How to improve verbal score for non-native English Speaker

[goody921]

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Hello...
I had a post at here....
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?p=8715384#post8715384

I attended the PrincetonReview course over the summer to study for MCAT. However, I struggled with English comprehension, and the verbal instructor said it's out his SCOPE to improve my comprehension skill, he said his job is only to teach us testing strategies for verbal section of the MCAT.
I STRUGGLED with the verbal, but I still decided to take the MCAT, and no doubt that I got a 5 in verbal, and (8 for both sciences, however, I think if I can improve my reading comprehension skill, my sciences sections will increase few points because of the passages)
I tried really hard to ask around the school, and none of them can provide me with the right assistance ( they all guided me to ESOL, but it's too easy for me)
CAN you guys know a book, or a program, or anything that can help me with my reading comprehension skill???
Sigh...I am sooo frustrated because I study really hard in college (with GPA of 3.7 overall, and 3.6 science), but now the MCAT verbal (reading comprehension) is stopping me from getting into medical school, which is my dream...
However, I know reading comprehension is really important for me at any stages of my life, so I really want to overcome this obstacle....

Any help would be appreciated...

Thank you very much

 

[LupeFiasco]

Hello...
I had a post at here....
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?p=8715384#post8715384

I attended the PrincetonReview course over the summer to study for MCAT. However, I struggled with English comprehension, and the verbal instructor said it's out his SCOPE to improve my comprehension skill, he said his job is only to teach us testing strategies for verbal section of the MCAT.
I STRUGGLED with the verbal, but I still decided to take the MCAT, and no doubt that I got a 5 in verbal, and (8 for both sciences, however, I think if I can improve my reading comprehension skill, my sciences sections will increase few points because of the passages)
I tried really hard to ask around the school, and none of them can provide me with the right assistance ( they all guided me to ESOL, but it's too easy for me)
CAN you guys know a book, or a program, or anything that can help me with my reading comprehension skill???
Sigh...I am sooo frustrated because I study really hard in college (with GPA of 3.7 overall, and 3.6 science), but now the MCAT verbal (reading comprehension) is stopping me from getting into medical school, which is my dream...
However, I know reading comprehension is really important for me at any stages of my life, so I really want to overcome this obstacle....

Any help would be appreciated...

Thank you very much

Hi,

Most people find verbal hard, whether or not they have good comprehension skills, but I definitely see your dilemma.

This is what I would recommend:

- Read magazines like the Economist on a daily basis and try to understand what the author is saying; as in what is the main point and what is his view on the topic.

- Try watching shows like Real Time with Bill Maher. Not only does he talk about current topics in the news, but he adds humor into it as well. If you can follow what he's saying, and understand the humor, then I would say you are getting better at comprehending the English language.

- To be honest, there isn't really a book that you can read in a week and be able to improve your comprehension skills drastically. The only thing you can do is consistently read magazines and/ or novels and watch shows that are intellectual and think/ reflect on it after you're done reading and watching.

- Also, consistently converse in English and not your native language. In fact, don't talk in your native language AT ALL. ONLY ENGLISH.

- If you do this for the entire year, I'm positive you will drastically improve all your scores on the MCAT.

I'm sorry there isn't a quick fix for this. But in life there rarely are quick fixes for anything.

Hope this helps.

- Lupe 🙂

PS. As for the Princeton Review course, you can take it again for free if you'd like.

 

[juligol10]

I don't think that "not talking in your native language AT ALL" will help on VR. Reading magazines like the economist and getting the main idea will improve your comprehension in the long term. Just make sure you do it constantly, and most importantly, practice as much passages as you can.

 

[Omni]

You will waste your time looking for a program. The best way to improve is through practice. Read a lot. I promise this will do better than paying $500 for an expensive class or "how to read" book.