Improve Your GMAT Verbal Score Even If English Isn’t Your First Language
GMAT test-takers often ask:
- I’ve practiced all the questions. What now?
- When is it safe to start using a newly updated question bank?
- My reading speed isn’t fast enough, or my reading ability is poor. What should I do?
Today, I’ll share my thoughts on that third question: “My reading speed isn’t fast enough/my reading ability is too poor, what should I do?”
Prerequisite: Reading Skills Take Time to Improve
First, let’s get one thing straight: Improving your reading skills isn’t something that happens overnight. It requires consistent effort and practice.
Think about it. If you haven’t been reading much in English for years, do you really expect to become proficient in just a few days? Unless you’re some kind of savant, you’ll need to put in the work well before your test date.
Step 1: Pinpoint Your Specific Issue
Most people struggling with reading comprehension fall into one of two camps:
- They genuinely don’t know enough vocabulary.
- They have enough vocabulary but are unfamiliar with standard English written language (which is longer and more complex than spoken language), leading to difficulties in integrating sentence logic.
We need to figure out which one applies to you before we talk about solutions.
Quick Self-Check
Try this: Grab a recent news article from a reputable source like CNN, the BBC, or The New York Times. Copy the text into a document and read it. Underline any words you don’t recognize. Don’t count words you can figure out from context, or proper nouns. Then, estimate what percentage of the total words in the article were ones you didn’t know.
Scenario 1: Vocabulary Gap (Over 30% of words are unfamiliar)
If more than 30% of the words were new to you, your vocabulary is likely the main bottleneck. I suggest focusing on word lists like the Academic Word List (AWL) or the 5000 most common TOEFL words. Prioritize learning to recognize these words before moving on.
Scenario 2: Weak Sentence Comprehension (Less than 30% of words are unfamiliar)
If you recognized most of the words but still struggled to understand the overall meaning, the issue is likely with how you’re piecing sentences together and following the logical flow. In this case, practicing translation is your best bet.
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Two Core Drills for Boosting Reading Comprehension
Drill 1: Written English-to-Chinese Translation
Start by translating articles from sources like CNN, the BBC, The New York Times, or The Economist from English into Chinese. Use a dictionary if needed, and revise your work. Your only goal here is: To create a Chinese translation that is perfectly clear and natural to someone who doesn’t read English well.
This forces you to really think about the precise meaning of words in context and how to structure sentences for smooth flow. Begin with just a paragraph or two at a time, and increase the length as you get more comfortable.
Drill 2: Simultaneous English-to-Chinese Interpretation
Once written translation feels manageable, step it up. Read an English sentence, then immediately speak its Chinese translation. It’s like simultaneous interpretation.
Here’s how it differs from written translation:
- You can’t stop to look up words.
- You can’t go back and rephrase sentences once you’ve started.
There’s no strict time limit, but the goal is to speak a complete sentence fluently, without pausing. You can record yourself to check how smooth it sounds.
If you can consistently do this, your reading comprehension will be at a level that’s more than sufficient for the GMAT.
Conclusion: Using Translation to Beat “False Comprehension”
Translation is a fantastic way to force yourself to truly grasp the meaning, rather than just skimming and assuming you understand. Many people believe they understand an article if they know all the words, but if they can’t articulate the full meaning in their own words, their comprehension is superficial.
This method is highly effective, not only for the GMAT but also for improving your ability to comprehend any English material in the future. Stick with it, and you’ll see improvement.
