How to improve RC/LR for non native English speaker? Forum

[raymonddon]

I just finished my freshman year of college with GPA around 3.7. I am an international student in a very small and remote Liberal Arts College in the United States.

I just took several LSAT tests, and I watched some instructive videos from YouTube and 7Sage.

I scored around 155 to 160 in those tests. Everytime, I got like -9 in each LR section (-18 in total), -10 in RC, and -1 or all correct in LG. And my speed in doing RC and LR is really slow since I am not native English speaker, which nearly take me extra 5-7 minutes to finish a 35-minute section.

I am not really hurrying to take the LSAT test, but I still have no idea on how to improve my skill on LR and RC in the long term, like in 4-6 months. I plan to take the September test this year or January test next year.

With the diagnostic like mine, is there hope to score a 170 or above, or how could I improve my reading speed?

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

[proteinshake]

why are you taking the LSAT so soon? you need to wait at least until senior year -- you'll be much more intelligent, literate, and critical than you are now, right? it's better to take the LSAT after 4 years of college education rather than 1 or 2, no? until then, focus on your GPA and READ. the best thing you can do in your free time is leisure read -- especially philosophy and science books! it will also help you with your English!

[Barack O'Drama]

why are you taking the LSAT so soon? you need to wait at least until senior year -- you'll be much more intelligent, literate, and critical than you are now, right? it's better to take the LSAT after 4 years of college education rather than 1 or 2, no? until then, focus on your GPA and READ. the best thing you can do in your free time is leisure read -- especially philosophy and science books! it will also help you with your English!

I'm with proteinshake on this one. I think you will be able to hit 170 with time. 10 points in 1-2 years is totally doable, especially if English is the main obstacle.

[eagle2a]

just go back to your country bro

[soj]

.

[HonestAdvice]

Try to approach LR as a math problem. You don't need to understand what you're reading to get it right. On some of the harder questions understanding what's going on can actually be counterproductive. On assumption, flaw, strengthen/weaken, you just need to be able to spot the word in the facts that's being equivocated with the word in the conclusion. On inference questions, you're just trying to spot something less than or equal to what's you've red.

But something worth considering is that reading is the bulk of what you'll do in law school, and what attorneys do. The non-native speakers who are successful are really smart and really hardworking, generally far more so than similarly situated native speakers. It's not that you can't be just as successful being a non-native speaker, it's just a big disadvantage.

[New_Spice180]

I love what the poster above touched on, because well there's a lot of truth to it! My girlfriend was an international student at the time and I found that she was very keen to detail when it came to the English language, much more detail that I as a native speaker, should have been! So I trust that you're ability to analyze text will only improve as you move through your studies. Take your time really pay attention to "trigger words" (ex conditional, cause/effect/ premise/conclusion indicators) at the beginning of your studies and later it will be become much easier to determine where a premise or causal relationship exists.

I'd recommend to do some more reading on the side (although since you're in a Liberal Arts school, you're probably getting punished with that)!

Good luck with your endeavors!

[raymonddon]

Thank you all for your advice.

[Rupert Pupkin]

Since its a learnable test, it can only be helpful for you to start studying earlier on. I wouldn't stress about it right now, but if you really want to get started, you can in another year or 2. But, as protein shake said, no matter when you start studying, it is pointless to take the actual test so early on. I would Read read read and take english/philosophy classes that can help you get into the LSAT mindset.

So, my best piece of advice would be to start a habit of reading regularly and that will help you ten-fold.

[HiLine]

Get better at English and close the gap between you and native speakers. You have time to do this.