Finally I have some spare time to take care of my blog… Lately, requests for training and new students have been pouring in… Not that I am complaining!… Also, many of my trainees have been taking their tests over the past two weeks: it is nerve racking for me as well… then the ensuing long waiting for the results has nothing to sooth my pain!
This morning, Pam took her written expression test and Candice went for her oral interaction exam. I already heard from Candice: apparently, her interview went pretty well… her position language requirements are BBB and she already got CB (reading comprehension and written expression)… so far so good!… And, today, she was led in the fourth part of the test which means that the examiner thought she was strong enough to possibly earn a C… awesome! Her resuls will probably not come in soon yet we can both sleep tight since the level B is guaranteed!… Consequently I will not worry about her results.
Kate, who took her oral interaction test a week ago, is still waiting for her results: she needs a C… Although I am confident that she pulled it out, I will not rest until I get the final results. I will see Kelly for the last time this coming Friday, then she will go for her oral next week… she also needs a C and I am convinced she will get it (unless nervousness takes control of her!).
Edna got the result of her oral interaction test yesterday afternoon and she missed her B… although a bit disappointed, she was not upset because she actually did great considering that she knew so little in French when I first met her a month ago… she improved drastically and she made every effort to do her best during the interview!… She is a very hard worker and I am really proud of her! I do not know many people who can go from level X to level A in 14 hours of training!… And, if she is ever given a second chance at the test, I know she can move up to the next level…
Chapeau Edna!
Speaking of Edna… Last week, she was scheduled to take both the reading comprehension and written expression tests on the same morning… When she got there, she was mentally prepared and ready to tackle those absurd exams. Actually she got her B in reading comprehension, missing the C only by three answers.
What about her written expression test results?… Well… she did not take the test that morning… What happened?… You will not believe it, but I swear it is the truth… Everything went wrong from the start indeed: candidates were supposed to take the reading comprehension test at 8:30 then they were delayed until 9:00… not a big deal so far… afterwards, they were given a 15 minute break that actually lasted 30 minutes… what was the excuse?… your guess is as good as mine!… Anyways, by the time they finally started the written expression exam, the candidates were probably hungry and quite tired!
I guess it would not have been so bad if they had been given the right test… keep in mind that these people were there to take the two tests in French… but the written expression test was in English! Of course they pinpointed this trivial mistake to the garde-chiourme… The moron (excuse my language yet I cannot find a better politically correct word to qualify this individual’s incompetence), instead of re-programming the computers, sent them back home with a new testing date at the end of the month!… As if people had only to take the SLE tests in life!… Take Edna’s case for instance, as a casual employee, she does not get paid when she takes time off work… as if she had any other choices! When such employees must take the SLE tests, it would be normal that they get paid since it is required for their job!
Same thing in Candice’s case: she will not get paid for the two half days she took to be tested in French. Last week, when she got that email saying that she would be tested orally in less than five days, she went to see her director asking if she could ask for another date… because she felt she needed more prep!… The answer she got threw me off my chair (though I should be used to those stupid statements by now!): “Don’t worry, the sooner the better!… Then you’ll be able to put it behind you… all you have to do is go there and chat for 30 minutes… no big deal!”… No big deal??? I cannot wait and see this director (and many others), who took the oral interaction test prior to June 2008, be re-tested and chat for 30 minutes!… I am convinced that the tune will change afterwards!
It is beyond me that so many people are that oblivious of the damages they cause: with either their stupid/hurtful remarks, their inability to fix their flaws or their new versions of the SLE tests (without any warning)!… And the worst part is that they do not have shame at all!
When I was told that the written expression test was entirely different from the samples civil servants are practicing with on Campus Direct, I admit I had a dilemma: should I tell Pam who was scheduled to take the test this month and should I share that information with Krystal who always reacts emotionally?… I knew Krystal would find out through my blog and, indeed, the very same day I had published my post on that topic, she sent me a “Mon dieu” email… As for Pam, I chose to tell her as soon as I got the news…
After the first reaction, everybody sat down and took a deep breath… knowing what this month test is about actually helped them… It is the element of surprise that pushes candidates to panic and then lose focus… When I saw Pam yesterday morning, she was calm and she did very well on the practice tests (we had worked on the strategy to use and it proved itself to be quite efficient)… Yesterday evening, I had an online session with Krystal and she really did great: only 9 mistakes!… I was expecting her to be edgy because she will take her reading comprehension and written expression exams next Tuesday… but she was calm and in a very good mood: I could smell the tomatoes brewing in their juice behind her… preparing her vegetables to be put in jars was a very good sign of her excellent spirits!… And I am sure she will tackle those tests the best she can do, the way Pam probably did this morning.
In spite of everything, I manage to cheer my trainees up and prepare them to face all the flaws, mistakes and discrepancies that occur systematically in this whole SLE testing process… In other words, they can beat the system and, that only gives them the drive to move forward and achieve!
To all of my students (past, present and to come), I say…
You are the best… ever!
