vicki ti-in

:) Hello: Excellent Kennyp. Actually I think that scores vary quite a bit from question to question, at least that is what my husband has been told by those that had that job at one time - from some 60's to 35's, etc. You are absolutely correct about consistency. Your comments about being relaxed, etc., are also well taken. One of the most common things my husband has heard during the receptions for those that have passed is "I just went in and decided to have fun" or "you know, I just didn't care and talked like I was talking to a friend." Regarding the raters, the standards are strict. If there are significant discrepancies between scorers on any particular candidate's test, they are looked at carefully. I believe there is re-training mandated and if problems persist they are relieved of duties. Vicki :)

:) Hello: Kerovin, if you already have the CD's, why not go to the live seminar my husband will have on June 10 and 11 in Manila? I have emailed you the address and particulars. For you the additional amount for the full two-day seminar is only p250 ($5). Just don't do anything desperate. There are hundreds here that are willing to help you on this forum. My husband can also connect you with many people (nurses) who have passed in Manila, Davao, Cebu and other places. Many have gone on to the USA but still stay in contact with him. However some are still waiting for visa clearances. I would bet any amount that they will tell you (as almost all do once they pass) - "it was easy!" One word or caution: Preparation materials are merely tools. If used improperly they will certainly not be productive. Find a method that is comfortable for you and stick with it, putting in the hours required to become proficient in English and following the methods they have proscribed. Preparation methods vary greatly, and combining methods might very well be counterproductive. They key, of course, is to immerse yourself in English so that any elementary level question does not "stump" you, or give you pause. Each question of the TSE is only asking your opinion about a given subject. Even the last two questions, currently considered the most difficult, are requesting your opinion about how to rectify a situation or explain what a situation is. Above all, I believe you should not make the TSE out to be what it is certainly not. It is measuring your ability to speak clearly understandable North American English, not your intelligence. The TSE is also measuring conversational speaking ability, not how well you can lecture or give a speech. In short, I would advise you to practice the only thing the TSE raters are measuring: How well you speak English. Good luck! You will do well. Consider your first time just a "warm up". The second time will be the charm. I will send you the hubby's Philippine phone number so you can phone or text him there. Vicki :)

:) Hello: From the current 2004/2005 TSE Bulletin, their figures show the actual results as being: 60 = 99th percentile rank 55 = 96th percentile rank 50 = 83rd percentile rank 45 = 55th percentile rank 40 = 21st percentile rank According to the TSE, roughly 2% of test takers receive a score of 60, 5% receive a score of 55, 18% receive a score of 50, and 46% receive a score of 45. Less than 1% receive a score below 30. I do not believe that scoring 50 on 7 of the nine questions with 40 on the remaining two will give you a 50 on your record score. From information we have gained over the years makes me believe that the TSE, when averaging the scores of the 2 independent raters, will round the score up. Vicki :)

:) Hello Tantan: I have been transcribing for my husband from the highlights he has made of recent TSE research reports. The TSE does reduce scores for what they term as "lag time", or hesitations in starting a response, or for substantial or repetitive pauses during the response. One of the big offenders is using "um", "ah", "er", "and . . . ah", "for . . . ah", and so on. They regard such responses as low in discourse competence. However, practice does make perfect, and even a moderate amount of practice will result in improvements. I would keep practicing giving your opinions about various subjects and limit yourself to speaking English only. Your speech should flow as continuously as possible. It could be that recording your voice and reviewing it occasionally will not only give you an idea of what exactly to correct, but when you hear yourself improve it will give you the confidence boost to make it over the 50 point hurdle. My husband strongly encourages his clients to send him recorded voice samples for analysis. Some of his larger recruiters mandate their nurse clients to submit tapes to him until he approves their level of English speaking competence and their are cleared to take the TSE. The recording method does work, and will have results even if you review your own. However, it is better to have someone trained for analysis to do it for you. Good luck! Vicki :)

:) Hello Lotus: If by "fumbling" you mean pausing and stumbling as you speak, the greatest factor would be not enough familiarity with spoken English. In short, not speaking English exclusively for a considerable amount of time before the test. Many times my husband hears from his clients that (to paraphrase): "I could answer with no problem in my own language but it is hard to say in English." There are times when people simply do lose their train of thought and the mind goes blank. I happens with everyone, especially if there might be distractions or nervousness. One small suggestion would be to immediately start to explain that phenomenon: "Let me see, I have lost my train of thought. I will try to concentrate now on the question . . ." or something like that. One other technique is to speak in a measured fashion so that the thought processes will match the speed of the mouth. There are many other techniques, of course, but these are some of the common ones to help control pauses and stumbling. Vicki :)

:) Hello: The response time for each of the nine questions is a uniform 60 seconds. Preparation time varies, allowing for what the TSE assesses as the complexity of the question, but the response times are uniform. You will hear an audible "beep" at the beginning and at the end of the response time. Good question. Good luck! Vicki :)

