BEC Wizard

Learning English Collocations One of the biggest difficulties for many English learners is knowing which words are commonly used together in the English language – collocations – by native English speakers. Like grammar and vocabulary, collocations can be learned by studying and exposure to ‘real English’. Collocations Does a person... do a mistake or is it more normal to make a mistake? Do students give a test or do they take a test? “Please, make a photo of us” or “Please, take a photo of us”? Do you admit a friend or relative in hospital or to hospital? English learners often have difficulty when they are faced with collocations. An oral examiner for the Cambridge Business English Certificate exams recently examined over forty candidate pairs over a period of two days. He observed that “many of the candidates exhibited inadequate competence with regard to using collocations.” BEC speaking is assessed using criteria which include grammar and vocabulary,...

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. The most recent book in the series is B2 Vantage Trainer . 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 th...

If English is your second language, then obtaining a Business English Certificate can help your professional career in various ways. If you are able to show your level of proficiency via internationally recognized Business English qualifications, potential employers will consider your application more seriously and have more confidence in your ability. So which Business English Certificate is best? Firstly, any Business English qualifications you decide to pursue should be recognized internationally; among these are the TOEIC and BEC Business English Certificates by Cambridge. These are Business English qualifications acknowledged by the majority of large organizations and especially multinational British and American firms. 4 Reasons to get a Business English Certificate 1. International Recognition There is a big difference between being proficient in general English and being able to perform well using English in a business environment. Business English has many subtle nuance...

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...