Score HIGH on NEW English Tests

Why international students fail English tests

Students fail because they do not understand the test requirements.

Students fail because they underestimate the large volume of work necessary to pass.

Students fail because they have limited English vocabulary.

Students fail because some English skills are not practiced.

Students fail because they rely on "secret tips" rather than real skill.

Students fail because they cram for tests and become confused.

Students fail because they become upset and cannot perform.

How international students can SCORE HIGH on NEW English tests.

First step in your plan to score high on a specific English test is to understand the test requirements. Is the test a written test only? Do you have to read a text? Do you have to listen to a conversation on tape? How much speaking is required? What type of questions will be asked? What type of answers are required? Students must understand how the English information is presented, what English skills are being tested, and how answers must be submitted.

Second step is to understand the volume of advanced English skills and vocabulary required to score high on these tests. Students must have studied and practiced English for 2500 to 5000 hours counting school classes and self study.

Students require a vocabulary of between 8,000 and 15,000 words to score high on the new TOEFL, TOEIC, AP, IELTS and Cambridge tests.

To score high students require all four English skills (reading, writing, speaking, listening), technical language structure knowledge (grammar) and the application of the grammar knowledge in the active productions of speaking and writing.

The "secret tips" of using specific words that have a higher percentage of occurrence in the correct answers may give you the opportunity to raise your score from 0 to 1 %. If your vocabulary is less than 8000 words or your listening skills or writing less than advanced then you will still fail despite using all the "secret tips" or "secret vocabulary indicating correct answers".

Everyone knows that cramming helps memorizing facts for a short time but does very little for the practice of the application skills. All new English tests are a combination of facts and the application of English skills including technical grammar knowledge. Students who only cram for tests will fail most of the new tests as answers require the application of English grammar skills. The students who cram can only help some of their factual knowledge if they can remember it perfectly. I have never met a student who can remember crammed English facts correctly.

Students become upset when they read questions they cannot answer, questions they cannot understand, words they do not know the meaning of, or "secret words" that occur in two or more answers.

Remember students that are prepared have less chance of becoming upset. Students that are rested, relaxed and arrive on time at the test site will score higher on the tests.

What English Should I study to PASS English Tests?

Diagram showing the overlap between the English concentrations

There is only one English language. There are a variety of programs and courses that overlap each other. Many business English courses cover 90% of what students require to pass the TOEIC exam. Many advanced English courses cover 90 % of what is required to pass TOEFL, TOEIC, AP, IELTS and other English tests.

Many Toeic, toefl, IELTS courses only provide practice tests without teaching any vocabulary the four English skills and applied grammar practice. Students must create a plan to increase all applied English skills, vocabulary and become comfortable with the test requirements and answer formats.

Students can take combinations of programs and still pass tests.

For example: Advanced students could take 100 hours of business English, 200 hours of academic preparation and 10 hours of toefl and score high on the new Toefl test . The only secret is to have a balance of applied English skills and factual knowledge. The following is an example of a balanced study program.

EXAMPLE PLAN TO PASS ENGLISH TESTS

20% vocabulary
15% grammar comprehension
15% reading comprehension
15% listening comprehension
15% writing skills, short answer and essay
15% speaking skills
5% practicing test formats

Ross Mcbride
http://www.eslincanada.ca/passtests.html