Higher

Teachers Notes

Market Leader Advanced provides much of the language and topics needed to succeed in the BEC Higher exam.
The practice tests are based, as far as possible, on the vocabulary studied in each unit, but in the real exam the
vocabulary would generally cover a much wider spread. The authentic texts provide a wide range of
vocabulary and practice at the Higher level.

BEC Higher Exam: Task-specific practice

Unit 1
READING
Expanding Vocabulary

When expanding business vocabulary, make sure that students are aware of possible partnerships and
collocations. There are many exercises in Market Leader focusing on this area.

For new words, ask students to suggest synonyms and alternative ways of saying the same thing, which
will help them prepare for the longer Reading texts (Parts One, Two and Three). There are several exercises
with the Reading texts asking students to find the meaning of words and expressions in the text.

Studying words in context is practised in most of the units. There are exercises to find words or
expressions with specific definitions used in the articles. Many of these may be lower frequency words, which
students are expected to be familiar with at the Higher level.

READING PART ONE (Matching) page 2

Summarising paragraphs

When studying texts, ask students to summarise the main point of each paragraph in one sentence. This
helps them to focus on key points, which are tested in this part. Remind students that the wording in the
question will usually be a paraphrase of what is in the text, so encourage them to think of different vocabulary
to summarise the main point.

Ask students to underline other key points and find alternative ways of expressing them.

Words and phrases used in the options may often be the same as some of the texts. However, warn
students to beware of this common distraction technique. If one text uses a certain phrase, it is very unlikely
that the option with the same phrase is from that text. The student has to really understand what the option
means and match it carefully.
1C

2A

3E

4B

5E

6B

7D

8C

WRITING PART ONE (Short report based on graphs, charts or tables) page 3
Although there is little specific practice for this task type in Market Leader Advanced, the course provides
students with plenty of opportunities. For example the graphs charts and table in the following can be used as
practice:

Unit 2 Activity File page 149 course title and fee schedule tables

Unit 3 Case Study energy consumption chart

Unit 4 Case Study customer service table

Unit 9 Case Study two pie charts on operating costs

Unit 10 most popular online purchases graph

Practise describing graphs and trends using as many different words and phrases as possible, e.g. half the people,
fifty percent, the majority, less than, more than, increase, rise, soar, go up. Good answers avoid repetition as much as
possible.
Market Leader Writing File provides examples of short emails, which are very useful. The report examples are
much longer than is required in Part One, but can be used to practise useful standard phrasing for reports. You
could also ask students to summarise the report examples in Market Leader Writing File to identify any key
information that might be included in an executive summary or short report. The Market Leader Business English
Practice File also offers extensive writing practice.
It is important to remember that Part One Writing only requires 120140 words, so practice in writing succinctly
is imperative.
Another key point is to ensure that students include all the relevant figures accurately.
Timed practice is very useful in class. It is suggested that students take 20 minutes for Part One.
MODEL ANSWER
Dear Sirs,
I am writing to invite your organisation to join our business network.
Unemployment is an increasingly serious problem in our area. From 201215 it has risen from 30,000 to
50,000 people. As a result, there has been an increase in the number of applicants requesting funding for
start-ups. In 2012 there were only a few thousand applications, but in 2015 there were nearly 10,000.
Although government grants and loans are available, the amount from 201215 has only increased from
50,000 to 55,000, despite the increase in demand. Consequently, our network is looking for more
companies to invest in new business and add to our 60,000 private fund for local start-ups.
If you would like to learn more about our network and the investment programme, please contact me.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Yours faithfully,

Unit 2
READING PART FOUR (Cloze vocabulary) page 4
The vocabulary exercises in Market Leader are particularly useful for teaching word partnerships and
collocations.
Get students to find key words in a paragraph and ask them to think of three other words which have a similar
meaning or which look similar. The class can then decide if they can replace the key word in the sentence.
Some will work and others will not, in which case the class can try to explain why they do not work. Is it the
partnership, the collocation or the grammar that makes an option impossible?
At this level, a broad knowledge of vocabulary is expected so being able to understand the different meanings
of one word or phrase is vital.
1C

