While other tests of English language proficiency are later adaptations, all GEP English exams at www.itestenglish.com were built from scratch under the guidelines of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.
How to prepare?
1 - Put Some Fun into Your Practice
The more you practice, the better you’ll get. The better you practice, the easier it all gets. You’ll practice better when things are more interesting for you! This is especially true if this studying time involves watching a TV show in English and trying to understand what’s happening.
It’s best to watch a show that you’ve already seen, and be sure to pick a show that has work-related scenes.
Once you get comfortable, and can understand conversations on your favorite U.S. TV shows without subtitles, you can move on to listening to an English radio station. This will bring you closer to the real conditions of the GEP English listening exam.
2 - Look for the Best Possible Answer, Not the Right Answer
What’s the difference between a “right answer” and the “best possible answer?”
A right answer usually means that there’s only one correct answer and all the other choices are wrong.
But when you need to find the best possible answer, there could be many correct answers. The best answer is supported by facts found in the exam material. Your job is to find out which answer is best, based on what you’ve heard, read or seen. We’ll call that the context.
Often, the GEP English Exam will ask you to infer something from a conversation or text. “To infer” means to deduce, to derive, to draw conclusions based on facts and reasoning” (not opinions). Inferring is not guessing, though, because you must have facts and reasons to support your answer.
3 - What matters is what’s actually written, said and shown in the exam material.
You don’t need to know all the words and idioms to understand a conversation if you’re given the context. Since GEP English Exam will always give you context, if you come across a word or expression that you don’t understand, don’t panic! Don’t try to guess, but instead look for clues or pay attention to the illustrations to get a better idea of the context. Global Language Training put them there to emulate real life scenarios in which you use not only what you hear or read but also what you see to construct meaning.
4 - Practice Listening to English Spoken at Conversational Speed
Because the test is timed, and because there are no replays of the audio parts, you’ll have to pay close attention to key details.
Don’t try to understand everything you hear! It can’t be done, even by native speakers. Instead, use the illustrations to figure out the location and the context and this will help you better grasp the main ideas.
Finally, trust the GEP English Exam format. GEP English Exam will not try to trick (fool) you like most other English Exams out there. The exam is designed to be straight forward, emulating everyday situations in English. With GEP English Exam, you won’t need special exam preparation. You just need to improve your overall skills in English and you’ll be fine.
For more information contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or visit www.itestenglish.com.