Preparation for the External Test (VNO) in the Ukrainian language. How to prepare for independent testing How to prepare for the Ukrainian language test

Every Ukrainian graduate dreams of getting a high test score and successfully passing exams. The result of the assessment will depend on preparation, diligence and a responsible attitude to the matter. High-quality preparation for the external examination should begin long before the exams begin. The student will have to catch up on lagging subjects, fill in knowledge gaps that were previously missed for some reason. Some schoolchildren study with tutors and additionally visit teachers and other specialists. Professional teachers advise not to put off preparing for the upcoming test until the last few days, but to timely focus on large, complex disciplines - biology, mathematics, history of Ukraine, geography, the Ukrainian language. Most subjects begin to be studied in the primary 5th grade. If there are gaps, non-attendance to classes, in such situations knowledge is forgotten. As practice shows, in the absence of preparation, school knowledge may not be enough.

Well-planned training regimen

ZNO requires more serious in-depth knowledge when comparing assessment with state certification. The optimal training regimen, which experts recommend sticking to, is a couple of lessons a week. Keeping a schedule will help you cope with laziness. Today there is an impressive number of textbooks, materials, virtual resources, collections, thanks to which you can regularly improve your knowledge. It is important to pay attention to the specification of disciplines. When studying humanitarian subjects, it is necessary to establish logical connections between ongoing events.

It is better to learn terms, definitions, and formulas if you start from simple concepts and move on to more complex ones. Potential applicants should write down unclear points and eradicate disagreements. Students often find an ally to do the preparation together. Together, it is much easier to assimilate incomprehensible aspects, rethink information, and sort out difficult moments. Creating a concise aspect will be an added bonus. You should never give in to panic.

Now is the time to hit the books. But first you should decide how to prepare for the exams: on your own, with the help of school teachers, tutors, or in specialized courses, for which both universities and independent training centers have already begun enrollment. As practice shows, each method has both advantages and disadvantages.

TEACHER TO TEACHER DIFFERENCE

Those who are ready to involve teachers in preparing for external assessments today have several options to choose from.

School teacher. The simplest of them is the help of school teachers. In many metropolitan schools, electives have already begun to function, in which a teacher of a specialized subject teaches high school students on test assignments from previous years. The main emphasis is on “debriefing” - the student and teacher analyze the mistakes made in the work. In addition, all previously covered material is repeated. Officially, such classes are free, but in some schools, according to information from students and their parents, you will have to pay 70-100 UAH for additional classes. per month. In the case of individual lessons with a school teacher, the amount is negotiated privately, but, as a rule, the fee is 300-400 UAH. per month. With this scheme, the quality of training depends on the level of the teacher. If you are confident in his competence, it is definitely worth preparing “at school”. But in order to look at the subject from a new angle, it is worth trying to study with another teacher who, having his own methods of presenting the material, will certainly be able to supplement the knowledge base that the high school student already has. In addition, he will be able to objectively assess your level and see some new weaknesses.

Private tutor. For those who value an individual approach, we can recommend a private tutor as a “new mentor”. Today, finding one in any subject is not a problem: the media is full of advertisements for tutoring services. But a wide choice is fraught with a lot of dangers: you risk getting, to put it mildly, a weak teacher, who is in many ways inferior to your school teacher, and even paying money for it. To prevent this from happening, it is better to choose a tutor based on a recommendation. If this is not possible, check his track record by finding out the main place of work of the teacher (it is better if he is a full-time employee of a university or school, and not a teacher of, say, foreign language courses, in which case he may not know the school curriculum), his experience in preparation for testing and the performance of his students. Prices for private tutoring services start from 50 UAH. per hour, but there are also those who charge 150-180 UAH. (usually these are famous university teachers). In any case, do a trial before paying for several classes.

TRAINING INDEPENDENTLY

The director of the Kyiv-Mohyla Collegium Lyceum, Alexander Kovalchuk, is confident that independent training is quite within the capabilities of high school students. “After all, in essence, the tests contain school material, and in order to pass them successfully, you just need to repeat what you have passed well,” he believes. “In order to qualify for high scores - 170-180 or more, it is still advisable to know more than what the school curriculum provides,” advises Alexey Kolesnikov, director of the IQ Planet training center. In this case, it is necessary to take into account the characteristics of tasks in each specific discipline, as well as monitor possible changes that are annually introduced into tests by the Ukrainian Center for Assessment of the Quality of Education.

