<p>well im not a native english speaker and moved to US 3 yrs ago.</p>
<p>i started to take sat seriously a month ago but ive been studying it for an year actually. HOWEVER, whenever i take practice tests, i get very low score (like all around 500's cept math) i get mostly killed on english sections(both r and w. they make me mad alot) whenever i take them, i feel they are easy but the scores turn out very baaaad. im mad bout the whole deal. even though i dont get 700 on math, im positive about that because i make stupid mistakes and misunderstandings...</p>
<p>do you think it's going to get much better when the school starts or am i completely hopeless? also do you think my scores will improve when i start to go to the prep classes for sat(starting during the school year)?</p>
<p>if you're going to be a senior, then do a lot of practice tests over this summer. if you're going to be a junior, you should still do some practice tests, but you will also get better just by going to school/taking classes.</p>
<p>It's probably going to get better as you get more used to speaking and reading English. Try reading a few newspapers like your local newspaper and the New York Times to get a feel for the SAT passages. Colleges won't expect someone who just started speaking English a few years ago, to do as well on critical reading and writing as a native speaker woud. You don't have to do perfectly, you just have to do your best. </p>
<p>P.S. I never recommend prep classes for someone who gets 500's on the SAT. You just need to examine your mistakes and weaknesses, and try not to make the same mistakes again.</p>
<p>^Agreed.</p>
<p>I wouldn't recommend starting on the New York Times though (something like 90% of American adults cannot read it). Start reading fiction books, and maybe a few nonfiction books here and there. Everybody who's not an avid reader has to read before their SAT to improve their English skills, and since you're not a native speaker, you're going to have to read even more than they do. Depending on how high your asperations are, read for 1-3 hours a day. You don't really need to tailor your reading to mirror that used by the SAT; as long as you're reading, you're improving, regardless of what it is you're reading. </p>
<p>For Writing, you're actually in an advantageous position, even though you may not realize it. The fact that English is a second language for you will make learning grammar EASIER. We native speakers have been on "auto-pilot" with our speaking and writing since we were 2 years old. It's difficult for us to comprehend that "better than them" is incorrect and apply that rule to other prepositions, because we've never conceptualized "than" as a preposition, but rather as just another aspect of our "auto-pilot." </p>
<p>Buy a book on grammar, or even just do an internet search, and begin learning the concepts, and I promise, you'll soon be scoring very well in Writing. The whole reason why the Writing section comes to easy to me is that, after studying Spanish extensively as a second language, I was able to translate that "outside knowledge" of the language into English. (I got 800 in June)</p>
<p>thx very much fro all of your advices... but i have some questions..</p>
<ol>
<li><p>well for writing part, i got very goood score at grammar test in my school and never felt like i need more grammar study. however, whats happening in sat is that i just dont recognize the grammar mistakes..what should i do about it?</p></li>
<li><p>why is the prep class not recommended? im thinking of taking one for my math because i dont remember how to do most of them sat math problems lol. im too used to seeing trig problems now lol</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Everybody needs more work on their grammar. You need to buy a book on grammar, or find a comprehensive internet site. That you're not noticing the mistakes in grammar means you're not familiar with certain constructions or rules, as is very evident from your writing. Get cracking.</p>