How to Overcome the Language Barrier for Foreign Bar Exam?

Foreign lawyers face a lot of challenges in the bar exam from fulfilling the admission requirements to tackling language concerns. Studying and practicing law abroad is a once in a lifetime opportunity that no one would want to waste at any cost. When it comes to learning and understanding English, most foreign students and lawyers end up losing hope because of the hurdles that come in the way. However, the need of the hour is to understand the situation and try to find the possible ways to cope up with it.

Here are a few ways mentioned that can help every foreign student and lawyer to overcome the language barrier for the bar exam.

Acceptance

The first most important way or step to overcoming the language barrier is ‘Acceptance’. You cannot proceed further if you don’t accept your shortcomings first. You must realize that learning a new language is a difficult process during which you will end up failing a lot of times. The only thing that can make you succeed at the end of the day is your willingness to get up again. Get ready to make mistakes and don’t be hard on yourself. Accept every challenge as a part of your new learning experience. Remember that it’s not just you who are failing in English but there are thousands more like you.

Join a Club

Join an online club of your interest whether it’s sports, movies, gaming, or anything else. Every club would have certain requirements that you may have to fulfill. However, you are likely going to get a warm welcome from the members. Once you join the club, it will help you speak English and that too without any pressure of being correct.

Native speakers don’t care much about grammatical errors or tenses etc. So, you also don’t have to be conscious about perfection while talking to them. It will be an entirely different experience from learning English through courses or classes. It is a good way to start as you won’t have the fear of being criticized and judged. It will surely help boost your confidence and you will easily get assistance from a lot of fellows or members around you.

Use Tools and Apps

Use every online tool or app that is in your access. Keep a pen and paper with you or try to note everything down on your phone. You might come across a lot of difficult words in the process, so you must develop a habit to write them down and try to practice using them in different sentences. You can also keep a translation app on your phone that you can use anywhere anytime. If you are taking online or live lectures, try to record them as well to be able to understand every point at your own pace.

Hire a Tutor

If you have already hired a tutor to help you in passing the bar exam, he can also help you overcome the difficulties you face in learning a new language. You should be open to your tutor about your problems. Don’t hesitate to tell him your weak points when it comes to learning a new language. You can also practice communicating with him in English. It would help you get a better understanding of the language. Moreover, your tutor would also be able to analyze where you are lacking. You can also request your tutor to schedule regular meetings to keep a check on your progress with learning a new language.

Take Online Course

There are a lot of online courses available on the Internet which are designed exclusively to help foreigners to pass the bar exam. You can find one that is suitable and reasonable for you. You can take the online tutorials as well to make sure that you choose the best online course. The content of the course should cater to your specific needs and requirements.

Some courses will also allow you to describe the issues you are facing while learning the new language, it will then provide you with content that is tailored for you exclusively. However, if you feel that you are not able to keep up with the pace of the content at any point, you must slow down and pause to keep yourself relaxed mentally.

Practice your Timing

Another most important tip for you as a foreign student and lawyer is to practice your timing. You should know how to deal with the situation under time pressure. You can divide your time wisely beforehand to make sure that you get enough time to analyze and think during the bar exam. It is one of the best pieces of advice that can save you from a lot of trouble. It will also improve the chances of passing the bar exam despite the language barrier. On the other hand, if you don’t practice your timing, you might give in to the pressure. It will only result in getting bad scores in the bar exam.

Practice Self-Care

Lastly, the most important tip is to practice self-care during this stressful time. Develop healthy habits and make a proper routine schedule to follow. Make sure you don’t overburden yourself and take proper rest as well. You should know your limits and stick to them. When you get tired, take a break and relax to refill your energy, only then you will be able to continue the learning process further.