Practical English

Cambridge English Exams

Cambridge runs two quite separate families of examination: one that tests how good your English is, and one that tests whether you know how to teach it. Confusing the two wastes a great deal of money.

The two families, and which one you want

Language exams — for learners. They measure your own English against the Common European Framework, from Pre A1 up to C2. Children take the Young Learners tests; teenagers and adults take the ladder from A2 Key to C2 Proficiency.

Teaching qualifications — for teachers. TKT, CELTA and DELTA test what you know and can do as a teacher of English. They do not certify your own level of English, and a strong CELTA will not satisfy a university that asked for proof of language ability.

A Sri Lankan teacher usually wants one from each family: a language certificate to prove their own English, and TKT or CELTA to prove their teaching. Decide which problem you are solving before you pay an entry fee.

The old names are still the common names

Cambridge renamed the main exams around 2018, but almost everyone in Sri Lanka still uses the old names. Both are given throughout this page:

KET is now A2 Key · PET is now B1 Preliminary · FCE is now B2 First · CAE is now C1 Advanced · CPE is now C2 Proficiency.

If a school advertises FCE classes, it means B2 First. Nothing about the examination changed except the name.

Young Learners English — Starters, Movers and Flyers

Three tests for children, usually from about seven to twelve. They are designed so that no child fails: every candidate receives a certificate showing shields, and nobody is told they were unsuccessful. That is the point of them.

Each level has three papers — Listening, Reading and Writing, and Speaking — and results are reported as shields, up to five per paper. Five shields means the child answered nearly everything correctly; one shield still earns a certificate.

For a Sri Lankan primary child this is often the first English examination they ever sit, and the format matters more than the level: colouring, matching and pointing rather than writing paragraphs.

The three Young Learners levels

Written by RCF English. Ages are typical, not rules — the level should match the child's English, not the birth certificate.
Test	CEFR level	Typical age	What the child can do
Pre A1 Starters	Pre A1	7–8	Understands very simple spoken and written English: colours, numbers, family, classroom objects, simple instructions.
A1 Movers	A1	8–11	Handles simple everyday English: describing pictures, short conversations, reading a short story and answering about it.
A2 Flyers	A2	9–12	Around the level of a strong Sri Lankan Grade 6 or 7 pupil: simple past and future, short written answers, a longer spoken exchange.

What the Young Learners papers actually ask — example tasks

Example Starters tasks (written by RCF English)

Listening, colouring: Colour the ball under the table blue. The child hears an instruction and colours a picture. This tests prepositions and colour words with no writing at all.

Listening, matching names: Five children are drawn; a voice says This is Ravi. He is wearing a red shirt. The child draws a line from the name to the right figure.

Reading and Writing, tick or cross: A picture of a cat on a chair, with the sentence The cat is under the chair. The child ticks or crosses.

Reading and Writing, one-word answers: What is the boy doing? He is ................ with a word bank of four verbs.

Speaking: The examiner points at a scene and asks Where is the dog? The child answers with a word or a phrase. Nothing longer is expected.

Example Movers and Flyers tasks (written by RCF English)

Movers — gap fill from a story: A six-line story about a family at the beach with five gaps, and a box of eight words. Two words are not needed, which is the part children find hard.

Movers — spot the difference (Speaking): Two nearly identical pictures. The child says In my picture the boy has a kite, but in your picture he has a ball. This one task carries a lot of the mark.

Flyers — reading and choosing a title: A short passage, then Which is the best name for this story? with three options.

Flyers — describing a picture story (Speaking): Four pictures in sequence; the child tells the story. Past tense is expected here for the first time.

Flyers — writing: Completing a short note or postcard of around twenty words, with the layout given.

The main ladder — A2 Key to C2 Proficiency

Five examinations at five levels, each testing Reading and Use of English, Writing, Listening and Speaking. Speaking is normally taken in pairs with two examiners, which surprises candidates who expected an interview.

Results are given on the Cambridge English Scale, a single number that maps onto the CEFR. The certificate does not expire — unlike IELTS, which most institutions treat as valid for two years. For a teacher building a permanent file of qualifications, that is a real advantage.

The five levels, and who each one suits

Written by RCF English. The right exam is the one you would pass comfortably today, not the one that sounds most impressive.
Exam (old name)	CEFR	Roughly	Typically taken for
A2 Key (KET)	A2	Confident Grade 8 to 9 school English	A first certificate; proof of basic competence for a school leaver.
B1 Preliminary (PET)	B1	A good O/L pass, used actively	Vocational courses; a stepping stone; junior office work.
B2 First (FCE)	B2	Comfortable A/L English and beyond	The most widely taken. Many employers and some universities accept it; a common target for Sri Lankan teachers.
C1 Advanced (CAE)	C1	Able to study a degree in English	University entry, professional work, senior teaching posts.
C2 Proficiency (CPE)	C2	Near the range of an educated native speaker	Academic and professional work at the highest level. Rarely required; occasionally decisive.

What the papers look like — example tasks

Reading and Use of English (written by RCF English)

Open cloze — a text with gaps and no word bank. She was not aware ................ the change in the timetable. You must supply of. This rewards grammar you use without thinking, not vocabulary you memorised.

Word formation — the stem is given in capitals beside the gap. The instructions were completely ................ (USE). → useless. Sri Lankan candidates lose marks here on negative prefixes.

Key word transformation — rewrite a sentence using a given word, without changing the meaning, in a fixed number of words. I have never eaten better rice. (BEST) → This is the ................ I have ever eaten. This task type appears nowhere else and must be practised specifically.

Multiple matching — several short texts and ten questions asking which text mentions what. It is a scanning task under time pressure.

