The essay below got our PTE test-taker an 83 on the essay. Just like that, her skills profile read superior from top to bottom. To top it all, she’s set to go to Australia this March. What gives? Justine is a licensed physical therapist. She went to a catholic university in Iloilo known for …
I recently watched a viral video about a foreign guy proposing a new language and culture phenomenon called “Accentism.” He puts accentism in the same bandwagon as race and gender issues. While his foreign accent can get him sticky stares and instant conversation (with American ladies, I presume) he runs into setbacks, he says, just …
Time and again we hear people whining about the decline of Philippine English. When news of this kind reaches Filipinos here and abroad, it is always met with contempt. Filipinos take their English seriously. Filipinos take to English with some degree of self-entitlement because the Philippines used to be an American colony. And that was …
Chances are you have taken a number of mock tests before you turn up at the PTE Test Center. And weeks before that, you have had at least 15 days of review (must have been online if not contact classes). And, if English is not your first language, you have had issues with intonation, delivery, …
Reading is a skill that takes a long time to develop. It is also the most difficult skill to teach. Perhaps because reading skills are difficult to evaluate and one has a feeling that there really is no way of telling if one has reached a considerably high degree of reading mastery. How would you …
Preparation is key to getting your target PTE score. Depending on your stock English proficiency skills, an intensive review of 15 days is highly recommended (including a mock test). The PTE mock test (purchasable on the official site) simulates the test-taking experience up to the last detail. Therefore, the result provides a telling picture of …
Speaking for the PTE is the same as speaking at an elocution contest. This subject comes up every so often in some online PTE circles, you’d think it must be true. But I disagree. Speaking at an elocution contest is a “staged” performance; while speaking for the PTE requires none of the theatrics oration jurors …
PTE is no different from all other English language tests. Some may differ in form and structure, but the variance is guided by what sort of English language skills are being tested. And like all other English language tests, PTE is a product of long years of research. The test is backed up by solid …
“Where will your English take you?” When I was teaching college English I would ask my students that. My question was based on the belief that studying English should get you somewhere. English is practically a foreign language (others call it a second language) in the Philippines. And I thought at the time there’s little …