2A

3D

4B

5A

6C

7C

8D

9B

10 A

WRITING PART TWO (Business correspondence, report, proposal) page 5

Market Leader provides excellent practice for longer business communications in many of the units, with
samples of different types of communication in the Writing File. There is also plenty of practice in the Market
Leader Business English Practice File.
Encourage students to learn standard phrases and formats.
For the exam, ensure that they include all the points mentioned in the rubric.
Being able to write within the time limitation is also vital, so focus on practising timed responses in class.
By doing all the writing tasks set in the Course Book, students will have had excellent practice by the time they
do the BEC exam.
MODEL ANSWER
As requested, this purpose of this proposal is to summarise the benefits of the past years training courses
and to suggest a new course for the coming year.
In the past year our staff have attended two main training courses: Leadership Skills and Time
Management. All managers attended both courses and their feedback was very interesting.
Leadership Skills
The course consisted of both theory and practice in the form of role play and problem solving. Managers
were able to use many of the skills learned to change the way they lead. This was by far the more popular
course.
Time Management
The course aimed to show managers how to be more productive, rather than busy, and how to prioritise,
thus maximising their effectiveness at work. There was a certain amount of theory which most participants
said seemed to be a waste of time and pointed out that most of it was just common sense.
Suggestion for future course
According to the managers feedback, many felt that having regular IT training would be much more useful
as they cannot keep up with all the new applications and software. With up-to-date knowledge, staff will be
able to use their time more effectively and productively.
Conclusion
To conclude, I would suggest that we drop the Time Management course for the coming year and look at
offering regular IT training for all managers.

Unit 3
READING PART FIVE (Open cloze) page 6
Careful reading of the text is essential in this type of task. There should only be one possible option, and it will
be obvious from the sentence structure and meaning which word is missing.
Ask students to look at an open cloze task and work out what type of word is missing noun, verb, preposition,
etc.
Ask students to create their own tasks. Select a text from the unit you are working on and ask students to
choose individual words that could be gapped. They will have to think if the sentence structure makes this
word the only possible answer. They can test their selection on another student, or the class, to see if it works or
not. Discussion about the reasons for an option not working is invaluable in helping them get to grips with this
task type.
1 for

2 out

3 come

4 with

5 do

6 on

7 which

8 In

9 If

10 would

WRITING PART ONE (Short report based on graphs, charts or tables) page 7
Although there is little specific practice for this task type in Market Leader Advanced, the course provides
students with plenty of opportunities. For example the graphs charts and table in the following can be used as
practice:

Unit 2 Activity File page 149 course title and fee schedule tables

Unit 3 Case Study energy consumption chart

Unit 4 Case Study customer service table

Unit 9 Case Study two pie charts on operating costs

Unit 10 most popular online purchases graph

Practise describing graphs and trends using as many different words and phrases as possible, e.g. half the people,
fifty percent, the majority, less than, more than, increase, rise, soar, go up. Good answers avoid repetition as much as
possible.
Market Leader Writing File provides examples of short emails, which are very useful. The report examples are
much longer than is required in Part One, but can be used to practise useful standard phrasing for reports. You
could also ask students to summarise the report examples in Market Leader Writing File to identify any key
information that might be included in an executive summary or short report. The Market Leader Business English
Practice File also offers extensive writing practice.
It is important to remember that Part One Writing only requires 120140 words, so practice in writing succinctly
is imperative.
Another key point is to ensure that students include all the relevant figures accurately.
Timed practice is very useful in class. It is suggested that students take 20 minutes for Part One.
MODEL ANSWER
This report evaluates energy costs over the next five years using different energy sources.
Current costs are 90,000 and are expected to rise to 150,000 by 2020. There would be a large initial
investment in alternative energy sources, but the company could start saving within three years.
There are two main options:
Solar power
At around 110,000 this is the cheaper alternative system to install. By 2017 energy costs, at 80,000, will
be below those expected, with the current system at 110,000. By 2020 the solar power costs will only be
about 35,000, compared to 145,000 with the current system.
Wind power
The initial investment would be around 150,000, and by 2018 the overall energy costs would be just
below the cost with the current system. But by 2020 the costs are expected to be 90,000 and continue to
fall.

Unit 4
READING PART SIX (Editing error spotting) page 8
In business, we are constantly checking written communication for errors. A companys reputation can be
damaged by a poorly written piece of correspondence or public communication.
Use a couple of paragraphs from an authentic text and ask students to look carefully at the articles, pronouns,
auxiliary verbs, linking words, negative forms, etc. Ask them to try to add an extra word which looks as if it
could be possible, but is not, in each sentence/line.

