Cambridge ESOL Exams

Cambridge ESOL exams are the world's leading range of certificates for learners of English. ESOL stands for "English for Speakers of Other Languages. Each year, they are taken by around 2 million people, in 130 countries and are recognized by thousands of educational organizations and employers throughout the world. The exams cover general English, business English, academic English and English for young learners. It is part of the world-famous University of Cambridge. Its English language exams are linked to the Common European Framework for Modern Languages, published by the Council of Europe. There are five levels in the exams: KET(elementary), PET(intermediate), FCE(upper intermediate), CAE (advanced), and CPE(very advanced/proficient). I guess people usually take FCE, CAE, and CPE.

 

 

I took a CAE course when I was studying at the language school in San Francisco. The class was for three months, and skills in reading, writing, grammar, listening and speaking were tested in combination. Our class was comprised of nine students. I was the only one Korean girl, but others were from Switzerland. The teacher was American man who is really kind and nice. Every day we were studying together from 9am to 4pm. Though it was really tight and hard, we had so much fun in the class and studied hard. We talked about a wide range of topics, especially, about culture differences between Korea, America, and Switzerland. Before I got along with Europeans, I hardly knew about them. It was really cool. While I was with them, I could feel so many different things as I studied, ate lunch or dinner, and went out with them. I learned some German and French words, and I taught them some Korean words. I also learned about their culture such as when they drink, they look at each other’s eyes. Eventually, I found out that they are the same people like me regardless of race. It was an interesting opportunity to know about other international cultures.
 

 

 

On the other hand, I could improve my English skills in many ways: lots of various vocabularies, grammars, and how to write and read. But the problem was listening. Since Cambridge Exams are in British English, it was really difficult to catch it for me who have learned American English. Even, it was the third months since I came to the U.S., so my English skill was not that good enough. Also, I couldn’t get used to listening British English. After three months, we took CAE exam. If we get more than 60% of the correct answer, we get C1 or C2 which means to be passed. Unfortunately, I got 50% which is B1 and the same level as FCE. I was totally messed up in the listening section, and it was really hard so that other Swiss friends couldn’t catch it well either even though they were used to British English. Not only British English, but there was also Scotland accent. Haha… I paid 300 dollars for it, and now I have an expensive souvenir that costs 300 dollars. Well, I could do more best to study, but I was also a little bit busy to enjoy my time with friends because all of my Swiss friends were supposed to stay in America only for three months. They came there to get certificate of Cambridge Exams and to travel around. I was sad but gained lots of precious memories, and my English skills were improved a lot.

 

 

Now, I want to study Business Cambridge Exams and CAE again if I have much time to focus on them, but I am so busy doing my school things and preparing for a career. In the future, I want to go to somewhere in another country and to study them. At the same time, I will have a vacation away from Korea and have so much fun like I did in San Francisco. Hopefully…! Anyway, I miss the time when I was in Cambridge class a lot!