Michigan ECPE English Exam Materials and Practice Tests
The Michigan ECPE test of English at the proficiency level (the C2 level in Europe) is now a popular English language exam. To help students prepare for and succeed in the Michigan ECPE, we have a range of information, advice, materials for exam preparation and practice, and links to other useful resources. Our practice test material includes a complete grammar, cloze, vocabulary and reading test in the same format and at the same level of difficulty as the GCVR in the actual ECPE exam from the University of Michigan. These practice tests are marked automatically online to provide immediate feedback to students so that they can see how well-prepared they are for the English exam. In addition, we have a range of articles with lots of information about the Michigan ECPE and advice to make sure you know how to pass the Michigan ECPE. We hope that the material here will help you achieve success in the exam.
Complete Michigan GCVR test
A full-length, exam-level test marked automatically online. Ideal for students who want to see how ready they are for this part of the Michigan ECPE exam.
It comprises...
In addition...
Other ECPE resources on external sites
ECPE general information from the University of Michigan
Official description of the Michigan ECPE speaking test (i.e. the format for 2009 onwards)
Practice ECPE test with answer key from the University of Michigan
Official sample essays - the indication from Michigan of the standard that students must reach to pass the ECPE writing section
English learning links from the University of Michigan - a list of external sites looking at things like grammar, common errors, American English idioms, pronunciation and common writing skills. (You are required to register.) Unfortunately most of these are not as user-friendly as they could be.
Grammar test for the ECPE from examenglish.com
Mini GVR practice test and an invitation to buy more from ecpe-exam-tutor.com
Know of any more sites with useful material for students that want to prepare for the Michigan ECPE? Do let us know of them and if we like them we will include them in this list.
Our tip for students on course for the ECPE
Our simple but very big tip is this: Remember that your first priority is to boost your level of general English. You need to feel completely comfortable speaking in English, listening to and making sense of native speakers with various American accents, reading difficult articles and essays in English and writing top-class essays. If you can do all this, then your final preparation for the Michigan ECPE exam will be a simple and very brief affair.
We would warn against the trap of thinking that the more practice test material you can do, the better. Exam material is great when you already have a really good command of the language and just want to become familiar with the exam and practise your exam skills (which are not really such a big deal). It is not a good idea to use ECPE exam material to try to improve your English. Exams are written to test people, not to help them learn. If there is something you need to learn, you need to use materials designed for that purpose.
Admittedly, other teachers have a different approach, but this is the advice that we would give.
End of lecture. Good luck in the exam. We hope that our Michigan ECPE exam material (used in the right way) proves helpful.
Featured article:
The New Michigan ECPE Speaking Test
In June 2009 a completely new format for the University of Michigan ECPE speaking test will come on line. The older one-on-one interview consisting of little more than personal introductions and a topic discussion is to be ditched in favour of a more complex five-stage activity involving two candidates and two examiners which will last for between 25 and 35 minutes. For both students and teachers this poses a range of challenges. Here we want to review the different stages of the new speaking test and highlight some of the points that teachers and students will have to bear in mind.
Stage 1: Introductions and Small Talk (3 to 5 minutes)
The first stage is a familiar conversation about the students' lives, but with two twists, both of which appear in the following sentence from the official guidelines: "Candidates are expected to actively participate in the conversation by providing expanded responses and also by asking each other and [the] examiner questions."
The first twist – the demand that students ask each other questions – shouldn't be too difficult to deal with. As a guideline for students, the following formula springs to mind as a good one to follow: the interviewer asks Student A (let's call her Nafsica) a question, Nafsica answers it while Student B (let's call him Angelos) listens attentively and then asks Nafsica a question that will prompt her to expand her original answer.
The second twist might be more difficult. Many students, I imagine, will not be comfortable with the idea that they are expected to ask the examiner questions during a discussion of hobbies or education or work experience. However, with a little preparation students should be able to get used to the idea of asking one or two very simple questions that are not too personal. For instance, if Angelos is asked about his hobbies and begins to talk about his passion for bird watching, he might then ask the examiner if she has ever been birdwatching.
Students will have to practise coming up with simple questions that examiners can answer briefly. This will enable them to fulfil their new role while also allowing the examiners to fulfil their obligation to keep their contribution to the conversation to a minimum.
Stage 2: Summarizing and Recommending (5-7 minutes)
After three to five minutes the initial "small talk" comes to an end and the new four-stage oral activity begins. In its essence the activity is all too familiar: discussing four options in order to come to an agreement about the most preferable. But in the new ECPE speaking test this familiar idea attains a new level of complexity.
The example task given on the Michigan web site involves choosing between four candidates for the post of high school science teacher. Each student is given a sheet of paper with brief notes about two of the four candidates.
Here we reprint an actual example from the ECPE.
(Click to see the rest of our overview of the new Michigan ECPE speaking test.)
