To succeed in international business and commerce, you need good knowledge of English. If you can show that you have relevant language skill, you will have a great advantage in the job market and much greater flexibility if you want to work abroad.
Cambridge BEC - Business English Certificates - offer a widely recognised qualification in English for business purposes. If you pass BEC, you will receive certificate issued by University of Cambridge ESOL Examinations, showing the grade you have achieved. You will also receive a detailed statement showing how you performed in each skill.
For employers the provide evidence that holders of the certificate have the specified English language ability, and offer the added assurance that they are able to use their skills in a business context.
For learners who expect to mainly use their English at work, the exam offers them a way to prove their ability without having to learn large amounts of vocabulary that they are unlikely to use in real life.
There are three levels of the qualification: BEC Preliminary, BEC Vantage and BEC Higher which correspond to Council of Europe levels B1, B2 abd C1 repectively and the Association of Language Testers in Europe (ALTE) Levels Two, Three and Four.
BEC is suitable for people aged 16 and above who are either preparing for a career in Business or already work. BEC assesses all four language skills - listening, speaking, reading and writing - in a business context.
| Skill/ Exam |
BEC Preliminary |
BEC Vantage |
BEC Higher |
| Reading |
90 minutes |
60 minutes |
60 minutes |
| Writing |
90 minutes |
45 minutes |
70 minutes |
| Listening |
40 minutes |
40 minutes |
40 minutes |
| Speaking |
12 minutes |
14 minutes |
16 minutes |
Each skill represents 25% of the marks available for the whole exam.
For more information about the format of the exams, see the official Cambridge ESOL handbook.
All written papers are sent to Cambridge to be marked and results are released approximately eight weeks after exam date. Rgey will first be sent to the British Council and we will then forward them to your home address.
Two classes of passing grade are available, Pass with Merit and Pass, and two classes of failing grade, Narrow Fail and Fail. Passing candidates are awarded a certificate.
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 |
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BEC Preliminary |
|
250 Lt |
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|
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BEC Vantage |
|
450 Lt |
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BEC Higher |
|
570 Lt |
For more information please contact our Examinations Services by email or telephone +370 5 210 0428.
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