Cynthia
Are you good at taking tests but not talking???

I found out that many people are very good at taking exams, but when they stand in front of a foreign speakers, they can't even say a word. Do you think this is a problem that most people have?

Jul 10, 2015 2:01 AM
Comments · 6
1

It depends on how the person studies.  If you learn from a textbook then you will speak like a textbook.

July 30, 2015

Isn't conversation always a part of an exam? In the last test I did, it was even the most important part of the exam. (That was the German Goethe Prüfung. If you fail speaking, you fail the complete test.) Without trying being the 'smart guy', this does not go for me, I am very good in taking tests, and one of the best scores I have on these tests is always, speaking. I am the best in analytic reading, probably because I am good in the scientific  subjects like maths and physics. Then comes speaking. Then listening. That is because I am a little deaf. The worst score in those tests are always for writing. I am a bad speller.

 

July 30, 2015

It's quite common here. It is much much easier to learn for a test or an exam than to learn and practise speaking with correct pronunciation, intonation, melody...

July 30, 2015

I suppose when you're revising for a language exam, there is a lot of focus on studying and learning grammar and vocabulary etc... and less on applying what you have learnt to actually speaking and having a conversation with another person. I have that specific problem, where I could maybe do quite well in a writing or speaking exam but when I actually try to have a conversation with someone I find it difficult to speak.

July 30, 2015

I think that's a problem with the method that most people use to learn languages. If you're stuck inside a class, reading books and taking exams, you're not properly getting ready for the real world.

 

People should talk in the language they're learning from day 1. Message someone on iTalki or HelloTalk, say good morning, introduce yourself and say goodbye. Start like that and add a second phrase on the second day. You'll see that you'll learn much faster doing this.

 

You need to make mistakes and you need to get out of your comfort zone to learn properly and faster.

July 10, 2015
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