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September 2009

IELTS in Vietnam – August 2009 (Academic Module)

IELTS test in Vietnam, as I’m told, was very similar to the test in Australia, except the Writing and Speaking tasks were different. Here they are, thanks to a kind heart of T.N. who took IELTS in IDP in Hochiminh, Vietnam.

Writing test

Writing task 1 (report)
We had a bar graph that was showing popularity of 6 sports (football, rugby, snooker, swimming, tennis, and golf) among UK residents in the years 1995, 2000, 2005.

Writing task 2 (essay)
In the past, there were many differences when people traveled to other countries. Nowadays, there were many similarity between cultures all over the world. What are the possible causes in this increasing similarity? Do you think the advantages outweigh the disadvantages of this phenomenon?

Speaking test

Interview
– What is your name?
– What shall I call you?
– Where do you come from?
– Do you work or study?
– What do you do in your job?
– Do you like your job?
– Will you change your job in the future?
– Do you give presents?
– When do you give presents?
– Do you think it is important to give presents?
– Should you give expensive presents?

Cue Card
Describe a famous person who you would like to meet, you should say:
– Who is the famous person?
– What is his/her job?
– Where did you first know his/her from?
– What are his/her characteristics?
– And why do you want to meet him/her?

Discussion
The final part was a discussion about the famous person. I was asked to discuss this theme and express my opinion.
– Why does everyone want to become famous?
– What will they do when they are famous?
– Compare the differences between famous people now and before?
– What are the disadvantages if they are famous?
– The last question I couldn’t hear clearly, and I asked my examiner to repeat it, unfortunately I still couldn’t follow him the second time. However, I answered in general, and I heard him saying um huh, …, uhm huh.

IELTS Results competition winners for August 2009

August was a great month for many IELTS candidates, a lot of people got great scores in their exams and we’ve got 4 winners. Strangely, all of them took Academic module and we didn’t have any of General Training folks submitting their results. I hope we will have more General Training competitors next time, meanwhile let me announce the Academic module winners:

Bernard Yung from Hong Kong, Band 8.5

Lalitha Jawahar from India, Band 8.5

Lena Bucatariu from Romania, Band 8.5

Mythri Hanasoge from India, Band 8.5

We all applaud you, our winners, and wish you all the best with your future plans. Each of you will receive a special certificate to remember your achievement, and we are waiting for you to share your best tips and secrets of success.

Please send me an email and answer this question: “What does it take to score 8.5 in IELTS?”. Your answers will be published to give everyone a chance to learn from the high achievers.

One last thing for today – I know that this week many people have their exams, and want to wish you all good luck and great scores.