:) Hello: I have sent this already by email, since I didn't realize until now you had posted it here. Very good question, by the way. "The new generation TOEFL-TSE will be available starting in July, but the scores will only be sent to you and are not official. That is, it is our belief that you will not be able to use them for visa screening or other purposes. It is similar to when the new questions were developed about 18 months ago. Those taking the test were given the new questions but they were not officially scored. Until the BCIS or the DHS authorizes the new generation TOEFL-TSE you will be required to pass the current 9-question TSE test. The test you will take now is the same format as back in December. Where to start? > You do that by immersion in English - which means speaking English ONLY. If you have any specific questions just post them here. >" Vicki :)

:) Hello Flounder: I hope you have a safe and productive trip. I wish you all the best in obtaining the score you need - you will do well. Your concern regarding the time of each question response puzzles me. It is a very good question, but it appears that you might be concerned that your response fit the one minute time allotment closely. Don't worry about it. Just make sure that you speak for the full minute. My belief is that if you still have ideas, or opinions, that you cannot state don't worry about it. You will hear a "beep" at the beginning of your response time (and start to speak immediately) and keep talking until you hear the next "beep" which tells you to stop speaking. Make sure you stop immediately, clear your mind, and then listen intently for the next question. One last bit of my beliefs: Make your most important point at the beginning of the response and then do follow-ups that support that idea or premise. For the last two questions that have a more ridgid context, just start answering in a logical manner. Don't worry if you don't have time to get all of your thoughts in. Above all, do not speed up to try and get all of your ideas in. Again, good luck on your upcoming test. Vicki :)

:) Hello: Of course you have the prayers. There will also be at least one Novena said. Just relax, do your very best, don't aim too high with your answers, and make sure that you speak for the full amount of time given. This is your opportunity to show off just how well you can speak English. Do yourself proud! Vicki :)

:) Hello Agnes: Excellent questions. I hope many jump in with help. I am certainly not an expert, however I live with one. On question one you could give names if you like. What experience has shown is that using names has two potential downfalls: First, if you happen to forget the name(s) halfway through the response, you might hesitate, stall, and stumble, making for a low score on that response; Second, you run the risk of sounding as if you were parroting a pre-constructed answer since so many "reviewers" in specific countries have coached their students to give specific names to the characters. My husband encourages his students to just say "the man" or "the first man, the second man", the "boy" or the "girl", etc. He strongly discourages use of pronouns because they are a cause of great error, especially with those that have no similar pronouns in their native language. In voice-mail messages you must name yourself, and give the time, date, what the message is concerning and who the message is for. Those are standard elements in a voice-mail message. Can you imagine what you would think if you came back from a vacation and you had a message from someone who's voice you didn't recognize saying "Angnes, phone me, it's an emergency!"? You have no idea who it is, what the emergency is, if the emergency might still be existing, etc. As far as opinions are concerned, everyone has opinions on just about any given subject. But, in the rare case you don't have an opinion then just say that - but explain why you don't have an opinion (not familiar with the topic, have never been impressed with the topic, etc.). Just don't be embarrassed with giving your opinion, and, yes, we encourage all to simply speak from your "heart". Considering that the test as it is currently formulated is mostly just conversational English, I personally would avoid any formal structure. The "public announcement" question demanded a certain amount of formality (in leading a meeting) but with the elimination of that question everything (even the voice-mail to the boss) is informal in nature. Well organized means you start at the beginning and then keep adding elements (sentences) until the time expires. I believe you are unnecessarily concerned about structure. If you do get out of sequence in your conversation just say "oh, excuse me, I forgot to mention . . ." and go on from there. From my viewpoint, if the test is to be taken in the context of an "academic" environment then for the picture story we are talking about 2nd or 3rd grade elementary. I have known, and spoken to, far too many people who received 40 or 45 more than once because they tried to give a "college" answer to an elementary school question. In giving a report to anyone, in a face-to-face setting, or with a voice-mail setting, or even a phone call, it is nice to mention the name. This is a test measuring your ability to speak North American English in a conversational setting. In the USA very rarely is any boss addressed as "sir" or "Sir Steven", etc. It is all rather informal. I suspect that the prep time given, as long as the question is fully understood as it was heard, would be best spent with the candidate just taking a deep breath and relaxing. Try to respond naturally as you would with your significant other, friends, or colleagues. Just be yourself and concentrate on simple sentences designed to convey your thoughts in the most straight-forward manner possible. I will be saying plenty of prayers for everyone. Remember that one of the best techniques you can use is to fully relax 24 to 48 hours before the test. Don't think about it, go to a movie, have a good dinner, do what makes you happy. If you do not have the required level of English-speaking skill by then you can't get it in the last day or two, so just relax and don't worry. If you have time before your test date make sure to use adequate preparation materials that you are comfortable with. It does take more than scanning these posts to get all the tools you need. However, just do your best, that is all one can ask of anyone else. Vicki :)

