LekkerOuJan Posted February 7, 2019 Report Share Posted February 7, 2019 So firstly, hello all. I decided to undertake this journey for a long list of reasons, which I wont bore you with. In case any of you didn't know, IELTS is a bloody scam. Unfortunately I found this out the hard way, by getting pretty much full scores for all sections, just to have them turn around and say that I am completely incapable of writing in English. Many hours of crying later, I did some research and discovered that this is the case for almost everyone taking that test. Additionally, I had some tutors look at my general writing, and not a single one could figure out why I failed as badly as I did. So PTE here I come. Small problem though; I live in Malawi at the moment. So I will need to fly down to SA to go and take the test. Can someone please help me out simply by telling me whether it would be better to write the test on a Friday or a Monday? Which day will have the smaller crowds? And where is the test venue? I'm hoping to pop down in 2 weeks, so this is rather urgent as I need to arrange flights and leave from work. Basically, the English test is the only thing holding me back at this point. Everything else has been taken care of already. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BronSAtoAUS Posted February 7, 2019 Report Share Posted February 7, 2019 Hi- I had the same thing. Got 8 for all sections except for writing which I received 6.5! I even paid for a remark. How was the PTE? Did you do any prep? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LekkerOuJan Posted February 7, 2019 Author Report Share Posted February 7, 2019 Howzit BronSAtoAUS. The point of the question is to choose which day to go do the PTE. I'm hoping to do it in 2 weeks. Apparently the remark they don't even look at your paper again, they just take your money and send an email saying nothing's changed. Buddy of mine here works for the British Embassy and he does not have any kind words about British Council. I took a practice test for PTE and scored full marks for writing. Which of course increased suspicions. I'm doing a ton of prep, including getting myself a tutor. Not taking any chances this time around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lindav Posted February 7, 2019 Report Share Posted February 7, 2019 Having people around you in the test isn't that bad, it's freaky for 10 seconds and then you adjust. You can hear them, but it's not that hard to focus on your test, they are speaking about different things than you. More people just means longer admin at the beginning to log everyone in, it's a bit of a schlep. So don't let the fear of lots of people be an added worry. You can see where the venues are by starting the booking procedures on the website, it gives the addresses before you have to pay and commit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philip84 Posted February 7, 2019 Report Share Posted February 7, 2019 HI lekkeroujan yes you can see the venues on the website. But if you are flying in to RSA then my advice would be to do the test at the edenvale testing station. I did mine there (twice 😉 ). Its close to OR tambo. I have done mine one morning session and one afternoon session, and is neither here nor there what time of the day you do the test. The day of the week probably just luck of the draw...These test gets quite popular so usually have 6 people (but the edenvale station is smaller then others). But if you have to consider that people take off work to do this I would guess that Fridays would get busier. Good luck Ps if you need practice material pm me your email address regards P 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisH Posted February 7, 2019 Report Share Posted February 7, 2019 12 hours ago, BronSAtoAUS said: Did you do any prep? With PTE you have to do prep, more specifically around how to approach each question type. If you see the test for the first time on the day you're taking the test it will throw you because they do not give you time to interpret the question types. Refer to this page for tips of each section: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LekkerOuJan Posted February 8, 2019 Author Report Share Posted February 8, 2019 14 hours ago, Philip84 said: yes you can see the venues on the website. But if you are flying in to RSA then my advice would be to do the test at the edenvale testing station. I did mine there (twice 😉 ). Its close to OR tambo. I'll be staying in Benoni while In SA. Flying down for 4 days total. Hopefully the traffic from Benoni to Edenvale doesn't kill me. Will see where the agent books me I guess. I don't have the chance to write twice, really need to pass this time. I'll try to PM you in a minute. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LekkerOuJan Posted February 8, 2019 Author Report Share Posted February 8, 2019 11 hours ago, ChrisH said: With PTE you have to do prep, more specifically around how to approach each question type. I paid for, and did the practice test. Did really well with it, but definitely got thrown a little by some of the questions as I didn't know what was coming. Will be doing another practice test on Sunday, this time with some distractions like a loud audiobook in the background. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RAINKINGx1 Posted February 8, 2019 Report Share Posted February 8, 2019 I would suggest the Monday. Please read the thread above carefully and don't forget about Mic placement. That can be the difference between passing and failing. I used the post above by ChrisH and nothing else and managed 90/90/90/88 getting superior english. Also as a bit of background , i only managed 45% for English in grade 12/Matric. Don't be too intimidated by the test. You will do fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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