sarah144 Posted January 8, 2014 Report Share Posted January 8, 2014 Hi I was hoping for some advice. I am about to sit the academic tests on the 18th and the reading and listening tests don't faze me. However the speaking and writing tests do, as I have a strong West Midlands accent which at times makes it hard for people to understand me. I have also been told that I tend to write the way I speak. Any suggestions great fully received for the test. Thank you x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flatpack Posted January 8, 2014 Report Share Posted January 8, 2014 I'm confused, you say you have a strong West Midlands accent and you tend to write like you talk. How do you write with an accent? If you mean that you spell the words like you pronounce them, then you may well have a problem as spelling correctly and using the correct punctuation are very important! Good luck with the test though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarah144 Posted January 8, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 8, 2014 It is what I was told when doing my degree. The academic tutors always said they could tell my assignments without looking at the name as I jumped out at them. Not sure if that's a good thing or not. Thank you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emmiejay Posted January 8, 2014 Report Share Posted January 8, 2014 My lowest score was for speaking, blamed the Yorkshire accent but think it was more nerves lol, just try and relax it's not that bad you'll do fine, good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aligard Posted January 8, 2014 Report Share Posted January 8, 2014 Don't worry! Virtually all the other candidates were foreign students when I took my test so I think it was easier to stand out. Just relax and it's worth going through a few scenarios in the speaking before you get there. I looked up lots, there are quite a few on line and on the British Council website too. Mine was about a favourite place I would like to visit so I described a holiday to Grand Canyon I had taken and described it saying that I would like to visit it! The other was about my house, so I described the architectural features to get in some good vocabulary!! For the writing I'm afraid you have to practise otherwise you won't know what they expect. My question was about the morality of eating junk food so I quickly planned four paragraphs and tried to include good connectives, adverbs and all the things they tell you to use. Always include and introduction and a conclusion. Again pre planning and practice are the key. Sorry about the ramble, just trying to remember!! Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarah144 Posted January 8, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 8, 2014 Thank you for the advice. Fingers crossed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamesw Posted January 9, 2014 Report Share Posted January 9, 2014 I was the only native English speaking when I did my test. Its just like having a chat with another person. As for the written part, please don't use text speak! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
travelchic Posted January 9, 2014 Report Share Posted January 9, 2014 In the writing, try not to use words that you're not sure how to spell or understand. You don't have to use tricky words. Just be clear with what you want to say and make sure it flows well. I quickly wrote down what I wanted to say on the test paper. Then I put it int paragraphs. It's in 2 parts with the first part usually being a graph to write about. The 2nd part is usually a question with pro's and con's. With my second I wrote an introduction, a paragraph about the pro's, a paragraph about the con's, a paragraph about my personal thoughts on the subject and a small conclusion. Count your words in each paragraph as you lose points if there's not enough. You can go over but not under. You can write in pen or pencil but I'd recommend pencil. I know it's timed and it's a panic but allow yourself 5 mins at the beginning to think about the questions. As for the speaking, I'm a scouser and said errrrrr about 30 times and still passed with flying colours!! Good luck. Debs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarah144 Posted January 9, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 9, 2014 Thank you. I am practising the different tests to get use to the format. However the closer the date gets the more nervous I am becoming. Which is not normal for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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