How to Study for the LOTE Spanish 613 Exam

How to Prepare for the LOTE Spanish 613 Exam

• First, be sure you know what the LOTE Spanish assesses.  The LOTE Spanish covers
•  Instructional Assessment (Pedagogy, plan, and essay)  34.6%
• Cultural Understanding  8%
• Interpretive Listening (listening comprehension) 16.7%
• Interpretive Reading (reading comprehension)  16.7%
• Written Expression (response to email, opinion/position essay, integrated writing)  12%
• Oral Expression  12%
• Be honest with yourself- are you completely fluent in all areas of Spanish (reading, writing, speaking, and listening)?
• If you are not, your first step should be to work on this.  You might need to take additional classes at a local community college, hire a tutor, or use an online program, websites, or textbooks.    
• If you feel pretty confident, but need to "brush up," I recommend that you buy the Barron's AP Spanish guide.
• Once you are confident in your Spanish abilities, begin preparing for the Instructional Assessment portion of the LOTE.  This section has 45 multiple choice questions over second language acquisition theories, models, instruction, assessment, etc.  You also must write a lesson plan and an essay in English.  To prepare for the multiple choice questions, I recommend that you purchase the Instruction and Assessment (Pedagogy) Guide on my website: http://www.texeshelp.blogspot.com/
• Many people are fluent in Spanish, but struggle with writing.  You can purchase the Writing Tasks Bundle on my website to see examples of responses that would earn a perfect score on the five writing tasks on the LOTE.
• Do you know where to put accent marks?  You will lose points on your writing tasks if you do not use accent marks correctly.  There are many websites that you can use to learn the rules.  If you prefer a lesson over the phone or on Skype, you may email me at courtneyschonefeld@hotmail.com to set up a tutoring session.
• Use formal, proper Spanish for the oral and writing tasks.  Avoid slang words, and use clear pronunciation.
• The listening section moves pretty fast, so be prepared, stay focused, and listen carefully. 
• Practice for the oral tasks ahead of time.  You have to be ready to have a simulated conversation and answer quickly.  You also have to do an integrated speaking task and do an oral presentation.
• Learn how to write an effective lesson plan.  You must write the lesson plan for the LOTE exam in English.  The ETS preparation manual has a sample task and shows what the required elements are for the lesson plan.  There is a sample lesson plan that would earn a perfect score on the LOTE for sale on my website: http://www.texeshelp.blogspot.com/
• You must also write an essay in English.  Be sure to use proper, Standard English.  If your written English needs improvement, practice ahead of time by writing responses to the task and asking someone that is skilled at English language arts to give you constructive feedback.
• According to the ETS registration bulletin, you are allowed to take ear plugs to the test center to block out noise.   You will be able to hear other test takers doing their oral/speaking tasks, so it is advisable to take ear plugs.  Be sure to tell the test proctor you have ear plugs.  The test proctor may require you to leave them at the front and provide you with ear plugs they have.
• If you have time left during the sections that allow you to review previous questions (pedagogy, reading comprehension, and cultural understanding), check your answers.