kennyp

Hi....If you're in the Toronto area and would like a free TSE assessment, you can contact me at 416-256-9721 or mosaican@hotmail.com Bye for now...Ken

Hi...I've submitted a number of postings offering advice for TSE preparation. The following link includes all of them in one attachment. I hope you find them useful. Good luck...KenTSEtestmagiccomments.doc

Hi...I just want to say that there is a mistake in the comments with the sample flowchart question that I submitted. It says that the simple past tense should be used when talking about a past action where a specific date or time is given and that the past perfect tense should be used for a past action without a specific date or time. Of course, it is not the past perfect tense; it is the present perfect tense. For example, "The invitations were sent out on May 6.", but "The invitations have been sent out". Good luck....Ken

Dear Test Takers.....I know that many of you are worried about getting difficult questions on the test and you think that if you get the questions in advance everything will be fine. Unfortunately, that's not necessarily true. If the rater believes that you have memorized a prepared answer, you will probably get a lower score. It is easy for them to tell when someone is repeating a prepared response. If you can sound natural, that's fine, but you will not have that much time and if you prepare what you think is the perfect answer and try to present it, it will not sound natural. You could be struggling to remember what you prepared, leading to hesitations and preventing you from producing a smooth, spontaneous answer. Another point is that the people who post the questions might not recall them accurately. Therefore, you might prepare a response that does not really answer the question that you actually get on the test. You MUST understand what the question is asking. Then, answer the question but answer it in a way that's easy for you. Be general or be specific, be definite or show uncertainty or ambivalence, tell a personal story or tell a story about a friend or relative. It's up to you. Just stay on topic and speak slowly and confidently. If you're having difficulty, discuss the fact that you're having difficulty. Show them that you can express yourself in English even if you do not have a detailed answer for the question. Remember. Do not try to give too much information on the graph question. Imagine that you are looking at the graph and talking to your friend on the phone. You just want to give your friend a general summary of the main trends, similarities and differences. It does not have to be a professional analysis. On the picture question, the one minute of preparation is very important. Do not spend the whole time figuring out the story. Any interpretation can be acceptable. Spend time thinking of the words you're going to use and if you do not know the right word, then find another way to express it. Be simple. Speak slowly but get to the point. Getting back to my earlier point, some people find out the questions at test center and get excited and involved in frantic discussions of what the best answers are. This will distract you from your main goal, which is to relax and prepare yourself to focus and perform at your maximum level. And it would seem kind of suspicious if everybody gave exactly the same answers. If you do get the questions in advance, think about some possible ideas for the ones that are really difficult, but do not spend a lot of time and energy preparing and memorizing what you think is the perfect answer. Your time and energy should be spent relaxing and focusing on how you're going to answer the questions smoothly, naturally and confidently. Good luck....Ken

Hi....I give TSE preparation classes in Toronto. If you'd like to arrange a free assessment, you can contact me at mosaican@hotmail.com Bye for now...Ken

Hi...If you're interested in TSE courses in Toronto, there is a board of education course at Bathurst Heights Adult Learning Centre. To get more information you can call them at (416) 395-4980. The course is almost free. There's just a small administration fee. They also offer TOEFL courses. I also offer TSE classes and l can give you a free assessment. You can reach me at mosaican@hotmail.com Best of luck....Ken

Hi Kikiriki....Obviously, to get 60 you need a very high level of spoken English, but I would have to hear you to tell you if you are at that level. As far as I know you can also take the IELTS test in Toronto. If you need 60 you are probably a teacher and most of the teachers I know are redirecting their energy from TSE to IELTS and it has paid off for them. If you'd like to arrange an assessment, you can reach me at mosaican@hotmail.com Bye for now....Ken

Hi Hersh...I sent you a private message with my phone number. Take care...Ken

Here are some useful links for IELTS. Good luck....Ken http://www.aippg.com/ielts/ http://allaboutielts.beplaced.com/

I believe Ellinik's answers are correct. Number 7 should be C. "Than" must be omitted.

34. In this sentence "time" is countable and singular, so it requires an article, in this case "a". 38. If the vowel "u" at the beginning of a word is pronounced like a "y" in "yellow" or "young", then we use "a", not "an". 39. The rain washes away the topsoil, so we require the passive form "is washed away". 40. "Many" is used with countable nouns. "Music" is uncountable so "much" should be used instead.

Hi Vijayaprashanth' The sentence does not say that all children should be taken to a physician immediately, only those who have a high fever. Therefore the adjective clause is essential. We can use 'that' to introduce essential adjective clauses. It doesn't matter whether it modifies a person, a place or a thing.

Hi Ellinik, If we say "Jamie, which is generally a boy's name, is popular in North America.", we can reduce it to "Mainly a boy's name, Jamie is popular in North America." If we say "Essentially a nineteenth-century insrument,the calliope was usually played outdoors and was a part of fairs, holiday gatherings,and other such activities.", it is a reduction of "The calliope, which is essentially a nineteenth century instrument, was usually played........" "Essentially" has a similar meaning to "mainly" or "primarily". The 'calliope' was used mainly in the nineteenth century although it may have been used in other centuries as well. "Nineteenth century" functions as an adjective for "instrument". Therefore, to modify "nineteenth century" we require the adverb "essentially", not the adjective "essential"

1. 'cooling' should be changed to 'to cool', creating an infinitive of purpose for 'refrigeration' 2. 'compositions' should be changed to 'composers' 3. 'long' should be changed to 'length'

1. sentences starting with negative expressions such as 'not only' require subject-verb inversion in the main clause; therefore answer C. is correct. 2. a singular uncountable noun requires a determiner such as 'the' or 'a'; therefore B. is incorrect- it should be 'a grid' or 'grids' 3. we require the adverb 'essentially' to modify 'nineteenth century', which functions as an adjective