Ask students to see if they can take any words out of a sentence/line so that it still maintains its grammatical
integrity. Point out that these unnecessary words are not the focus of the test, and this exercise helps them to see
the difference.
Ask students to check each others writing for errors whenever they have written homework, before they hand
it to you.
1 OF
10 NO

2 WHAT
3 IT
11
12 SO

4 UP

6 WHICH

7 TO

8 BECAUSE

9 THAN

WRITING PART ONE (Short report based on graphs, charts or tables) page 9
Although there is little specific practice for this task type in Market Leader Advanced, the course provides
students with plenty of opportunities. For example the graphs charts and table in the following can be used as
practice:

Unit 2 Activity File page 149 course title and fee schedule tables

Unit 3 Case Study energy consumption chart

Unit 4 Case Study customer service table

Unit 9 Case Study two pie charts on operating costs

Unit 10 most popular online purchases graph

Practise describing graphs and trends using as many different words and phrases as possible, e.g. half the people,
fifty percent, the majority, less than, more than, increase, rise, soar, go up. Good answers avoid repetition as much as
possible.
Market Leader Writing File provides examples of short emails, which are very useful. The report examples are
much longer than is required in Part One, but can be used to practise useful standard phrasing for reports. You
could also ask students to summarise the report examples in Market Leader Writing File to identify any key
information that might be included in an executive summary or short report. The Market Leader Business English
Practice File also offers extensive writing practice.
It is important to remember that Part One Writing only requires 120140 words, so practice in writing succinctly
is imperative.
Another key point is to ensure that students include all the relevant figures accurately.
Timed practice is very useful in class. It is suggested that students take 20 minutes for Part One.
MODEL ANSWER
The customer survey we carried out over the last month has produced some interesting points.
Firstly, the majority of customers (62%) feel that our price strategy is competitive. However, 30% of
customers disagree with them, which is a concern. Nearly half our customers agree that our products are
up-to-date and 52% think they are not up-to-date.
Secondly, a worrying point is that our advertising campaigns seem to be missing the mark, with less than a
third of our customers liking them and 70% not liking them. One positive aspect is that our staff are
considered to be helpful and courteous by 84% of customers, and after-sales service is rated high at 75%.
Finally, when asked about our logo and image, 85% of customers felt that they were old-fashioned, so
these definitely need to be changed.

Unit 5
READING PART TWO (Gapped text) page 10
Study one paragraph closely, asking students to look at the backward and forward connections of each sentence
and underlining all linkers of any kind. Understanding how sentences link together is good practice for this
part.
If possible, copy the texts or part of the texts with sentences missing. Jumble the missing sentences up and ask
students to put them back. Even if it is unclear where some sentences go, this can be a valid exercise, as the class
can then decide why there is no connection.
Another option is to ask students to try to write this task themselves using one of the texts. They will then have
to consider carefully the link between sentences, and it will make them more aware of what is required of them
in this part.
1E

2A

3G

4C

5F

6B

WRITING PART TWO (Business correspondence, report, proposal) page 11

Market Leader provides excellent practice for longer business communications in many of the units, with
samples of different types of communication in the Writing File. There is also plenty of practice in the Market
Leader Business English Practice File.
Encourage students to learn standard phrases and formats.
For the exam, ensure that they include all the points mentioned in the rubric.
Being able to write within the time limitation is also vital, so focus on practising timed responses in class.
By doing all the writing tasks set in the Course Book, students will have had excellent practice by the time they
do the BEC exam.
MODEL ANSWER
Introduction
The purpose of this proposal is to investigate and analyse the reasons why managers are not staying with
the company very long, and to propose what can be done to retain these staff members in the future.
Reasons
On checking staff leaving records, I discovered that many of them left mainly because they did not feel that
they were progressing up the career ladder as fast as they had expected. Others maintained that the
company does not offer competitive pay rates.
What can be done?
Career mapping
We should ensure that managers have the opportunity to progress through the company, so I believe that
we need to implement a more proactive attitude to our staff and involve them in creating career plans for
themselves. Once we have a structured plan in place, then we need to improve the recruitment process to
ensure that we have people with the right fit.
Pay
Although it is true that our salaries tend to be slightly below the average, we can compensate staff in
different ways. For example, we should look at offering private health care and longer holidays and
sabbaticals for staff who stay with us for a minimum of five years.
Next step
The next step should be to survey all managers to allow them to tell us how they feel about their future with
us, and then invite them to a meeting to participate in a discussion on a new career strategy for managers.

Unit 6
READING PART THREE (Multiple choice) page 12
Students at this level are very familiar with multiple choice questions. However, they may need to be reminded
of how to approach this task. The correct options will usually be paraphrases of what is in the text. Other
options will appear to have similar meanings or vocabulary, but will not be correct.
Ask students to look at the options and think of different words/phrases for expressing the same idea. Then
look at the text and see if there is a vocabulary match. Remind them that word spotting is often used as a
distraction, so they must make sure they must read the options and the text carefully.
Take a paragraph from a text and ask students to underline the key words and to think of synonyms or other
ways of expressing them. Then ask them to try and write four multiple choice questions for that paragraph, e.g.
one correct answer and three distractors.
1D

