English Language Studying Tips

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Contents

General Tips

  • Use it - The only way to improve a language is to actually practise it in your daily life. A good starting point is to speak only English to your friends and teachers during English Language class.
  • Read it - Read as many English books, academic or non-academic to familiarise yourself with the language. Novels and story books help you improve narrative and descriptive language. News, opinion columns and debates could help in elucidating logical reasoning with precise language. The bottom line is to read anything in subjects you enjoy. It is a positive feedback cycle - the more you enjoy it, the more you will read; and vice versa.
  • Check it - Look up the dictionary and encyclopaedia when you come across a new word. The worst possible learning method is to use a new word without learning the context in which its use is appropriate. Also pay attention to the correct preposition.
    • E.g. suffer is usually written as "suffer from", not "suffer with" or "suffer of".

Verbal Tips

  • Listen to English from as wide variety of speakers as you can get your hands on - such as BBC, CNN, Local News, or even just movies in English.
  • Do not be shy to speak English no matter how poor you think your command of the language is
  • Do check for the proper pronunciation of a word in the dictionary (If all else fails, Google Translate is your friend.)

Writing Tips

  • Practise writing as often as possible. For example, you can set up a blog, or write a journal. Remember that if you want to produce good written work, editing and rewriting is crucial.
  • Think about what you read - for example ask yourself wheter or not you like the plot of the story; or whether the characters written are one-dimensional or not if you are reading fiction. If you are reading non-fiction, evaluate the arguments used and identify the style of the writer. You think about what you are reading so that you learn to identify what is "bad writing", and thus are able to avoid it or edit it out in your own work.
  • Spice up your stories with various adjectives and phrases, such as :
    • To Describe People
      • To describe hair - braided, crew-cut, dishevelled, jet-black, ponytailed, bangs
      • To describe eyes - bloodshot, wide-open, excited
      • To describe noses - aquiline, crooked
      • To describe mouths - rosebud
      • Other descriptive words - lanky, muscular, broad-chested, hunched
    • To describe places and the surrounding environment - Rustic, undulating hills, pristine beaches, network of crisscrossing roads, vehicles crawling at a snail's speed, lush greenery
  • Experiment with different ways of putting across the same point, for example:
    • If you work hard you would succeed - As you sow, so shall you reap.
    • Important - paramount, indispensable to, vital
      • Influence from bad friends is one of the paramount factors in the problem of truancy.
      • This book is indispensable to students as it provides useful studying tips.
      • The presence of Escherichia coli is a vital indicator of water contaminated by faeces.
    • Impossible - like putting a quart in a pint pot, like building a castle in the air
      • Some say it is like putting a quart in a pint pot to score 100 in the Additional Mathematics paper.
    • In conclusion - In a nutshell, by and large, to sum it up, put shortly
    • Not impossible - not too far-fetched
    • Worsen - exacerbate

Improving Vocabulary

  • For intensive improvement of vocabulary, try websites like Free Rice. However, always pay close attention to the precise definition and the appropriate context for the word usage.
  • Have a notebook handy to jot down unfamiliar phrases and their definitions, or just words that you like
  • As previously mentioned, read as widely as possible.

Tips for PMR

How to tackle the multiple choice questions:

  • If you are facing a dilemma, list down the definition of the four options.
  • Ask yourself which of the verbs or nouns can be used within the context.
  • Zoom in and select the best answer


Tips for SPM

  • Do manage your time well when writing your essays. The essay for the first part (paper 1) should be a short one. Normally, the points given are sufficient for you to score full marks for the content. So, do not waste your time elaborating it by giving examples and short conclusion for each point.
  • Avoid grammatical mistakes. If you are not good at grammar, avoid complex sentence structures or unfamiliar tenses. The usage of simple but correct sentences is sufficient in the exams, and this is usually better than complicated but incorrect sentences.
  • Use only sentence structures that you are familiar with.
  • Do not use a direct translation from your mother tongue. It usually does not work well, and could often result in embarrassing errors.
  • For comprehension part, if the passage given is a story, make sure you do not change the sequence of the events that happened when you are writing for your summary. Take your time to draft your summary before writing it out.
  • Allocate some time to look for mistakes in both Papers 1 and 2.



Tips for MUET

For the Reading component, I suggest reading the questions first before you read the passage. Then, you skim the text for the answers. This saves time. Also, read the multiple choice answers carefully, as the answers might be quite similar at first glance, but different when you read carefully. Make sure you do the test fast so that you have time to check.

As for the Listening test, try more Listening test practices to familiarise yourself with the format. The recordings will be played twice, but try to answer the questions while you listen to the first recording. If you miss any answers, try to jot down notes the second time you listen. These notes can help you answer any questions you have missed.

Moving on to the Speaking component, there are 2 parts: you speak for 2 minutes about the topic, and then you have a group discussion. Make sure you speak fluently and give a lot of good points when you speak. Elaborate well on these points. Do not use 'lah', 'um', 'ah', etc. Speak continuously at a good speed, not too fast. During the group discussion, do not dominate the discussion, but let everyone speak. Stimulate a good group discussion, and let things run smoothly.

Finally, the Writing component.  For the first essay, compare and contrast the 2 data sets. There is no need to elaborate too much, give mainly the main points. An example is: Company A sold the most goods in 2007, but its sales plummeted to only 30 000 in 2008. Company B on the other hand, improved its total sales from 20 000 units in 2007 to a staggering 40 000 in 2008, overtaking company A in terms of sales. You don't need to say why company B is doing better in 2008; just describe what you see in the data.

As for the second essay, you have to write a long essay about a random topic. Therefore, I strongly advise you to read up on issues and topics to have enough points to write in the essay. Elaborate the points well, include bombastic but appropriate words (used in the correct context, not anyhow you want) and write in a formal, mature way.


Web Sites

Resources for Learning and Teaching English on the Web

Online English Language Centres

English Language Learning (ELL) Resources

Grammar


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