TOEFL® Experience

[Kitosdad]

ESL expert, as my friend Andrea would say, " Let's get this straight" ... I don't give a damn about your opinion.

True, I have no idea about the difference between ETS itself and the administrators of these sorts of tests , but having already had written confirmation from another member of this Forum as to the way these tests are run I feel that my remarks have more foundation than your lame explanation of Nico being forced to speak in those conditions. Or are you implying we have two people lying here?

I have been alongside Nico for weeks now, and to suggest that she was courting sympathy is ludicrous. She has worked her guts out prior to taking this test, and to be exposed to such conditions, whilst being charged the sum she was made to pay, is truly disgusting. It sounds to me like a tuppence-halfpenny outfit.

In closing I would suggest that you drop the " with respect " preamble. It's obvious that you have little respect for me or my thoughts, so please just ignore my posts in future and I will do likewise with yours.

Kitos.
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Keep it simple ... Keep it interesting.

[Esl_Expert]

Hello Kitosdad,

I don't dispute the fact that there will typically be some background noise during a test such as the TOEFL. As far as I know, that is to be expected and should not be seen as unusual. In addition, it really shouldn't surprise anyone if test-taking conditions vary somewhat from place to place. After all, the test is administered all over the world, and in many different types of places. There are standard requirements established for the administrators, but it is simply not humanly possible to guarantee that test-taking conditions will never vary at all.

Can you imagine what the cost would be if every single test-taker had to travel to ETS in Princeton, NJ (USA) in order to take the test? Can you imagine what the cost would be if every test-taker were provided with his or her own sound-proof room and his or her own private test administrator? The cost for those sorts of pristine test-taking conditions would be astronomical, Kitosdad. That sort of expectation is simply unrealistic.

As I see it, the question here was whether the background noise in Nico's case was actually excessive. If so, can Nico possibly do anything about it, and how might she go about doing it?

Nico was clearly upset in her first post. She was venting her frustrations. She hadn't expected the disturbances she encountered and was unhappy about them. And she was understandably concerned that her scores might be negatively impacted.

Venting frustration is something people often do. No problem in doing that. However, when people are upset, they also tend to lose some of their objectivity. I felt it was important for Nico to be as objective as possible if she intended to pursue the problem. Simply adding fuel to the flames is unlikely to help someone approach a problem more objectively.

I was happy to hear that Nico took my suggestion to heart and decided to write to ETS. I was also happy to hear that she had cooled off before attempting to write her letter.

Out of curiosity, did her letter end up sounding anything like your last post?

_______________________
If you kick a stone in anger, you'll hurt your own foot. ~ Korean Proverb

[Kitosdad]

" Out of curiosity, did her letter end up sounding anything like your last post?"
:lol: :lol: :lol:

No, of course it didn't. I do realise that I also was guilty in getting hot under the collar, and I'm not usually as forthright as that with sensible people. You had every right to be taken aback, and I apologise.

I have spent a long time with Nico, and had the same hopes for her as she had, and to hear that she had been treated so abysmally was infuriating to me. Like a parent, I was bloody angry.

My one question to you is, are the tests conducted in Princeton in the same manner?
If not then surely some investigation is in order. Please note that yet another contributor has been told by other friends that these disorganised conditions are widespread.

As it happened, Nico passed the test, but had Nico failed, imagine the disappointment.

Anyway, what's done is done. No hard feelings I hope.

Kitos.
_________________
Keep it simple ... Keep it interesting.

[Nicooo]

First of all, I am male, not female. ;-) Is my nickname mistakable in the English speaking area?
Secondly I don't really understood what you guys discuss here, but to me anything is fine. I got my good result and the ETS will probably reply my complaint in several weeks, when even the staff of my test center can not remember the day I took my test and the conditions on that day.

I think there is no doubt that the ETS should point out in advance that one will have (a lot) background noises and there is additionally no doubt to me that the test center should give an introduction and the possibility to ask questions before taking the test.

Nevertheless as long as the majority of participants not register a complaint, they won't reconsider there test methods. That's all I wanted to do, for me it is naturally to blame and complain if I think I was not treated correctly. I just wanted to say "Hey, I am not satisfied, please reconsider your methods." I think I did that. So lets please try to not make this thing bigger than it is. :-)
It's a beautiful Sunday, enjoy it.

Nico

[Nicooo]

I've got a reply.They apologize and offer me to keep my scores as they are or to cancel my scores and get a new free Toefl test voucher.
I won't take another test, because I could maybe get 1-2 points more but even that is unsure... but for all of you who think they had bad conditions too, you see it is worth to complain.

Nico

[Swapnadpotluri]

Test Center: Academic Campus Connections

This complaint is regarding my traumatizing experience during TOEFL test which I took on 12th December in "Academic Campus Connections" which is located at Punjagutta, Hyderabad.

This test was very expensive and very important in terms of my future plans. When I scheduled this test I was hoping for a hassle free experience. However the reality was very different.

My exam got interrupted thrice. Once when the system hung up. The second time when the RAM of the CPU failed and the third when the assistant shut the internet off.

But the most distressing part was the attitude of the test administrator who was very rude and very unhelpful.I've requested for a new system but she paid no heed. Instead of being empathetic about my situation she started getting defensive and kept arguing.

After such an experience I would like to lodge formal complaint against this center for what had transpired. I know I have a strong case as they have the whole session recorded through video surveillance

[GniBni]

Dear Nico,
I am so glad I found this forum. I also had a terrible experience in my TOEFL test. I took it on January 8 2011, and I am very devastated about my experience. It is similar to your experience but I'd say mine's worse. I was the first one to enter the test room, so I had to listen to each test taker enter every few minutes and the proctor explain the same set of instructions to the test taker. And, about the sound check problem you had, I had the same experience except mine laster longer than 8 minutes. It lasted about 30 minutes as there were a lot of test takers in the room. And, the majority of the people were struggling on it. One person even called the proctor and the proctor joined in, creating a much louder noise. It was unbearable. I was on the reading section and I was reading the same paragraph over and over again as I couldn't concentrate. I wanted to cry as the TOEFL test is very pricey to take and I had very high standards for it. Not only that but the mouse and the keyboard were terrible. It was so hard to move the mouse around. I had to shake the mouse to bring it to the "next" button. My head was on the verge of exploding as time is very precious when taking the test. And the keys of the keyboard were so hard to press down. Also, the computer of one of the man taking the test with me, shut down while he was taking the test. Obviously, as any other TOEFL test taker would react, he was outraged. Then, the proctor lectured him on how disrespectful he was. Funny, right? I was so dumbfounded as this happened during my 10-minute breaktime. Now That is what you call disrespectful.

I am so glad they offered you a retake. I am planning on sending the ETS a complaint. Thank you so much for sharing your experience!!!!!!!

[Richardsalience]

Either do I. The testing conditions in my test center were awful. I wasn't able to concentrate on the first reading passage either. However, I wrote two good essays: 238 and 423 words, in integrated and independent tasks, respectively. So I think I got:

R: 15-18
L: 20-21
S: 18-20
W: 28-30

In one week, I will know my results. On the practice tests I was getting 25-28 on the Reading section, so I think I will certainly retake a 80.