This will be one of
my most controversial articles. Usually, formal tests are surrounded by lots of
trepidation, fear and mystery. After many years of schooling, and often
university studies, we associate tests with intense emotions. Most often, with
negative ones. Because this is a highly emotional topic, we will have very
strong opinions on anything related to that.
Before I give you
some advice on how to prepare for language tests, here are some mistakes I
often observe among students:
·
They prepare only in the last minute.
·
They do not pay enough attention to the
actual questions and to the explicit conditions of the test.
·
They try to survive by memorizing phrases and
sentences by heart.
·
They prepare focusing on grammar exercises.
First, we need to
understand that most modern-day (!) language tests try to test whether you are
capable of assimilating into real life in that language, or not. Because for
most test-takers this means or studying or working in that language, the tests
try to mimick the basic compentencies you need to have. And, they not only
language-related. Many test topics are similar to what native speakers would
have in a philosophy or „civics” test at school.
Most tests include
the following four components: listening and reading, and speaking and writing.
Let us analyze this as a bit. The first
two components boil down to decoding and understanding speech, the other two to
organizing your thoughts and producing speech. We could also say that half of
the test is about being passive or input, and the other half about being active
or output.
In all components,
there are several levels of proficiency. For optimal preparation, you need to
analize the concrete test you are preparing for, and you need to assess
yourself. Which levels are the most difficult for me? At which levels do I
commit the most mistakes?
Then you need to ask
yourself, what is the best training method for each one of those levels, and
where do I get the best training materials?
We can break down the
listening component into:
·
Being able to discriminate between sounds
(When does a word or sentence begin and end? What if there is background noise,
if there is more than one person speaking, if one of them has an accent, speaks
unclearly or at various speeds? What if there is noise in the actual testing
room – by other students, construction work, etc.?)
·
Decoding language (vocabulary, understanding
grammatical structures)
·
Understanding the logic and/or intentions
(What are people talking about? What is the context of the conversation? What
background information that is only implied should I know?)
Typically, many
students will have difficulties with the first point because they will have
trained in optimal conditions, and they usually select audio material to listen
to that is easily understandable for them. On the other, many students master
the first levels, but fail in correctly understanding the meaning. This should
not surprise us: did you really always understand your teachers and professors
on a more difficult topic?! Most probable not, and that, even though you are
native speaker.
To be continued
If you like
the attitude of these articles, please check out my online courses : at the
moment, German for Russian- and Romanian-speakers, as well as on goal-setting.
If you are
interested in improving your English in the area of business presentations, I
know of no better address than Tom Antion. Please check him out following this link.
Stay tuned!
Gerhard
About the GO Method
The GO Method applies research in
psychology as well as principles of quality management to the language teaching
process. It conforms to key elements of the ISO 9001 standard, while being more
specific on teaching-related issues. Customers get access to easily adaptable
document templates.
About me
Psychologist and polyglot from Hamburg
/Germany (*1979). Married with children. MA in psychology from the University
of Hamburg. More than 15 years of experience as a university lecturer in
psychology as well as a consultant for UNICEF, Terre des Hommes, IOM, the EU
and private companies. Coordinator of the GO Method network, with
representatives in more than 90 countries worldwide.
No comments:
Post a Comment