Raise your hands if you are a Form Six or matriculation student.
Just when you thought pre-university life would be a breeze since you'll be taking significantly fewer subjects, you are surprised to find an extra lesson slot for a subject: the Malaysian University English Test (MUET).
Well, buckle up because a MUET qualification is compulsory if you are planning to study at a public university in Malaysia.
While it is not graded according to pointers in your official result slip, it is viewed as an important prerequisite that allows you to apply to your desired undergraduate programme. This is truly significant as English is the main medium of instruction for tertiary education in this country.
There's nothing much to worry about if the English subject is not your forte. With the right guidance and studying tips to ace all four tested components, achieving a full Band 5+ for your MUET is not impossible.
In this article, we will review the various studying methods and materials to tackle your MUET papers comprehensively.
Identify The Gaps In Your English Language Skills Objectively
Before we dive deep into the respective learning resources for each component, it's important to evaluate your current English skills objectively.
What you can do is undergo a mock test at your respective institutions and review your performance with your subject teacher. If you are currently a private student, you can either take some MUET mock tests online or seek the guidance of a MUET private tutor.
Compare the combined score of the mock test your listening component, writing component, reading component and speaking component to the aggregated score of your targeted band.
You can refer to this table for a guideline on the scale of the aggregated score and band descriptions.
| Aggregated Score | Band Description |
|---|---|
| 331-360 | 5+ [Proficient User] |
| 294-330 | 5.0 [Proficient User] |
| 258-293 | 4.5 [Independent User] |
| 211-257 | 4.0 [Independent User] |
| 164-210 | 3.5 [Independent User] |
| 123-163 | 3.0 [Independent User] |
| 82-122 | 2.5 [IBasic User] |
| 36-81 | 2.0 [Basic User] |
| 1-35 | 1.0 [Basic User] |
Having said that, the scores indicated for each band (full score: 90 marks) will give you a clear indicator of your strongest and weakest MUET component. For instance, if your MUET speaking score is relatively lower, it means you need to work harder on boosting your confidence and overall language fluency during the two speaking tasks.
From there, you will know which component to work on to improve your aggregated score to secure a higher band.
Reading: Comprehension Texts And Dictionary [Vocabulary]
To ace the reading component, it helps if you have a wide range of vocabulary and good comprehension skills.
So for those of you whose hobby is reading, you are clearly at an advantage.
For the rest of you, you can start by actively reading short texts and short stories. When you have developed a consistent reading pace, train yourself to read extensively. For example, you can start reading international or local online news articles, reviews about the latest Marvel movie or even advertisements on pesticides.
That's because, throughout the 7 parts of this paper, you will come across 40 questions that range from short notices, short passages, long articles and reviews on any topic under the sun.
Remember, different comprehension texts will have different jargon, different tones and different sentence structures.
Imagine if you happen to have read an article about social media and you are given a passage on the suggestion to ban Tik Tok in certain countries for the actual test. You will not be taken aback by the wording and overall vibe.
Trust us, having a consistent reading habit does wonders.
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By practising consistently with comprehension texts of model questions and other sample passages, you will familiarise yourself with the question orders and recurring questioning patterns. If you come across any words that you are unfamiliar with, list them down in a separate notebook and look through their meanings in a dictionary later. Or you can Google it.
Soon, you can provide the correct answers swiftly in terms of pairing the given information with the correct answer, recognising the main idea of a passage, choosing the true or false statements and summarising the main passage.
Before you know it, your brain muscle will automatically kick in when you are reading the actual MUET reading test. You'll be able to read and skim through the passages effectively without dwelling too long on each paragraph.
Writing: Sample Essays Compilation [Grammar & Coherency]
To ace your MUET writing component, we need to first talk about the format changes.
Beginning in 2021, candidates are required to complete Task 1 (Guided writing) where you need to write a letter or an email and Task 2 (Extended writing) where you need to write a discursive, argumentative or problem-solution essay.
Having said that, reading good sample essays under these two categories is important as it enables you to gain these few things:
- The right ideas for the essay (Task 1 and Task 2)
- The right format for different types of essays (Task 2 especially)
- The right interpretation of the question (Task 1 and Task 2)
- The right grammar and sentence structures (Task 1 and Task 2)
- The right flow and coherence between paragraphs (Task 1 and Task 2)
Where can you get good sample essays and compositions? If you prefer to read physically, you can either buy some reference books from your nearest bookstores or borrow some from the library. Another affordable alternative is to browse through sample essays from students' blogs and education portals.
Once you have reviewed the essays, you can practice by imitating the writing style, memorising the ideas and adapting what you have learnt into a different sample question.
One key to remember during your writing is to use plain language when it involves clear information and instructions. To link various ideas, and sentences as well as express different intents as you are writing, don't forget to use the right discourse markers such as:
- Furthermore
- However
- Apart from that
- On the contrary
- In a nutshell
- Similarly and many more
Keep your sentences simple and concise. The longer your sentence, the more likely you will make a mistake. You'll realise that the more you practice, the more you will fare better in terms of grammar and coherency.
Don't forget to explore more about the latest grading criteria for each MUET component.
Listening: Audio Recordings, Podcasts [Comprehension]
When it comes to improving listening skills in general, the most straightforward way that most people do is to immerse themselves in an environment where they constantly hear people talking in English.
If we are honest, it can get a little repetitive when you constantly pop in during your friend's conversation.
Also, let's not forget that the MUET listening component consists of 5 parts that cover several dialogues and monologues.
Well, instead of waiting for people to start talking near you, you can take the initiative to listen to the audio recordings from your MUET exercise books, listen to English radio stations like Mix FM or Lite FM and even look for interesting podcasts to listen to whenever you are free. There are many amazing solo podcasts that you can find on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Google Podcasts where you can treat them as "monologues".
Photo by Manuel Iallonardi on Unsplash
Important tip: The key is to familiarise yourself with the speaking pace, tone and intonation of native English speakers and speakers will have good pronunciation. Then you can take the next step to take notes on what you have listened to in terms of the main theme, interesting points and even the summary.
With the right listening techniques, you are on your way to tackling this section of your MUET paper confidently!
Speaking: Role-Playing, English Media [Fluency & Confidence]
We have arrived at the last MUET component: speaking.
The MUET speaking test is held separately from the rest of the components and takes around 25 minutes.
Candidates will have to go through one individual presentation and one group discussion.
It is one of the most feared MUET components because it is a very quick and spontaneous assessment. Not to mention that it is also the only assessment where you will see the examiner face-to-face too.
Image by Freepik
Think about it. Once you are given the topic, you not only have to come out with relevant ideas but also prepare an outline/draft before presenting your points.
At times, candidates tend to fumble over their points and pause too much because they are unsure of what they wrote down in their outline. This will make them even more nervous and less confident to voice out their opinion.
One way to overcome this is to engage in many role-play exercises. You can either refer to the exercises in your MUET exercise books or have a role-play partner to talk about different topics.
One way to incorporate role play and immediate feedback on your speaking skill is to hire a MUET tutor.
With Superprof, you can find many English tutors who specialise in equipping students for language proficiency tests such as IELTS and MUET. In a few simple steps, you can find a reliable tutor who is not only well-versed with the MUET syllabus but also offers affordable and flexible lessons.
Throughout the lessons, you can constantly engage in back-and-forth conversations naturally and also receive personalised guidance as well as suggestions to improve better. Your confidence will also increase significantly with more practice!
What are you waiting for? Start browsing the Superprof homepage to find yourself the best MUET tutor to hone your speaking skills!
We hope this article has been helpful for your journey as a pre-university student. You got this!
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