FCE Certificate

It is a world-wide recognised certificate of proficiency in the English language. The FCE exam tests the knowledge of English vocabulary and grammar, as well as understanding and speaking skills. The certificate is issued to those candidates who have passed the exam with a positive grade. The certificate is universally recognised by employees and educational institutions as evidence of language skills.

FCE Course

The test part contains over 1,000 especially designed exercises for the user’s optimal preparation to take the FCE exam. The exercises are arranged into five typical exam components:

• Reading
• Writing
• Use of English
• Listening
• Speaking

Similarly to the exam, most exercises are of the multiple-choice type. The Speaking and Writing exam tasks are provided with sample answers in the course. All the exercises are illustrated with sound recordings by British native speakers. Several dozen language jokes and trivia on the history of Great Britain and the United States add variety to the learning process.

The exam simulation part contains two FCE mock exams with their structure identical to the real FCE exam. The typical time limit is alloted to the simulations. The overall score is automatically calculated by the application according to the British Council marking criteria. With the simulations, users can assess and compare their skills before starting and after finishing the test part of the course.

Additionally, in the program is included module of independent improving the pronunciation. The module of pronunciation trainer lets you:

• to record the own speech and the program automatically will judge, analysing the accent, intonation and different important parameters of the pronunciation
• to get to know the degree of the correctness of your pronunciation thanks to graphs of the amplitude and spectrograms
• you can control speed of lectors speaking, slowing down or increasing the parts of listened material.

Hardware requirements:
Processor 400 MHz, 256 MB RAM,
CD-ROM, sound card, microphone
Operating System: Windows 2000/SP3/XP/Vista

The SuperMemo application in brief

SuperMemo is a method of computer-aided learning based on research in long-term memory. The method has gained wide recognition and received numerous awards. It provides the learner with an optimum learning plan and repetition schedule, which allows to minimise the learning time with a nearly 100% knowledge retention.

SuperMemo and memory mechanisms

Non-deductive information requires repeating in order to be remembered. Statistically, a simple information item (like date, number, new foreign word) is remembered for up to several days without recalling it through usage, association or repetition. Successive repetitions tend to reinforce memory traces, therefore the intervals between repetitions necessary to keep information in the memory get longer.

SuperMemo effectiveness guarantee

Basing on the data from the learning process, SuperMemo assigns each information its current difficulty level and predicts how long you will remember it. Your next review is planned shortly before the expected moment of forgetting.

SuperMemo retention guarantee

With the Pronunciation Trainer in the SuperMemoUX application the speech you record yourself is automatically analysed in terms of stress, intonation, rhythm and other important articulatory parameters. Apart from the automatic assessment, amplitude graphs and spectrograms provide additional information about the correctness of the recording. You can also control the speed of the model native speaker’s recording.

The series also includes:

• Fast Track to CAE
• Mit Erfolg zum Zertifikat Deutsch

This course is made in SuperMemo UX, which is why it can be installed on palmtop computers (PDAs) controlled by the Microsoft Windows Mobile system. This is possible with the SuperMemo Mobile application, distributed free-of-charge to non-commercial users.