{"id":8808,"date":"2012-01-25T10:07:10","date_gmt":"2012-01-25T18:07:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gre\/?p=8808"},"modified":"2024-06-18T10:52:06","modified_gmt":"2024-06-18T17:52:06","slug":"gre-for-non-native-english-speakers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gre\/gre-for-non-native-english-speakers\/","title":{"rendered":"GRE for Non-Native English Speakers"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Update 8\/30\/12:<\/strong> based on the suggestions of many of our non-native GRE students, we&#8217;ve released Magoosh English! Enjoy! \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n<p>Update 5\/10\/14:\u00a0We also recommend checking out our <a href=\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Magoosh TOEFL blog<\/a> for more tips!<\/p>\n<p>First, I\u2019m going to say that I have great admiration for anyone who is willing to take a standardized exam in a language that isn\u2019t their own. Even native speakers of English have trouble with the vocabulary and grammar rules on the GRE, and we\u2019ve been speaking, hearing, and learning English our entire lives. There are very few good resources out there for GRE students who aren\u2019t \u00a0typical American students who attended American universities! Many of the \u201cGRE Tips for Non-Native English Speakers\u201d out there are created by one of the following types of people:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>A native speaker of English who doesn\u2019t know what it\u2019s like to be unfamiliar with English or any other language. This type of teacher generally does well on standardized tests because for them, idioms and sentence structure can be tested by ear (\u201cit just SOUNDS better this way, right?\u201d), but they\u2019re unable to transfer this knowledge, because it\u2019s not something that can be acquired in a short period of time.<\/li>\n<li>A non-native speaker of English who isn\u2019t very good at English themselves, who will teach you the wrong way to learn and give you the wrong information.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>I\u2019d like to think that I\u2019m going to present you with strategies that draw from the good qualities of both of these (expertise in English as well as understanding of what it\u2019s like to learn a second (or third!) language) with none of the bad.<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<h2>Do not (just) memorize vocabulary words and their definitions<\/h2>\n<p>This is a trap many students (both English-speaking and otherwise) fall into. Put that word list down, step away, and think about it. If vocabulary was as easy as memorizing any number of definitions and regurgitating them, then everyone would ace the GRE. A robot could ace the GRE. Anyone would be able to pick up a new language in a matter of days. Unfortunately, that\u2019s not how language and language-learning works, and the GRE does a pretty good job of measuring how well you know the language in question\u2014English. English vocabulary, grammar, and syntax are notoriously riddled with exceptions, loopholes, and illogical rules\u2014so don\u2019t let it frustrate you too much.<\/p>\n<p>The best thing you can do is familiarize yourself with the rules, but mimic the \u201cnative English speaker\u201d base of knowledge by consuming as much of the written and spoken English word as you possibly can. Listen to podcasts, watch movies, and read, read, read. Even if you have a podcast or movie running in the background while you do something else (like wash the dishes or go for a run) and aren\u2019t giving it your full attention, it\u2019s better than nothing! Additionally, this is a great way to familiarize yourself with American English tonality and general speech patterns, which will help you \u201cfix\u201d your accent if you so choose, which is something many international students in the US struggle with.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Study \u201cMath\u201d English vocabulary<\/h2>\n<p>I\u2019m just going to come right out and say it \u2014 the average American student is not nearly as good at math as an average international student who is applying to study in the states. The curriculum is more basic and moves much more slowly from grade to grade in the American school system, so for many of you, GRE Math is a piece of cake. However, don\u2019t let yourself ignore it completely. If you\u2019re confident about it, great, but don\u2019t let yourself lose a few easy points because you haven\u2019t familiarized yourself with word problems or terms for math concepts that may be different in your country!<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Ask questions<\/h2>\n<p>A roadblock for many of the non-native English speakers I\u2019ve tutored is the fact that they are unwilling to accept that they need to ask a lot of questions to catch up to native English speakers taking the same test. The GRE will be tougher for you if you haven\u2019t grown up speaking, reading, and writing English. This is just a fact. You will have to ask many more questions about things that seem confusing or difficult that others will not, but if it will help you do better on the exam, then it is worth asking every single one of those questions and making sure you get a good answer.<\/p>\n<p>Magoosh has a Help tab on the left of every screen, and many students send us a lot of great questions\u2014everything from \u201cI don\u2019t understand Step 3 in the explanation video, help!\u201d to \u201cI tried this question in a prep book and I don\u2019t understand why I got it wrong.\u201d We answer every single one, and I think this is such a crucial part of why Magoosh students do so well on their exams. The worst thing you can do is ignore a concept or strategy when you don\u2019t understand it, because this will make it more difficult for you to learn more advanced techniques and make you frustrated when your scores aren\u2019t improving. Don\u2019t be afraid that you\u2019re asking a \u201cdumb question\u201d, or think that we won\u2019t send you a response. Ask away!<\/p>\n<p>This tip holds especially true for AWA: unless you ask a qualified reader (a friend, a tutor, anyone!) to go over your essays, there is no way of knowing what you\u2019re doing wrong. Unlike practice tests, there\u2019s no answer sheet to check your essays against and no way to track your progress unless you ask a lot of questions about what you\u2019re doing wrong and how you can improve your approach.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Takeaway<\/h2>\n<p>Read, read, read, write, write, write, write, and then read some more. And ask questions! \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Update 8\/30\/12: based on the suggestions of many of our non-native GRE students, we&#8217;ve released Magoosh English! Enjoy! \ud83d\ude42 Update 5\/10\/14:\u00a0We also recommend checking out our Magoosh TOEFL blog for more tips! First, I\u2019m going to say that I have great admiration for anyone who is willing to take a standardized exam in a language [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":133,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32,10761],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[12256],"class_list":["post-8808","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-about","category-tips"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v21.7 (Yoast SEO v21.7) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>GRE for Non-Native English Speakers - Magoosh Blog \u2014 GRE\u00ae Test<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Are you a non-native English speaker looking to take the GRE? 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