People whose first language is not English

dhernan01

I'm just wondering if anyone else on here is ESL and struggling with the intensity of the LSAT in regards to the grammar, style, vocab, etc. If so, do you have tips, tools, or materials that you'd recommend?

emli1000

I would recommend that while you prep and you come across a term you do not know that you look it up right away. Such as when you're done with a timed problem set. If not, I feel that many times it's easy to understand the meaning of a term by reading the context in the stimulus/RC passage.

As for the style of the LSAT mainly on RC if you drill RC passages you will see a pattern in the style that they use and which questions to anticipate before moving on to the questions, sometimes. I recently started reading the Trainer and I like how it breaks up the strategies/techniques necessary for RC.

Also, reading articles from the economist and scientific america have helped.

dhernan01

Thanks @emli1000 !

kendallM

@justicia101 my prep course provided us with a good dictionary that included all the common difficult words on the lsat. I found it helpful. PM me and I'll let you know more information.

English is my second language as well. Actually it's my fourth language lol I know french, Italian, Dutch, and English. I was in ESL class when I immigrated to united states.
I always look up the words I don't understand although I don't really recommend this because on the actual test day you won't have a dictionary to look at.

However, lsat doesn't test you on English. Luckily you can understand the core of the argument by reading the other sentences. I would recommend reading at night and talking more in English so that you can expand your English vocabulary. I would also recommend writing.

Nilesh S

@justicia101 English is not my first language... that is a language called Hindi... so I totally understand what you are inquiring about... one tip that I can give you is that in addition to your regular prep, regularly read the economist just like emli1000 said, try to create a structure of the passage... and underline all the words that you don't understand and look up their meanings from a dictionary that you keep handy... that magazine has reading material of density and complexity similar to that of the writing on the LSAT... that should keep you in good stead.. moreover... beyond the RC, the LSAT is not really a test of your comprehension but your logic... keep practicing and you will be fine! All the best to you.

inactive

Hey! My first language is French and I sometimes struggle with complex words myself, even though it's been years since I've regularly spoken French. I'm not taking the LSAT, but when I go over the videos on 7Sage I sometimes have to pause and look up words on the dictionary or translate them back to French. (Sometimes google translate is weird about it, so it's a good idea to try two sources if you're still unsure.)

Like @emli1000 and @"Nilesh S" mentioned, The Economist and Scientific America are great.

dhernan01

This is really helpful, all. ¡Gracias!

emli1000

Well you won't have a dictionary while you take the LSAT but while you're reviewing it is helpful because you'll see some of those words again on the other PTs. I actually have a dictionary app on my phone and it's makes it easier for me to just look it up while I BR a question. Also, if I'm reading a book or article and I can't figure out the meaning of word i"ll look it up right away.

kendallM

@emli1000 I love dictionary app. It's a life saver

emli1000

Indeed. It's the best! & it's so handy.

LSATMode

Hi guys, I found this forum very related to me. Currently, I am struggling with Lsat especially LR sec. I came to United States 7 years ago. I hope i will do well on LSAT using this program. Anyways, thank you so much for support and suggestions . Also What is the name of dic app? I would love to check it out:)

emli1000

@kbk2785 it's the dictionary.com app. They also send you a daily "word of the day"

LSATMode

Perfect! Thank you:)