Teacher profile: Helping Filipino students achieve their goals

PTE Author
PTE Author
Image - iteachPTE: Juniper Ruperto
Reading time: 4 minutes

In the Philippines, there has long been a culture of emigration. It’s common for Filipinos to move overseas to work, study and live. In fact, there are more than 10 million Filipinos living and working around the world. What’s more, about 60,000 people have emigrated each month since the start of 2021!   

PTE teacher Jurine Ruperto helps students get ready for the linguistic challenge of moving overseas. She is the owner of Ace Review Center, a language school that prepares students to take the language tests they’ll need for working visas and university applications.  

We spoke to Jurine to find out about her experience of teaching PTE, and the advice she would offer to other teachers.  

How Jurine prepares her students for PTE  

Ace Review Center was one of the first language schools in the Philippines to offer PTE preparation, and they have been helping Filipino professionals and skilled workers prepare for the test for six years.  

Now, the teachers at Ace Review Center have years of experience in preparing students for the exam - and when it comes to results, their experience shows. 

“We have a high passing rate - and a good number of students who’ve scored a perfect 90,” says Jurine.  

So what’s her secret? According to Jurine, she builds her students’ skills slowly as they learn the basics of each task type, through a range of different activities.  

“One of my favorite activities is idea building or [creating] mind webs, which are very useful in writing tasks,” she says. “Students are given a topic and are encouraged to contribute ideas related to it and expounding with supporting details.” 

According to Jurine, one of the most common challenges for test takers is vocabulary. In order to help them achieve better results, she encourages them to increase their exposure to English in their everyday lives. “Reading and watching movies and TV shows helps to build their knowledge and familiarity with English terminologies and word usage.”  

Building student confidence  

We all have those teaching moments that stick with us, for one reason or another. For Jurine, it's an experience she had with a learner with low confidence that comes to mind. 

The student needed to build his confidence back up when he came to her for PTE preparation classes. “One of my very first students in PTE had a bad experience in another English test,” she says. “He took the test several times with no success - despite only needing a band score of 5.”   

So, she said, he signed up for a month of PTE test preparation. It was then that he really started to believe in his language abilities. Jurine thinks the fact that PTE is computer-based made a difference.  

“It must have helped that the test is through a computer because he would easily get intimidated when facing an examiner during the speaking test,” she explains. His minimum target score for PTE was 54 - but on the day of the test he actually scored above this!  “By now,” she muses, “he must have already finished his culinary studies in Australia.” 

Jurine’s top tip for PTE teachers  

When we asked Jurine to share her top tip for other PTE teachers to help their students achieve success, she underlined the importance of really knowing the test inside and out. “It is best for teachers to immerse themselves in PTE sample practice tests to familiarize themselves with the test format,” she says. “That way, they will understand their learners' needs.”  

Further resources

You can access preparation resources to help your students through the PTE website, where there are a range of materials available, from Scored Practice Tests to a question bank with over 300 sample questions and answers.  

The Official Guide to PTE Academic will give you all the information you need to prepare your students thoroughly - and there’s even free course modules available to give your exam preparation teaching skills a boost!  

Do you have advice and insights to share with other PTE teachers? If so, we’d like to hear from you! Each month we’ll be shining a spotlight on someone from our global teaching community.  

Don’t forget to sign up for our monthly teacher newsletter, which shares teaching tips for test preparation.

Related Content

  • Higher-Education-Students-in-the-UK
    New DHA visa requirements for PTE Academic
    By PTE Author
    Reading time: 5 minutes

    The Australian Department for Home Affairs (DHA) recently updated their score requirements for all accepted tests of language proficiency. The new score requirements take effect from 7 August 2025.

    What are the new score requirements? 

    From 7 August, anyone who takes the test for DHA visa purposes will need to meet updated score requirements.

    The table below shows the old and new score requirements for each score.

    We have also created a more accessible version of this table at the end of this article.

  • PTE changes 2025: everything you need to know
    By PTE Author

    We’ve made a few updates to the PTE Academic and PTE Academic UKVI tests. To make sure you’ve got the facts, we’ve created a short video that walks you through everything you need to know.

    Hosted by Jarrad, one of our product managers, this video covers what’s being updated, what’s staying the same, and how it all benefits you as a test taker.

    What’s covered in the video? 

    • The original 20 question types are still in the test.

    • We are adding two new speaking question types to give you even more chance to demonstrate your skills.  

    • Tips on how to prepare for the new speaking question types.

    • There are no changes to pricing, ID requirements, or score delivery time.

    • There are no changes to the way the test is taken (including the Speaking section).

  • [Asset] On test day during the test - 800 x 451 - for article use
    Busting the myths about English test centers
    By PTE Author
    Reading time: 5 mins

    By: Dan Doyle, Vice President, Assessments & Certifications, Pearson English Language Learning

    Every day, English tests help decide whether someone can start a new life abroad.

    For those taking a language test as part of a visa or migration process, the stakes couldn’t be higher. These are moments that decide futures, whether it’s studying at university, reuniting with family, or landing a first job overseas. That’s why, for tests like PTE Academic and PTE Core, test centers offer a secure, accurate, and trusted experience that governments can rely upon.

    But a few myths still persist, so let’s set the record straight.

    Myth one: “Test centers aren’t that secure”

    Reality: a test center environment provides security that starts before the test begins:

    • Biometric ID checks. Every test taker must show valid ID (like a passport) and confirm their identity with photos, palm-vein scans, and digital signatures.

    • Physical security checks. Trained staff check clothing and personal items before entry, stopping hidden notes or unauthorised materials from getting in.

    Once the test has begun, test centers combine secure-by-design exams with digital and human supervision to create a secure, fair environment:

    • Unique exams. Every PTE test is different. No two test takers get the same questions, and proctors can’t access the content.

    • Secure systems. The test runs on software and hardware fully controlled by Pearson, so it can’t be tampered with.

    • Multiple cameras, full visibility. Test centers use wide-angle CCTV to monitor the entire room.

    • Proctors in the room. Trained staff can spot hidden notes, off-screen help, and respond to anything suspicious straight away.

    Myth two: “Test centers rely on human proctors”

    Reality: human proctors play a key role, but they’re just one piece of what makes test centers secure.

    Test centers provide multiple types of security and supervision, all managed by the testing body — not the student — making them the most secure testing environment.

    As well as cameras, test centers can provide identity verification, physical checks, and in-person supervision needed for a high-stakes test.

    This real-time, multi-layered monitoring means if anything suspicious is flagged, a full investigation can be carried out centrally by Pearson, using CCTV footage, audio, AI checks, and human review.

    Myth three: “Test centers can’t detect cheating afterwards”

    Reality: Pearson carefully analyses every single test result using a combination of AI and trained human experts.

    After the test is completed, it goes through fraud analytics to identify unusual patterns or behaviours. If anything looks suspicious, the result is placed on hold and reviewed in detail by our security experts before it’s released.

    A quick summary: how test centers support high-stakes English testing

    • Biometric checks to confirm identity

    • Physical security checks to ensure no materials enter the test

    • Randomised computer-based test content for every candidate

    • Multiple cameras and full-room visibility

    • Real-time supervision by trained staff

    • AI and human experts working together to spot unusual patterns

    • A consistent environment and equipment for all test takers

    These measures make sure that every candidate has the same opportunity to succeed, and every institution can rely on the result. Behind every test is someone with a dream of a new life abroad, and PTE has the great privilege of helping them get there.

    Want to know more?

    Take a look at our latest PTE security whitepaper.