Certificate of Proficiency in English
What is CPE?
The Cambridge Certificate of Proficiency in English (CPE) is a Cambridge ESOL exam set at level C2 of the Council of Europe's Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CFE).
Who is CPE for?
CPE is ideal for those who want to study or work and pursue professional development abroad. CPE holders are expected to understand the specificities of various texts and documents, as well as to be able to express ideas fluently and coherently.
Recognition:
CPE is recognised by more than a thousand educational and professional organisations, employers, ministries and government bodies throughout the world as evidence that a learner is approaching a standard of English similar to that of an educated native speaker.
Holders of CPE certificates will possess a knowledge of English suitable to fully participate in meetings, write detailed correspondence and reports, understand abstract concepts, and demonstrate effective reading and listening skills.
Format:
The CPE consists of five sections:
Section 1 Reading: (1 hour 30 minutes) – lexical cloze, gapped text, multiple choice.
Section 2 Writing: (2 hours) – candidates have to choose from one of the following: an article, an essay, a letter, a proposal (for Part 1); an article, an essay, a letter, a proposal, a report or a review (for Part 2).
Section 3 Use of English: (1 hour 30 minutes) – open cloze, word formation, gapped sentences, sentence transformations, comprehension questions, and summary writing task.
Section 4 Listening: (40 minutes) – interviews, discussions, conversations, radio plays, talks, speeches, lectures, commentaries, documentaries and instructions.
Section 5 Speaking: (19 minutes) – short exchanges with the examiner and with the other candidate
Profiles will show candidates' performance in each paper against the following scale: Exceptional – Good – Borderline – Weak. Summary results will include candidate's performance in each of the five skills tested. Once awarded, Cambridge ESOL CPE certificates are valid for life.