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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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.
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!
@allison.gill.sanford is English your second language, or what inspired this thread?
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.
@"Nicole Hopkins" 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?
Would love for anyone else to join in as well!
"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."
Yes, I'd love to join the call, and I think I face more barriers than others since I'm very very ESL, maybe that could make others feel better about themselves?
Will 7pm EST this Thursday be possible?
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!