask you some additional questions based on your talk. Examples of BEC speaking questions your speaking partner may ask you: Wh

Example of BEC Vantage Writing Task - an email Dear Mr Markham, Late payment I regret to say that we have not yet received payment for the goods that we delivered to you in march, although the agreement was that you would pay in 30 days. This is causing us severe cashflow problems, and unless you pay us immediately, we will have to stop supplying you with the goods you require. However, I would also like to warn you that if you do not pay promptly, we will be unable to offer you our usual discounts in the future. I look forward to receiving your payment shortly. Yours sincerely, Georgina Chandler Accounts manager BEC Vantage Writing Question Cambridge Business English Certificate Writing Tasks You received the above letter this morning. Write an email to your assistant telling him to: Investigate the cause of the problem Pay the invoice Apologize and explain to Ms Chandler You should write about 40-50 words. BEC Vantage sample email answer Dear Mike, Plea

Cambridge Business English Certificate Writing Tasks A branch of your company is moving to another town. The company Chairman has asked you to investigate and recommend a removals company. Use the two advertisements below, and all the notes you previously wrote to write a proposal for the Chairman. Write 120 – 140 words. BEC Vantage Sample Proposal Answer Companies Investigated I attach advertisements for two companies: Windspeed and A-Z. Windspeed belongs to the Freight Transport Association and AZ to the Road Haulage Association. Services available A-Z provides a service which is essential to us, that is, the handling of hi-tech equipment. We shall need to hire crates for storage of equipment which our branch does not need immediately. I have checked, and A-Z also provide crates. Windspeed also does international removals, but that is not of any interest to us. Both companies provide a packing service, but they are quite expensive, and I suggest that we do the

Pass Cambridge BEC Vantage This excellent resource book provides thorough practice for the international Cambridge BEC (Business English Certificate) Vantage level exam. Targeting business English students at B2 level (Upper Intermediate) it contains three complete BEC Vantage practice tests which can help students preparing for the BEC Vantage exam to become familiar with the format of the exam and also the different types of BEC Vantage exam questions. There is advice for students about the best BEC Vantage exam strategies for dealing with each of the four sections of the BEC Vantage exam:BEC Vantage Reading, BEC Vantage Listening, BEC Vantage Writing and BEC Vantage Speaking. Each of the four BEC Vantage practice tests is accompanied by a two-page test preparation section to focus students on the specific English language skills required for BEC. Pass BEC Vantage also provides a thorough and well organized revision of the important grammar and vocabulary relating to internati

How is BEC writing scored? Writing Assessment Examiners award an ‘impression mark’ for each writing task in the BEC writing test. This ‘impression mark’ along with a specific task-based criteria marking scheme focused on content, register, organisation, format and the target reader (indicated in each task), is then combined with the ‘impression mark’ to give the final score for each writing task. The band score awarded for each writing task is then converted into a score of 0-10 for Part 1 tasks and score of 0-20 for Part 2 tasks. So the maximum score that can be obtained for the both Part 1 and Part 2 tasks is 30 points. The general impression mark is based on the B2 level of the Council of Europe reference system. A summary of the general impression mark scheme for part 1 tasks and Part 2 tasks is shown below.

Cambridge Business English Certificate | Functional Language Here are some useful phrases frequently used in communication in a business environment. There are example sentences provided below showing how they can be used. Asking for Permission Rearranging an Appointment Informing Explaining/Giving Instructions Could I... May I... Can I... I would like to... Please let me know if ... is suitable (convenient). Unfortunately I cannot attend... on the [date] Could we meet at the [place] on the [day] to discuss... ... would suit me better. I wish to inform you that... It is necessary for us to... Please feel free to contact ... if you require more details. You should... Please contact... It is necessary to... When you have completed the project, please email/deliver the details to... Example Sentences Asking for Permission Could I pop into your office to see you about an urgent issue? May I call you after the meeting to discuss another matter? Can

BEC Vantage speaking test Part 1 questions and sample answers (about 3 minutes) The examiner will take turns to ask you and your speaking partner questions. You will be expected to give information about yourself and also express your personal opinions on certain topics. Examples of BEC Vantage speaking test questions and sample answers What are you studying at the moment? I’m studying a Master’s Degree in Business Administration. It’s a two year course and I’m in the second year at the moment. What made you decide to study (name of subject)? Well, it’s directly related to my career and I thought it would be good to have an MBA for the future, especially if I want to pursue a career in top management. I also thoroughly enjoyed the first business degree I did which had an emphasis on international business and finance. Can you tell us something about your studies? Yes, of course, when I first went to university I did an international business degree with a specializatio