2C

3B

4B

5A

6B

WRITING PART TWO (Business correspondence, report, proposal) page 13

Market Leader provides excellent practice for longer business communications in many of the units, with
samples of different types of communication in the Writing File. There is also plenty of practice in the Market
Leader Business English Practice File.
Encourage students to learn standard phrases and formats.
For the exam, ensure that they include all the points mentioned in the rubric.
Being able to write within the time limitation is also vital, so focus on practising timed responses in class.
By doing all the writing tasks set in the Course Book, students will have had excellent practice by the time they
do the BEC exam.
MODEL ANSWER
Recent allegations in the press about unethical sourcing of our products have damaged our reputation of
being an ethical company. Here are some findings and recommendations.
Clothing range
A new range of cheaper clothing for young people is being made in a factory overseas where the staff work
in poor conditions with little air or light for long hours and are paid below the countrys average with no
health care. When we first contracted this factory they promised that conditions met our high standards.
Unfortunately, it was bought by another company last year and standards have slipped severely. It is
therefore unacceptable for us to continue using this company.
Organic meat from Australia
It has been brought to our attention that the supplier from whom we get the organic meat range does not
have organic farmland. Furthermore, the animals are not cared for to the standards we would expect. This
company has now been shut down by government officials and we are actively seeking new suppliers for
our organic range.
Recommendations
We should stop selling the clothing range and source an alternative supplier. We could consider
purchasing our own factory to provide staff with better working conditions.
Sometimes it is difficult to ensure that suppliers of food products are complying with the law. Regular visits
to overseas suppliers and government monitors could help to ensure that suppliers are not failing to meet
compliance.

Unit 7
READING PART TWO (Gapped text) page 14
Study one paragraph closely, asking students to look at the backward and forward connections of each sentence
and underlining all linkers of any kind. Understanding how sentences link together is good practice for this
part.
If possible, copy the texts or part of the texts with sentences missing. Jumble the missing sentences up and ask
students to put them back. Even if it is unclear where some sentences go, this can be a valid exercise, as the class
can then decide why there is no connection.
Another option is to ask students to try to write this task themselves using one of the texts. They will then have
to consider carefully the link between sentences, and it will make them more aware of what is required of them
in this part.
1E

2A

3F

4C

5G

6B

WRITING PART TWO (Business correspondence, report, proposal) page 15

Market Leader provides excellent practice for longer business communications in many of the units, with
samples of different types of communication in the Writing File. There is also plenty of practice in the Market
Leader Business English Practice File.
Encourage students to learn standard phrases and formats.
For the exam, ensure that they include all the points mentioned in the rubric.
Being able to write within the time limitation is also vital, so focus on practising timed responses in class.
By doing all the writing tasks set in the Course Book, students will have had excellent practice by the time they
do the BEC exam.
MODEL ANSWER
Dear Mr Jones,
Further to our recent meeting regarding your application for a loan to expand your business, I regret to
inform you that the bank will not be able to fund the full amount that you have requested.
We have looked closely at your business plan and sales forecast for the coming year and feel that your
market research indicates an overly-optimistic view. Although we agree that over the last year your
business has really taken off and sales are booming with a full order book, there is no guarantee this
situation will continue at the same pace as you are in a very competitive market. Consequently, the bank
has decided not to take a risk as we are concerned that you will end up financially exposed and unable to
repay the loan.
Nevertheless, we feel that some expansion may be justified as your business is generally sound so we
would be happy to offer you a short-term loan of 50,000. This should allow you to employ another person
and maybe extend your workshop on a smaller scale than you have planned.
If you still want to go ahead with your plans we would be happy to put you in touch with potential private
investors, who are looking for young expanding businesses and who are often able to offer you the
business expertise a growing company needs.
We look forward to hearing from you.
Yours sincerely,

Unit 8
READING PART SIX (Editing error spotting) page 16
In business, we are constantly checking written communication for errors. A companys reputation can be
damaged by a poorly written piece of correspondence or public communication.
Use a couple of paragraphs from an authentic text and ask students to look carefully at the articles, pronouns,
auxiliary verbs, linking words, negative forms, etc. Ask them to try and add an extra word which looks as if it
could be possible, but is not, in each sentence/line.
Ask students to see if they can take any words out of a sentence/line so that it still maintains its grammatical
integrity. Point out that these unnecessary words are not the focus of the test, and this exercise helps them to see
the difference.
Ask students to check each others writing for errors whenever they have written homework, before they hand
it to you.
1 WITH
10 SO

2 DO
3 THAT
11 THEM 12 OUT

5 BE

7 SUCH

8 INTO

9 WHICH

WRITING PART ONE (Short report based on graphs, charts or tables) page 17
Although there is little specific practice for this task type in Market Leader Advanced, the course provides
students with plenty of opportunities. For example the graphs charts and table in the following can be used as
practice:

