Often, native English speakers believe that language exams such as the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) are only for speakers of other languages.
When such a thinker wants to study abroad, they get a bit of a jolt at having to provide an English language test result in their applications. Why would a native English speaker have to prove their level of English?
In any case, they've spoken English all of their lives so it shouldn't be too hard to pass IELTS, right? That's when exam candidates run into trouble. Sitting IELTS demands as much study and preparation as you would commit to testing in a subject you have no passive knowledge of.
Speaking English isn't the same as applying English skills. You might think of it as the difference between wearing clothes and making clothes. One we do without a thought but the other requires planning, training and attention to detail.
In most cases, you must demonstrate your language skills to study abroad. This applies whether English is not your first language or if it is the only language you know. Following these IELTS tips, you'll have no trouble proving your level of English.
Top IELTS Tips
If you're taking IELTS classes, your teacher has likely shared revision tips and exam strategies. Your study materials may also have a section that includes best practices for studying and test-taking. Add to them the following IELTS tips to help steer your studies.
Understand the Test
In their effort to master academic aspects, test takers often overlook the test structure and what it's designed to test them on. Saying IELTS tests your level of English is misleading. This exam tests your ability to understand and use your native language. It measures how effectively you communicate in writing and how well you can express your ideas.
It's impossible to perform any task without knowing what's expected of you. But if you know what the examiners are looking for, you can better prepare yourself to deliver.
Going over exam particulars will guide you to the desired responses, what form they should take and the language you should use.
Use Certified Revision Materials
Education is big business; it should come as no surprise that many would try to cash in. The internet is full of web pages promising guaranteed IELTS success for a 'small fee'. They may offer free IELTS revision materials as an incentive to join them. The price may be nice but you have no guarantee that those outfits have the latest resources.
IELTS exam administrators constantly revise the exam and update their requirements and standards. Using practice materials even a year out of date may result in you not being sufficiently prepared for your exams.
So it's best to stick with authorised IELTS study materials.
Take Practice Exams
You likely know that IELTS is a timed exam. You won't have many minutes to spare for thinking about what your best answer is or what the desired answer might be. Planning your test-taking strategy ahead of exam day is the most effective way to beat exam time constraints.
For your first round, set a stopwatch to time how long it takes you for each exam section. Gauging your skills and finding out which ones you need to improve on will be easy in the reading and writing portions. For the listening and speaking parts, try to mimic test conditions as closely as possible.
Keep a record of your practice test sessions. As you progress through your studies, schedule yourself for more mock exams. As always, note your improvements and where you still need some work. It would help to have a coach guiding your efforts and helping you keep track of your progress.
Engage an IELTS Tutor
If you're taking IELTS preparation courses, you might not think you need an IELTS tutor. Thinking like that, you may end up short-changing yourself. IELTS classes tend to limit the size of their student groups but you may still not receive the personal guidance you need.
You gain new insights on IELTS topics when different people present them. Your IELTS course teachers may take an academic approach as they guide your learning, and there's nothing wrong with that. They have a timetable to follow; they can't afford to explore some of the more tantalising aspects of language learning.
However, a tutor has the leeway to tailor your study sessions to your needs and preferences. They might use mnemonics word games and other techniques to help you remember grammar rules or text passages. They can help you refine your writing skills and improve your reading comprehension.
IELTS teachers only have so much time to dedicate to each study unit. But an IELTS tutor can work with you on all the language aspects that stymie you for as long as you need them to. As noted above, they can oversee your practice exams and also conduct practice interviews.
Prepare for your exam with IELTS courses Perth on Superprof!
IELTS Writing Tips
Students often groan at having to put pen to paper. Or, if you're taking the IELTS test online, fingers to keyboard. Effective writing is more than just stringing words together and spelling everything right. It's the proper punctuation to give our words meaning and choosing the 'mot juste' to express ideas.
These are the qualities IELTS examiners assess candidates' writings on. To meet those standards, writers need an expansive vocabulary. You can build your writing skills by reading from as many different sources as possible.
To hone those skills, you might pick up monthlies featuring articles in your areas of interest, and read classic literature and today's bestsellers.
Write down every word you don't know and look them all up. Once you know where they came from and what each one means - their etymology and all of their definitions, find occasions to use them. IELTS writing practice exercises are perfect for this exercise.
Reading monthlies will help you in another way. Most magazine articles have a limited word count, as your IELTS essays do. Short, informative articles will show you how to present an idea, develop it and summarise its most salient points.
During your exam, you'll have to write two short pieces and you'll be racing the clock as you do so. The more you train your brain to organise and present information, the less risk you face of running out of time. And the more you practise writing in 250-word bursts, the more fluid your writing will be.
Of all the IELTS tips in this segment, the following one may be the most important. Cultivate your writing skills by hand even if you'll test online. Repeated studies have proven the link between handwriting and memory-building.
As you exercise your fine motor skills, - writing by hand, your brain builds new neural pathways to cement the new skills and information. In every writing practice session, you reinforce them until they become ingrained. By the time you take your place in the testing centre, 'IELTS standard' writing will be second nature to you.
Final thought: when you have the right IELTS mentor for your study needs, your writing practice sessions will be far more engaging.
You won't only practise writing in short-text bursts; you'll play word games and engage in thought-provoking dialogue. Those conversations also help you prepare for your IELTS writing test; they help you develop ideas and organise your thoughts.
Find a qualified tutor to help you prepare for exams in IELTS classes Melbourne.
IELTS Reading Tips
As long as you're reading to improve your vocabulary and writing skills, add a few titles to practise reading comprehension. This is where more complex texts will help you. Here again, picking out words you don't know, looking them up and using them as soon as you can is the place to start.
The IELTS reading exam presents you with three longish passages to read and respond to. At least one of them will be an exercise in logic that requires you to think critically. Cultivating critical-thinking skills will help ensure high marks and give you a marketable skill for life.
One of the reading tasks calls for you to identify whether a series of statements about a text is true or false. Here, training yourself on our language's nuances will boost your score. Beware of homonyms, punctuation and verb tenses. All of these and other language particulars make English an especially difficult tongue to tease meaning from.
In all, you will complete 11 reading tasks; you'll have 60 minutes to finish them. That doesn't leave you much time to puzzle out what anything means and answer the questions. So getting good at reading fast is crucial but so is learning how to skim.
When you weigh all that a high IELTS score affords you against the cost and time in IELTS classes, you'll see you spent both wisely.
You'll learn and build the skills you need to score well, which takes you one step closer to your goal of studying abroad. And it'll be nice to know that you're truly proficient in English, not just a native speaker.
Prepare for your exam with a professional IELTS tutor on Superprof!
Enjoyed this article? Leave a rating!
Loading...
