<p>i've been in the US for about 3 years now, i think my english is okay. i dont' have problem communicating with people...but when it comes to SAT....i just dont' understand it at all....all those vocabularies just make my head spin. I dont' know where to start and how to start studying for SAT verbal part. my writing and math are okay, but verbal part really sucks...and I would like to know how u people whose first language isnt' english , how do u guys study for the SAT's and how do u improve ur english???????</p>
<p>my first language isn't english. i have in the us for 6 years. My english is pretty good. I scored better than 90 percent of all sophomores on the english part of the psat.</p>
<p>Although I've grown up with English so I'm not that familiar with your situation, (Even though English isn't my first language officially) I'd say that you could begin by reading a lot. Read good quality newspapers like the New York Times, the Washington Post, and most importantly keep practicing; do more and more tests, your scores will improve.</p>
<p>Have a look at this thread, its got some good advice: <a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=68210%5B/url%5D">http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=68210</a></p>
<p>There are lots of other threads on this issue, have a look around, you'll find some good ideas.</p>
<p>Best of luck!</p>
<p>i grew up biilingual, but standardized tests i chose to take the ACT instead of SAT because it doesnt have vocabulary questions (has more grammar though)</p>
<p>thxxx keeps the posts coming guys!!</p>
<p>I would say read a lot. And read advanced material. Also maybe get some flashcards with vocabulary to help.</p>
<p>I'd say that reading is the best way to go--reading constantly and reading thoroughly. It helps to see the words in context, not just on a flashcard or in a prep book, and the words tend to become easier to remember...that's what works for me, anyway.</p>
<p>Oh- and you could sign up for dictionary.com's word of the day email! That looks interesting.</p>
<p>I've lived in the United States for six years as well.</p>
<p>I got my critical reading score up to 630 after three attempts at SAT.</p>
<p>The best piece of advice I can give to you is to study for SAT all summer with the official study guide.</p>
<p>Many people say that merely memorizing vocabularies won't help, but I found it to be very helpful. I have memorized over a couple of thousands of vocabularies from the Barron's, and it helped me to improve my CR scores tremendously.</p>
<p>Reading books might also help, but try to read more newspapers instead. I found reading the OP-Ed sections on the New York Times to be very helpful to prepare for the SATs.</p>
<p>thanks everyone....
to DefTech , yeah i've start learning the barron 3500 about a week ago. it's painful but yet i gotta do it. and also i cut my newspaper into smaller piece and study about 3 pieces everyday. now i hope i'll do this constantly and not give up after like a week....lol...but hey good luck everyone!</p>
<p>English isn't my first langauge, but I did grow up in the US. I grew up in a Korean-speaking household and picked up bits of English form my brother, who was attending school, and TV, and "mastered" it when I myself started school. But since this is my case, I guess I'm at no particular disadvantage. But still, I find the Verbal to be my worst part, then Writing, and I always do well on Math -- typical Asian sterotypes: fufilled.</p>
<p>English isn't my first language, but I've been abroad for eh, 12 out of 16 years, with 3 and 1/2 languages in between. I have, though, been living in an English-speaking country for 9 years now. I owned the SAT verbal and math sections, and screwed up 2 questions in writing.</p>
<p>Overall, I don't remember doing too much in preparation for the SATs...aside from 3 months of crazy essay writing prep and 2 days of learning some techniques. I took all the tests in the Blue Book, too, to practice those techniques.</p>
<p>chinese is my first language and i've been in the US for 7 yrs. that's a pretty long time i guess. i feel lucky to be able to read, write, and speak chinese b/c i kno a lot of the chinese aren't able to. ppl r actually very surprised when i tell 'em that i can write in a full on chinese letter and i'm so damn proud of it.</p>
<p>as to learning english. all u gotta do is to TALK MORE. don't ever shut up in school. that'll do.</p>