Format and Content of the ABLE B2
Section |
Time |
Short Description |
Number of items |
|
Listening
|
35 minutes approx. |
Part 1: Listening for gist / specific information / opinion / attitude.
Conversations: ten short dialogues heard twice with one question per dialogue. Candidates choose the correct answer choice from three short written options. |
10 |
|
Part 2: Listening for specific information. Interview: 1 dialogue heard twice, with ten interview questions. Candidates choose the correct answer choice from five short written options in order to complete a questionnaire. |
10 |
||
| Part 3: Listening for gist and understanding the main points in a discussion.
Discussion: one dialogue heard twice, accompanied by five questions. Candidates use the information they hear to choose the correct answer choice from three short written options. |
5 |
||
| Part 4: Listening for gist, specific information and to understand processes.
Presentation/talk: one long monologue heard twice, accompanied by five questions. Candidates use the information they hear to choose the correct answer choice from three short written options. |
5 |
||
| Reading & Use of Language (RUL)
|
75 minutes |
Task 1: Editing skills: identifying the grammatical accuracy of each sentence.
Candidates read fifteen short sentences, six of which contain errors. Candidates decide which sentences are grammatically correct and which are incorrect. |
15 |
| Task 2: Identifying the correct grammar / vocabulary / discourse answer choice to complete gaps in a cloze text.
Two short cloze texts each with five multiple-choice questions. Candidates complete each gap in a cloze text by choosing from four possible answer choices. |
10 |
||
| Task 3: Reading: Skimming & scanning.
Five online texts about a topic are accompanied by ten multiple-choice questions, each with five answer choices. |
10
|
||
| Task 4: Reading for detail.
Candidates read four short reviews and answer eight multiple-choice questions, each with four answer choices. |
8 |
||
| Task 5: Reading: Identifying the components of a text.
Candidates read one text comprising six paragraphs. The text describes either a process or cause & effect or advantages & disadvantages. Candidates choose the correct option from four answer choices. |
7 |
||
|
Writing |
40 minutes |
Candidates choose one from a choice of two possible tasks. Both tasks comprise an email. Candidates choose either to provide a description or to give advice and should write about a page. Prompts to help the candidates are given. |
1 task |
|
Speaking |
8 minutes approx. |
Task 1: Warm Up Candidates answer non-sensitive personal questions. |
3 tasks |
| Task 2: Information gap activity
Candidates are expected to understand and provide information to the examiner in an information gap activity. |
|||
| Task 3: Topic questions
Candidates answer general questions on the topic. |