Writing, Listening and Speaking (written by RCF English)

Writing Part 1 is compulsory and is usually an essay with two given points plus one of your own. The third point is where marks are won.

Writing Part 2 offers a choice — a review, a report, an article, a letter or an email. Register decides the mark, exactly as it does in an IELTS General Training letter.

Listening includes multiple choice, sentence completion and multiple matching. Unlike IELTS you hear each recording twice, which changes how you should use the first listening: get the gist, then fill detail.

Speaking is in pairs. Part 3 asks you and your partner to discuss a task together and reach a decision. You are marked partly on interaction — inviting your partner's view, agreeing, disagreeing politely. A candidate who dominates scores worse than one who collaborates.

That pair format is the single biggest difference from IELTS Speaking, which is one-to-one with an examiner.

TKT — the Teaching Knowledge Test

TKT is the qualification most within reach of a working Sri Lankan teacher. It is modular: you take one module at a time, in any order, and each earns its own certificate. There is no need to take all three, and no time limit between them.

It is a knowledge test. It is taken on paper, with multiple-choice and matching questions, and there is no observed teaching. That is its strength — you can prepare while teaching full time — and also its limit: it does not, on its own, prove you can teach.

There is no pass or fail. Results are reported in Bands 1 to 4, and every candidate receives a certificate stating the band achieved.

The TKT modules

Written by RCF English. The three core modules may be taken in any order and in any combination.
Module	What it covers
Module 1 — Language and background to language learning and teaching	Grammatical terms, language functions, how learners acquire a language, and the reasons behind common learner errors.
Module 2 — Lesson planning and use of resources	Planning a lesson and a sequence of lessons, choosing aims and materials, and using coursebooks and aids.
Module 3 — Managing the teaching and learning process	Classroom language, grouping learners, giving feedback, correcting errors and managing the classroom.
TKT: CLIL (specialist)	Teaching a subject such as science or mathematics through English.
TKT: Young Learners (specialist)	Teaching English to children, including how young learners differ from adults.

Example TKT-style questions (written by RCF English)

See how the questions are framed

TKT questions test terminology and judgement, not your own English. These are ours, written to show the shape:

Module 1, matching: Match each activity to the skill it develops — (a) students listen and tick the picture · (b) students rewrite sentences in the past · (c) students read a timetable to find a departure time. Options: reading for specific information · listening for gist · controlled grammar practice.

Module 1, terminology: The pupil writes "He goed to school." What is this an example of? Options: a slip · an overgeneralisation · L1 interference · a mistake of pronunciation. (Overgeneralisation — the child has applied a regular rule to an irregular verb.)

Module 2, planning: A teacher wants pupils to practise the past simple in a controlled way. Which activity is most suitable? Options: a free discussion · a gap-fill with given verbs · a debate · a role play with no preparation.

Module 3, classroom management: A teacher wants every pupil to answer without singling anyone out. Which technique fits? Options: nominating individuals · choral drilling · asking for volunteers · calling on the front row.

Note what is being tested: you must know the words overgeneralisation, controlled practice, nominating. That vocabulary is the real syllabus of TKT.

TKT, CELTA and DELTA compared

Written by RCF English. All three are Cambridge teaching qualifications; they are not alternatives to one another.
	TKT	CELTA	DELTA
For	Any teacher, including those with no formal training	Those entering English language teaching, or teachers wanting a practical qualification	Experienced teachers, usually with two years or more
Observed teaching?	No	Yes — assessed teaching practice with real learners	Yes, and at a considerably higher standard
Format	Written test, one module at a time	An intensive or part-time course with assessment throughout	Three modules, including a written examination and assessed teaching
Result	Band 1 to 4, no pass or fail	Pass, Pass B, Pass A or fail	Pass, Merit, Distinction or fail
Can you do it while teaching full time?	Yes, comfortably	Part-time yes; the intensive course is not compatible with full-time work	Usually yes, part time
Realistic first step for a Sri Lankan school teacher	Usually this one	If you can secure the time and cost	Later, after experience

Choosing sensibly

Do

Decide first whether you need to prove your English or your teaching
Sit the level you would pass today, not the one that sounds best
Take one TKT module, see the band, then decide about the others
Check what the institution you are applying to actually accepts, in writing
Remember that Cambridge language certificates do not expire
Use the free official sample papers before paying any fee

Avoid

Assuming a teaching qualification proves your language level — it does not
Entering C1 Advanced because B2 First sounds modest; a failed C1 costs more than a passed B2
Paying a private class for "Cambridge preparation" before checking that the exam is what you need
Treating TKT as equivalent to CELTA — the absence of observed teaching is the whole difference
Booking a Young Learners test by the child's age rather than their English

Official information and free sample papers

Cambridge publishes free sample papers for every examination on this page, and those are the only samples written to the real specification. We do not host Cambridge material here.

Young Learners: Pre A1 Starters · A1 Movers · A2 Flyers

The main ladder: A2 Key · B1 Preliminary · B2 First · C1 Advanced · C2 Proficiency

For teachers: TKT · CELTA · DELTA · all teaching qualifications

Also useful: the Cambridge English Scale explains how scores map to CEFR levels, and Linguaskill is an online adaptive test with fast results that some employers accept.

Sitting them in Sri Lanka: Cambridge examinations here are administered through the British Council. Confirm fees, dates and centres with them directly — those change, and anything printed here would be out of date.

What is ours and what is not

Every example task on this page was written by RCF English to show the shape of each paper. They are not real Cambridge questions, and no Cambridge material is reproduced anywhere on this site.

For genuine practice material, use the free official samples linked above, or buy the Cambridge books. They are sold in Colombo, and the people who wrote them should be paid for them.

Elsewhere on this site