BRITISH COUNCIL APTIS CERTIFICATE

By Moisés Chargoy

My experience with the APTIS test.

First, I want to thank the Escuela Normal de Los Reyes Acaquilpan, because they gave me the opportunity to apply to this test.

I didn't know about the existence of this kind of exams until one of the English teachers called me to tell that I was chosen to do this test. First, the teacher requested me some information about me, he said that applying to the APTIS certificate is a privilege, and I have to respond to it, how I would do it? Easy, studying and working the school's English Platform. 

The place to do the exam was the Escuela Normal de Atizapan de Zaragoza (ENAZ) so far away from my school, almost 3 hours of distance, so very early in the morning, I met the teacher at the school and we started our way to the ENAZ.

The first day (the exam has a duration of 2 days) was the most boring because it was a simulation of the real exam and a lot of explanations about the questions in the exam, I mean, that class is very important, but very boring as well.  That class lasted 6 hours, from 9 am to 3 pm. It is important to say that the whole class was in English, everyone talked English the whole day, not because the Spanish was prohibited, they spoke English just for pride. It sounds funny, but it is true.

The week passed very fast, and the day of the exam came, June 28, that was the chosen day. I was nervous and my mate Nancy ♡ too, but I always seemed secure of myself, because the fear is a contagious poison. 

The British Council people started to call everyone, they gave me a computer with headphones and a microphone, and my sessions codes too. The exam was online, in a platform, they gave me some codes to insert in the page, one code per ability, one for speaking, one for grammar, one for reading, one for listening and one for writing. That was a nice detail, practically I could do the exam in the order that I wanted to. I took this order: grammar, writing, reading, listening and speaking in the end.

Almost all the exam was easy, except for the speaking part, because there I had to describe a picture and answer some questions about it, then I had to think very quickly. In the other parts, I just had to order phrases, paragraphs, write answers in a determined situation, listen to conversations and answer a question about it. I finished the test in 2 hours, approximately. After the exam we went to El Porton to take breakfast, that was my favorite part.

Finally, on July 15th, the exam results came to our teacher, I was afraid about it, but when I saw my results that fear became into happiness, I reached the B2 level, same as my mate, Nan♡cy.

I recommend to all the schoolmates be clever, brave and intelligent, English is more than a course, it is an opportunity and it´s worth all the time spent on it.