Over the past few months, I've been searching all over the internet
trying to find as much information as I can about this new Duolingo English Test.
And I found some great information but also some pretty bad information too!
So in this video we're gonna go through 10 of the biggest myths
surrounding this test. So let's get to it!
Myth number one, The Duolingo English test is easier than IELTS and TOFEL.
So in terms of English proficiency this is just simply not true.
The Duolingo English Test the IELTS the TOFEL the PTE, all of these language proficiency tests
all yield very similar results. So if you have a band 7 in IELTS then
you're likely to get anywhere between 115 and 120
on the Duolingo English Test. They are designed to yield similar results.
That's why they are reliable tests. However, in terms of logistics
I think the Duolingo English Test can be seen asa bit easier than the other tests
simply because you can do the Duolingo English Test from your home,
at a time that you're comfortable. So you don't have to go to a test centre early
in the morning you can do this test in your living room
or in your bedroom at any time you feel comfortable. So in
that case i think it could be a bit easier.
Okay myth number two. Myth two, You can write or speak about anything
in the writing and speaking tasks. So this is the most dangerous myth on my
list the answer is NO! You cannot do that! Even though the Duolingo English Test is not
marked by a human the computer the AI knows exactly the
topic and knows what type of response is
required. The AI is looking for topic vocabulary, a coherent answer to
the question and it's checking if you actually answer
the question or not. So no, this myth is completely not true.
For example, if you are given this picture to describe
you need to mention vocabulary related to cars,
traffic, transportation, etc. You can't just prepare an
answer and use that in your test. That's the best way to fail
this test so please ignore this myth.
Myth 3 You should always write more than 50 words in the writing tasks.
So for the extended writing task, the prompt would say
answer this question or answer this prompt with at least
50 words. So does this mean you can write 50 and stop or should you always write more?
Well the answer is not really about
quantity, it's about quality. If you're able to answer the question,
use complex sentences, use topic vocabulary all at 50 words
then you can stop at 50. That's not a problem. But remember that the Duolingo Englsh Test is a test
of your English skill, so if
you write 50 words which all contain very
simple sentence structures then you won't get a high score.
So the only reason to write more than 50 words is to demonstrate or show off your
English but like I said, if you can do that and
stop at 50 words, that won't hurt your score at all. So
this myth is not true but you should write more than 50 words
if you feel that you need more space or more sentences to show off your
English or to answer the question but stopping at 50 is ok. Myth 4
you need a native accent to get a high score in speaking.
So this one is not true either. You don't need a native
British, American, Australian accent to get a high score in speaking.
Whatever accent you have is fine; however, don't confuse
accent with pronunciation. You need to be able to use
English pronunciation features effectively in order to get a high score.
So things like phoneme pronunciation, connected speech,
intonation, pausing at the right time, these features will definitely affect
your score. But your accent will not so don't worry
about your accent, instead focus on English pronunciation features.
Myth five, finishing the tasks quickly will get you a better score.
Okay, so I understand the logic behind this myth, but again it's not true.
Every Duolingo English Test task gives you a time limit,
so if you finish it quicker you might think that the computer sees that you're
able to do it quicker and thus your English is better,
so you should get a higher score. But that's not the case.
The test does not care if you finish in 10 seconds or 30 seconds
you just simply have to finish the task within the time frame.
And actually I recommend that you take your time because these tasks on the
Duolingo English Test, they come at you quickly, so if you
finish one earlier than you expected, then take that
5 or 10 seconds to have a breather and get ready for the next question. So
this myth is also false.
Myth six, Speaking quickly will get you a better score in speaking
Well not exactly. Of course speed and
fluency are related, so you can't speak too slow otherwise
that will affect your fluency score. But if you force yourself to speak
quicker than you actually can, then you could end up hurting your score
because perhaps your pronunciation, your grammar, and your vocabulary
will suffer just because it's trying to speak too quickly.
So instead I recommend you speak at a pace that you feel comfortable
and keep that steady and smooth. This will help you a lot more than just
trying to speak quickly.
Myth 7, you should never repeat vocabulary in the writing and speaking tasks.
So i've seen this one a lot and I know
why some students think this way because many of the proficiency tests
out there do require students to show off their
vocabulary range. That means that the tests are looking
for you to show off your vocabulary to use as many words as you possibly can,
so if possible, you should try to use synonyms
or reference words instead of repeating the same word over and over again. But
sometimes this is just not possible and when it's not possible
you will not get marked down for using the same word over and over again.
So don't worry too much about this but always remember that if you do
know a synonym try to use that instead.
myth 8. Every sentence you write needs to be a complex sentence.
Well not exactly. Of course when you're writing you can use some
simple sentences as well, but when possible you should try to demonstrate
your English skills by using complex sentences.
Complex sentences include compound sentences,
relative clauses, wish sentences, if sentences, etc. But if
every single sentence in your writing is a complex sentence
then it will look very very unnatural, so you should try to mix
simple sentences with complex sentences. So to answer this myth, No every sentence
does not need to be a complex sentence. Myth nine, using the backspace will lose you points for spelling
So this is one that my student mentioned to me. She said that if you hit the
backspace, that means you delete a word, then you will lose points for spelling
because the computer will think that you misspelt a word
and you're changing it. Therefore you should lose some points.
This one is simply just not true! You only get marked after you actually hit
that next button and move on to the next question.
So you can change as much as you want before that and you won't get knocked
down for spelling at all!
myth 10 punctuation isn't important in the dictation task.
So I saw this one on a blog and
this person was trying to say that it's more important to write down
every word you hear, than to worry about the punctuation.
And while that might be true, the punctuation
is still really important. So always remember
capital letter for the first word, full stop at the end,
and use commas when appropriate. If you want to get the top score on the
dictation then you need to use the punctuation
marks perfectly!
So those were 10 of the most common myths online about the Duolingo English Test,
I hope this was helpful for you and I hope this will help you get a better
score on your Duolingo English Test. If you
haven't already hit the subscribe button and like this video.
Okay thanks for watching and i'll see you next time! Bye!