I want to thank each and everyone who contributed in this thread, be it big or small, they were all very useful. I registered on Nov 11 and took the exam last Monday(Nov 30) here in Singapore and I passed the test with flying colors. 😃
Shout-out to @filipinacpa for starting this very helpful thread. Also thanks to these wonderful guys who wrote their experiences in great detail : @Frenchmilk @bait0211 @Zaire @yataketumbi @MisterKehn @Smile0127 and to @OZwaldCobblepot kung saan ko nakuha yung kodigo ko for the Describe image part ng Speaking test.
FYI, I took IELTS once and failed. I have one 6.5 - speaking, the rest is 7 and above. An agent suggested to give PTE a try.
Just a short introduction of myself, I am not a confident speaker and di ako madaldal na tao, lalo na english, and grammer ko is so-so lang din(engineer kasi) 😛 , lalo na nung dumating ako dito Singapore 10 years ago, mas lalo ata nasira yung english ko. haha.
Ganito english dito sa Singapore(samples taken from wikipedia) :
Singlish - Proper English
No good lah. - This isn't good.
Cannot anyhow go liddat one leh. - You can't just go like that
I go bus stop wait for you. - I will be waiting for you at the bus stop.
He sick, so he stay home sleep lor. - He is not feeling well, so he decided to rest at home and sleep.
Dat joker there cannot trust. - You cannot trust the person over there.
Anyway, after googling for materials, I found this site and started reading all the pages and downloaded the files from macmillan and bought the PTE Gold package(as recommended here). After taking these free exams, I found listening and reading not too hard. So I focused on Speaking and Writing.
I did my first Mock Test 4 days before the exam(Nov 26). I reviewed in less than 2 weeks but almost everyday since di masyado busy sa office. After my first mock test, I was a bit disappointed with my score but was also relieved to see comments here that their mock tests were lower or they felt it was harder compared to the actual exam. Also, I find the reorder paragraphs in the mock test harder than macmillan and the pte free test. But I still concentrated my review on speaking and writing hoping that on the actual exam, the reorder paragraphs will be much easier.
After that first mock exam, I just felt exhausted and parang sinusuka ko na PTE materials, so I decided to just stop and rest my brain cells until the day of the exam. The morning of the exam, I started again to memorize the sentences(kodigo/cheat sheet) I will use for the describe image.
This is my Mock Test result by the way:
L-76; R-66; S-62; W-82
I didn't use the same kodigo I used in the actual exam. Yung ginamit ko nun is something like this (also taken from this thread) :
The graph projected on the screen is the correlation of variables in a research entitled _____
The X-Axis represents....
The Y-Axis shows....
Peak/Highest/Largest then Smallest/Lowest
I used the iPhone6 earphones during the mock test. So nasa baba ng chin ko yung mic. Not sure if that lowered my score in speaking kasi pronunciation ko is only 48.
So eto na, actual exam tips :
Speaking (these are additional tips from all the tips already given here) :
After the introduction, I didn't click Next yet and started writing sentences/kodigo for my describe image. But then the exam administrator(that's what they call them here in SG) saw me and told me to stop writing and click on Next first.
So there, I wasn't able to finish my first kodigo sentence. Hehe. So tinapos ko siya during the first 2 or 3 Read aloud part, when you have this 20-30sec time to see/review the sentences. I allotted half or 2/3 of that review time to write my kodigo for the describe image. I used the same as what OZwaldCobblepot did :
<b>The graph projected on the screen is the presentation of variables in a research entitled</b>
Based on the data provided, largest sector was from
While the smallest portion was from
<b>The chart was accurate and concise which can be used as a reference for future studies with the same objective.</b>
Binasa ko lang yan, paulit ulit sa describe image, lalo na ang First and Last sentences. Kaya medyo fluent ang english ko nyan 😃
And another tip, during the allotted time to look at the diagrams, make sure to take note na the highest and lowest point in the graph/chart.
There are 1 or 2 diagrams/images I think that I was not fluent enough especially sa flowchart image. So I just read what is inside the charts then read the last sentence in my kodigo again. 😛 Nauutal utal pa nga ako.
Writing :
I reviewed and followed the format in this website : http://writefix.com/
And yun nga, sinabi na rin ng iba dito sa forum, use synonyms if paulit ulit mong sasabihin yung word na yun and mga malalalim na english if meron kang baon.
Reading :
By the way, I find the reorder paragraphs in the actual exam actually hard. No additional tips.
My score sa actual exam :
L-88; R-86; S-90; W-86
Pronunciation is 86
So that is it, isang malaking tinik ang nawala sa akin. Kasi I hate studying and yung mga ganitong klaseng exams kasi. Good luck to the rest na mag eexam pa lang.