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Hi kim! i am pleased to hear how you value us your students. I have been learning a lot from the lessons 1-5 which i did not used last celban exam. Unfortunately, i was so frustrated with myself after i received my evaluation report…. It was hard for me to accept because i did got high marks with the other three areas tested, except for my writing which is only 6. It was a friend that i met in the bus told me about your site, to be honest as a new resident here in canada i felt helpless. I dont have any background and idea about celban , and also i have been discouraged with ielts after many attempts. I am just so glad and inspired from the stories of your students on how you touched their lives. Im excited for the up coming lessons that i will be learning from you and at the same time feeling nervous for the exam this october. Hoping that this time il be much ready to face the battle. hoping for your guidance and help kim for me to achieve my goal. G.
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Dear G,
I am so glad that you were on the bus that day! I am so glad you have good friends to direct you!
So many people become so deeply discouraged from a score that is not accepted: such deep heartache, so much disappointment, so many feelings of defeat. But you forgot to celebrate the amazing thing: you passed on THREE skills!
You got the coveted 10 in CELBAN listening! If you can do that, you can do anything!
That is the great thing about the CELBAN! It is the only exam of its kind where you get a report identifying your weaknesses so you know what you need to focus on! Think about how many times you took the IELTS and had absolutely no idea why you did not get a higher score! You were disempowered about making a difference, making a change.
But the CELBAN is different, because the Canadian education system is different. How we assess our students is different from how English is assessed in other places. We want you to succeed! So, we identify your weaknesses and empower you to turn them to strengths!
That is the thing! Now you have the most precious and valuable thing: your report! Your report tells you what to focus on! Your report tells you which of the CELBANPrep Grammar (www.grammar.celbanprep.info) series you need to focus on:
- Nouns,
- Articles,
- Verbs,
- Idioms (Verbals),
- Agreement (you need to explore nouns and verbs first), and/or
And, G, I am about to tell you a secret! Before I began teaching CELBANPrep I had no idea what a medical collocation was. Nobody did! Noone teaching CELBAN Preparation or assessing the exam knew about them! But then my co-author Christine Gertz did a presentation for me and my students on collocations and now medical collocations are also identified as a weakness on the exam! So, I have also been putting together some resources on vocabulary for the CELBAN: Medical Collocations.
In reading your sentence, “I am just so glad and inspired from the stories of your students on how you touched their lives.” I have to tell you, the feeling is mutual! It is in watching people grow, seeing self-mastery when it comes to grammar and punctuation, seeing weaknesses turn to strengths and strengths turn into confidence that I am inspired. And reading your e-mail, that these stories have motivated you and encouraged you to continue on in your dream of being a nurse in Canada, well that makes my heart sing!
This time when you enter the testing center you will not be going to battle! This time you will be going in with grace, poise and confidence. And with that grace, poise and confidence you will be able to perform to the best of your abilities. Fear and nervousness will have no place in your heart or your mind for it will be filled with light and knowledge!
That is the goal!
So, as we continue to work on your writing. Focus on turning your weaknesses into strengths! That is when you will see the magic your brain can do! So, practice, practice, practice!
Sincerely,
Kim
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Dear Kim 