Unit 2 Activity File page 149 course title and fee schedule tables

Unit 3 Case Study energy consumption chart

Unit 4 Case Study customer service table

Unit 9 Case Study two pie charts on operating costs

Unit 10 most popular online purchases graph

Practise describing graphs and trends using as many different words and phrases as possible, e.g. half the people,
fifty percent, the majority, less than, more than, increase, rise, soar, go up. Good answers avoid repetition as much as
possible.
Market Leader Writing File provides examples of short emails, which are very useful. The report examples are
much longer than is required in Part One, but can be used to practise useful standard phrasing for reports. You
could also ask students to summarise the report examples in Market Leader Writing File to identify any key
information that might be included in an Executive summary or short report. The Market Leader Business English
Practice File also offers extensive writing practice.
It is important to remember that Part One Writing only requires 120140 words, so practice in writing succinctly
is imperative.
Another key point is to ensure that students include all the relevant figures accurately.
Timed practice is very useful in class. It is suggested that students take 20 minutes for Part One.
MODEL ANSWER
As requested, here is our report summarising the current situation.
Key costs
Firstly, we looked at key costs and discovered that from 201316 sales have decreased dramatically from
1.8m to only 1m, which is very concerning. Secondly, over the same period, production costs rose
steadily from 100,000 to around 500,000. Finally, staffing costs have remained steady at around
250,000.

Staff opinions
The staff survey revealed that morale in the company is very low. In fact, 68% of staff feel they are not paid
enough and only 7% thought their salaries were good. The work environment is considered by just over
half the staff to be unsatisfactory, while only 3% said they thought it was good. Nearly all the staff felt that
that career prospects were poor with only 5% considering them satisfactory.

Unit 9
READING PART ONE (Matching) page 18
Summarising paragraphs
When studying texts, ask students to summarise the main point of each paragraph in one sentence. This helps
them to focus on key points, which are tested in this part. Remind students that the wording in the question will
usually be a paraphrase of what is in the text, so encourage them to think of different vocabulary to summarise
the main point.
Ask students to underline other key points and find alternative ways of expressing them.
Words and phrases used in the options may often be the same as some of the texts. However, warn students to
beware of this common distraction technique. If one text uses a certain phrase, it is very unlikely the option with
the same phrase is from that text. The student has to really understand what the option means and match it
carefully.
1E

2C

3A

4E

5B

6D

7B

8A

WRITING PART TWO (Business correspondence, report, proposal) page 19

Market Leader provides excellent practice for longer business communications in many of the units, with
samples of different types of communication in the Writing File. There is also plenty of practice in the Market
Leader Business English Practice File.
Encourage students to learn standard phrases and formats.
For the exam, ensure that they include all the points mentioned in the rubric.
Being able to write within the time limitation is also vital, so focus on practising timed responses in class.
By doing all the writing tasks set in the Course Book, students will have had excellent practice by the time they
do the BEC exam.
MODEL ANSWER
Over the last two years, our supermarket chain has seen a downturn in sales revenue, which seems to be
mainly due to two things: location and pricing. Strategies for improving sales will be outlined as well as
plans for international expansion.
Two reasons for falling sales
Store location
Many customers find our out-of-town stores are no longer convenient and prefer to shop more locally,
mainly because they are buying fresh produce more frequently from smaller stores.
Pricing
Low-cost competitors have taken a substantial share of the market and our prices are considered too
expensive by many.

10

Strategies
Store location
Two of the biggest out-of-town stores, which are losing money, will be closed and the funds will be used to
open ten smaller stores on local high streets.
Pricing
Pricing should remain competitive, but we should not try to compete with the lower end stores. Dropping
prices drastically does not instil customer confidence.
International expansion
Geographic diversity seems to be benefiting the company as our European stores are thriving, so we
intend to open three more later this year in Bratislava, Warsaw and Barcelona.
Conclusion
The findings indicate that the reputation of the business has suffered due to a lack of awareness of
changes in the market. With a clear strategy about location, pricing and quality, the situation should greatly
improve in the domestic market. We should also focus on the overseas market, which is still growing
steadily.

