Academic Language Course Syllabus
SAMPLE SYLLABUS – CAMBRIDGE FIRST CERTIFICATE IN ENGLISH (FCE)
The FCE is an exam for people who can use everyday written and spoken English at an upper-intermediate level. It is an ideal exam for people who want to use English for work or study purposes.
SAMPLE COURSE OUTLINE
1. Communicative/Thematic content may include:
• People & Relationships
• Entertainment & Social Life
• Media – inc. TV, newspapers
• Work & Business
• Education
• The Environment
• Tourism & Travel
• Current Affairs
• Families
• Traditions & Customs
• Health & Fitness
2. Structural Content / Grammar
• Talking about the Present, Past & Future
• Modal Verb structures: use of modals in discourse (I think I may…)
• Imperatives
• Active & Passive Voice
• Conditionals (If…)
• comparatives & superlatives
• Relative clauses
• Direct & Indirect Speech
• Word order
• Building longer sentences
3. Other Vocabulary
• Prepositions
• Word-building (prefix and suffix patterns)
• Word families (noun-verb-adjective-adverb)
• Common idioms
• Common linking words
• Common collocations
• Compound words
• Wide range of functions – inc. social language, advice, ordering, booking, making enquiries, expressing (dis)agreement, expressing opinions
4. Exam Techniques
Reading:
skimming & scanning
understanding information in fiction and non-fiction books, journals, newspapers and magazines.
Writing:
writing to different formats: short story, a letter, an article, a report, a review or an essay.
using appropriate register & style
Use of English:
Focus on grammar and vocabulary.
Task types inc. gap-fill, editing, synonyms, collocation
Listening:
listening for gist
listening for detail
working with a range of spoken material, inc. news programmes, speeches, stories and anecdotes, and public announcements.
Speaking:
Taking part in different types of interaction: with the examiner, with the other candidates and by yourself.
Interactions include question/answer, describing pictures, discussing a topic