MTEL test

I took the MTEL last Saturday. I had to be at the English High School in Lynn at 7:45.

In the morning, I took the Communication and Literacy test which includes two subtests: Reading and Writing. The test lasts 4 hours and you need to time yourself pretty well because the test is long. I started with the Reading part which is made up of 30 multiple choice questions based on 6 readings and 6 open-response questions where you have to give the definitions of selected words. I wasn’t too worried about the multiple choice questions at first but I found on the day of the test that some of the questions were a bit tricky. The definition part of the test was what stressed me the most before I took it because since English is not my mother tongue, my vocabulary isn’t as wide as a native speaker’s. However, I found that the list of words to define wasn’t quite as hard as I was expecting it to be. Examples of words were confront, status or peril. Then I went on to the Writing subtest which is more time consuming. The test started with multiple choice questions testing grammar and syntax – especially punctuation, spelling and capitalization -. It continued with 3 open-response questions asking you to define some grammatical terms. The ones I was given on the test were so easy (adjective, interrogative sentence, imperative) that I even felt a little disappointed: after all I knew all about adverbial adjuncts, conjuncts and disjuncts and I was asked to define a simple adjective! Three other open-response questions asked to correct sentences that contained mistakes: I recognized a dangling modifier, several spelling mistakes and a wrong comparative structure and I hope that I corrected the sentences well. The test ended with two essay questions. For the first one, we were asked to summarize a text in no more than 250 words. I didn’t have any time to count how many words I used but I hope that I didn’t write to much and that I rephrased the text in an understandable way. The second essay was an open question and required the candidates to develop an response with several paragraphs, pertinent arguments and relevant examples. The question was about whether or not you consider that “No Pass/No play” is a fair policy in American High Schools. I wrote three paragraphs arguing that it wasn’t an efficient policy. I felt disappointed that some arguments for and against were already given to the candidates in the question itself. I felt like the test makers were spoonfeeding us which is unfortunate especially since coming up with arguments is my favorite part of an essay. It is very hard for me to judge myself on the essays because I know that my English isn’t as fluent as an American’s. I know that the people correcting my essays will probably notice that English is not my first language but I don’t know if it is going to be in my advantage or not. I know that I must have made some errors, either in the construction of the sentence or typos (because I finished just in time and didn’t have time to do any proofreading).

Here are some pieces of advice that I would give to anybody that would be interested in taking the MTEL test in order to become a teacher:

• Watch the time! I think that this is the most important thing. I read that some people even take only one subtest per test in order to have more time. Personally, I preferred to do everything at once, especially since the test is only offered 4 or 5 times a year. Do not spend too long on the essay questions: do not write a draft but just an outline so you know where you are going and try to time yourself at home (I consider that each essay question should take you around 45 minutes).
• review your grammar. Points can easily be won (or lost) because of a comma or a capital letter in the writing section.
• study with a preparation book. The MTEL test is very technical and the same types of questions always come up. Books can help you review the important points on the test quickly. I personally used 2 preparation books: the one from REA and the ones from XAM.

In the afternoon, everybody takes the specialty test that they want to teach. I took the French test. I must say that I was pretty confident about this test. Since I am French and I have lived and studied my whole life in France, I though that this test would be extremely easy (come on, I got 18/20 in French at the baccalaureat!) Unfortunately, I must admit that it wasn’t that easy, even for me. The first part of the test is the oral comprehension: the candidates listen to a tape and answer questions about what they heard. I decided to take notes in order to remember everything I heard. Of course it was really easy to understand simple conversations in French (even with the cute little American accents of the speakers!) but the answers were sometimes confusing, asking you to infer about the conversations for example. Also, for the first listening extract between a dentist and a patient, the dentist said that he would treat the tooth right away and perform a temporary implant. Yet, among the answers that made some sense, there was only:

1. treat after a delay and put a temporary implant
2. treat immediately and put a permanent implant.
   I chose the first answer because I remembered the word temporary very well (I even wrote it down) but I was surprised because none of them seemed right to me.
   

The second part of the test is the reading comprehension. Several extracts of literary texts are given and followed by a lot of questions. The answers can either be found in the text or in the candidates’ knowledge of the author, the historic period, the literary genre etc. I found that some of the texts were rather obscure and I would advise future test takers to take a long time reading and making sure that they understand the excerpts well before answering the questions.

After the reading comprehension comes the grammar questions. Some of those multiple choice questions were very easy for me because I could tell which sentences sounded right and which one didn’t. However, a couple startled me and made me stop for a while and wonder. For one of them, none of the four propositions sounded right. We had to transpose a sentence from Simone de Beauvoir to the active voice. The original sentence was something like this: ”... mes livres n’ont été écrits que pour…” I believe that the correct answer should have been: “Je n’ai écrit mes livres que pour” but this answer wasn’t among the choices. I don’t exactly remember what I picked but I felt very dubious. Another one made me reflect about the usage of the subjunctive in French (something I usually do naturally and rarely think of). We had to conjugate the verb to have in this sentence: "Penses-tu que le parti socialiste (avoir) des chances de gagner les élections ?" My first reflexe was to use the subjunctive "ait"; it seemed logical and sensible and I chose this answer. However, to make sure it was the right answer, I modified the sentence with the other interrogative form, that way: "Est-ce que tu penses que les socialistes (avoir) des chances de gagner les élections ?" In that case, the logical answer answer is the indicative mood - ont - and not the subjunctive. I couldn't even really tell why in that case, we use the indicative and the subjunctive like in the other one but that is the way it is. My guess is that although the second sentence is a question, it is phrased as an affirmative sentence (subject - verb - complement) and therefore requires the mood associated with an affirmative sentences: the indicative mood. In the end, this test made me reflect about my own language which is great.