Ukrainian language and literature. Teachers pay attention to the fact that tests in Ukrainian language and literature are becoming less and less “theoretical” every year and require not only knowledge of grammar, but also demonstration of creative philological abilities. “The variants of test tasks that are offered for next year will also focus on speech culture,” adds Alexander Kovalchuk.

Mathematics. Mathematics tests will be significantly adjusted this year. Last season, the test task consisted of 3 parts. The first involved a question with multiple answer options, the second - tasks that the student had to solve independently, the third was an analogue of a classic test. The first two parts were checked by a computer program, the third by teachers, which caused complaints from many students who did not exclude the influence of the “human factor” on the result. To avoid accusations of examiner bias, this year the Ukrainian Center for Educational Quality Assessment plans to replace part 3 with classical tests that will be checked by computer. “Such a task is simpler than solving an analogue test, but it is expected that the test questions themselves will be more difficult than last year,” says Natalia Lysenko, mathematics teacher at the Kyiv Business Lyceum. According to her, although mathematics tests are based solely on the school curriculum, the tasks in them are more complex than in the textbook. Their goal is to check the general level of the student’s mathematical culture. To prepare for this test, you should not only repeat previously covered material, but also train using test collections from previous years (for example, “School collection of test tasks in mathematics” by Yu. Zakhariychenko, from 30 UAH). But it is worth noting that in last year’s collections you will not find the last - third - task in a new interpretation.

Story.“There will most likely be no changes in history test tasks this year,” says Elena Bogdanova, a history teacher at the Kiev-Mohyla Collegium and one of the developers of tests in this subject. “Since the tests include only the key points of certain topics, the test results largely depend on the student’s ability to correctly place emphasis,” says Ms. Bogdanova. For example, on the topic of the Ukrainian Cossacks in last year's tests there are questions on the date and place of formation of the first Sich, but not on the other seven; you need to list the Cossack uprisings and their consequences, but it is not necessary to know the years of life of the hetmans or all the battles without exception.

English. According to Inna Beridze, English language teacher at the Kyiv Business Lyceum, foreign language tests should not differ from last year’s (there are no final versions of the 2010 tests yet). For those who plan to take tests in a foreign language, Inna Beridze advises actively learning new vocabulary and reading a lot, thus increasing their vocabulary. The fact is that individual test tasks are devoted, in particular, to the so-called exploratory reading, when the student is asked to arrange paragraphs in the correct order, find answers to questions posed in the text, etc. Writing an essay, letter or composition is given as creative tasks for testing in a foreign language. . Neither speaking nor listening are included in the exam yet.

WE BECOME “CADETS” OF UNIVERSITIES AND TRAINING CENTERS

You can also prepare for testing in specialized courses. They are offered by both universities and training centers.

Preparatory courses at universities. The first adapted their traditional preparatory courses for these purposes, after this year the Ministry of Education and Science finally deprived their graduates of benefits upon admission (previously, they became students by passing internal exams after the courses). Most institutes offer 5-6 month courses. Classes will last until May inclusive and will be held 3-4 times a week in the evening. For residents of other regions, many educational institutions provide distance learning. Towards the end of the year, intensive 3-month or monthly classes are planned for those who do not have time to enroll in a long training course.

You can take training in one or more test subjects. In addition to the course fee (see table), there may also be additional costs for the purchase of textbooks and test notebooks, which can cost 200-300 UAH. Compared to last year, preparatory courses at universities have risen in price by 9-10% (they are allowed to index prices to the inflation percentage). And this is not the limit: as KPI preparatory course methodologist Valentina Maksai said, starting from the new year, courses may rise in price by another 15-20%. According to the expert, classes are taught by university teachers who provide more extensive material than the school curriculum provides. In addition, applicants complete tests in the form of tests, and at the end of the training they conduct trial testing, which should help them adapt to the exams.

Vice-Rector for Scientific and Educational Work of the Kyiv National University of Culture and Arts Alexander Sknar also notes that preparatory courses at all universities are licensed by the Ministry of Education and Science, therefore they work according to a program approved by the ministry, which cannot be said, for example, about tutors. In addition, although there are no official admission benefits for course graduates, universities often give preference to them. So, this year there were examples when, from applicants with the same number of points, the selection committee chose “their” applicant. Among the disadvantages of training at university courses are large groups (25 people) and a lecture-based training system, where the individual approach is leveled out.

