The English language is getting closer to us: new technologies, the Internet, work, study – all these spheres are somehow closely related to English. It is hardly surprising that more and more people are beginning to learn the language every year to obtain a certificate of English proficiency level in order to have a document confirming their knowledge. But before you get a coveted certificate, you will have to work hard: preparation for the exam in English is a serious and time-consuming task. Can this be done quickly and efficiently? Are there any universal tips?
We can only tell you one thing: if you want to succeed and make some effort to do this, it will happen. As for magical recommendations, they will never be effective if you are going to rely only on them and do nothing by yourself. This is an old golden rule, which is often ignored by students and adults alike. The essay will not write itself, however, you need minimal effort: open essaylook.com and place an order.
So, we are ready to give you our pieces of advice. In tandem with your efforts, they will speed up the preparation process and relieve you of unnecessary nerves.
Set Real Deadlines
Many can prepare for the exam for several years, each time delaying the moment of passing the exam. Thus, the person can be ready to the test on knowledge, but it will seem to him or her that it is still early because of fear to fail the exam. A dream is a goal with deadline. If you have a deadline, you can plan your actions to prepare to the smallest detail.
Prepare for Intensive Work with a Minimum of Days Off
Do it every day, at least 1 hour a day. Closer to the date of the exam, it is desirable to increase the duration of studying to 2-4 hours per day. However, do not forget about the breaks.
There are many different time management techniques, you can choose the one that is right for you. Correct distribution of time will allow you to plan the load and not overwork the brain. Remember that studying on the brink of physical opportunities will not give you the possibility to fully prepare. All the information passed will not stay in your head and all your efforts will be in vain. It is unlikely that you will be satisfied with such a situation.
Test Your Knowledge
Before preparing, determine clearly your level of English, find gaps and weaknesses. For this you can pass any author's test to determine the level of knowledge of the English tongue, it will show your achievements in writing, reading and listening skills. So you can see which direction you should think about and what to work on.
Choose The "Right" Teacher
With which teacher is better to do – the native speakers of English or those who speak your language? As a rule, native speakers perfectly help break the language barrier. English-speaking professors do not know your tongue, so you have to speak in English, and at this time, the teacher corrects your mistakes and teaches colloquial cliches, useful vocabulary – helps your speech become "alive".
However, you need to remember that it can be very difficult with the native speaker at the initial stages of mastering the tongue. Thus, the best choice is a combination of activities with a native speaker and a professor, who speaks your native language. The lessons will complement each other and help you achieve your goal.
Perform Typical Tasks
Find out what tasks are waiting for you on the chosen exam, then find examples of such exercises on the Internet and perform them daily, at least a couple of tasks per day.
Develop All Skills at Once
Each exam consists of several parts, which examine all the skills of English knowledge: written and spoken language, listening, reading, vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation. Each of us has strengths and weaknesses, strong ones need to be skillfully used, and weaknesses need to be developed to the strong ones. How to work on each of the skills? We offer the following methods.
- The skill of reading. Read the texts of different subjects: from newspapers and magazines to fiction and popular science literature. So you learn new words from the context, increase the speed of reading, remember the spelling of new words with the help of visual memory, refresh knowledge of words and phrases on specific topics. Typical task of reading at the exam – questions for understanding the text;
- The skill of writing. A typical task in the exam is an essay. Learn to write it correctly: there should be an introduction, several paragraphs of the main text and a conclusion in any of your papers. Note that on some exams, you may be given the task of writing a letter in a certain style: formal or informal. Therefore, practice correctly using the appropriate vocabulary and grammar.
In addition, try to write within a certain amount and time allotted for writing. For example, if you know that you need to write an essay for about 200-250 words on the exam, accustom yourself to writing exactly these volumes, then you will not have to count the words while passing the exam, you will already see that you have achieved an ideal length. An important condition for working on the paper is the presence of a person who could verify and evaluate your written skills. Such a person will be able to tell how it is necessary and not necessary to write;
- Listening skills. A typical task on the exam is listening to an audio file and answering questions to it. Checking the understanding of English speech by ear is one of the most difficult parts of the exam. However, if you engage in auditing, then problems with this test will not arise;
- The skill of speaking. A typical task is a spontaneous speech on any topic. This part of the exam is best rehearsed with your teacher: he or she will help you correct typical mistakes and teach you to speak naturally.
There is a simple and very effective exercise for training spontaneous speech: choose any subject and try to talk about it for 1 minute. So you will learn to talk about anything, and this is exactly what you need on the exam.
You can work on the speaking skill yourself. To do this, try the following method. Take an interesting video, watch it several times, learn subtitles. After that, turn on the video without sound and try to get into the speaker's pace. This exercise will help you study useful vocabulary and learn to speak English fluently. Also, do not forget to read aloud: you will improve your pronunciation, work on intonation and the right accent, learn how to formulate your thoughts clearly and competently.
Read About the Experience of People Who Passed the Exam
On the Internet, find the articles of people who passed the exam, learn in detail about the format of its conducting, the evaluation system, the secrets of successful preparation. Try to learn from the mistakes of others.
Practice the Exam
Find out how the test goes, how much time you will have to complete each task, etc. Together with the professor or friend who also needs to take the exam, try writing an essay, reading a text and answering questions, doing listening exercises and speaking on a variety of topics in English. At the same time, you need to meet the specific time allotted for each part of the exam. By the time of the exam, you should have the notorious "sense of time", which will tell you at what pace to perform a task.
Get All Information in English
Try to get all the information you need during the day in English. Looking for a new microwave? See the descriptions of models and reviews on the websites of foreign online stores. Would you like to bake a cake? Look for the recipe on English-speaking websites. Do not imagine your life without books? Read them in English. Do you want to know how to prepare for the English test correctly? Look for information in English! In this simple way, you will enrich your vocabulary with words from various spheres of life and discover many useful and fascinating resources.
Do Not Get Distracted by the Alarmists
Surely you will go to some forum for students of English before the exam, where you will look for advice on how to prepare for the exam. It happens that the participants in the discussion give very valuable recommendations, but you will hardly succeed in isolating them from the stream of complaints and panic messages about how "it is difficult to pass the exam", "this year they promise super complex assignments". Such messages distract and push you away from the desired goal. It is better to spend precious time on studying or on rest.
We hope that after reading this article, you will not torture Google with the question "How to prepare for the English language exam", but proceed to diligent and productive work. It is not so difficult to pass the exam if thoroughly prepare for it. We wish you best of luck.