Information on taking the CanTEST exam in Ottawa Gatineau and the path for finding a tutor or self-studying CanTEST.

Ottawa Gatineau
Ontario

TPS - CanTEST Exam Preparation in Ottawa Gatineau

It is positive news for those in Ottawa and Gatineau that those planning to enter university now have alternative to IELTS. The good news is that it is a well developed tests that does have a number of advantages that you can read about in my CanTEST exam page. In Ottawa studying CanTEST is a bit more difficult than other standardized tests given that it is a new test and with limited resources but you can do it..

Issues to Consider:

We advise that anyone considering their study plan for CanTEST think of the following issues:

1) CanTEST is not a test that provides a lot of self-study resources. There is only one practice test by the Language Testing Services (CanTEST). It is difficult to find videos or blogs on it, partly due to the fact that it is a new test and largely confined to specific areas such as Ottawa.

2) Know your strengths and weaknesses. CanTEST tends to favour candidates who are strong in listening but weaker in writing

3) Your time line. CanTEST does not allow you to retake the listening and reading test parts until 3 months after.

Home Tutoring

The best way of learning CanTEST in a comfortable and customized way is in your home, with a program designed by you and your tutor. Look through CanTEST Tutor in Ottawa and check availability. Before doing so, visit the CanTEST courses page to determine if it suits you and if so, the registration page to secure a place.

Outside of the Home Tutoring

There are a variety of places around Ottawa that have relatively private tables and wifi and if you would rather get out of the house to study or you live in a homestay arrangement that does not allow for home tutorials, give us a call and we will arrange an area. If you would prefer to study outside of the home but still as a one to one arrangement, tutorials can be arranged at any nearby Ottawa library in a private room booked on the day of study or in a community center. Drop us a request and we’ll get it arranged.

Self Study

At this point, CanTEST seems to have only the resources offered by the University of Ottawa. In its official website, CanTEST under its preparation materials page has one practice test and another product that gives practice with cloze passages. The website states that "The best way to prepare for the CanTEST is to take an academic English course at your local university or college". An excellent resource is from the University of Price Edward Island on CanTEST. If you scroll down it provides a huge list of sites to help you with the four sub-skills (listening, reading, writing and speaking.

Taking Group Classes in CanTEST

I have not yet seen any institutions that offer CANtest courses in Ottawa. If you come across any, please let me know as I do like students to take group classes as well as tutorials but let me know f the quality is adequate.

CanTEST exam locations

The only place to take CanTEST in Ottawa is at the University of Ottawa - specifically:University of Ottawa
Language Testing Services
Official Languages and Bilingualism Institute
70 Laurier Avenue East, Room 130
Ottawa ON K1N 6N5
Tel.: 613-562-5743
Fax: 613-562-5126
E-mail: cantest@uOttawa.ca

To register you need to contact the testing site above. The official CanTESTwebsite under registration mentions that there are three ways to register for the CanTEST.