TEXTUAL NUANCE AND LAYERS OF MEANING
If you want to demonstrate your English proficiency, why take a reading test to prove it? What does one stand to gain in proving his or her mastery of decoding meaning in prose, poetry, and scientific literature? There seems to be a presumption of intelligence if one is able to read well—and by well […]
CLEAR WRITING IS CLEAR COMMUNICATION
Why are you writing an essay and for what? I tell a student that unlike writing for the IELTS and other English proficiency tests (including those for school requirements), PTE has two writing test types: summarizing information and essay. Let me discuss these two as well as the strategies to do them to your advantage. […]
A CLOSE LOOK AT A MOCK TEST AND ACTUAL PTE SCORES
Student X had previously taken an English language proficiency test but fell short of his target score. So he had to take it again—if he wanted to become an Australian permanent resident. But this time he chose to take the PTE. And he reviewed with us. First Mock Test Result Student X took his mock […]
PTE TEST DAY SCENARIO 2.0
Strict health protocols have been put in place at PTE Test Centers all over the world. These may have to stay in place for a long time. That’s well and good– except for the face mask. You can’t remove the face mask up until the end of the test. Just how much this is going […]
VOICE THY WILL BE DONE
Exceptional people can create a face with their voice—well, not only a face but a whole new person. A powerful voice (meaning a voice imbued with distinct character) can transform the speaker and transport its audience in incredible ways. The spellbinding hold of one’s voice over a crowd is legendary it can take the place […]
BODY ENGLISH
Our body parts—our body English—send out messages that are imperceptibly stronger and clearer than our voices. Our body is in fact an eloquent communicator. But we mainly take this granted or we are rather aren’t aware of it. In everyday communication one’s frame of mind and feelings impact his choice of words and gestures. These […]
FROM FOUR-HOUR TO A FLEXIBLE WORK SCHEDULE
If you haven’t caught up with the sudden shifts in work arrangements brought on by you-know-what, then opportunities may not be in your favour. The world has turned upside down over the last 12 months, leaving national economies in shambles and millions of people jobless. Meanwhile, a decade back Tim Ferris’s 4-hour workweek was met […]
DEALING WITH FAST TURNOVERS IN THE WORKPLACE
The BPO and IT industry are known not only for fast service, but are also rumoured for causing fast turnovers. Contact centres and BPO firms lose a battalion of workers and hire twice as many within a month. On the outside it looks like something good is going on (hundreds of thousands are looking for […]
FLASHBACK BOOK REVIEW:KA GABY: FICTION AND FALSE CONSCIOUSNESS
The Martial Law Era had spawned many rebels and writers, all of whom consider themselves belonging to the First Quarter Storm Generation. They lived and saw a reality in turmoil. There were voiceless. It was a decade of absence. Paulino Lim’s “Ka Gaby” (1998) is a work that puts on a face and gives voice […]
HOW TO READ HILIGAYNON IN THIRTEEN STORIES:SA PAGTUNOD SANG ADLAW
Felino S. Garcia’s thirteen stories in “Sa Pagtunod sang Adlaw” reconnect Hiligaynon speakers with a language they rarely use—consciously and correctly—these days. Native speakers scarcely speak Hiligaynon the way most characters in these stories do. In this collection, the narrator’s voice, whether it be that of a brother’s , son’s, friend’s, classmate’s, teacher’s, lover’s –in […]