Euroexam General English and Business English Level B1
Suitable for those at a pre-intermediate level who want to prove their level in English Success in the exam shows that the learner can communicate and understand basic messages, and can interact with other speakers of the language.
At this level, Euroexam measures candidate's ability to:
- understand the main points of familiar matters encountered in work or school,
- deal with most situations likely to arise while travelling in an area where the language is spoken,
- produce simple connected text on topics of personal interest,
- describe experiences and events, dreams, hopes, and ambitions, and briefly give reasons and explanations for opinions and plans.
All Euroexams consist of four tests focused on one of the main language skills. First, check the Overview of Tasks, Time Limits and Marks section, then read more about each task in each paper in the 4 tabs below. The tasks are virtually identical in the General English and Business English exams, while in each task of the latter, everything is based on business and professional contexts. The minor task differences are clearly highlighted in the description of the individual tasks below.
Click on the following links for the Euroexam: Level B1 evaluation criteria for Speaking and Writing tests.
The Reading test consists of 3 tasks, and takes a total of 40 minutes.
Task 1 – Paragraph Headings
The task tests the candidate’s ability to understand the overall meaning of a paragraph.
Candidates receive a text which can be a narrative, a description or some correspondence consisting of seven paragraphs (one is used as an example), and nine paragraph titles or headlines. The task is to match each heading to the appropriate paragraph (while two headings will not be needed).
Task 2 – Scan Reading
The task tests the candidate's ability to find specific information within a text.
Candidates receive four texts on a single topic and eight statements (one is an example). Each statement contains some specific information from one of the four texts. The task is to decide which text each statement is true for.
Task 3 – Multiple-Choice Reading
The task tests detailed comprehension, overall understanding and interpretation of purpose of text.
This task uses a single text, normally an online article or a blog post, followed by seven multiple-choice comprehension questions or unfinished statements with 4 answer options (A-D).
The Writing test consists of 2 tasks, and takes a total of 60 minutes.
Task 1 – Form Filling
This task tests communicating basic personal information.
Candidates fill in a blank form, such as an application form, a questionnaire, a feedback form, or a report form, with various pieces of information. The form consists of four short and four extended responses. The word limit for each extended response is 15-20 words.
Task 2 –Discursive Writing
This task tests informal email writing skills: describing, relating personal information, narrative language, some functions such as giving advice.
Candidates are given a choice of two situations, and write a ca. 80-100-word informal email. Content may include a description of recent events, of social occasions, visits, changes, moves, jobs, places, or people.
The Listening test consists of 3 tasks, and takes a total of approximately 35 minutes.
Task 1 – Short Conversations
This task tests understanding the overall idea, understanding main points, what each dialogue is about.
Candidates hear six short conversations, all taking place in the same location, e.g. a train station, but of several different discourse types. The task consists of eight pictures or eight short blocks of text, or a list of eight items. Candidates select six correct answers out of the eight options, which best matches the theme of a conversation.
Task 2 – Making Notes
The task tests the candidate's ability to pick out important specific information in a longer text.
Candidates hear an extended monologue, a description, a story or an explanation of a process. The task consists of notes presenting some ideas from the monologue written down on the Question Paper. The sentences contain altogether nine gaps, where specific pieces of information are missing. Candidates have to fill each gap with maximum 3 words which should contain the missing information.
Task 3 – Radio Programme
This task tests understanding the main points, listening selectively for details and identifying features of attitudes from the conversation.
This longer conversation is taken from a talk-show like radio programme, where there is a host and one or two guests (at EuroPro exams, the context is a professional meeting). The task consists of ten multiple-choice questions or unfinished statements, each including three options (A-C).
EuroPro B1: Meeting
The context is an extract from a business or professional meeting of about 2-3 minutes in length with 2 or 3 participants. The candidate answers eight multiple-choice questions (with A-C options) while listening to the recording twice.
The Speaking test consists of four tasks, and takes approximately 20 minutes, with an additional ten minutes beforehand for preparation for Task 2 when candidates may use printed dictionaries. Candidates are examined in pairs with two examiners present, one acting as an interlocutor, the other as an assessor.
Task 1 – Lead-In and Interview
This task tests the candidate's abilties to state opinions, describe experiences, places and people, while warming up for the more complex speaking tasks.
Candidates are first asked two fixed questions about their experience in language learning. The intention is to help them relax and get used to speaking English. The next two questions encourage candidates to give their opinions, explanations, express preferences, and describe people and places. Some possible topics include travel, family, hobbies, education, and relationships.
Task 2 – Picture Story
This task tests the ability to sequence events, describing cause and effect, comparing, describing experiences.
Each candidate receives a picture story, in other words a set of 6 images describing a story. The task is to tell the story in 1.5 minutes. Before meeting the examiners, the candidate has ten minutes to prepare, to take notes (but they should not read aloud from these notes). The opening line of the story is given and the candidate must tell the continuation of the story in past tense. The stories are everyday incidents, with minimal complications, conflicts to explain, so they are relatively simple sequences of events to talk about.
EuroPro B1: Presentation
This task tests the ability to present business processes, arguments and recommendations in a logical structure with the right language and communication tools to a professional audience.
The candidate is expected to imagine a formal business or professional meeting where they are going to give a 2-minute presentation. The situation, some basic data, information to use during the 10-minute preparation stage and then in the presentation are given to the candidate on a Info Sheet.
Task 3 – Transactional Dialogues
This task tests functional expressions like requesting or giving information, asking for clarification, booking some service, confirming or denying, arranging to pay for something.
Each candidate receives three-three role cards, each of which describes an everyday situation: 1) a context (e.g. a café, railway station, public transport etc.) and 2) a communicative purpose (to complain, ask for or give direction, apologise etc.). The interlocutor will also inform the candidate what role they are going to take in the dialogue (e.g. neighbour, shop assistant, friend etc.). With all this knowledge, the candidate will produce an appropriate utterance, then the interlocutor replies in line with the context, and finally the candidate then responds.
Task 4 – Discussion
The task tests the use of a range of skills to argue, provide opinion, while responding to each other's viewpoints.
Candidates receive a topic card with a sentence or question raising a problem or situation. After thinking of and brainstorming a few ideas, the candidates discuss the advantages and disadvantages of various options in 3 minutes before coming to an agreement about the most suitable solution or option.
- Can understand enough to be able to meet needs of a concrete type provided speech is clearly and slowly articulated.
- Can understand phrases and expressions related to areas of most immediate priority (e.g. very basic personal and family information, shopping, local geography, employment) provided speech is clearly and slowly articulated.
- Can understand texts that consist mainly of high frequency everyday or job-related language.
- Can understand the description of events, feelings and wishes in personal letters.
- Can deal with most situations likely to arise whilst travelling in an area where the language is spoken.
- Can enter unprepared into conversation on topics that are familiar, of personal interest or pertinent to everyday life (e.g. family, hobbies, work, travel and current events).
- Can connect phrases in a simple way in order to describe experiences and events, my dreams, hopes and ambitions.
- Can briefly give reasons and explanations for opinions and plans. Can narrate a story or relate the plot of a book or film and describe my reactions.
- Can write simple connected text on topics which are familiar or of personal interest.
- Can write personal letters describing experiences and impressions.