Students have been accelerating their English learning by taking UEC’s Cambridge Exam Preparation classes for well over 20 years! That’s thousands of students, tens of thousands of hours of lessons, countless life-changing learning experiences, and a lot of fun!
CRICOS Course Code: 0101703
start date
any Monday
course length
up to 26 weeks
course hours
20hrs/week + 2.5hrs of optional
timetable
day & evening
start date
any Monday
course length
up to 26 weeks
course hours
20hrs/week + 2.5hrs of optional
timetable
day & evening
What is this course about?
Cambridge exams are recognised all over the world by thousands of learning institutions, governments, businesses and employers. The course, like the exam, is offered at Upper Intermediate Level – B2 First (FCE) – and Advanced Level – C1 Advanced (CAE).
The Cambridge Exam Preparation course at UEC gives students an intensive program of practice of speaking, listening, reading, and writing along with lots of vocabulary and grammar. The program is similar to General English but it’s more intensive and it’s structured in a way that helps students prepare for the test if they want to take it.
You don’t have to enroll in the exam to take the course. You will do exam practice, but the activities involved in this exam practice are an excellent way to improve your English.
This is a course for General English students who want to learn faster and work harder.
What will you do each day?
Every day you’ll speak English with your classmates in pairs and small groups as well as with the whole class. You’ll do so many practice activities that give you a structured purpose to communicate. You’ll read and listen to a variety of articles and discussions, answer challenging comprehension style questions, discuss with classmates, and analyse the vocab and grammar so you can use it yourself.
Your teacher will help you learn a lot about grammar and massive amount of vocabulary and make sure you use it all. They’ll also help you improve your fluency and accuracy.
You will spend more time working on written English in Cambridge than in General English. You’ll learn how to construct a range of different text types, from letters and emails, to reports and articles.
You’ll work hard, but you’ll also laugh, learn, make friends, and build your confidence and skills. Once you’ve completed Cambridge, you’ll be so much more confident using your English in just about any situation.
Entry requirements
B2 First (FCE) Preparation: IELTS 5.0
or equivalent or completion of UEC Intermediate
C1 Advanced (CAE) Preparation IELTS 5.5
or equivalent or completion of UEC Upper-Int
student age
over 18 years
CRICOS Provider Code: 00053J
CRICOS Course Code: 0101703
What you will do each week?
Every week you will do different activities, study different topics and learn different things, but you will study at the same times. The table below shows a typical week.
| Lesson and break | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thurs | Fri |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lesson 1 | Speaking: Talking about weekends Reading: Magazine article about modern medicine Skills: faster reading, finding specific information | Check homework Vocabulary: Idioms and phrasal verbs Grammar: “if, in case, unless” Sentences about conditions and results | Grammar: “if” sentences about unreal scenarios Grammar + pronunciation: Using “if” Telephoning - group game | Reading: A New Learning Age Skills: faster reading, finding specific information Real World: ‘The Future of AI in Education’ Group discussion of opinions | Speaking: First time school experiences Skills: retelling stories with beginning, middle, and end. Reading and Use of Language Practice Test |
| Break | |||||
| Lesson 2 | Real World: Medical article Skills: improve information flow through speaking Listening: TED Talk: ‘The Future of Education’ Skills: Еxtended listening | Vocabulary review: Phrasal verbs & idioms Game-based learning activity Grammar Practice: Review of ‘conditional’ sentences | Vocabulary: - Paraphrasing - Pronunciation to improve listening | Writing: Topic: ‘Real World Problems’ Skills: Writing professional emails | Listening + Speaking Practice test |
| Break | |||||
| Lesson 3 | Listening: - Understanding points of view Writing: Opinion in essays | Reading and speaking: Lunar New Year Real World Listening: Listening to the news Skills: Improve listening for general understanding | Listening/speaking activity: Topic: ‘International Students in Australia’ | Listening practice: Listening to the news Skills: improve listening for specific information Read World: Australian Slang | Writing and Speaking Practice test Listening: Listening to songs |
How you will benefit from this course?
