subject: How To Prepare Yourself To Pass Your ESL Writing Test With Flying Colors [print this page] How To Prepare Yourself To Pass Your ESL Writing Test With Flying Colors
ESL training is not restricted to only children as students. Many adults find themselves in a new country and have to improve their knowledge or English as a Second Language to gain entry to university or a job that requires fluent English. The purpose of this article is to provide some guidelines to assist adults in their preparation for an ESL writing test.
You should do take three basic steps. Find out how the test will be structured, prepare yourself and finally yet importantly practice, practice, practice.
Find out about the structure of your test - You need to establish what topics will be covered in the test. By studying previous test papers, you will be able to establish what the exam setters are testing. You will be able to create a revision plan based on the vocabulary, spelling and grammar testing in previous test. You can also use this information to identify your own strengths and weaknesses.
Prepare yourself for the test - What strategy are you going to apply when preparing for and writing the test? Build your strategy around reducing your weaknesses and building on your strengths. A few days before taking your test, you should plan how you will use your time to answer multiple questions versus answering longer sentences or comprehension testing tests.
Practice, Practice, Practice - You can plan and strategies all you like, but without practicing, you will get nowhere. You need to make sure that you will understand the questions. Your answers should be written in a way that will make it clear to the examiner and marker that you understand the question and are able to express yourself properly.
Practice your spelling, grammar and comprehension. Build your vocabulary by reading well-written books and listening to people speaking English properly. Learn to listen and identify how to use what you hear to improve your skills. Use the Internet to find tests relating to specific areas such as spelling, grammar and sentence structure to work through - many of these are available free of charge.
Don't be ashamed to use practices meant for children and be brave enough to try practicing tasks that are more difficult. Use practice tests - ask your trainer for previous test papers. You can also buy a book or books with practice tests. Consider sharing the cost with fellow students or buy second hand. Again, the internet is a useful source.
These suggestions are equally important in preparing for any test you will take but are particularly useful when preparing for your ESL writing test. You could do worse than taking heed of a well-known quote made by Alan Lakein, a well-known author who writes extensively on personal time management. To fail to plan is to plan to fail.
