MUET March 2015

The MUET is one of the three tests to evaluate your English language competency. The other two tests are IELTS and TOEFL. It is compulsory for all students to sit for one of these three tests if they wish to further their studies for Bachelor's degree. In these tests, candidates will be tested for speaking, listening, reading and writing. So why MUET out of the three? Well as for me, I chose MUET simply because I didn't look forward to be doing my Bachelor's degree abroad. Therefore, it just wasn't necessary to go for IELTS or TOEFL as these two tests are actually meant for individuals whose first language is not English and wish to study in English-speaking countries. In terms of fees, MUET is the cheapest among the three which is only RM100 while TOEFL and IELTS are RM600-RM700, as far as I'm concerned.

Moving on, I would like to share my own experience. I actually went for preparation classes for MUET. RM800 for 4 months, 3 hours every week. Some people think that this is lame and unnecessary and that they could study on their own. Well, the truth is, you can't. This is because you wouldn't understand the scheme, the answering techniques holistically. You really need someone to guide and enlighten you.

For speaking test, I got really, really lucky. First of all, my session was the second session, which was at 11 am. Secondly, there were only six persons for that session (including me) and it turns out, my senior was there too! The teachers divided us into two groups and I got to be with my senior and a guy. The other group went in first, so my groupmates and I still had the time to mingle and exchange some infos.

When it was our turn, all I hoped for was an easy topic. And thank God, we got quite an easy one. The topic was, "What are the most crucial subjects to apply in our life?" And the points given are Math, English, Islamic and moral values and Living skills to Candidate A, B, C and D, respectively. The guy (I forgot his name) was Candidate A, my senior Aqila was Candidate B, and I was Candidate C (lucky again, see?). Like I said, there were only the 3 of us so there was no Candidate D.

So the first task was individual, in which each of us had to explain why our respective point is the most relevant to the topic. 2 minutes to prepare and 2 minutes to present for each candidate. Afterwards, it was the group task. This is where it got quite exciting. Well, at least for me it was. In this task, one candidate has to initiate the conversation and give a brief intro on the topic. And in our case, it was me. The conversation went on pretty smooth, it was as if we have done it before. Like, we just knew what to say, how to say it and when to say it. The turn-takings, the confidence, we really played it cool. I honestly didn't see that coming.

On the other hand, I wasn't that lucky for writing. There are two sections in writing test. The first section is report writing, in which we have to analyze the graphic information(s) given while the second section is extended writing. The question for the second section in MUET March 2015 sounded like this; "Many tragedies can be avoided if people take preventive actions.” Discuss. I knew I didn't do well. My points were... pretty basic. And childish, I think. Because honestly, I have no idea on how to avoid tragedy. I mean like, when I think about tragedy I think about accidents and natural disasters. So my points only inclined to those two things. And there wasn't much to say so I banyak goreng haha. Hence, the marks I got... LOL

For me, the other two tests (reading and listening), are quite easy. Well at least for me they were. The only mishap in listening test would be if the speaker doesn't work well. Yeah, it happens in some other centers. That would be devastating. Like, there's nothing you can do about it.

In May, the results came out. I only knew about it a tad bit late and only when a mate asked in the group about results. I clearly remember my reaction. I was literally screaming that night knowing that I scored Band 5, as I have always wished. I mean, we all know it's almost impossible to get above than Band 4. I could have not been more grateful :)