Courses in training centers. These disadvantages are promised to be eliminated in private training centers. Groups there do not exceed 7-10 people, and they work with students individually (up to the point of repeating the material due to missing group classes). The centers also say that they are working on testing programs for 2009, taking into account planned changes for the next introductory season.

The average cost of training here starts from 400 UAH. per month for one subject, subject to classes for 2 hours twice a week. If you are ready to pay for classes in two subjects, there is a chance to save 100-150 UAH, for three - up to 300 UAH. As is the case with university preparatory courses, in training centers you will also be offered to buy test notebooks and textbooks, so you should add another 200-300 UAH to the costs.

However, the question of the effectiveness of preparation remains open. This year, having lost their main clients, many foreign language courses, for which this activity is not their core activity, began preparing for testing. Moreover, they prepare not only foreign subjects, but also other subjects. So, when choosing a training center, pay attention to the composition of the teachers, in particular, whether they teach at the school, that is, whether they can prepare a student within the framework of the program, whether they promptly monitor possible changes in tests (the school teacher is almost certainly aware of what is happening) . To understand whether you will “work well” with the teacher, as in the case of a private tutor, it is better to arrange a trial lesson.

PERSONAL EXPERIENCE

Yana Kovalskaya, 1st year student of the Faculty of International Business, Institute of International Relations, KNU. Shevchenko and the correspondence department of the Faculty of Law of the same university; in 2009 it gained 200 points. in history, Ukrainian and English and 195.5 b. mathematics:

Much credit goes to the high test results of the Kamenets-Podolsk Lyceum, where there is a very high level of training in all subjects. I started preparing directly for testing in Ukrainian language and literature, history and English in the spring - 3-4 months before the exams. I spent most of my time studying using test notebooks, which really helped me understand the very principle of the test system. I took longer to prepare for mathematics, almost throughout the entire year, since this subject requires a thorough repetition of the theoretical basis for almost the entire school period. Participation in the Olympiads helped me “pull up” my history because, in preparation for them, I studied all the school material at the same time. In all subjects I studied with tutors, who attracted teachers from my own lyceum. It is also possible to prepare for tests on your own, but with a good teacher it is much easier, since he sees your gaps in knowledge and helps to eliminate them.

Sergei Nedobor, a 2nd year student at the Faculty of Economic Sciences of the Kiev-Mohyla Academy, scored 194 points in 2008. in Ukrainian, 195 b. in history, 198 b. mathematics:

I was preparing for testing in electives at my own gymnasium No. 275. We had groups of 6 people, so there was an individual approach, which is very important. After all, you need to not only “go through” the school curriculum, but also solve tests and analyze mistakes in detail, which is difficult to do without teacher attention to each student. Long-term “training” on test books from previous years helped me pass the tests well. They not only introduce you to this exam system, but also give you an idea of ​​what questions to expect. To qualify for high grades, learn more in each subject than the school curriculum offers. For example, in the Ukrainian language, complex topics are offered for creative work, for the disclosure of which it is important not only to know the subject itself, but also to be a comprehensively developed personality. In history, you need to go through the material covered, paying attention to the main events and dates. In mathematics, repeat all the topics and work through those that you did not understand very well, because in this subject subsequent topics are based on those already covered.

Graduation school students are preparing with all their might to take external independent assessment tests. Less responsible people started working on their textbooks closer to spring, and some only now. But all applicants have one task: to properly manage the remaining time.

MAIN SUBJECTS. We asked experienced teachers about how to best prepare for this important test (the main session starts on June 3). All teachers recommend practicing on last year's tests to get used to the exam format. And be sure to time yourself: in order to earn as many points as possible, you need to know how many minutes you can spend on each question. Motivation and a systematic approach are also important in preparation.

1. It is necessary to prepare. For some reason, not all graduates realize the need for training as such. Some people hope that maybe, they say, he somehow studied at school all these years, so he will pass the test. Some rely on teachers’ assurances that the test can be passed successfully without additional preparation. But teachers do not always care about the fate of their own students, and school grades do not always objectively reflect the level of knowledge. It is enough to sit down and complete last year’s assignments in the selected subjects, observing all the conditions (do not use reference books, calculator, etc.) to see real prospects for passing the External Examination.