Unit 10
READING PART THREE (Multiple choice) page 20
Students at this level are very familiar with multiple choice questions. However, they may need to be reminded
of how to approach this task. The correct options will usually be paraphrases of what is in the text. Other
options will appear to have similar meanings or vocabulary, but will not be correct.
Ask students to look at the options and think of different words/phrases for expressing the same idea. Then
look at the text and see if there is a vocabulary match. Remind them that word spotting is often used as a
distraction, so they must make sure they must read the options and the text carefully.
Take a paragraph from a text and ask students to underline the key words and to think of synonyms or other
ways of expressing them. Then ask them to try and write four multiple choice questions for that paragraph, e.g.
one correct answer and three distractors.
1A

2C

3C

4D

5B

6A

WRITING PART TWO (Business correspondence, report, proposal) page 21

Market Leader provides excellent practice for longer business communications in many of the units, with
samples of different types of communication in the Writing File. There is also plenty of practice in the Market
Leader Business English Practice File.
Encourage students to learn standard phrases and formats.
For the exam, ensure that they include all the points mentioned in the rubric.
Being able to write within the time limitation is also vital, so focus on practising timed responses in class.
By doing all the writing tasks set in the Course Book, students will have had excellent practice by the time they
do the BEC exam.

11

MODEL ANSWER
Dear Ms James,
Thank you for coming to the interview last week. We are delighted to offer you the job of Social Media
Manager, to start 1st April.
As we discussed at the interview, we have recently been the target of some very negative blogs and
reviews on the Internet, which have damaged our reputation and sales. Some customers have been critical
of our Internet presence, saying that complaints are not dealt with satisfactorily and that is why they have
had to resort to social media campaigns. Furthermore, they say that our website is slow and not easy to
navigate. As a result, we feel that by employing a social media manager we will be able to counteract
these problems immediately.
Your role will be to manage our online presence in all its forms and deal with brewing crises as they arise.
In addition, we expect you to advise us on how best we can use social media to move our business
forward. You are also expected to prepare a company-wide strategy for dealing with online business and
training for company staff.
Finally, you will ensure that our company keeps up-to-date with everything that is mentioned about them
on the Internet and that negative issues are defused immediately to avoid costly damage. We are sure you
will be able to improve our companys online presence, especially the usability of our website, and we look
forward to welcoming you to the business.
Yours sincerely,

Unit 11
READING PART FOUR (Cloze vocabulary) page 22
The vocabulary exercises in Market Leader are particularly useful for teaching word partnerships and
collocations.
Get students to find key words in a paragraph and ask them to think of three other words which have a similar
meaning or which look similar. The class can then decide if they can replace the key word in the sentence.
Some will work and others will not, in which case the class can try to explain why they do not work. Is it the
partnership, the collocation or the grammar that makes an option impossible?
At this level, a broad knowledge of vocabulary is expected so being able to understand the different meanings
of one word or phrase is vital.
1D

2A

3D

4C

5B

6B

7D

8C

9B

10 D

WRITING PART ONE (Short report based on graphs, charts or tables) page 23
Although there is little specific practice for this task type in Market Leader Advanced, the course provides
students with plenty of opportunities. For example the graphs charts and table in the following can be used as
practice:

Unit 2 Activity File page 149 course title and fee schedule tables

Unit 3 Case Study energy consumption chart

Unit 4 Case Study customer service table

Unit 9 Case Study two pie charts on operating costs

12

Unit 10 most popular online purchases graph

Practise describing graphs and trends using as many different words and phrases as possible, e.g. half the people,
fifty percent, the majority, less than, more than, increase, rise, soar, go up. Good answers avoid repetition as much as
possible.
Market Leader Writing File provides examples of short emails, which are very useful. The report examples are
much longer than is required in Part One, but can be used to practise useful standard phrasing for reports. You
could also ask students to summarise the report examples in Market Leader Writing File to identify any key
information that might be included in an Executive summary or short report. The Market Leader Business English
Practice File also offers extensive writing practice.
It is important to remember that Part One Writing only requires 120140 words, so practice in writing succinctly
is imperative.
Another key point is to ensure that students include all the relevant figures accurately.
Timed practice is very useful in class. It is suggested that students take 20 minutes for Part One.
MODEL ANSWER
Ive researched the start-up costs and potential income for the cafe.
In Year 1, we will pay 20,000 for the premises. However, the cost of purchasing furniture is quite
inexpensive at 5,000. The kitchen equipment cost will be just under 40,000 and staffing costs will be
about 35,000. Estimated income for the first year should be 60,000.
In Year 2, the cost of the premises increases, so Ive estimated 23,000. We shouldnt need new furniture
or equipment, but I have allowed around 2,500 for furniture replacement and 10,000 for equipment
maintenance and repair. Staffing costs could rise to 40,000 and turnover is expected to increase to
80,000.
In Year 3, the cost of the premises will increase again, while furniture and equipment costs are expected to
remain steady. Staffing costs could rise to 58,000 and income could reach 100,000.

