The Examination for the Certificate in English.

The ECCE is not a proficiency examination, it’s more of an intermediate, or upper intermediate level examination.

It corresponds with B2 in the European Common Language Assessment. It’s also known as the “lower” exam here in Greece because it is not as difficult as the ECPE, or proficiency, exam.

The Hellenic American Union are the administrators of the test in Greece and have information for exam dates plus free practice materials on their site. You can get there by the link at the bottom of this page.

Format of the ECCE

Reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills are assessed on the examination through a variety of tasks.

Grammar-Vocabulary-Reading

The (GVR) Test lasts for 90 minutes and is multiple choice. For the grammar and vocabulary sections, there are incomplete sentences with answer choices of words or short phrases.

Reading

The reading test is multiple choice with two parts.

Part 1 = short reading passage with comprehension questions.

Part 2 = sets of four short related texts with 10 questions for each set.

Speaking

The speaking test lasts for 15 minutes. Multiple steps with one examiner.

Listening

The listening test lasts for about 30 minutes.

Parts 1 and 2 are multiple choice.

Part 1, is a short conversation and question. Answers are selected from pictures related to the audio.

Part 2 are short talks on various topics, with 4 to 6 questions per topic.

Essay / Writing

The writing section lasts for 30 minutes. Students select either a letter, or an essay giving opinion about an issue.

For free ECCE practice material and more information regarding the test, and where to take it just go to the American Hellenic Union by clicking on ECCE.