IELTS-Blog

When you have to study for IELTS Reading, Writing or Listening tests, you don’t really need anyone to help you, but what about the Speaking test? Do you just speak to the mirror?

My idea was to use a MP3 player that can record voice. I bought one especially for that purpose, to record myself speak. It helped me to recognize and admit all of my problems: bad pronunciation, long pauses between words, super long complicated sentences. What you do is just speak on some topic, record yourself, listen and analyze it later. It is really necessary to recognize all of those weaknesses in advance, so you can work and improve them. Make a list of things that need improvement and look at it every time before you start speaking.

Speaking to a live partner is better, of course, but if you’re on your own - MP3 player a great solution. Another plus here is that you can use it for listening exercises - fill it with audio books in English or IELTS Listening tests you download from the Internet and take it with you wherever you go. This way you won’t waste any time - driving, eating lunch or walking your dog can be done while listening to English on your MP3 player.

Another idea is to prepare for the IELTS Speaking test using Skype - a very popular software that lets you talk to anyone who also has Skype. All you need to do is to install it on your and your friend’s computer, plug in a set of headphones and a microphone and call your friend using Skype. Y0u can actually make international call, talk as much as you want, the voice quality is great and it costs nothing!

These days there are many kinds of IELTS help available - courses, books, private tutors, etc. The one thing they all have in common is that they cost a lot of money.

The good news is that you can prepare yourself to IELTS and it will cost you almost nothing. From my experience, all you need is a one good study book and a lot of practice. You see, IELTS is the type of exam where good English doesn’t mean success; you can know it perfectly and still fail. When you study to IELTS, you don’t need to learn English. What you need is to learn all the tricks and traps and there are plenty of them in IELTS. You need to be ready, aware and watching for them.

Anyone who wants to get high band score must expect several weeks of daily training. I came across certain books that promise to get you ready in 5 hours. Well, wake up! Have you really done something meaningful in your life in 5 hours? Maybe if you’re genius it would work, but regular people like me and my friends had to study for a month (and, of course, we aced it!).

Now when I told you what doesn’t work, it’s time to tell you what does (at least for the people I know). First, read the IELTS-blog tips (I promise to keep posting them) and get to know what to expect during IELTS exam. Second, use the free online tests to practice on - I put the links in Listening/ Reading/Writing/Speaking Material categories. This really is a goldmine, because free IELTS tests are hard to find, usually they cost money.
But don’t let that stop you, if you need to practice more - go ahead and buy more tests, it is money well spent. Another suggestion is to make a regular study plan and follow it religiously. Work every day for at least 3 hours, but don’t forget to take a day off once a week.