Unit 12
READING PART FIVE (Open cloze) page 24
Careful reading of the text is essential in this type of task. There should only be one possible option, and it will
be obvious from the sentence structure and meaning which word is missing.
Ask students to look at an open cloze task and work out what type of word is missing noun, verb, preposition,
etc.
Ask students to create their own tasks. Select a text from the unit you are working on and ask students to
choose individual words that could be gapped. They will have to think if the sentence structure makes this
word the only possible answer. They can test their selection on another student, or the class, to see if it works or
not. Discussion about the reasons for an option not working is invaluable in helping them get to grips with this
task type.
1 more
10 well

2 longer

3 lot

4 rather

5 together

6 of

7 able

8 what

9 on

WRITING PART ONE (Short report based on graphs, charts or tables) page 25
Although there is little specific practice for this task type in Market Leader Advanced, the course provides
students with plenty of opportunities. For example the graphs charts and table in the following can be used as
practice:

Unit 2 Activity File page 149 course title and fee schedule tables

Unit 3 Case Study energy consumption chart

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Unit 4 Case Study customer service table

Unit 9 Case Study two pie charts on operating costs

Unit 10 most popular online purchases graph

Practise describing graphs and trends using as many different words and phrases as possible, e.g. half the people,
fifty percent, the majority, less than, more than, increase, rise, soar, go up. Good answers avoid repetition as much as
possible.
Market Leader Writing File provides examples of short emails, which are very useful. The report examples are
much longer than is required in Part One, but can be used to practise useful standard phrasing for reports. You
could also ask students to summarise the report examples in Market Leader Writing File to identify any key
information that might be included in an Executive summary or short report. The Market Leader Business English
Practice File also offers extensive writing practice.
It is important to remember that Part One Writing only requires 120140 words, so practice in writing succinctly
is imperative.
Another key point is to ensure that students include all the relevant figures accurately.
Timed practice is very useful in class. It is suggested that students take 20 minutes for Part One.
MODEL ANSWER
Factory construction update 15th March
This report outlines the work already done and the activities still to be completed for construction of the
new factory.
Work already done
The planning stage was completed on time in January and February and we are currently half way through
the research stage, which is progressing according to the schedule and should be completed by the end of
April.
Work still to be done
The final design of the building will be prepared in May and we should be able to break ground at the
beginning of June. We anticipate that the whole build will take five months and be completed by the end of
October. The follow-up work is planned for November. The factory opening is on schedule for December,
and there is no reason currently to assume that it will be delayed.

Listening
Although the exam practice book does not focus on Listening, all the listening texts can be used for exam
practice. Market Leader provides extensive listening practice on each topic using monologues, dialogues, etc. in a
variety of business situations. Although some of the exercises may not be an exact match to the BEC exam, they
still provide valuable general listening practice. In addition, the Business English Practice File offers further
listening practice.

PART ONE (Note taking/sentence completion)

Most Market Leader units have listening exercises that require text completion, so these are perfect for practice.
Examples of specific practice:

Unit 1 (CD1.2) Exercise D page 7

Unit 2 (CD1.7) Exercise C page 14

Unit 4 (CD1.28) Exercise B page 36

Unit 6 (CD1.21) Exercise E page 53

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Unit 7 (CD2.30) Exercise B page 66 + (CD2.37) Exercise G page 71

Unit 8 (CD2.41) Exercise C page 75

Unit 12 (CD3.35) page 112

PART TWO (Matching)

This is one of the most demanding task types in the listening. Listening to five different people speaking about
the same topic, and having to listen for two different points in each one, as well as choosing from two different
lists with extra options, requires a lot of the listener.
Making sure that you know what you are listening for is vital. Market Leader can be used as training for this.
Examples of specific practice:

Unit 2 (CD1.8, CD1.9, CD1.10, CD1.11) Exercise E page 15 is a good introduction to different people
talking about similar things and listening for specific points.

Unit 3 (CD1.20 and CD1.21) Exercises F and G page 23 use three different speakers, so is good practice.

Unit 7 (CD2.3336) Exercise C page 70

Unit 9 (CD3.36) Exercises G and H page 83 + (CD3.7) Exercise B page 86

PART THREE (Multiple choice)

Although there are no specific multiple choice tasks in the course, most of the listenings not already mentioned
above are good practice. Teachers can take suitable recording scripts and write some multiple choice questions
for students, or they can ask students to create their own multiple choice questions from a recording script.

Speaking
If used fully, each Market Leader unit offers plenty of practice for speaking, which will be useful for all parts of
the Speaking Test. The speaking part of the course covers a variety of business speaking skills, from running
and participating in meetings to presenting ideas or products and working collaboratively to find solutions to
problems.
Each unit has sections entitled Discuss these questions, which can be useful for all parts of the Speaking Test.
For example, Unit 1 provides practice in speaking for two minutes about a topic, which is great training for Part
Two of the Speaking Test.
There are many collaborative tasks, especially in the Case Studies, which are good training for Part Three of the
Speaking Test. In addition, there are numerous role play situations and excellent business communication tasks
in the Case Studies.

