Eligibility

The B1 Preliminary examination in Malaysia is for candidates who can use every day written and spoken English at an intermediate level. B1 Preliminary is the right exam for you if the following criteria apply to you:

• Your first language is not English.
• You can use English to deal with daily events.
• You can use English to read simple textbooks or magazine articles.
• You can use English to write letters on familiar subjects.
• You can use English to take notes in a meeting.

Exam Components

B1 Preliminary has three papers – Reading and Writing, Listening, and Speaking. The Reading and Writing paper contributes 50% of the total marks, and the other two papers each contribute 25%.

Reading and Writing (Paper 1)

1 hour 30 minutes Candidates are expected to read factual texts taken from signs, journals, newspapers and magazines, and understand the main points. They will be assessed on their skimming and scanning skills as well as their ability to recognise the conveyed opinion or attitude and simple text markers. In addition, candidates are required to write a short message and an informal letter of about 100 words and also to demonstrate their knowledge of grammatical structures by transforming sentences.

Listening (Paper 2)

approximately 35 minutes Candidates must be able to listen for key information in short texts, identify detailed meaning and interpret information in factual monologues, and also understand the attitudes and opinions of the speakers in an informal conversation.

Speaking (Paper 3)

up to 10 minutes Candidates are tested in pairs by two locally-based examiners on their linguistic ability to give personal information, make and respond to suggestions, discuss alternatives, negotiate agreement, express opinions and preferences, and manage a discourse using appropriate vocabulary.