Updated 2021
Hello Kim,
First of all, I would like to thank you for the helpful info that you have given others which I have browsed in your sites. I, too, have similar situations and concerns like many IENS here in Canada trying to pursue their nursing profession.
I am from the Philippines. I am registered nurse back home with clinical experience of about 4 years. I arrived here in Calgary last January of this year, together with my family.
Yes, I have recently taken the CLBPT. My scores are as follow: (7)listening, (8) speaking, (8) reading, (7) writing.
I have not taken any english exams before (IELTS/CELBAN). I plan to take CELBAN very soon. I would just like to know if I can take my CELBAN first, then once I successfully have my results, I plan to apply for the NNAS. As with the NNAS, its about a year period that I must complete the process so as to avoid additional fees for extension. And the CELBAN score is part of its requirements.
I am looking forward to any valuable info from you that can assist me in my test taking CELBAN. I am just like the many that you have encountered who are at the starting point in Canada with not so much resources and finances, but with very big dreams to fulfill here in Canada. I love it here for sure!
Thanks. C.
Dear C,
- You need to get your English Proficiency exam.
- You need to be registered with NNAS.
- It is best to get your CELBAN or IELTS score before you register with NNAS.
- Your registration with NNAS will expire in one year. And
- There are additional fees to pay when your NNAS account expires.
- (Please see: Understanding NNAS (the National Nursing Assessment Services.)
It is hard for me to say anything about the timing of when to register for the CELBAN, except to register for NNAS after you have obtained a passing score.
- A stay at home mom, with time during the night when her husband is home, has more time than a nurse working as a care aid for 10 hours a day, and is a mom when she gets home! One has more time than the other, and can progress quicker.
- On the other hand, some nurses come to me fluent in English, having done all their schooling in English, and having taken some nursing classes in Canada. They progress quickly. But there are others who come to Canada with lower competencies; they take longer.
- People who do not have a lot of time to prepare for the CELBAN exam can work through one book at a time, and feel a sence of completion at the end.
- People who have more time can use the text books for CELBANPrep Writing Level One (CELBAN Writing Task 1), and CELBANPrep Speaking, at the same time.
- The whole point is to build up your confidence, while preventing feelings of overwhelm, not knowing where to start and procrastination.
Think about the textbooks you have. Think about a really large book, about 500 pages, and what that course was like for you. Now think about a smaller text book, with 50 or 100 pages. How do you feel about that book and that course?
See. There is Psychology in learning. And what I have created integrated ways that you are unconsciously Mastering Your Psychology!
Personally, I feel confident in encouraging IENs to register for the CELBAN when we both feel they are ready and confident in themselves.
the CELBAN. At least that is what I have found for many IENs who have a 5 in IELTS. What takes so much time is improving grammar. And yet, so many people have made the very same mistakes.
Dear Kim 