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BEC Practice Test

READING pp. 2632
PART ONE
1C

2D

3B

4E

5A

6E

11 F

12 B

13 G

14 E

17 A

18 D

19 B

20 C

23 A

24 B

25 C

26 D

7B

8A

27 A

28 C

PART TWO
9C

10 A

PART THREE
15 B

16 D

PART FOUR
21 D

22 B

29 C

30 B

PART FIVE
31 WHEN
38 OUT

32 AFTER
33 IN
39 ACCORDING

34 NOR
35 BETWEEN 36 BECAUSE
40 MAKING

37 WHICH

PART SIX
41 WE
49 THE

42 BE
50

43 THAT
51 ABOUT

44 TO 45 EITHER
52 EVER

46

47 MUCH

48 NOT

WRITING p. 33
PART ONE
Question 1
MODEL ANSWER
Feedback from company managers about four different training courses highlights some interesting points.
The most popular course was IT Challenges, with 90% rating it very good and all of them believing it was
useful. They said that the information gained was vital and the trainer excellent. The next most successful
course was Staff Appraisal, with 85% rating it excellent and very interesting, although 5% did not find it
useful.
The least successful course was Communication and Presentation Skills, with only a quarter rating it very
good and nearly half saying it was not useful. In fact the comments indicated that the content was very
basic. Managing Teams proved to be more popular, with 40% finding it very good, but a quarter did not
find it useful at all and thought it was a waste of time.

PART TWO
Question 2
MODEL ANSWER
This report has been requested by the CEO to evaluate energy saving measures, which were implemented
last year. Overall, the company has managed to save nearly 100,000, although some measures have
been more successful than others.
Solar panels

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The company electricity bill was reduced by 5,000. However, installation costs have to be taken into
account so until those are paid off (in five years), this cannot currently be regarded as a true saving.
Use of lighting
We installed low energy bulbs and lights that turn on when someone enters the room and turn off when
there is no one in the room, which has saved a considerable amount.
Recycling
All our waste is recycled or sold for recycling so we are making money from it, rather than having to pay
someone to take it away. We have also reduced our stationery bill by doing more work electronically and
reusing paper.
Staff
Although staff were sceptical at first, they are now much more energy aware and have helped to reduce
our outgoings. They have also come up with other ways of saving and inter-departmental competition has
sprung up to see who can save the most. Some staff have been encouraged to work from home, which
has been very popular.
The current strategy is obviously saving us money, and everyone in the company is behind the mission.
Working from home is becoming so popular we could reduce our office space even more.

Question 3
MODEL ANSWER
Dear Customer,
We understand that some of you might have been experiencing difficulties with your orders recently. This
was due to a malfunction with our IT system and the fact that several of our key staff members were ill. We
can assure you that the malfunction has now been dealt with and more staff have been recruited to avoid
understaffing in the future. We are totally committed to ensuring that our customer service maintains high
standards.
We also wish to confirm that we value our loyal customers, and we are dismayed to read that some of you
feel that our policy of attracting new customers with special offers means that we do not value your
business. We are therefore pleased to announce new plans to reward your loyalty with monthly special
offers. Furthermore, we are establishing an online feedback forum, and every time you complete a form
describing your experience with us, you will have a chance to win a luxury holiday.
Next month, we are bringing out an exciting new range of products from Japan as a result of requests from
some of our customers. Because we have limited stocks of this new product, existing customers will be
emailed details of the goods before they go on sale in our stores so that you have the first opportunity to
purchase them.
Yours faithfully,

Question 4
MODEL ANSWER
The purpose of this proposal is to look into the possibility of expanding overseas and to analyse the
potential risks as well as recommending the best market start.
Reasons
The company has been in business for two years and is doing well domestically. Expansion seems the
obvious avenue at this point, as the company has the facilities to deal with increased orders and
production. Furthermore, there has been considerable interest in its products from some overseas
markets.

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Potential risks
However, there are always potential risks when expanding: economic, geographic and cultural, for
instance. Therefore, the company needs to be very adaptable and flexible to deal with unexpected
problems as well as being aware of any cultural differences and legal implication of selling or producing in
another country. Moreover, expanding too quickly or without full research and preparation can be very
costly indeed.
Suitable markets
China and India are two of the worlds largest markets currently, but for this company they may be too big.
Europe, America and Australia could also be good markets to start with. However, if you choose nonEnglish speaking countries, you would have to translate everything, which might be too much work at the
moment.
Recommendations
In conclusion, I feel that the best markets for your products would be Australia and America. I suggest that
you target only one of these markets initially, and then if that is successful, you can think about moving into
the other markets later in the year.

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