Learn English When Studying For a Masters
For many professionals, once they graduate, the most important step towards landing a great job opportunity is a master's degree, so it makes sense that English for a Master's degree is also very important.
Graduate studies show a commitment to more in-depth research in a given area. This can also give more credibility to the professional in the area, as it shows how much dedication they have to their personal development and professional training.
At this very important stage in your education, perhaps one of the steps before starting a master's degree is the foreign language test. So you may need English for a master's degree.
At this time, many people who want to take the test are worried about not having an advanced level of English. But what will be the required level of fluency to take this test?
Master's English: Tips, Strategies and Courses That Will Get Make you Successful
Do you need an advanced or at least an intermediate level of English? Relax! You don't have to have them. However, it will help you to know more than the bare minimum it takes to do well in the assessment.
If you are interested in this subject, stick around and read a little more about how to prepare for the Master's English exam.
English for Masters: What level of English is needed to take the test?
First, you don't have to worry about having an advanced level in the English language. The important thing in this master's test is to understand the overall meaning of the text and to know how to interpret the questions. Often these questions and your answers are in your native language, so for Brazilian speakers they are given in Portuguese.
You need to focus on some keywords in the text, understand the main message and also genre or "gist" of the text. We will show you some reading techniques that can help you save time reading long texts of more elaborate questions.
Of course, it is necessary to have some mastery of grammatical rules in the English language. For example, knowing how to identify an important verb in the text. Identifying whether the text portrays past, present or future data makes all the difference in understanding as well.
It is important and necessary to understand what prefixes and suffixes, prepositions and other essential grammar terms mean.
However, if you are looking for a good specific preparatory course in English for Masters, all these rules will be well explained.
Another relevant piece of information for those who will take the Master's English test is that the use of a dictionary is allowed, as in some cases very technical terms may arise that are not part of everyday life. You can read more about the best online and book dictionaries in English in a blog post coming soon.
For example, see this site from the University of São Paulo.
It is very important to understand the genre of the text or what the "gist" of the text is. We can then know what the author's intention is and this helps your general understanding.
For example, if the genre is a recipe, we know that the text is about cooking. If it's the copy of an advertisement, we know that something is written to persuade the reader to make an purchase. If the genre is journalism, some news will be given, hopefully in an impartial and narrative way.
Knowing how to identify the keywords of a text is also a strategy that will help in interpreting the text and understanding the narrative.
Good news!
The good news is that for this exam, you will not be tested on speaking or listening. So, just having a little understanding of reading and writing, you will already have the necessary tools to perform a good test. And we will get into these subjects about reading techniques in the following topics.
One more important tip: many people who are preparing for a Master's English exam study the previous exams to have a basis on how to take the current exam.
However, this English test is not like a college exam, which may follow a pattern every time.So, don't waste time. It is much better to focus on an English for specific purposes course rather than studying old exams on subjects that may not even be covered in the future.Don't know how to put your English level on your CV or resume? Click here to learn more.
Learn English When Studying For a Masters: The main reading techniques
In order for you to have a good reading and interpretation of the text of your Master's English exam, two reading techniques are essential.
They are:
Skimming
This reading technique is based on quick reading of the text. Through skimming, you will understand the general idea or "gist" of the content. You will know the types of information that the author seeks to convey, the genre of the text and also the format of the text.
That is, at this stage of reading through skimming, you only seek to have an overview of the subject of the text, i.e. the gist.
Scanning
Using this technique, you look for more detailed information in the text.
For example, there might be a question on the exam that asks you to identify what brand of perfume person X was wearing on the day he went on a date with Y.
In order to get this information, the reader will not reread the entire text. The focus is on only one specific passage and it is only in this passage that the reader will focus their attention.
In this way, through scanning, we do a search for specific information within the text. However, in order to be able to do this quickly, you must have already done the skimming technique and know a little about the structure of the text.
To sum up once and for all, we have skimming as a global reading and understanding of the text. Scanning is the search for detailed information, like an x-ray of the text.
These two techniques must be used in such a way that the candidate does not waste too much time on the Master's English test, as the test time is controlled.
English for Masters: Instrumental English Courses
Do you know what Instrumental English means? In case you don't know, instrumental English is also known as English for Specific Purposes (ESP).
It is the study of the English language for academic purposes.
That is, to use the tools necessary to understand a text in English and to know how to identify the main information that the text is conveying.
In other words, Instrumental English serves to provide specific support for those who want to read and understand a message. If you are looking to learn grammar, speak well, listen well and communicate in English, this is not the best course to take.
That's why people who need English for a master's degree go after Instrumental English courses. We will list below some courses and details including what the classes are like for those who want to take the Master's English exam.
You might also be interested in our video course on sale on Udemy for €29.99/69.99R$ "Eliminate the Mistakes that Portuguese Speakers Make in English". 4 hours of video exclusively for people that speak Portuguese. You can read more about it and watch free videos here.
Our original eBook from 2016 "Eliminate the 63 Most Important Mistakes that Portuguese Speakers Make in English" is on sale here for €6.99, you can read more about the book and its method here and read a free sample here.
English Pós
English Post/English Pós is an online course site intended for academic purposes.
The site offers English preparation for masters and doctoral degrees. For the student who wants to delve deeper, they offer a focus on reading articles in English, preparing for proficiency exams or writing.
English Post also offers free materials on the course blog.
The cost of the Master's English course is around R$647.00, US$122.
Marta Garcia Course
Online Instrumental English Course for Masters.
This course is also developed with a specific focus on Master's and Doctoral exams. It is a course founded more than fifteen years ago in Fortaleza,Brazil and offers both online and in-person classes.
So, if you don't live in Fortaleza, don't worry. You can register and attend classes remotely and your certificate is accepted at several universities.
The cost for the Master's English course in the Marta Garcia Course is R$397.00, around US$75.
Pensar Cursos/Think Courses
This is a completely free course, however, you only pay for the certificate. That is, if you are not in a time of great financial spending, you can invest in your future without spending anything!
The Pensar Cursos website does not only offer an English course for masters. There are numerous courses you can take across many areas of education.
You can click here to learn more about how to learn English with movies, to help you learn even more. Or if you can learn about the importance English in the job market here.
Leave your questions and tips in the comments!