He's good but I don't care much for that song especially when you are doing Zumba. You know that I have -- spent about $60 on TOPT study guide & barely used it once. Hope it doesn't come back to bite me.
Don't worry about it. They called me so I'm sure they would have called you if there was a problem. Hey Teachling, I would have preferred to only have to use it once. lol. I'm glad I didn't sell it on Amazon like I started too, though.
Actually, I should have said looked at a couple of chapters one time for 30 minutes -- that was the extend of my studies. 30 minutes = $60
YAYYY congrats TEachling!!!!! :2up: and thanks u each1teach1! if its any comfort to all the rest of the people who need to retake i really thought i was going to fail... and apparently they dont score it as difficult as i thought... aghh yay im soo happy...
finally passed on 3rd try I passed with a 6! Third time was a charm! The difference between my 1st two failures was this time around I practiced constantly with a tape recorder. It worked!:2up:
Well, I didn't actually flunk the first one. Apparently, all of the tapes sent in for the people who recorded at my university at the same session as me, showed up in Austin blank. Oh, that reminds me! ETS changed their minds again. I don't take the test until June 5th. With a week to study, I'm going to rock this test. I actually feel like I'm getting two bites at the apple! CONGRATULATIONS EDUCATE, TEACHLING, AND PATITOSMOM!!!! woot woot !!!:2up: :wow: :2up:
I didn't mean to imply that you failed. I know that this second attempt will result in what the first one would have....a pass!
awesome job, littlebit! You have to score at least a 6 on a scale of 2 to 8 to teach. 2 means you are probably just starting the language. 8 means you probably grew up in a Spanish speaking country AND received a very good education at a very good school. 5 is a statistical improbability (you literally cannot receive a 5. If you get a five, it has to be judged again to either make it a 4 or a 6, 4 being a failing score, 6 being a passing score). It's judged by two separate judges and they give you a score between 1 and 4 which combines to give you a grade between 2 and 8. If one judge gives you a 2 and the other gives you a 3, resulting in a 5, the sample has to be judged again to result in either a 4 or a 6. I appreciate the confidence, stg!
Is this for real? I grew up in a mix of various cultures & can't complain about my schools but so far they haven't exactly made the top of the list in anything. I thought 8 was just passing. If what you are saying is true, then I have to pat myself on the back harder (very seldom does this happen).
I know several teachers who grew up in Colombia and Argentina and came to the U.S. as adults, took the TOPT and only scored a 7 on the test. There is only a little bit of wiggle room on the passing side of the scale you should be REALLY proud of yourself!
so I retook the TOPT yesterday, right? It was the EXACT same test as I took last time! I was like are they serious!? Because you know I've been running those questions through my head since I walked out of the testing room, thinking of how I could have answered them better. So I was absolutely ecstatic. I feel like I did MUCH better. I still messed up some, but the mess ups I made were on the superior functions. I'm not nearly as nerve about my score as I was last time. They told me they didn't expect it to take the full four weeks to get my scores this time, I'm really excited about getting my scores this time!
YAY, each1!! I'm glad that this second test was more comfortable and you won't have to wait as long! Good luck!!
I PASSED!! I passed the TOPT with a 6! I just got my scores and I'm nearly dizzy from the adrenaline rush. I'm glad I can finally stop worrying about that. I passed the ExCet and the TOPT. Now I'm just waiting on my PPR scores which should be here mid-July.
Congratulations, each1teach1! Don't forget to celebrate your accomplishment, and do think about what you learned in the process - about the content, about test taking, whatever - that can help you help your future students.
Hi everyone! I'm a senior in college majoring in Spanish. I plan to teach after I graduate and I'm going to take the TOPT exam in October. Any tips? for future test takers like me who are not Native Spanish Speakers? How is the test like? I'm feel kinda anxious about taking it because I'm not a native speaker even though this is my senior year in college and I'm already at the Advanced level stage. Thanks
Since you're not taking the test till October, you've got some time to prepare. Look at the previous posts on this thread, FutureTeacher09 - and I do mean all four pages - in order to get a feel for how people have reacted to the test and what has struck them about it. Bear in mind that most posters have had at least some grief with the test; if you're a good test taker, it's probably not all that vicious. Make sure you've looked at the framework for this test so that you know in broad detail what can be tested. I'm going to guess that you'll be examined on Spanish grammar, Spanish linguistics, the cultures and histories of the Hispanic world (and possibly some of the dialect features of the different Spanishes), and Spanish literature and composition and oral production. Those who've actually taken the test, feel free to correct me, remembering that forum rules prohibit the citing of specific actual test questions. Once you've figured out what's in bounds (so to speak) for TOPT, start using the Internet to your advantage; a little Googling about two years ago netted me quite a haul of Web sites on all these aspects of Spanish, including some that were dazzling and some that were fun, and there's no reason to believe the haul will have gotten significantly smaller in the intervening months.
I'm going to step in and make a slight correction. Those aspects are covered by the ExCet, not the TOPT. The TOPT is purely a speaking test designed to test your ability to maintain the required tenses, express a thought clearly and demonstrate your vocabulary and ability with syntax. They give you fifteen speaking prompts which require different abilities (ie, sequencing using the subjunctive (los mandatos), telling a story using future tense, telling a story using past tense, using the hypothetical conditional to tell what would happen if something occurred, using appropriate register (tú vs. ud.) to speak with tact, etc.) I think that if you already speak at an advanced level, your biggest challenge will be familiarizing yourself with the test format and dealing with the nerves aspect. I highly recommend the test prep book. Go to amazon and look up "TOPT Preparation set". There's only one so it's not hard to find and some of the material you can literally memorize and use on the test to help you sound more fluent (such as the intros. for the superior function). The book gives you a lot of good tips to help familiarize you with the format, helps you practice and has lots of good phrases to use on the test. I thought it was a good investment. And like Teacher Groupie said, go back through this thread. You'll get some good advice. ¡Buena Suerte!
Thanks for the correction, each1teach1. I'm not in Texas and (foolishly) hadn't looked it up before pontificating. Though it's a safe bet that someone whose grammar is strong will do better, and I'd guess that peppering one's discourse with appropriate cultural references (not to mention those ever-useful catch-phrases that you suggest memorizing) will go over very well. I'd especially recommend that one be sure to know several idioms and use them correctly.
Thanks for the advice! everyone I wish I could pass it! I am not that worried since I have taken more than 10 spanish classes in College (not including the senior level ones). It's just that I'm quite anxious about the whole recording session whatever u call it because I am not a native speaker myself. In addition to the TOPT exam, I'm also going to take the Ec-4 bilingual generalist in Aug. Not to mention, I will be taking all these exams in the fall semester. while the school is in session
I passed! :woot: I passed the TOPT exam! I am so happy because I passed it on my first try. I thought I failed because during the actual recording I was just blabbing and it felt like everything that came out of my mouth didn't make any sense. Oh well it's over now! I don't have to take new the BLPT exam! I also passed the Spanish 6-12 exam!
Congrats Future! You saved yourself at least 4 hrs of testing & some additional $$$. I didn't realize that the TOPT was still being administered to this point. I am thinking of taking the 4-6 certification but that would mean also taking the bilingual for this grade level. I don't know if I want to put myself through taking 2 more test.
