IELTS-Blog

Continuing the previous post, here comes

Listening Tip # 3 - don’t let them distract you
(oh boy, they are good at that! )

In Listening section of IELTS the recording “speaks” several different voices - of younger and older people, men and women. You may also hear different accents - Australian, British, American, Japanese, etc. The background noise is also different. It can be of airport, cafe-shop, street, University lecture hall, you name it. Be ready for it and don’t let it distract you - because that is exactly what they want. Ignore the noises and listen for the answers.

Of course, the accent you hear the most is British. Suggestion: when you are studying for IELTS, listen to as much British accent as you can. Where can you get it? I liked what BBC have - visit BBC site by clicking here. You can listen there to news (and read the transcript), learn the news vocabulary, learn the pronunciation, etc. Try it, you might like it.

A very good site to use for listening exercises in American English is VOA News - click here to visit it. This is how they recommend using their site:
“The short sentences, limited vocabulary and slow pace of speaking make it easy to understand. It succeeds in helping people learn English in a non-traditional way. People around the world practice their listening and speaking skills by recording the programs and playing them repeatedly. Internet users can also listen to programs on the Special English Web site while reading the text.”

Hang in there, people, more tips are coming!

A student of mine took his IELTS (General Training) exam today, and here is what he said about it:

1) Listening was difficult, in one task they gave us a diagram and I had to understand directions on it. The easiest part was about archeological excavations of some sort of bones. I didn’t do too great.

2) Reading was much better, I even had 7 minutes in the end to check myself. I remember 2 passages. There was a really long passage (2.5 pages) divided into 3 sub-sections and I had to be careful not to mix questions of different sub-sections. Its topic was distant learning, its advantages and disadvantages. The last passage was about traveling in Australia, how much money it brings to Australian government, how much different kinds of travelers (single men, couples, etc) spend on vacations of different types.
I wrote my answers on the Answer Sheet and in the booklet - it really saved me time when I had to check myself in the end of Reading section.

3) Writing:
Letter topic - Write a letter to a book shop manager about a book you’re looking for, ask him to find the book and send it to you. I finished it in 17 minutes and managed to check myself in the remaining 3.
Essay topic - Today majority of children are raised by their grand parents, due to the fact that their parents are busy working. To what extent do you think it affects the whole family? I wrote essay with 5 paragraphs - Introduction, 1 paragraph against and 2 paragraphs in favor of grandparents raising the children and, of course, the conclusion paragraph with my own opinion. I managed to finish it in 35 minutes and 5 left to correct spelling errors.

4) Speaking:
I messed up and gave my passport to the examiner before she asked for it. She returned it to me, switched the tape on, asked for it so tape would record the question and then I gave it to her again, saying: “Here is my passport, please”. The whole process has to be recorded on tape.
Interview questions: Name, job, current place of living, describe apartment.
Card - Describe apartment where you lived in the past, when, where, with whom, what did it look like.
Discussion : What has changed in our living arrangements today compared to the past.

That’s all, I hope it helps!