English Language Tests

Got my score report availability Email by ETS last night and rushed over to the website to check !

It read: Reading 28 Listening 30 Speaking 27 Writing 24

My first reaction was like, oh well it ain't bad at all, because it is actually enough for my PhD application requirement. But then I got bummed when I thought I could have done better with the writing section, because frankly, I really did good enough to ensure myself to expect something around 26!

To my surprise, it says in detailed report that I have been fair in the integrated writing task. I remember organizing my essay according to official guide, with an introduction, contrast (in my case) of arguments and an ending. It is baffling to think about what could have gone wrong there that I am not aware of. Maybe I have had too many misspelling due to the lack of a second-check up, like the one I did with the independent essay. The keyboard was brand new but since I have been working with laptops for a long time now, I had lost my "grasp" on handling PC keyboards if you know what I mean ! This made it harder for me and effectively decreased my typing speed. So my suggestion is, try to practice with normal keyboards if you are a laptop user before exam !

Another problem for me was the environmental disturbances such as accumulated noise of the computers which were crammed in a not-so-big room with small distance intervals at each test station without any proper partitioning. One could easily lose concentration especially in my case with long format Listening which kinda seemed like a never ending drama. I was then treated to the speaking section with the worst microphone ever on earth, forcing me to take the voice test multiple times with the mic in my mouth in the final round ! I was afraid my voice wouldn't record !
But it seems to be OK so no worries there. If your mic doesn't treat you right, don't panic, it will record your voice at your normal tone.


So anyways, this was an improvement over my last one 3 years ago when I scored 102 overall. I haven't had any proper English classes whatsoever during these 3 years except for the fact that I enjoyed a hell lot from watching sitcoms and movies which really boosted my listening abilities. I recommend this to any non-native who would like take iBT or any other English test with listening and speaking, since it DOES affect your skills in a great way.

Last but not the least, big props to everyone who help maintain this website. It seems a very good community with a lot of useful information. I wish I knew this before my exam so that I could use the tutorials available here.
Cheers

Hey congrats on the score - even though you're not happy with your writing score, it's all good, a 109 is enough for any program. Really liked your advice about watching sitcoms though