Friday, March 4, 2011

Develop a memory for English and improve your personal speed

For non-native English speakers, it is only natural to think in their native tongue and use local idioms.  When doing any of the IELTS sub-tests, the thinking process takes longer than a native English speaker.
The thinking process for a native English speaker would normally be, think in English and say it in English. Non-native English speaker, would have 2 additional steps; think in the native tongue, translate to English, check grammar and say it in English.
The solution would then be to “think in English”; this of course will take quite a bit of time.   I would advice to start with something simple, your daily thoughts about the things around you could be done in English, an example would be commenting on the weather “it’s cold outside”; if you day dream, try day dreaming in English as well.  Keeping a journal would be very beneficial, keep in mind to think and write the journal in English.
Take every opportunity to listen to English. Watch TV programs and films, have as many conversations with native English speakers and convince your non-native English speaking friends to practice with you.
Try to familiarize yourself with English text every day.  Try reading a few pages of an English book of your favorite genre to avoid getting bored.  Read newspaper and magazine articles to get accustomed to what you might see in the IELTS reading test. 
Read some newspaper and magazine article for details and some for speed, practice skimming and scanning these materials as well.
For other tips please visit the following categories: Basic Tips, Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking.

No comments:

Post a Comment