El uso de materiales didácticos online destinados a la preparación del nuevo examen informatizado «CBFCE» / The use of online learning materials for the preparation of the new computerized exam «CBFCE»
Keywords:
examen informatizado, materiales preparatorios, curso online, evaluación, nivel B2.Abstract
A comienzos del año 2010 se hizo oficial la aparición del Computer-based First Certificate in English Examination (CBFCE), la versión informatizada del examen oficial de nivel B2 de Cambridge First Certificate in English (FCE). Este examen, que evalúa las destrezas de aquellos candidatos que desean certificar el estar en posesión de un nivel de inglés intermedio-alto, venía realizándose desde hacía varias décadas en el formato tradicional impreso. No obstante, las exigencias actuales de la sociedad global de la comunicación, en que proporcionar la máxima eficiencia y efectividad es condición sine qua non, han motivado el que esta prestigiosa prueba adopte el formato informatizado, haciendo posible, pues, que los candidatos se examinen a través del ordenador. Ante este hecho, surge la necesidad de proporcionar a los candidatos materiales preparatorios y de evaluación acordes con los nuevos requisitos impuestos por el formato informatizado, y aumenta la demanda por parte de profesores y de los propios estudiantes de materiales acordes con sus necesidades. La respuesta del grupo de investigación y desarrollo CAMILLE a esta necesidad y a la creciente demanda de estos materiales viene de la mano de InGenio FCE Online Course and Tester un curso y un programa de evaluación online implementados a través del sistema InGenio. El presente artículo examina las características principales del nuevo CBFCE y describe los materiales preparatorios y de evaluación FCE Online Course and Tester, cuyo uso puede ser de gran utilidad en la preparación del examen, gracias a que proporcionan a los candidatos la oportunidad de realizar ejercicios que poseen el mismo nivel, formato, características, tipología y nivel de dificultad que aquellos que deberán realizar en el examen, permitiéndoles así practicar y desarrollar las destrezas –tanto lingüísticas como técnicas- necesarias para la superación del examenIn January 2010 a new format of the Cambridge First Certificate in English examination was announced: the Computer-based First Certificate in English Examination (CBFCE), which will provide students with more advantages at the moment of facing this official examination. The exam, aimed at assessing the skills of candidates willing to ascertain their upper-intermediate level of English or B2 level according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFRL), has had a paper-and-pencil format in the previous few decades. Nevertheless, the efficiency and effectiveness requirements of the communication-based global society we live in have recently pushed this examination to go computer-based. The apparition of the new format has pointed out the irrefutable need to design and provide students with learning materials that take into account the new computer-based format, like the FCE Online Course and Tester, the contents of which are managed and delivered through the InGenio learning management system and authoring tool. Several kinds of online preparatory resources had already started being developed by the CAMILLE Research and Development group even before the new exam format was announced. This article examines the advantages of the CBFCE and describes the characteristics of two preparatory and assessment materials, the FCE Online Course and Tester, focusing on the benefits of using these materials when preparing for the exam, such as the fact that they allow the candidates to familiarise with the level of difficulty and the diverse types of exercises that are comprised as well as with the new electronic format, while helping them to practise and to develop skills similar to those tested by this exam.
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