Foreign Language (English or other)
Core concepts
The foreign language section assesses reading, grammar, vocabulary, and sometimes listening. For grammar, master tense consistency, subject-verb agreement, articles, prepositions, conditionals, passive voice, and reported speech. Build vocabulary in context: collocations, phrasal verbs, and word families. For reading, practice skimming for the main idea and scanning for specific details, and learn to infer meaning from surrounding text. For writing tasks, structure paragraphs with a clear topic sentence, supporting details, and a conclusion, and use linking words (however, therefore, moreover).
Traps
- Choosing a tense that is grammatically possible but inconsistent with the passage's timeline.
- Missing subject-verb agreement when a phrase separates subject and verb.
- Confusing similar words (affect/effect, lend/borrow).
- Answering from general knowledge rather than the text.
- Forgetting articles before singular countable nouns.
Rule of thumb
For gap-fill grammar items, read the whole sentence and the one before it; the surrounding tense usually determines the correct form.
Worked example
"She ___ (study) English for three years." The phrase "for three years" signals an action continuing to the present, so use the present perfect: "has studied."