BEC Business English Certificate

The Business English Certificate (BEC) Exams offered by Cambridge ESOL are designed to offer business-oriented qualifications for non native speakers of English. The exams come in three levels (Preliminary, Vantage and Higher) and the writing and speaking sections generally have a lot in common with other Cambridge tests like FCE, CAE and IELTS.

While the writing and speaking sections of the BEC exams do vary according to level, they share a standard format in terms of organization and orientation. The writing section consists of two sections, one a writing task aimed at internal business correspondence, and the other aimed at external business communication. The speaking parts are divided into three sections similar to both the FCE/CAE and IELTS, involving general interview questions, a "long turn" presentation-style task, and an interactive extension task performed with another test candidate. The writing and speaking sections of each test count for 25% each of the total exam grade (50% total).

onlinEnglish.net is currently developing a range of innovative free practice versions of the BEC speaking and writing sections at all three exam levels. Below you will find links to online free versions of the writing tests, where you can submit writing efforts and get scores and feedback from online tutors. Very soon there will also be online versions of the speaking sections for site visitors to practice interactively with teachers in our iTutor Network.