Format at a glance
In the four-skills digital MET, the sections are taken on a computer, one after another, in the same session. Listening and Reading and Grammar total 100 multiple-choice questions, and wrong answers do not cost you points.
| Section | Duration | Questions or tasks | How you respond |
|---|---|---|---|
| Writing | 45 min | 2 tasks | Typing: three short responses and a multi-paragraph text. |
| Listening | about 35 min | 50 questions in 3 parts | Multiple choice, in sequence, with the audio playing once. |
| Reading and Grammar | 65 min | 50 questions: 20 for grammar and 30 for reading | Multiple choice, in any order, with review. |
| Speaking | about 10 min | 5 tasks | Speaking into a microphone, with the responses recorded. |
Older paper MET materials show Speaking as an interview with an examiner at a different time. In the digital MET, it is the last section of the same session and is recorded on a computer.
Writing
The test begins with Writing. The two tasks share the same 45 minutes, and once you end the section, you cannot go back to it.
Answer three questions
Three short, connected questions about your experiences, habits, or preferences, each answered in sentences in its own text box.
Opinion essay
A multi-paragraph text answering a question, with your opinion supported by reasons and examples. There is no word limit, but a short, underdeveloped response loses points.
How it is scored
Each criterion receives a score from 0 to 4, assigned by trained and certified raters. The 45 minutes apply to both tasks, and you split the time between them as you like. It pays to save two or three minutes at the end to review.
Practice Writing on the platformListening
The audio sets the pace: each recording plays once and you cannot return to a previous question. Some questions replay an excerpt from the recording, just once, so you can answer a question about it. If you try to move on without answering, the test asks you to confirm.
| Part | What you hear | Questions |
|---|---|---|
| Part 1 | 19 short conversations between two people, with one question at the end of each. | 19 |
| Part 2 | 4 longer conversations between two people, with several questions per conversation. | 14 |
| Part 3 | 4 short talks by one person, with several questions per talk. | 17 |
What the questions ask
- Detail stated in the conversation
- Information that appears explicitly in the dialogue.
- Problem or need
- What is bothering the person or what they need to resolve.
- Speaker's intention
- What the person wants to do or achieve.
- Main topic
- What the conversation or talk is about as a whole.
- Attitude or feeling
- How the person feels about what they are saying.
- Why something was said
- The reason a comment or example appears there.
- What comes next
- The most likely reaction or consequence.
The challenge grows with each part: first one question per short conversation, then several per longer conversation, and finally several per talk by one person. In Parts 2 and 3, the questions remain on screen while the audio plays and are not read aloud.
Practice Listening on the platformReading and Grammar
A single section in three parts. Grammar comes first, in sentences with a blank; then come the texts. Here you manage your own time: you can move between questions, answer in any order, and review before time runs out.
| Block | Format | Questions |
|---|---|---|
| Grammar | A sentence with a blank and four options to complete it, without supporting text. | 20 |
| Reading: single texts | Two passages, each with 5 questions. | 10 |
| Reading: sets of 3 texts | Two sets of three texts from different genres about the same subject, with 10 questions each. Some questions ask you to connect information from two or more texts. | 20 |
Reading question types
- Text purpose
- What the text was written for.
- Main idea
- The central point of a text or paragraph.
- Explicit detail
- Information stated directly in the text.
- Vocabulary in context
- What a word or expression means in that sentence.
- Reference
- What a word such as it or they refers to.
- Author's intention
- Why the author made a choice, such as ending a paragraph with questions.
- Inference
- What you can conclude even though it is not stated.
- Integration across texts
- How two or more texts in a set relate to each other.
Vocabulary does not have its own block: it is tested within the reading questions, always in context. Grammar questions, like the rest of the test, cover A2 to C1.
Practice Reading and Grammar on the platformSpeaking
The final section of the test. Each task appears on screen and is also read aloud; when the timer starts, you speak and the response is recorded by the microphone. The tasks range from describing a picture to making a case to an authority figure.
The five tasks, in order
Describe a picture.
Talk about a personal experience related to the topic.
Give and justify an opinion about the topic.
Present the advantages and disadvantages of a situation.
Make a case to an authority figure to persuade them.
How it is scored
There is no interview with an examiner: the recordings are scored afterward by trained and certified raters. There are 6 minutes of speaking in total; the rest is instructions and transitions.
Practice Speaking on the platformFrequently asked questions
Two-skills or four-skills: which should I take?
That depends on who will receive the result. Two-skills has Listening and Reading and Grammar; four-skills has all four sections, all in the same session. Aclivum prepares you for four-skills.
Is Speaking on a different day?
No. In the four-skills digital MET, Speaking is the last section of the same session, taken on a computer.
Is there an interview with an examiner?
No. You read and listen to the tasks on screen and record your answers through the microphone. Certified raters listen to the recordings afterward.
Can I go back to a question?
In Listening, no, because the section proceeds in sequence. In Reading and Grammar, yes, within the 65 minutes. After ending a section, you cannot return to it.
Do wrong answers cost points?
No. In Listening and Reading and Grammar, each correct answer adds to the section score, and wrong answers do not take points away.