BEC Cambridge exams discontinued – what are the alternatives?
Karoline
Cambridge are phasing out all the BEC business English certificate exams. The last computer-based exams will take place in December 2023 and the last paper-based exams will be in June 2024.
As alternatives to the BEC exam, we suggest the Cambridge general English exams – ranging all the way from A1-C2 level on the Council of Europe grading system. You could also consider the IELTS exam, which is often used for immigration purposes or to gain admission to study programs abroad. The TOEFL is a US exam also designed to assess candidates for admission to study programs.
It seems like a reasonable idea to phase out the BEC exams. There is no specific “business English”. Of course, there are terms that are more commonly used in business contexts. However, to succeed in business in the English language you have to have a good general command of English. Studying for any of the general English exams mentioned above will give you this background in general English.
If you come across old books used to prepare people for the business English certificate (BEC exam), these may still be useful. Although the exams will no longer be offered, these books provide lots of business-related exercises. If you’re interested in improving your business-related vocabulary, they are a good source.
Beyond that, if you don’t have these books, there are many interesting alternative things to read which will give you access to business-related English. The business pages of a quality newspaper or weekly magazine such as the Guardian, The Financial Times, The Economist, The Guardian Weekly or The New York Times will all have useful articles.
If podcasts are your thing, there are also many sources. The BBC had a good range of podcasts on many topics, including business themes. Ted Talks on business topics are very popular.
Good luck with your improving your English! You may wish to try a trial lesson with one of our experienced teachers at nativespeakers.ch GmbH.
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Cambridge have announced that the Linguaskill Business exam is the replacement for the Cambridge BEC exams. The new exam will be launched in January 2024.
You may wonder how one exam can replace a set of three exams, which were offered at B1, B2 and C1 levels. The answer is that Linguaskill is computer adaptive. The computer rapidly obtains an approximate measure of your English ability and designs the rest of the test you will take to reflect your ability.