Okay okay. So here are my tips for everyone:
I started my english proficiency exam journey last January 2017. Yes, 1 year po akong umasa, naghintay, nabigo, sumuko pero in the end, lumaban parin ako. So para sainyong lahat na naghahangad na makapasa, wag po tayong susuko!
I am a graduate from UP Diliman, yes taga UP po ako. Engineering graduate. May onting yabang na “English lang yan, ipapasa ko yan” pero I took IELTS 3 times. All takes ko ng IELTS, parehong short ng 0.5 points sa either Speaking or Writing. 1st take ko, sinukat ko lang english level ko with the thought na papasa ko. Then second i claimed na papasa dahil kahit papano, nagaral ako. nagparecheck ako sa 2 takes ko pero i guess not meant to be for 2017 ako. Then 3rd take nagbakasakali ulit. Para sa pasko at new year, happy ako pero without any reviews kasi busy sa work. Mayabang e. Kaya ayun di pinalad.
Then nagdecide akong mag PTE. Mas madali daw and mas reasonable. Inaral ko lahat ng pwedeng aralin. Then nag mock exam ako, bagsak nanaman (i guess dahil sa quality ng mic ko). Sabi ko, baka di nanaman ako pumasa dahil dito. So bumili ako ulit ng gold kit, binebenta ko po pala yung mock test A ko. Hehe. Tapos nag mock ako the night before the exam. Hanggang ngayon wala paring results. Sana di nalang ako bumili. So eto na nga exam day na.
DAPAT IKAW ANG UNA SA PILA. This will pay off. Alam niyo kung bakit? Kasi nasa separate kayong maliit na kwarto pag kayo ang number 1 sa listahan. So di kayo masyadong maaapektuhan sa speaking test niyo. Sobrang intense ng exam room na pati hininga ng katabi mo, maririnig mo. Ganun kalala. Di ako nananakot guys pero talagang malala siya. Sobrang ingay. So ang suggestion ko, paunahin niyo lahat ng tao magsalita. Wag na wag kayong sasabay or mauuna kasi matthrow off kayo kapag may biglang nagsalita tapos nasa describe image ka or retell lecture.
WHAT YOU SEE IS NOT WHAT YOU GET. Lahat ng McMillan, PTE Test Builder, PTE Software lalong lalo na ang mock exam, di kapareho ng level of difficulty during actual. Maybe okay lang din na mahirap yung inaral niyo para madalian kayo sa actual exam. Pero somehow, you want to know kung ano yung actual difficulty ng exam para naman tumaas confidence mo. Read aloud items are just 3 to 4 sentences, repeat sentence, very short, describe image - i got 2 images, line graph, bar graph and a table, retell lecture (read next line) and answer short questions are very understandable kaya masasagot niyo agad.
TEMPLATES ARE SUPER HANDY. Kahit na sobrang galing mo sa english, if you don’t know what to say, makakaapekto siya on your oral fluency and content scores. So, make sure to have your templates memorized and known from your hearts bago kayo magexam. In my case, I have the following templates. (conclusion lang because I can easily recognize a graph kasi engineer po ako)
Describe Image: From our very own @Heprex
Overall, the graph seems accurate and concise and can be used as a reference for future studies.
If image: Overall, this image is an accurate representation of the actual _______ (either process, map, floor plan, etc)
Retell Lecture:
I used Jay’s template (you really need this)
In my case, i wrote it on the erasable notebook para babasahin ko nalang along with my notes.
The speaker was discussing about (Main Topic)
He mentioned that (Next Key item)
He also talked about (Another key item)
Finally, he suggested and concluded that (last item described)
Overall, the lecture was very interesting and informative.
PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE YOUR WRITING. YOU SHOULD TIME YOURSELF. One good thing i know about me is that I never struggled in my writing kaya di ko alam bakit laging 0.5 short ako sa IELTS (Scammers!) hahaha! Pero it takes a very good person to write within 20minutes lang. So I suggest na yun ang ipractice niyo. BECAUSE, the computer won’t give you an extra second after 20mins. As in bigla nalang po siyang sasara. So mind your time always!!!
COUNTDOWN TIMERS FOR READING AND LISTENING ARE THERE TO PRESSURE YOU. Yun ang kalaban ko lagi nung actual exam, feeling ko mauubusan akong time kaya nagmadali ako sa reading and listening. I actually sacrificed multiple choice questions ng reading dahil di naman daw malaki bearing (as per Jay’s videos) PERO after ng lahat ng items, i still have 7 minutes!!! Sayang yung time na yun. Kaya nastress ako. Hahaha. Sana minaximize ko yung oras ko. And btw, yung 32-41 minutes na sinasabi nila, di yun totoo. 32 minutes lang talaga for reading! And as for listening, wag kayong mataranta na kasama sa oras ng mismong reading yung audio recordings. Di po siya kawalan sa time niyo sa mismong exam.
ERASABLE NOTEBOOK IS NOT HIGHTECH. this is just a laminated paper and you’ll use a semi- permanent marker na sila lang makakabura. Sobrang ganda magsulat dito. Since mabilis ako magsulat, smooth yung sulat ko dito compared sa pen and paper. So make sure to really use it!
DASAL! DASAL LANG TALAGA. I pray everday, and He provided me what my heart truly desires. God is good. Lapit tayo sakanya.
Again, i’m selling my Mock exam Test A for a very reasonable price. PM me. Good luck to you all test takers! 🙂