Hey folks, is anyone here who is taking the LSAT with English as their second language interested in learning together? I've been hearing more inquiries about study strategies for people who encounter a significant language barrier with the test. Let's use this thread for ESL students to connect and see how much interest there is, in addition to sharing helpful strategies with each other.
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I can't make it to this call unfortunately, but here's some input from a friend of mine who also tutors with some very helpful advice pertaining to ESL students:
"I would advise [ESL students] to focus on English language skills, vocabulary, and reading comprehension, perhaps even setting aside the LSAT itself. SAT and GRE reading comprehension passages can be good tools for English language learners (I think the GMAT ones do more harm than good), and daily reading of periodicals like the New Yorker, Harper's, Science, and other such publications is extremely useful (30 minutes to 1 hour per day of such reading is ideal, with additional time spent writing a summary or giving an oral summary to a friend/tutor). Vocabulary practice is very important, particularly drills on vocab that comes up frequently on the LSAT (this list is extremely exhaustive and can be helpful in helping students separate what they do know from what they do not, although premade lists on Quizlet do save time).
As unfair as it is, ESL students are at a definite disadvantage on the LSAT, and law school admissions committees seem unwilling to do much to factor in ESL students into their decision-making process. I've also seen that ESL students are at a significant disadvantage in law school itself, because exams are almost exclusively essay-based, and I think ESL students should think about test prep as a valuable way to prepare themselves for law school itself. Generally, I advise at least 6 months for LSAT prep to ESL students, and this is based upon what I've seen in my work with many ESL LSAT takers."
Hey everyone! We had a session last week, hope it was useful. If we are able to get more interest I'll be happy to run another session!
Guys, I'd recommend putting the e-mails in a private message including the people in this thread, so you don't expose yourselves to spam bots trolling websites harvesting emails.
@alejoroarios925 please do run another session we have many new ESL who are interested
@amakpegba150.kpegba one thing you can do is increase your exposure to reading dense materials by reading sources like the Economist, doing that every day can help but it's a long road to actually increase your reading speed.
Session done, thanks @alejoroarios925.parham for joining! I hope it was helpful.
I'm with @alejoroarios925, would love to see what comes of this conversation. I'm on pacific time - maybe we can find a time to all get on a call.
I am struggling with language barrier as well but I am not sure it is significant. I do not read fast enough. Personally I believe subject familiarity provides a huge boost in confidence and speed. Listening to economist audio version each week while replacing TV time with reading classic novels helps a lot. Improvement is definitely possible specially in LG and LR, I started LR -11 untimed to --6 under timed per section in less than six months.I know there is still a lot of room for further improvement for me and other ELS students.
That is what I did for LR improvement:
1- Finished the curriculum
2- Took at least half of PT 1-35 LR sections and BR them
3- Went back to curriculum master high priority question types for me using 7Sage LSAT Analytic
4- Slowing down while taking the test, it never helps specially for ESL because if I missed a word the stimulus might not make sense to you
And give it some time to sink in after finished LR by at least ten days leaving. Meanwhile do the LG bundle and come back to LR later.
Hope this will help.
@jennilynn89537 , Can we do a session for people testing this year please.
English is my second language, but I don't think it hinders me a whole lot. I've found that I tend to screw up LR questions when I read over the premise super fast. SLOW DOWN when you get to the question. The conclusion/argument, as well as the answers, are easy enough to decipher quickly if you slow down and understand the author's logic and way of thinking. In my first practice test (and only one so far) I was going through the paragraphs way too fast. You lose the time you saved, and then some, by getting bogged down on the wrong answer choices.
Hello i just kinda wrap it up all commets if it is okay i would love to join your group and chats however i am not sure about wanting to take a SLAT test but i would really like to give a shot. I came in state when i was 19 still learning english conversation and understanding is okay but reading writing is a really bad i just wanna hang out and see what i can do next
Hey everyone! I'm glad to set up a call with y'all to go over what I did to get past those difficulties. I got a 167 in June and really want to take the test again for that 170+ but don't know yet since that would be my 4th take and I've heard taking the LSAT 4 times isn't a good idea. Regardless, I'm more than willing to help out in anyway I can :). Let me know if you would like to set up a call, say, this Thursday at 6pm EST and I'll send you over a GoToMeeting invite :).
Already had a few people send me their emails. I will send an invite tomorrow or Wednesday when more people do!
Awesome. I can lead this and the easiest for me is through GoToMeeting. Please pm me your emails and I'll send you an invite.
Alright people. How about this Thursday at 8pm EST?
Hey all, I just started the thread to gauge interest (English is my first language) because I've been connecting with some students through tutoring who are frustrated as a result of a language barrier on the LSAT, and I think we could use more resources specifically to equip anyone who is tackling this test without the major advantage of speaking/reading English from a young age. Great ideas on here already.
@shopshim86 can I schedule a community webinar for ESL and International folks? Maybe this can be our first sidebar webinar. What would be a good week for that?
English is my second language, however I do feel improvement in my comprehension abilities as I prepared for the LSAT, still I find myself stumbling in between a RC passage sometimes (the frequency has decreased though). I have been reading lots of articles regularly and it has helped. I will be happy to get together with others and discuss strategies.
Hi, English is also not my mother tone. I grew up in China and went to college in the US (and now working in UAE). I do not consider English as an obstacle right now (well I still need to improve vocabulary).
What I did is to major in International Studies in college (I know this is not helpful)... I got to read a lot of dense papers and books.
But I do think that, one helpful strategy is to read some English books. The very fact that you are reading English in length can help you gain more confidence. Further, the more English books you read, the easier you will find when switching from your mother tone to English in your mind. And reading some English books that are interesting and not very dense will certainly be easier then just dive straight into LSAT RC passages.
I would love to meet up and talk about the language barrier! I was born and raised in Germany, and moved to the U.S when I was 20. To be fair, I did grow up bilingual, but did not immerse myself into the English language in depth until I made the move and had to take a couple of language and pre-college courses before I attended a University.
Although I do believe that my English is very strong at this point, I can definitely feel the language barrier becoming a problem within the LSAT, specifically for RC. I love to read, and I read a lot, but I just can't seem to read all four sections and answer the questions fast enough.
LR is also a problem for me, as I find myself stumbling over parts of the stimulus and questioning my comprehension abilities.
I have Skype or Google hangout!
@allisongillsanford643.gill.sanford is English your second language, or what inspired this thread?
Anyone? Bueller..?
me 2
@alejoroarios925 Could you please add me to the email list?
That's right @nimamasah689.... !!
@alejoroarios925 please add me to the email about times, not sure I can make it but I would like to be in the loop!
Hi, I am very glad to have found this thread! I am struggling with language barrier as well as English is not my mother tongue. To be honest, I speak four languages and did not learn English in depth until I decided to go to university in English and had to take few required courses to start my program.
I love to read, and I read a lot, however, when doing PTs RC sections are where I struggle the most. I run out of time and question my comprehension abilities!
Please count me in. Thank you!