GMAT with bad English skills?

Question

Hi,

In short: What do you think the GMAT is possible with rather poor English skills? I was in the bachelor's program for 8 semesters now and basically no English was required. The last time I really dealt with the language was in high school. That was it. Otherwise just like everyone else YouTube etc. of course often in English. So ability to understand is much better than to speak or write.

In September I will visit a language school in Boston for 9 months. Actually wanted to have the GMAT with 600+ (more like 650) in the bag until then. TOEFL 100+ is also required for the master's degree but will be taken at the language school. I will come back in May 2022 and in September 2022 the studies will start. I don't think I'll be able to do it in time if I start studying for the GMAT in May because of the application deadlines. A colleague said that without a deep knowledge of English, the GMAT is not possible and would be a waste of time. What do you say?
Thank you very much for your answers!

With kind regards

mvnv · Answer

In addition:
And how is the score made up? Are the individual parts (quantitative and verbal) evaluated equally? Or is the quantitative part given more weight in the score?

GmatKnightTutor · Answer

There is a (rough) scoring grid here - https://gmatclub.com/forum/gmat-scoring ... 88156.html - that may provide some insight as to the way the scores are calculated.

vv65 · Answer

If English language skills are weak and you're going to take TOEFL coaching, will it be possible to tackle the GMAT after the TOEFL? After all, the only purpose of the coaching is to improve your English.

Next, 'poor English skills' will mean different things to different people, and I'm not sure what you mean. 
It's hard to judge just from the wording of the query, but your English seems ok, though there are some problems of course (For instance, you should have written "BY then", not "UNTIL then".)

Again, I'm not sure what your friend meant by "deep knowledge of English". Whatever he meant, the GMAT does not need a deep knowledge of anything! It's an exam for people who want to become managers, and it tests reasoning skills (It's not an exam for people who want to become English language professors!)

Re "ability to understand is much better than to speak or write": 
The GMAT does not test your ability to speak. It hardly tests your ability to write (with a little prep you will be able to write the essay EASILY). 
The GMAT definitely tests your ability to understand. This means the ability to understand written material of university textbook level. If that is a problem, you will need to prepare -- study, practise, improve. Almost everyone needs to prepare: some need to put in more work and some less.

On whether you can get to your target score by September: depends on your current level and on how much time you can devote to preparation and on how you prepare.

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EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi mvnv,

Many of the skills that you will gain from studying for the TOEFL will help you to score higher on the GMAT - so if possible, you should plan to study for the TOEFL first (before you study for the GMAT). In addition, while it sounds as though you are planning to apply for Round 1 of the Masters Program that you are interested in, you might consider applying for Round 2 (if necessary), so that you have enough time to earn the type of GMAT Score that you will "need" to apply.

If you are interested in seeing a practice GMAT Test, then you can access 2 for free from www.mba.com (and they come with some additional practice materials). If you want to do a bit of practice first, so that you can familiarize yourself with the general content and question types first, then that would probably be a good idea. A FULL CAT takes about 3.5 hours to complete, so make sure that you've set aside enough time to take it in one sitting. Once you have your Score, you should post back here and we can discuss the results.

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich

760+: What GMAT Assassins Do to Score at the Highest Levels

bb · Answer

It’s definitely doable if you can read and comprehend well but you really don’t require any speaking skills. The same time, feel like vocabulary and understanding of the language and processing capacity, it’s stuff.

It is really an uphill battle to take a test in a language you don’t fluently speak. It is possible to put emphasis on Quant and pull it up that way...

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MartyTargetTestPrep · Answer

Hi mvnv.

If you can comprehend English, you can do fine on the GMAT, especially because you don't need a high verbal score to achieve your score goal of 650.

In fact, I have seen people without strong English skills score rather high on the GMAT.

The reasons people without strong English skills can score high on the GMAT are that the GMAT is a fairly predictable test that one can prepare for and that the GMAT mostly tests skills such as attention to detail and use of logic.

GMATWhizTeam · Answer

Hi mvnv,

GMAT Verbal is mostly about the methodology and the logical approach. To score well on Verbal, you need to master three important skills:

Comprehension Skills 
 Analytical Skills 
 Ability to Focus on main points

Since the three skills are interdependent, it is important for you to build them progressively. Now, when I say progressively, I mean you should first take up the skill that is least dependent on the other two, i.e. the Comprehension skill and then move on to the other skills.

Since,  Sentence Correction  requires you to master only one skill – the comprehension skill – you can start your prep with SC. In SC, you need to focus only on one sentence and choose the one that communicates the correct and logical meaning. 
  Critical Reasoning  requires mastering two skills, i.e. comprehension and analytical skills. You must understand the meaning of every sentence and you also need to understand how the given sentences are linked to identify the logical gaps. By learning CR after SC, you will only need to learn the analytical skill while studying CR. 
  Reading comprehension  requires all the three skills – comprehension, analytical, and the ability to focus. So, even if you find yourself acing the RC naturally, it is best to save it for the last.

So, as you see, it's more about the approach than the skill. If you focus on the process, you can definitely score well on GMAT. So, choose a resource which can help you with the process and the methodology.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0sD35ZuGgD4

I hope it helped. Feel free to get in touch if you need any more help with the study strategy.

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