english

two months ago or so, i've undergone an english proficiency test here in canada. they say it's not a requirement for work but it is required by some immigrant training facilities to have a specific score to let one in on any of their trainings, so i had to take the assessment.

there are 4 areas on which i was tested: reading, writing, speaking and listening. one would receive a score and accompanying narrative assessment for each area. the highest score for each is 8.

reading: it was just multiple choice. it started with easy ones like images of things of which you have to choose the correct "word" that identifies the image (like pencil, money, etc.). easy stuff. then comes reading stories with increasing number of paragraphs. no sweat. the answer is on the story itself. you really just have to read. the clinch is that it is timed, so you also have to read it fast.

writing: easy to hard again. first, i was asked to write what was already printed on the form. easy, eh? then the next ones are essay writing stuffs with a required number of words. i'm good. i can write anything. the topics are easy. let me say that writing means handwriting. and it also timed. this is quite hard because i've been so accustomed with computer where in there are the backspace and delete keys. building your thoughts and make it appear coherent while handwriting it is quite hard, for me.

speaking: i was interviewed by an assessor. no sweat. i'm used to talking with strangers. i was just worried if he would ask me about current events or anything related to canada, hehehe i was not prepared for that. but it was just a casual conversation. he asked questions and i answered. more often providing more information than what is expected.

listening: i was provided with headphones. the instructions was to listen to the taped series of monologues. after each one, i have to repeat what it has said as completely and identical the source. easy to hard again. first few ones were just a couple of sentences that i was able to repeat it word for word. but it was getting longer and i had a hard time repeating it identically.

my scores on my next post.
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