English Language Test Centres - Which Is Easiest?

[UKJASE]

hey guys

my wife is going to try for the english language test for a settlement visa for the UK, and so we have been looking at test centres in bangkok

we found the TOEIC one, and were going to book in, but after looking at some of the sample tests for TOEIC online, i am worried she will not be able to pass

her speaking and listening is good, but her reading and writing are quite slow, and after looking at the test papers, it seems that to be able to complete the listening section, and the speaking section, the participant needs to be able to read the questions, and write the answers

so i am worried whe will struggle.....

also, i read that the TOEIC exams are based on some business situations, whereas my wife would be better off with everyday situations....

can you tell me then, are all the tests of an equal difficulty, or from the small amount of info i have given, do you think she may be better off sitting the exams at a different centre??

here are the sample test papers if anyone is interested

http://www.ets.org/Media/Tests/TOEIC/pdf/TOEIC_LR_sample_tests.pdf

http://www.ets.org/Media/Tests/TOEIC/pdf/TOEIC_sw_sample_tests.pdf

[7by7]

There is no 'easiest' as the standard is the same whichever test one takes; A1 of the CEFR or the equivalent.

Do not worry about her reading and writing; this is not required at thuis stage. Unfortunately none of the test providers in Thailand offer speaking and listening only. However, it does not matter what she scores in reading and writing, as long as she passes speaking and listening. See this post.

Note, though, that she will not get a pass certificate unless she passes all four elements.

[UKJASE]

the thing is though 7by7, for her to demonstarte her listening and speaking ability, she has to be able to readd and write (going by the two test example papers i saw anyway)

for example, one piece to demonstarte her speaking ability, was to read a passage from the test paper........ so she has to read it, and then say it out loud...... she speaks well, but her reading ability is slow........

in the listening piece, she has to listen to a taped conversation, and then read questions on the paper, and answer the questions..... so again reading is important.......

or am i missing something?

[thaicbr]

the thing is though 7by7, for her to demonstarte her listening and speaking ability, she has to be able to readd and write (going by the two test example papers i saw anyway)

for example, one piece to demonstarte her speaking ability, was to read a passage from the test paper........ so she has to read it, and then say it out loud...... she speaks well, but her reading ability is slow........

in the listening piece, she has to listen to a taped conversation, and then read questions on the paper, and answer the questions..... so again reading is important.......

or am i missing something?

So start her in a language school now or teach her yourself. It's all about practice the more exposure she gets to writing and reading the better.

Sent from my GT-P1010 using Thaivisa Connect App

[ThaiVisaExpress]

We prefer the Bulats test for our clients.

[7by7]

I do not know personally anyone who has done one of these tests.

However, from what I have read here, for those who have the listening and speaking parts were done orally.

Although I notice from your sample paper that the test you refer to does involve reading aloud to check punctuation. This does, though, seem to be a very small part of the test. All I can suggest is that you contact the test provider to ask what effect being unable to do this would have on the overall result in speaking and listening.

If it's crucial, then as TVE suggests, maybe do a BULATS test instead.

[ThaiVisaExpress]

All of our clients have passed the recommended level.

[UKJASE]

hey guys - here is an update on what we have found....

the wife and i went to the TOEIC test centre on sukhumvit 21..... they were quite helpful, but there is no leniency on the format of the test. the test is how it is, and whether or not the wife needs to prove her reading and writing to the uk authorities, the fact of the matter is that she does have to undertake a lot of reading and writing in this TOEIC test to be able to acheive the grade required of listening and speaking. the listening test is split into 5 parts, and the directions for each part of what needs to be done, is written down in one paragraph. I can imagine that if the wife does not understand the directions that are written here, she will panic somewhat, and not be able to answer the questions. If it were explained to her verbally what she needs to do, she would pass no problem.

In the speaking test, here are what each question involves, and what is being tested.....