:) Hello Oby: Thanks for your kind words. I do what I can. I am passionate about this test, having developed strategies (my husband, not me) way back in 1996 to help my niece. All I try to do is put down the methods and viewpoints put to good use by those that have passed the test. I only post those things that have proved successful with many, many TSE test takers in the past. I would encourage you to look to advice from those that have passed the TSE, and I hope those people would post their experiences here at TestMagic for all to share. Those that have passed are the ones that could give excellent guidance on preparation and exam experiences to those that have had a difficult time, especially those that have had multiple difficult times. Look for your results in a week or so. I am praying you do well, very well. Remember, if you have any questions at all please try to post them in this forum. I am receiving many emails from those preparing for the test, and all of those questions are excellent and deserve to be posted here for all to share and comment on. It is too problematic to repost those questions here, but I try to do exactly that when there are many emails on the same subject. Again, I am saying prayers and wish you a score of 60! Vicki :)

:) Hello Prajwala: Excellent information. There are also sample questions now on the TSE web pages. It appears that things will rapidly pick up steam from this point on regarding the changes. Vicki :)

:) Hello again JeanSha: Keep in mind that the question(s) posed will undoubtedly be new to you, something you are not familiar with and have not prepared for. You will have a limited amount of time to prepare a response, and you will have only 60 short seconds in which to make your spoken response. Again, following ETS's own declarations that the "accuracy of the description is not scored", it might be wise to learn to respond simply but rapidly to any given request for your opinion. "Lag time", to use ETS's own nomenclature, is a factor in their scoring, as are any distracting pauses made during the response: That is, those are negative factors and things you should avoid. When the "beep" sounds for you to begin your response you should start immediately and continue speaking deliberately regarding the subject for the entire minute. According to the ETS, "Responses low in discourse competence tend to be list-like, consisting of phrases connected by 'and' . . .". Your sentences should be short, and stated in a logical fashion, such as "First I see . . .", or "the next item I would like to discuss is . . .", etc. Possibly practicing giving your opinions in a rapid fashion regarding radio news subjects, or television news articles, newspaper or magazine articles, would be helpful in sharpening the skill. Try to keep your response fluid, or flowing along well. Lots of experience has shown me that simplicity seems to be the best approach and leads to continuous conversation. Vicki :)

:) Hello: For those that will be scheduled to take the TSE after July, there will be some changes in the format on a "practice" test available through the Internet. The changes will not be part of the valid test for a while, but they will be practice for the real, BIG, changes coming in September, 2005. How this will effect visa screening, and how the BCIS will accept the changes remains to be seen. Below is what my husband received from one of his TOEFL preparation associates: Basically, it is the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) is undergoing some BIG changes. In order to meet the challenge of providing a more comprehensive assessment of an applicant’s ability to understand and use the English language in an academic environment, the next generation TOEFL has been developed to assess all four language skills - listening, reading, writing, and speaking. While some questions in each of the sections will be similar to questions found on the current computer-based test TOEFL (CBT), others will be new. The scoring system will change as well. Each of the four language skills will now be reported on a scale of 0 to 25. There will also be a total score. In addition, the next generation TOEFL® will no longer have computer-adaptive sections; it will be a linear assessment test covering a full range of question difficulties. Note-taking will be allowed on the new TOEFL in order to better reflect real-life academic situations. The new TOEFL will take approximately four hours to finish. Starting in July 2004, students will be introduced to this new version of the TOEFL on the Internet. Full-length tests will be unproctored (i.e.: not supervised), and the scores will be given to the examinee only. In September 2005, the next generation TOEFL will begin to be administered at official ETS test centers. A very important change to the TOEFL® is the inclusion of a mandatory speaking component - the Academic Speaking Test (AST). This test will last approximately 20 minutes, and will take place over the telephone.Your responses will be recorded on tape and then reviewed later and given a score. During the test you will be asked six questions, two of which will focus on familiar topics. The other four will ask about short conversations, lectures, and reading passages. Both the questions and the reading passages will be printed in the test book. The time you have to prepare your response and speak will be printed below each question. The preparation time begins as soon as the question is finished, and you will be told when to begin speaking. So it appears that the number of questions will be reduced for the speaking portion (from that in the current TSE), but individual performance must be good on all segments. Otherwise, the entire 4-hour test will have to be re-taken. Right now (for those that already have their TOEFL completed) is probably the best time to get the TSE out of the way. My belief is that the TSE as it is currently configured, is the easiest to pass as it has ever been. If you have questions or comments please post them here or contact me at vicki@tsepreparation.org Vicki :)

:) Hello JeanSha: Very good question. The reason for reducing the number of words used in a response is so that each word that is spoken during the test is pronounced separately and distinctly. The most important aspect looked at by TSE raters are pronunciation, sentence structure (grammar), and the overall ability of the speaker to "communicate orally in a North American English context." The "accuracy of the description is not scored". Those are quotes from the Educational Testing Service themselves regarding the TSE. Since what you say is not graded, and how you say it is the most important aspect, logically you should concentrate on how you sound, and how well your sentences are constructed, rather than trying to get as many words in during the response time. For example, the ETS states about the graph question: "the accuracy of a person's reponse to a graph item is not considered in the score". Again, that re-inforces that answer content (although what you say must be related, or be germane, to the subject being discussed or asked about) is not important. You have only a short while to prepare for each response and just 60 seconds in which to speak. I believe that speaking in a measured pace that you are comfortable with and which allows for good individual pronunciation of each word, is very important. If you have further questions please post them here for all to benefit from. Good question. Vicki :)