The Importance of Reading and Building English Vocabulary for GMAT

Let me start off this article with an interesting insight - Over 60% of global test-takers of the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) are Non-Native English Speakers - those who speak English as a Second Language (ESL candidates) or those who speak English as a Foreign Language (EFL candidates), predominantly from Asian and European countries.

Some of the common challenges pertinent to the GMAT faced by a majority test takers in these categories would be:

• Limited Vocabulary: Such candidates who'd have foundational knowledge of English would use basic words and may lack the lexical range that is needed to understand and communicate more profound or layered contexts. They'd experience difficulty in understanding and using words with multiple meanings (i.e. words that can be used as different parts of speech - noun, verb, adjective, adverb etc.) or in using idioms, which when translated into their native tongue literally, may not equate to the correct meaning.

• Comprehension Lag: This is a challenge faced while reading text passages that are difficult due to them being replete with words they are unfamiliar with (attributed again to limited vocabulary) or with topics that may not be very familiar with. This is also caused when such test takers try to translate English words and sentences into their native language to induce comprehension.

• Limited Opportunities for English Immersion: Be it paucity of English reading materials or lacking a social circle to converse in English makes it difficult for test takers experiencing this challenge to gain confidence in answering questions in the Verbal Reasoning section of the GMAT.

Challenges with respect to Grammar, Sentence Construction, Pronunciation, and Listening to English in a different accent may also exist, but are not relevant while taking the GMAT per se.

With only 45 minutes for about 23 questions, test-takers cannot afford friction in text decoding. Those with a rich vocabulary process passages in a single fluent pass while those with a limited lexical range, frequently tend to re-read sentences causing cognitive fatigue, and run out of time to solve other questions.

To underscore the importance of having good English vocabulary knowledge, let us understand what is it that gets tested in the Verbal Reasoning section:

These are 200 - 350 word passages covering diverse subjects such as

• Business, economics, corporate strategy, trade etc.
• Natural sciences such as physics, chemistry, biology etc.
• Social sciences such as sociology, psychology, art etc.
• History, literature, culture, philosophy etc.

Core Tasks for Test takers requiring English Vocabulary Mastery:

Reading the passage and finding the core essence of the article; "What is the article about and what is the information conveyed?" is the first step. Knowledge of words and phrases will help decode complex syntax and dense academic words to arrive at this. There could then be hypothetical questions around the author's perspective which you'd have to extrapolate and align with this central thought about the article.

After reading, check out the questions, and spot any "Direct questions". These are questions whose answers can be directly looked up in the passage. 

There are questions which test your ability to infer i.e. identify what is indirectly conveyed or implied. Strong lexical knowledge, coupled with the practical experience of reading .can be of immense help. Look out for subtle hints in terms of choice of words and the use of adjectives (again underlining lexical knowledge) to identify the underlying emotion and tone used in the passage. Identifying the course of thought (i.e. the tenor or the underlying direction of the passage) can be done with the help of transition signal words, which will help you answer questions around the structure of the passage.

PRO TIP: Follow the strategy of wrong option elimination to home in on the correct option/s for answering the RC segment questions. A good command of English Vocabulary will help you immensely by identifying misaligned synonyms that would alter the passage's original nuance.

In this segment, the critical thinking and logic of the test taker is tested, linking it to real-world decision making skills in the corporate world. Test takers have to read the argument (a passage of up to 150 words), read the question stem (which specifies a task - e.g. weaken, strengthen, find the assumption, paradox in the argument) and make a choice out of a set of 5 options.

English Vocabulary has a limited role to play here, other than in helping with comprehending the argument and the task; and importantly in detecting micro-distinctions in argument structure, where the choice of words alters the entire logical validity of a premise or conclusion.

PRO TIP: Like in the case of the RC passage, understand the essence of the argument presented and follow the strategy of wrong option elimination by mentally backing each elimination with a compelling reason.

For non-native English speakers taking the GMAT, I'd recommend cultivating a habit of reading English newspapers, magazines and periodicals to meet three key objectives:

• Get acquainted with topics on which reading comprehension (RC) passages will be based.

• Get acquainted with and build English Vocabulary by identifying and amassing new words and phrases.
• Improve reading speed.

The GMAT being a 100% computer-based test, will require you to get used to reading on a digital interface - preferably on a laptop or desktop PC.

Reading cannot be a passive activity. It involves engaging all your intellectual faculties to comprehend, analyze and infer what is being conveyed.

Test takers must treat every reading material as an RC passage to:

• Identify the crux of the article - Decipher it from the headline, sub-headings and the body of text. Also read between the lines to make inferences
• Identify how words and phrases are used - Question why a particular word was used instead of another option. Make a note of new words and phrases. Before referring a dictionary or Googling, guess the contextual meanings by reading the usage in the article.
• Perform critical analysis - Do you agree or disagree with what the author / journalist has conveyed and why? Helps with critical reasoning!

Let's say you are browsing the internet on your computer reading online articles or watching videos. 

Now imagine having a digital assistant that identifies, selects and presents you high impact English words and phrases from the online articles you read (Yes, from the web portals of same list of recommended publications). 

Add to it, in your free time, when you stream videos on Video platforms like YouTube, turn on the subtitles / closed-captions and this digital assistant performs the same task turning passive entertainment consumption into an engaging English Vocabulary building experience.

That is Glibzter English Vocab Magnet for you. It is a web browser extension that you can install on Google Chrome or other Chromium web browsers to help you not just acquire new English words and phrases, but also practice them in the form of contextual assessments on a web app which improve your confidence in using your newly acquired English words and phrases while communicating through speech and writing.

Watch: How Glibzter English Vocab Magnet Works | An Overview

Glibzter English Vocab Magnet is ideal for those non-native English speakers who are digitally savvy and have basic to intermediate knowledge of English. It is not for those who have to learn English from scratch - else you'd most probably not be considering taking the GMAT. The most important requisite we seek in users is the drive to build on their communication skills in English.

The benefits of using it as our Digital Reading partner for English Vocabulary building would be:

No hassle of jotting down new English words and phrases you come across while reading or watching videos by opening a separate tab on your laptop or in a notebook. Glibzter does the heavy lifting of selecting the most apt lexical terms and presents them to you on the Glibzter Web app. Save on time and effort, while you enjoy a seamless 'flow state' digital content consumption experience.

The browser extension highlights select high impact words and phrases (idioms, phrasal verbs and collocations) on the online article page which can be clicked to get the contextual meaning of how that word or phrase is used in the article. The meaning can be shown in English or in the native language of choice. If you choose to click "Add to Glibzter" - that word or phrase will be saved for future assessments.

The GMAT does not directly present questions on a word's definition nor does it test you on its synonyms or antonyms. It tests you instead on the bigger picture. Are you able to understand the macro picture and decode subtle nuances of what is conveyed directly and what is implied. 

When you know how to words and phrases are to be used in context - depending on a situation, you can make the connect and meet your comprehension objective for the GMAT. These assessments on Glibzter test not just your lexical skills, with speech and writing inputs.

If you are a GMAT aspirant keen to study in the best management institutes, do give Glibzter English Vocab a try and share your feedback in the comments section below. Happy Glibztering!

DISCLAIMER: Glibzter English Vocab Magnet is a life-long learning tool you plug-in to your daily digital content consumption to curate English words and phrases, their contextual meaning and how they were used in the source media - be it videos with English subtitles you stream or online English news articles and blogs you read. It complements your GMAT preparation purely from an English Vocabulary acquisition and testing your contextual usage knowledge of the vocabulary you've acquired standpoint. It DOES NOT replace your study materials nor guarantee a high score.