“Il est honteux d’être sans honte”
Saint Augustin
And they shall have no shame…
Finally I have some spare time to take care of my blog… Lately, requests for training and new students have been pouring in… Not that I am complaining!… Also, many of my trainees have been taking their tests over the past two weeks: it is nerve racking for me as well… then the ensuing long waiting for the results has nothing to sooth my pain!
This morning, Pam took her written expression test and Candice went for her oral interaction exam. I already heard from Candice: apparently, her interview went pretty well… her position language requirements are BBB and she already got CB (reading comprehension and written expression)… so far so good!… And, today, she was led in the fourth part of the test which means that the examiner thought she was strong enough to possibly earn a C… awesome! Her resuls will probably not come in soon yet we can both sleep tight since the level B is guaranteed!… Consequently I will not worry about her results.
Kate, who took her oral interaction test a week ago, is still waiting for her results: she needs a C… Although I am confident that she pulled it out, I will not rest until I get the final results. I will see Kelly for the last time this coming Friday, then she will go for her oral next week… she also needs a C and I am convinced she will get it (unless nervousness takes control of her!).
Edna got the result of her oral interaction test yesterday afternoon and she missed her B… although a bit disappointed, she was not upset because she actually did great considering that she knew so little in French when I first met her a month ago… she improved drastically and she made every effort to do her best during the interview!… She is a very hard worker and I am really proud of her! I do not know many people who can go from level X to level A in 14 hours of training!… And, if she is ever given a second chance at the test, I know she can move up to the next level…
Chapeau Edna!
Speaking of Edna… Last week, she was scheduled to take both the reading comprehension and written expression tests on the same morning… When she got there, she was mentally prepared and ready to tackle those absurd exams. Actually she got her B in reading comprehension, missing the C only by three answers.
What about her written expression test results?… Well… she did not take the test that morning… What happened?… You will not believe it, but I swear it is the truth… Everything went wrong from the start indeed: candidates were supposed to take the reading comprehension test at 8:30 then they were delayed until 9:00… not a big deal so far… afterwards, they were given a 15 minute break that actually lasted 30 minutes… what was the excuse?… your guess is as good as mine!… Anyways, by the time they finally started the written expression exam, the candidates were probably hungry and quite tired!
I guess it would not have been so bad if they had been given the right test… keep in mind that these people were there to take the two tests in French… but the written expression test was in English! Of course they pinpointed this trivial mistake to the garde-chiourme… The moron (excuse my language yet I cannot find a better politically correct word to qualify this individual’s incompetence), instead of re-programming the computers, sent them back home with a new testing date at the end of the month!… As if people had only to take the SLE tests in life!… Take Edna’s case for instance, as a casual employee, she does not get paid when she takes time off work… as if she had any other choices! When such employees must take the SLE tests, it would be normal that they get paid since it is required for their job!
Same thing in Candice’s case: she will not get paid for the two half days she took to be tested in French. Last week, when she got that email saying that she would be tested orally in less than five days, she went to see her director asking if she could ask for another date… because she felt she needed more prep!… The answer she got threw me off my chair (though I should be used to those stupid statements by now!): “Don’t worry, the sooner the better!… Then you’ll be able to put it behind you… all you have to do is go there and chat for 30 minutes… no big deal!”… No big deal??? I cannot wait and see this director (and many others), who took the oral interaction test prior to June 2008, be re-tested and chat for 30 minutes!… I am convinced that the tune will change afterwards!
It is beyond me that so many people are that oblivious of the damages they cause: with either their stupid/hurtful remarks, their inability to fix their flaws or their new versions of the SLE tests (without any warning)!… And the worst part is that they do not have shame at all!
When I was told that the written expression test was entirely different from the samples civil servants are practicing with on Campus Direct, I admit I had a dilemma: should I tell Pam who was scheduled to take the test this month and should I share that information with Krystal who always reacts emotionally?… I knew Krystal would find out through my blog and, indeed, the very same day I had published my post on that topic, she sent me a “Mon dieu” email… As for Pam, I chose to tell her as soon as I got the news…
After the first reaction, everybody sat down and took a deep breath… knowing what this month test is about actually helped them… It is the element of surprise that pushes candidates to panic and then lose focus… When I saw Pam yesterday morning, she was calm and she did very well on the practice tests (we had worked on the strategy to use and it proved itself to be quite efficient)… Yesterday evening, I had an online session with Krystal and she really did great: only 9 mistakes!… I was expecting her to be edgy because she will take her reading comprehension and written expression exams next Tuesday… but she was calm and in a very good mood: I could smell the tomatoes brewing in their juice behind her… preparing her vegetables to be put in jars was a very good sign of her excellent spirits!… And I am sure she will tackle those tests the best she can do, the way Pam probably did this morning.
In spite of everything, I manage to cheer my trainees up and prepare them to face all the flaws, mistakes and discrepancies that occur systematically in this whole SLE testing process… In other words, they can beat the system and, that only gives them the drive to move forward and achieve!
To all of my students (past, present and to come), I say…
You are the best… ever!
“Il est honteux d’être sans honte”
Saint Augustin