2. Don't pull the cat's tail. You need to start preparing as early as possible. If we talk about such subjects as the history of Ukraine, geography and biology, then, as a rule, the material covered in the fifth or sixth grades is completely forgotten by the eleventh. Physics, chemistry and mathematics require not only theoretical knowledge, but also practical skills that cannot be acquired in one day. Languages, in turn, “do not tolerate” long breaks in learning. As for Ukrainian literature, it is simply impossible to re-read all the works of the school curriculum the night before the exam.

3.It is necessary to set the preparation mode. Why is it important? Yes, because preparation for any subject requires systematicity. Decide on which days and for how long you will prepare and try to stick to your plan. Adhering to a strict schedule will prevent you from being lazy and idle, all the time looking for new excuses for your own laziness, and will also give you the opportunity to control your progress and identify topics that are more difficult for others. The optimal training regimen is 2 times a week for 1–1.5 hours.

4. There is no need to confuse GIA and VNO. The State Final Certification (FCA) is carried out and checked at school, and not a single teacher will give a student a grade for the GCA that is lower than the annual grade. Thus, problems with passing the State Examination usually do not arise. But successfully passing the school examination does not at all guarantee a high score on the External Examination. You must prepare separately for external testing.

1. It is necessary to prepare. For some reason, not all graduates realize the need for training as such. Some people hope that maybe, they say, he somehow studied at school all these years, so he will pass the test. Some rely on teachers’ assurances that the test can be passed successfully without additional preparation.
But teachers do not always care about the fate of their own students, and school grades do not always objectively reflect the level of knowledge. It is enough to sit down and complete last year’s assignments in the selected subjects, observing all the conditions (do not use reference books, calculator, etc.) to see real prospects for passing the External Examination.

2. Don't pull the cat's tail. You need to start preparing as early as possible. If we talk about such subjects as the history of Ukraine, geography and biology, then, as a rule, the material covered in the fifth or sixth grades is completely forgotten by the eleventh.
Physics, chemistry and mathematics require not only theoretical knowledge, but also practical skills that cannot be acquired in one day. Languages, in turn, “do not tolerate” long breaks in learning.
As for Ukrainian literature, it is simply impossible to re-read all the works of the school curriculum the night before the exam.

3.It is necessary to set the preparation mode. Why is it important? Yes, because preparation for any subject requires systematicity. Decide on which days and for how long you will prepare and try to stick to your plan. Adhering to a strict schedule will prevent you from being lazy and idle, all the time looking for new excuses for your own laziness, and will also give you the opportunity to control your progress and identify topics that are more difficult for others. The optimal training regimen is 2 times a week for 1–1.5 hours.

4. There is no need to confuse GIA and VNO. The State Final Certification (FCA) is carried out and checked at school, and not a single teacher will give a student a grade for the GCA that is lower than the annual grade. Thus, problems with passing the State Examination usually do not arise. But successfully passing the school examination does not at all guarantee a high score on the External Examination. You must prepare separately for external testing.

5. There is no need to storm the book market ahead of time. New collections for preparing for testing often appear after the New Year holidays, and what is sold now is nothing more than reprints of last year's publications.
You can also prepare for them, but they do not take into account the latest changes made by the Ministry and may not fully meet the requirements of the current year.

6. It is necessary to take into account the specifics of the tasks of the subject being passed. To get a high score, it is not enough just to memorize formulas or foreign words. You also need to be able to use them and know how they can be combined with each other. Only extensive practice can help with this. As for the history of Ukraine, here, for example, it is not enough to know dates and historical facts from memory. You also need to be able to trace logical connections between events.

7. You need to repeat from the beginning. Testing tasks cover the entire school curriculum from fifth to eleventh grade.
The curriculum of any discipline is built on the principle of “from simple to complex,” and therefore you need to start with the material of the fifth grade. Something may seem simple and self-evident, but something long forgotten, on the contrary, can cause difficulties. In this case, of course, you need to take into account what topics are included in the EIT assignments.

8. Prepare to race. Find yourself a “rival” and prepare together. When preparing for the same subject, ask each other questions, answer them, discuss unclear points and disagreements.
This way, you will remember the necessary material faster, and learning will not be limited to boring reading of a textbook or solving problems. If “unsolvable” disagreements arise, it is advisable to turn to a teacher or tutor-consultant for help. After all, according to the law of meanness, what comes across in the exam is exactly what was not learned or misunderstood during preparation.

