The following resources include sample tests for the ALCE, including listening tracks, and the Standard Settings report.

• ALCE™ Sample Test A 2022 Test Booklet
• ALCE™ Sample Test B 2022 Test Booklet
• ALCE™ Standard Setting Report

ALCE™ Sample Test A 2022 Listening section Audio

ALCE™ Sample Test B 2022 Listening section Audio

Uses of the BCCE Examination

The BCCE examination can be used by organizations, firms, public agencies, and academic institutions for a wide range of purposes. The following is just a sample of possible uses:

• Corporate users can use BCCE as a useful tool when recruiting a global workforce.
• Government agencies can use BCCE when setting English language requirements for migrants.
• Job placement agencies can use BCCE when setting English language requirements for non-native speakers of English.

The Level of the BCCE Examination

The BCCE examination aims at the B1 level of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) and was developed to reflect the descriptors of this level, as set out in the Manual produced by the Council of Europe. For each of the four areas of language competency below, at B1 level, the Manual states that language users:

Listening Comprehension

• Can understand the main points of clear standard speech on familiar matters regularly encountered in work, school, leisure etc., including short narratives.
• Can understand the main points of radio news bulletins and simpler recorded material about familiar subjects delivered relatively slowly and clearly.
• Can understand the main points and important details in stories and other narratives (e.g. a description of a holiday), provided the speaker speaks slowly and clearly.

Reading Comprehension

• Can read straightforward factual texts on subjects related to his/her field and interests with a satisfactory level of comprehension.
• Can scan through straightforward, factual texts in magazines, brochures or on the web, identify what they are about and decide whether they contain information that might be of practical use.

Spoken Production & Spoken Interaction

• Can give straightforward descriptions on a variety of familiar subjects within his/her field of interest.
• Can reasonably fluently relate a straightforward narrative or description as a linear sequence of points.
• Can express opinions on subjects relating to everyday life, using simple expressions.
• Can follow clearly articulated speech directed at him/her in everyday conversation, though will sometimes have to ask for repetition of particular words and phrases.

Written Production

• Can write straightforward connected texts on a range of familiar subjects within his/her field of interest, by linking a series of shorter discrete elements into a linear sequence.
• Can write straightforward, detailed descriptions on a range of familiar subjects within his/her field of interest.
• Can write accounts of experiences, describing feelings and reactions in simple connected text.

Download materials related to the BCCE™ exams:

Revised BCCE™ Sample Test A 2024

• BCCE™ Sample Test A 2024
• BCCE™ Scoring Guide 2024

Revised BCCE™ Sample Test A 2024 Listening files

The examinations are administered four times per year in test centers in Albania, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Germany, Greece, Romania and Serbia.

Candidate registration

Candidates register through local authorized exam centers. Application forms may be submitted either online, by post, or in person, in accordance with the procedures and deadlines set by the Hellenic American University and the local authorized exam centers. Local exam centers are responsible for informing registered candidates of exams regulations set by Hellenic American University.

Test Security

All Hellenic American University tests are standardized and secure. All procedures are closely monitored by Hellenic American University staff or representatives and quality control checks may take place unannounced.

Standardized Testing Conditions

The uniformity of all examination procedures ensures fairness to the candidates. Instructions and guidelines must be followed accurately by all parties involved in the administration of the examinations.

All candidates are treated equally and exam staff is patient and prompt, alert and attentive during all phases of the test administration.

Secure Testing Conditions

Instructions, manuals, announcements and guidelines developed by Hellenic American University are secure and protected by international copyright laws. All parties involved in the administration process of the examinations (examiners, proctors, exam center coordinators) acknowledge that all the examinations developed by Hellenic American University are secure tests. All test center staff involved in the administration of the tests have to sign the confidentiality agreement and accept all legal responsibilities deriving from that agreement.

Exam Center personnel and/or candidates engaged in inappropriate conduct with respect to administering and/or taking the Hellenic American University examinations may be subject to disciplinary actions.

Candidates’ scores may be invalidated under the following circumstances:

• Candidate’s appearance or signature does not match that on their identification
• There is evidence of misconduct on the part of the candidate during the administration of the BCCE™ examinations. This includes, but is not limited to, copying answers from other candidates, talking to other candidates, referring to previously prepared notes or materials, removing of examination material from the examination center, and creating a disturbance.

Non-standard Test Accommodations

Hellenic American University is committed to ensuring that candidates for the Basic Communication Certificate in English (BCCE™) have a fair opportunity to demonstrate their language ability under reasonable and appropriate test conditions.

For this reason, candidates with documented physical, emotional or psychological disabilities or attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder may request non-standard testing accommodations, provided that these accommodations do not affect the accuracy of the measure used for the skill that is being tested.