- Communicate much more fluently and accurately in a broad variety of situations
- Massively improve your vocabulary and grammar knowledge
- Read much more quickly and more effectively
- Become much more confident listening to native and fluent speakers of English
- Develop solid writing skills for a range of situations
- Understand how the Cambridge exam works and be well prepared to achieve the best result
When you can study?
- You can start Cambridge Exam Preparation any week you like! Just choose the Monday that suits your plans.
- Lessons are in the morning only. There are no weekend lessons.
- You need to enroll in up to 20 weeks of Cambridge Exam Preparation to join the class
Who can take this course?
You must be at least 18 years old at the start of any course at UEC
There are two different minimum English level requirements to join Cambridge Exam Preparation at UEC depending on the course you want to take:
- Cambridge B2 First – is for students who are Upper Intermediate level
- Cambridge C1 Advanced – for students who are advanced level
You can demonstrate your English level by taking the UEC placement test or with an official English qualification like IELTS, PTE, TOEFL or similar.
How is the course delivered?
Like all the courses at UEC, the Cambridge Exam Preparation course is all delivered via live lessons with up to 18 students and 1 teacher in a classroom at the UEC campus in the centre of Sydney. The lessons are very interactive – you will talk and learn with your classmates and the teacher in every lesson.
Throughout the COVID19 lockdown and isolation periods, General English was operated online through live lessons delivered through Zoom on the same schedule as our normal, on-campus lessons. Since then, UEC has maintained all classes as ‘hybrid lessons’ so students can join the on-campus lessons via Zoom as all of our classrooms have state-of-the-art video-conferencing cameras that allow online and on-campus students to see and hear each other.
Typically, 95% of students come to campus for their lessons. However, sometimes a student studies online because their visa hasn’t arrived yet or because the student has COVID19 and doesn’t want to share it with their classmates even thought they are not so sick and can still study.
What learning materials are used in this course?
The UEC Cambridge Exam Preparation course has a core book that is the basis of the learning activities. You will get a copy of the book to use and keep. When you change level, you’ll get a new book for that level too.
It will change from week to week and day to day, but normally about 80% of your lessons will be based on the book. Your teachers will also use other materials from other teaching resources and from the real world and sometimes they’ll design materials specifically to suit the needs of the lessons.
What you’ll need for this course?
You will need pens and pencils and note books in your lessons – every day.
All your lessons will utilise online resources so you should have your own laptop or tablet to access these resources. You can take the General English course without your own laptop or tablet, because we do provide you with a physical book for the lessons, but you will find a laptop or tablet makes it much easier and more effective to learn.
Assessment
Teachers assess students in Cambridge Exam Preparation by observing them during lesson activities every day. Teachers also do weekly progress tests to assess how effectively students are learning and progressing.
As this is an exam preparation course, students will do practice exams during the course. Even if you choose not to take the actual exam at the end, you will do a full practice test at the end and get a good indication of your level and progress during the course.
Prior learning
As Cambridge Exam Preparation is for students who are at an upper intermediate level or higher, all students must have already done quite a bit of study to join the course. UEC uses an online test to assess students’ English level before they can book a Cambridge Exam Preparation course. If you have already done another test that shows you are at the right level you are welcome to send though those details and the Registrar will review this.
Certification
All students who study at UEC will get a certificate to show what course they studied and for how long and what level of English they achieved at the end of their studies.
Further study pathways
Students who successfully complete the first level of Cambridge Exam Preparation – B2 First – can join the second level of Cambridge Exam Preparation – C1 Advanced. They can also join the UEC Academic English Program or the UEC IELTS Preparation course.
UEC has been helping its graduates find and start courses at colleges and universities in Australia for more than 30 years. We have partnerships with more than 50 institutions that recognise UEC graduates and accept them into courses with a UEC certificate instead of requiring the student to take an IELTS exam. Some of these institutions accept students with a Cambridge Exam Preparation course completion while others require a UEC AEP certificate.
