1. Why 8 weeks?
8 weeks at 40 productive minutes a day is roughly 37 hours of training. The Council of Europe estimates 180–200 hours to go from zero to B2, and about a fifth of that to step from a stable B1+ up to B2 — which is exactly where this plan starts. If you scored at L2 on our placement test, this plan fits you.
2. The IESOL B2 format you must know first
- Listening (30 min, multiple choice + short answer)
- Reading (70 min, multiple choice + reading-into-writing)
- Writing (75 min, two pieces: ~100-word letter + ~150-word short text)
- Speaking (15 min, four parts with a live examiner over video)
Two structural notes: writing volume is lower than IELTS — but the precision bar is higher. Speaking is recorded throughout, so improvisation matters less than steady delivery.
3. The eight-week schedule
Week 1 — vocabulary baseline + warm-up listening
- 20 words/day from the L2 vocabulary
- 10 minutes of word dictation
- 5 sentence dictation items daily
- Weekend: a 100-word informal letter
Week 2 — reading speed
- 1 CEFR B2-level news article each day (BBC Learning English / Voice of America)
- Highlight unknown words; add the most frequent to your study list
- Continue sentence dictation
Week 3 — letter writing
- 1 letter daily of 100–120 words
- Use the writing tool and tick each criterion on the B2 letter checklist
- Rewrite each letter the following day
Week 4 — short essays
- Switch the writing tool's prompt to "LanguageCert B2 — Essay"
- 4 essays per week across themes: education, technology, environment, health
- Hold yourself to a strict intro → body → conclusion shape
Week 5 — speaking parts 1 and 2
- 2-minute self-introduction daily (record → review → re-record)
- 10 daily shadowing items focused on linking and stress
- 1-minute picture descriptions from any photo set
Week 6 — speaking parts 3 and 4
- Abstract topics ("Is technology making us lazier?") — 2 daily, 1 minute each
- Write a structured answer, then say it aloud without notes
Week 7 — full mock
- One paid LanguageCert sample under exam timing
- Errors enter our SRS queue automatically
- Identify the two weakest sections and add targeted drills
Week 8 — taper
- Days 1–4: 30 minutes of SRS review + 10 minutes of speaking warm-up
- Day 5: complete rest
- Day 6: exam
4. Common questions
Q: How many words do I need at B2? A: ~4000 active, ~5000–6000 passive. Our L2 vocabulary lists are tuned to this range.
Q: Is 40 minutes enough? A: 40 focused minutes are worth 2 distracted hours. Turn off notifications and block the tab on your phone.
Q: No human speaking partner — what do I do? A: Shadowing + recorded self-review is the baseline. Once you hit 80%+ word match on shadowing, consider booking a trial session on italki or Cambly.
5. One closing rule
If listening error rates remain above 30% by week 4, push speaking work to week 6 and add another week of listening. Progress respects bottlenecks, not the calendar.