9. Take short notes. You can find a bunch of different reference books on the shelves, but they don’t always include everything that you need. There is nothing better than a note written in your own hand, because by rethinking and writing down information, we remember it better. Immediately before the test, you can re-read your notes and recall everything you've been poring over for a whole year. If you suddenly have a question, then finding a rule or even an answer in your notes is much easier than leafing through all kinds of reference books.

10. Don't panic. Under no circumstances should you be convinced that all tests are extremely difficult and you will never pass them. Don’t believe your friends who have heard from “trusted people” that this year the tests will be made incredibly difficult. It's all nonsense. All tasks are solvable, all questions have answers, which means that if you approach your preparation with full responsibility, you are guaranteed a good result.

Irina Zhiznevskaya

Many consider the English language test to be difficult because it does not have a clear program, such as the History of Ukraine, and you cannot even approximately determine what vocabulary or grammar will be on the test. That is why I have compiled a list of tips that will definitely help you in preparation (because I myself came to them in the process) and can serve as a so-called “guide”. Also read about preparing for mathematics, history, Ukrainian. language(click on the word).

To begin with, I would like to remind you that the ZNO consists of two parts - reading (Task 1, 2, 3, 4, 5) and writing (Task 6). Although most of the questions are occupied by reading - 42 out of 43, both sections need to be given due attention, since the second part gives 14 points, while each question in reading - only one.

The bigger, the better

One of the most important pieces of advice I can give is to take as many tests as possible. Personally, I did about 5-7 drafts a week (not including writing).

These can be online assessments from previous years, or collections of tests or preparation manuals, the most important thing is that you must find those that are not easy for you to pass and you do not write them in 10 minutes, thus, having trained on more difficult ones, you will not only improve your knowledge and skills, and also understand the entire system of questions and tasks in the test. While going through them, try to look into the dictionary as little as possible, try to understand the meaning without knowing every word. Naturally, after completing all unknown words it is worth learning. I recommend the textbooks by the authors Evchuk O.V., Dotsenko I.V., since their comprehensive versions of tests in the ZNO format were the best for me.

Working on grammar

Grammar needs to be analyzed by topic and reviewed regularly. If you feel like you forgot one of them (for example, Future Perfect Continious) or it’s not easy for you, stay on it longer and come back from time to time. I recommend the book Grammarway 4 Virginia Evans Jenny Dooley (with answers), because I myself prepared using it, and in many courses, as well as most teachers in schools and even teachers in universities, recommend it for purchase.

Getting ready for the written part

As for the written part, I advise you to write more from the trial and real tests of the ZNO of past years, because in the collections sometimes too much attention is paid to official letters, which in the entire history of the exam were only 1 time, and they are still less similar to those that could potentially help you get caught on the test. One letter a week will be enough for you if you start in September of the new school year.

Simulating a “combat” situation

Do "interim" tests. Once a week, write one test completely against the clock. It can be difficult to determine exactly how long it will take you to write, read, rewrite from a draft, revise, etc. the first time. Therefore, so that you don’t feel uncomfortable during the exam, give yourself a “test drive” a couple of times a month. Remove all gadgets, books and any things that can tell you something or help you find information. Imagine that you are writing a real research paper and carefully complete the tasks. Don't ask anyone for help, do everything yourself. Print out the criteria for grading the written part (they clearly indicate for which errors points will be deducted).

We use mobile applications

You may also find various apps for learning English useful. Having tried a number of programs, I can recommend the following:

1. Lingualeo will not only allow you to learn words with pictures and watch videos of your choice, ranging from TED lectures to cartoons, but also read short stories, excerpts from books, track your progress and learn grammar.
2. Busuu is a program aimed at passing a comprehensive test (takes 15 minutes) to determine your level, and then you are given tasks on topics ranging from vocabulary to grammar. Also in it you can ask a question to a native speaker to correct mistakes, etc. The special thing about this app is that you listen to every phrase and word as you study. I would like to warn you that the application has limited functions in the free version, but the paid version provides not only a wide variety of exercises, but also passing a certified level test from McGraw-Hill Education.
3. Quizlet is very useful for learning words. You can write down the translation words you want to learn and then test them using flash cards and tests.
4. And lastly, English Phrasal Verbs (from Transdental) will help you learn more than 600 phrasal verbs. The uniqueness is that depending on how many times you answered correctly, you are asked this verb less often or more often, and even if you made a mistake once, it does not receive the status of being studied.