IELTS Preparation tips

We have been running the IELTS results competition for years, and the winners have never disappointed us. They always have been able to find some time in their day – busy as it may be – to send their tips and advice.

Today I’d like to share with you an email from Aby Lukose (one of the winners), an Indian test taker who got Band 8.5 in IELTS. Here is what Aby recommends to people looking to replicate his success:

“I am thankful to IELTS Blog for helping me to score well in the exam. I have used only the practice tests given on your website and some other websites to prepare for the test.

Listening section needs keen attention of the candidate. Try to scan the questions before the recording starts and anticipate the answers, write them down in pencil on the question booklet. Change them, if required when the recording plays. Please do not assume that you can write answers after the recording stops. This will never happen since you will forget the answers after the recording.

Reading section needs only careful reading. Some questions may be tricky, so do not assume anything. All answers should be based on the passage given.

Writing needs a little bit of actual writing because we all are now used to typing on the computer and hence the speed and word count will come only with practice in a day or two.

Please do not worry about the speaking test. This will happen in a very natural and encouraging environment. Hence be confident, use English language for daily use as much as possible.

There is no need to go for IELTS coaching classes. Training available on Internet is sufficient. Use IELTS-Blog site as much as possible.

Good luck to all candidates and thanks to IELTS-Blog.com”

Today I am happy to share with you the tips from Chia-Hang (James) Chen, an IELTS test taker from Taiwan, who successfully passed his exam with Band 8 and won our results competition last month.

Here is what Chia-Hang (James) says:

“These are the techniques that I used:

Listening

I listen to the radio whenever I can. On the radio, the pace of talking is much faster than in an IELTS listening recording. So when you can understand what people are saying on the air, I am sure IELTS listening wouldn’t be too hard for you. I also pay my full attention when listening to native English speaking friends. When getting involved in a daily conversation with native speaker, you get a better idea of the local way of saying different things.

Reading

What I did was to have loads of practice with mock exams. Every now and then I would read some articles if they interest me, but I am not that into reading. My advice of regular reading habit is to start with something that you indeed have interest in. If you force yourself to read articles that you actually think are boring, you might find it hard to persist. For those who worry about the amount of vocabulary, I personally think that the technique of skim reading can get you a higher score.

Writing

I spent most of my time getting this component right. I wrote an essay every two days and got it revised by my girlfriend. After revision, I made sure that I understand what can be improved. It would be the best if you take down notes every time, but sometimes I get lazy and skip this part.

Speaking

Try to talk to English speakers more often every day. You really have to be brave and express your thoughts, otherwise there won’t be any improvement. Another thing I tried was to say the same thing in different ways. The differences between 6 and 7 is the level of explanation. Every time you talk about one thing, think about a better way to describe it. That’s the main differences between talking and communicating.

In general, not everyone needs a perfect score. If you’re serious about achieving your ideal result, it’s worth knowing how far away you are from it. Focus on your weakness first. For me this means to get my speaking right instead of reading lots of articles, which might be unnecessary when it comes to improvement.

I think that’s it. It’s also advisable to be confident in yourself and have a firm belief that English will only be a piece of cake for you!”