Improving Your Spanish Before the BTLPT or LOTE Spanish Exam

Most of my products are designed to help people that are already pretty fluent in Spanish, but need to learn pedagogy, improve their writing skills, or see a clear example of a lesson plan or another writing task.

However, some people are "rusty" on listening and reading comprehension, as well as writing and speaking proficiency.

If you are in that position, you need to immerse yourself in Spanish as much as possible!  Study Spanish textbooks if you have any.  The Barron's AP Spanish guide gets good reviews.  You should be reading in Spanish, listening to Spanish, speaking Spanish, and watching Spanish TV, videos, etc non-stop the next few weeks.  If you have any friends or family that speak Spanish, give them a call and ask them to help you practice.

Keep in mind that for the LOTE Spanish exam certain parts of the test count more than others (see page 12 of the ETS manual).  Instruction and Assessment (Pedagogy) counts the most at 34.6%, and is often the hardest part for LOTE test takers.   I offer a study guide to help you prepare for that section.  Since cultural understanding is only 8% and it's hard to prepare for, I wouldn't recommend focusing on that.  Listening comprehension and reading comprehension each count for 16.7%, so you want to devote time and effort to improving your listening and reading comprehension.  The written expression and oral expression each count for 12%, so those are also important.

For the BTLPT Spanish exam, listening comprehension counts for 21%, reading comprehension makes up 26%, oral expression counts for 29%, and written expression makes up the remaining 24%.

Be sure to carefully review the ETS preparation manual and supplemental guide for your test.

Questions?  Post them here, or email me at courtneyschonefeld@hotmail.com

Last Day to Register for the LOTE and BTLPT Spanish Exams

Today is the last day to register for the BTLPT and LOTE Spanish exams!  If you don't see a test date for September or October, check another test center!  Register on the ETS website.

10% Discount off All Products in September

Sign up for our mailing list (see right hand side of website) and get a coupon code for 10% off any product(s)!  This offer is valid until September 30, 2014.  Don't forget that September 12 is the last day to sign up for the BTLPT and LOTE Spanish exams.

#BTLPT #BTLPTSpanish #LOTE #LOTESpanish #TExES

The new TExES Core Subject tests are scheduled to begin in January of 2015.  These tests will replace the Generalist EC-6 and Generalist 4-8.  Anyone who has passed the Generalist EC-6, Generalist 4-8, Bilingual Generalist EC-6, Bilingual Generalist 4-8, ESL Generalist EC-6, or ESL Generalist 4-8 must finish all certification requirements by August 31, 2017 to get certified. 

 The new exams require candidates to pass each subject area.  Candidates failing one or more subject area(s) can retake only the section(s) they failed.

See the ETS website for more information.

#GeneralistEC-6 #Generalist4-8 #CoreSubjectEC-6 #CoreSubject4-8 #CoreSubjectsEC-6 #CoreSubjects4-8

Houston ISD Needs Bilingual Teachers

Even though school started, some districts are still hiring! In fact, Houston ISD has "critical shortage" jobs posted - they need bilingual teachers, as well as teachers for math, science, and career and technology education. Many bilingual teachers also get stipends.

#BilingualTeachersTexas #BilingualTeachingJobsTexas

BTLPT and LOTE Spanish Scores

Do you want to know the average BTLPT and LOTE scores?

The ETS website has a PDF with the average scores for the different TExES exams.  In 2012-2013, the average BTLPT Spanish score was 243.3, and the average LOTE Spanish score was 235.48.

Keep in mind that the minimum passing score is 240, and a perfect score is 300.

The ETS website also has a PDF Understanding Your Scores.  It explains that at least two people score your written tasks and speaking tasks on the BTLPT and LOTE exams.  If the scorers disagree by more than one point, a third person is required to score it.

Posting outbound links negatively affects my Google rankings, but if you want the direct link to these resources on the ETS site, please email me at courtneyschonefeld@hotmail.com

ELPS- English Language Proficiency Standards

If you plan to teach ESL or Bilingual education in Texas, you need to know what the ELPS are (English Language Proficiency Standards). I encourage you to review this carefully, since you need to know it for your career and for job interview purposes.  Do a Google search for "English Language Proficiency Standards Texas" to learn more, or email me for the link (posting outbound links negatively affects my Google rankings, so I can't post many links).  The ELPS are the proficiency descriptors and expectations for students who are English language learners.

#ELPS  #EnglishLanguageProficiencyStandards