The next part was history and culture. Some questions were really easy for me but some others were really tricky and required the candidates to have a deep knowledge not only of French culture and history but also Canadian, and other French speaking countries' history, notably Senegal. Some questions dealt with the Acadians, others with la négritude and Senghor. Some questions dealt with French economy, some with ancient and recent history. I was mad at myself for not remembering who François Villon was (14th century poet from La pléiade). As I told my friends, I would have preferred them to ask who François Fillon was (our current Prime Minister). Maybe it is because I am a political science and international affairs major, but I think that it would have made more sense to be quizzed about current events rather than poets that are not even taught in French classes in France, let alone in America. Anyway, I am just maybe feeling a little resentful because I failed this question.

The last part of the written test was an essay question. I am hoping to get all the points on this question because it was very simple. You were supposed to write a letter to a foreign friend that just announced her engagement to you. It wasn't written how long the essay should be so I wrote as much as I could. I actually had fun writing this essay: I tried to be creative and invent things to make my life more interesting!

After you are done with the written part of the test, there is a 2-minute oral test in a different room. You listen to instructions on a tape, have one minute to think about what to say and then you have to pretend to talk on the phone for 2 minutes about the topic. The topic I got was pretty silly: I was supposed to imagine that I spent 2 months in Paris at some friends' place and that the day that I left, I broke a plate. I was asked to call the people I stayed with to apologize about the broken plate. It was really random and the format is not easy. It is not natural to talk to yourself for 2 minutes without anybody answering to you or even nodding in agreement . I kinda invented a story and bullshitted random things for 2 minutes but I can see how this exercise can be hard and stressful for an American, especially since we have only 1 minute to prepare and we don't have the right to take notes.

After all that, I was done and pretty tired after a full day of exams. I wasn't confident that I passed either the French or the English tests. The results will be on June 13th and it will be a pretty scary day!

Now, what I forgot to mention is how hard the French test is supposed to be. When I arrived in class, it seems that everybody was asking me if it was my first time taking the test because apparently a lot of people are taking the test several times. One the girls there took the test 6 times before and missed it by 70 points last time. For another one, it was her 12th time and she has been teaching French for about 10 years I think. Apparently, there are so few teachers that get certified in French that some high schools have to create "critical positions" in the French department which means that they can hire teachers even though they are not certified. I felt really confused and astonished but I did find the test pretty hard and deep. Here are some advice that I would give to someone taking the test:

• Take your time answering the questions. Unlike the communication and literacy test, the French test is much shorter which allows you to spend a lot of time on each question, read the extracts several times and proofread everything at the end
• Take notes during the listening comprehension. Jot down some important information on your test booklet. I noticed that it is harder to remember things that you heard as well as things that you read or wrote (at least for me). If you have time, try reading the questions first so as to be able to look for the answers while you are listening.
• At home before the test, study French history very well (I would say from the barbarian invasions to Sarkozy), and make sure you know the following (you don't need to know everything about every subject but know what they are, what it involved and who were the main characters, also know the dates because they will test you on dates too) : - Vercingetorix - Clovis, - Charlemagne, - Jeanne d'Arc, - Francois 1er, - Henri 4, - Edit de Nantes, -Richelieu, - Louis 14, - Louis 16, - Révolution Francaise (Bastille, 1ere République, décapitation du Roi, Terreur), - Napoléon 1er, - Restauration: Louis 18, Charles 10, Louis-Philippe, - 2ème République, -Napoléon 3, - guerre franco-prusse, - Commune de Paris, -3ème République, -1ère guerre mondiale, -front populaire, -2ème guerre mondiale (Vichy, collaboration, résistance, France libre), -4ème République, - De Gaulle, - guerre d'Indochine, - guerre d'Algérie, -Mai 68, -Mitterrand, -Chirac. Try to know also some canadian history but I can't help as much about that. Try to know the countries that got their independence from France, when they did so (Haiti was the first Black Republic for instance), if it was peaceful or after a war and who were the main protagonists. It seems that Senegal appears frequently on the test so study its history.
  
• You should also study French literature, including the Pleiads (without forgetting François Villon!!), humanism, classicism, romanticism, realism and existentialism, and do not neglect the Négritude.
  
• Review French grammar well.
• Try knowing French geography -main cities, mountains, rivers, seas, adjacent countries- as well as economy - what are the French main resources are and what is produced where.

I know that it is a lot of work but I believe that after studying all that, you should be all set with the test. For the listening part, try renting French movies with English subtitles (I promise that there are some good ones up there). I also forgot to mention that there are some questions about learning languages and some types of pedagogy but I believe that common sense can help you answer those questions (which are written in English by the way).

So good luck to everybody who's still willing to take the test after reading my post. Also, although the test is supposed to be really hard, I believe that we are still lucky because it is not nearly as hard as the test you have to take to become an language teacher in France: http://www.anglaisfacile.com/capesagreg/capes_organisation.php
This test, includes a 5-hour essay on a literature topic, a 5-hour essay on a civilization topic, a 5-hour translation test and a 1-hour oral test (after 3 hours of preparation)! I kinda feel lucky that I want to teach in America now! I had to get used to those 4 and 5-hour essay tests because I took so many between high school and college but I still don't like them and find them exhausting. Now that I am used to the American system, I'd much rather take multiple choice questions although they can be tricky too. Indeed, in an open question, you can try to convey everything you know and avoid the parts you are not confident about, which you cannot do with multiple choice. Still, I'd rather take the MTEL again and not the CAPES!

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