FCE self study: how to prepare for B2 First on your own

Studying alone has real advantages: you choose your pace, you can focus on your weaknesses, and it costs much less. But a teacher normally gives you three things that you now have to provide yourself.

1. A plan. Teachers decide what to study and when. Without a plan, self-study students often repeat what they enjoy and avoid what they find hard.
2. Feedback. A teacher tells you why an answer is wrong and corrects your writing. Alone, you need ways to check your own work honestly.
3. A speaking partner. You can't practise a conversation by yourself, and the Speaking test includes interaction with another candidate.

The rest of this post shows how to replace each one. Start with the B2 First exam guide if you haven't read it yet, because you need to know the format before you can plan.

For Reading, Use of English and Listening These papers have fixed answers, so self-marking is easy. The important part is what happens next. For every wrong answer, find the exact words in the text or audio script that prove the correct answer. If you can't see why it's correct, read the strategy page for that part again. Keep an error log with the reason for each mistake: vocabulary, grammar, misreading, timing or a trap.

For Writing Writing is the hardest paper to self-assess, but you can get close:

• Wait a day before you check your text. Fresh eyes notice more.
• Go through the writing checklist line by line.
• Read the writing assessment criteria and give yourself a mark from 0 to 5 on each of the four criteria. Be strict.
• Compare your text with a model answer for the same task type. What does the model do that yours doesn't?
• Check the word count with the writing word counter.
• Keep a list of your repeated grammar errors and check every new text for them.

If you can occasionally get a teacher or a strong speaker to read one of your texts, use that feedback to calibrate your own marking.

Speaking is where self-study students struggle most, so plan it deliberately.

• Alone: answer questions from the Part 1 and Part 4 question banks out loud. Record a one-minute Part 2 long turn using our Part 2 photo tasks, listen back, and repeat it.
• With a partner: find another B2 First candidate online or a friend who speaks English, and follow our partner practice guide. Do one session a week if you can, working through Part 3 tasks.
• Every day: think in English for a few minutes, describing what you're doing or planning. It feels strange at first, but it trains the speed you need.