1–2 Read a text aloud • pronunciation

• intonation and stress

3 Describe a picture all of the above, plus

• grammar

• vocabulary

• cohesion

4–6 Respond to questions all of the above, plus

• relevance of content

• completeness of content

7–9 Respond to questions using all of the above

information provided

10 Propose a solution all of the above

11 Express an opinion all of the above

as you can see, a fairly good reading ability is required so as to understand what is required.......

so for us i think TOEIC is out for the minute (even though the wife is studying hard every day with her reading)

so, a kind thaivisa member messaged us and suggested we try Cambridge KET test..... (at only 2200B!)...... we contacted these people, and unfortunately the next test is not until October, as they only test 4 times a year, and the results not out until november.

so this one is out too as the wait is too long......

so we will have to investigate the BULATS test instead......

am i right in thinking there are only 3 different tests avaialble in bangkok..... TOEIC, KET & BULATS ?

anyone know of a test that tests only speaking and listening, without using written english?

[UKJASE]

hey guys..... one year or so on and the wife is prepped and ready to go do the test for spouse visa

(and i am ready to face the blighty weather once more - gonna miss my som tam tho for sure)

we have researched it, and it seems BULATS is the best test for her to take

we looked online and to do an example test on the Vantage Siam site, we needed a password

anyone have any links to example BULATS tests the mrs can sit on the home computer as she prepares for the test?

[RAZZELL]

I think you're worrying too much.

A1 is a piece of cake.

RAZZ

Edited June 2, 2013 by RAZZELL

[thaicbr]

hey guys..... one year or so on and the wife is prepped and ready to go do the test for spouse visa

(and i am ready to face the blighty weather once more - gonna miss my som tam tho for sure)

we have researched it, and it seems BULATS is the best test for her to take

we looked online and to do an example test on the Vantage Siam site, we needed a password

anyone have any links to example BULATS tests the mrs can sit on the home computer as she prepares for the test?

Why are you going to miss Somtam... your are taking the missus back with ya.. she can cook it....sorted.

unless somtam is the name of ya mia noi

[TCA]

we have researched it, and it seems BULATS is the best test for her to take

we looked online and to do an example test on the Vantage Siam site, we needed a password

anyone have any links to example BULATS tests the mrs can sit on the home computer as she prepares for the test?

http://vantage-siam.com/bulats.php?contantid=19&PageShow=

At the bottom of the above page you'll see the passwords. They call them tokens for some reason.

The BULATS test is obviously very 'businessy'. My wife didn't get on too well with the demos but had enough to pass at A1 level. I spent time teaching her words like sales, purchases, budget, increase, decrease, etc... but I think not too much was taken in. I'd say the most important thing is to understand the format of the tests and being able to use a computer comfortably. Although staff are on hand and pretty helpful.

[UKJASE]

yea, i got those passwords guys and we did an example test together. (thanks for the tip TCA)

i got to admit, the tests do seem quite hard..... we did the listening one, and the section where there are 6 questions regarding one long passage of speech is well tricky really..... some of the accents are a bit weird (we will be living in newcastle mind, so it will prepare her), and there was a lot of info to take in

she is gonna find it hard for sure, i think if the pass mark was 50% she would be snookered, but as the pass mark is 12% and 25%, i believe, for the listening and speaking, i think she should be ok

definately need to help her getting used to the format the questions are going to come in, and how to use the computer system, just so at least she can have a guess at every question.... will need to look into time management too

does any one know.......

1 - how often they do the tests at BULATS

2 - if we were to pitch up a day early before her test, do you think we could talk to the staff and get some useful hints on the format etc, plus some reassurances for the wife from the staff? (she is shatting it )

hope u all good guys and thanks to those who have contributed to the thread

Edited June 3, 2013 by UKJASE

[TCA]

Vantage Siam run their tests every Thursday and Friday.

http://vantage-siam.com/bulats.php?contantid=6&PageShow=

We didn't go in but plenty visit beforehand for a reassuring chat.

I agree the very long listening passages are pretty bad. Accents included. I think anyone would have to be near fluent to get good marks. My suggestion (from memory) was to read the questions and listen for specific keywords in the audio.

But remember that part of the testing adapts to find the level of the applicant, so if she gets questions wrong they'll get easier until her level is found. So no two people sit the same test.

A1 is 10-19% is really low and easily achieved by someone with even the barest amount of English.