IELTS News – How to prepare for your exam
IELTS News – How to prepare for your exam
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Berni Wall |
In this edition of IELTS News:
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Keeping going with your practice
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Don’t get discouraged – think what lies beyond! |
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I can understand this – I feel like that myself about things and it is a natural reaction to things not going the way we want or expect them to go.
It’s OK to feel like this especially if you have just taken the exam and been disappointed in your result.
I know that many of you know what you are doing. You go into the exam with some confidence and feel after the exam that everything went OK – then the results come and it isn’t what you want. What more can you do?
I also know that the confidence to say I did well in this part or I was confident about doing that part is, in itself a huge leap and you should be proud of yourself for that and go right back in and build on that.
Today I want to share some little stories with you about not giving up
- Winston Churchill failed sixth grade. He was subsequently defeated in every election for public office until he became Prime Minister at the age of 62. He later wrote, "Never give in, never give in, never, never, never, never -in nothing, great or small, large or petty – never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never, Never, Never, Never give up."
- Albert Einstein did not speak until he was 4-years-old and did not read until he was 7. His parents thought he was "sub-normal," and one of his teachers described him as "mentally slow, unsociable, and adrift forever in foolish dreams."
He was expelled from school and was refused admittance to the Zurich Polytechnic School.
He did eventually learn to speak and read. Even to do a little math. - After Carl Lewis won the gold medal for the long jump in the 1996 Olympic games, he was asked to what he attributed his longevity, having competed for almost 20 years. He said, "Remembering that you have both wins and losses along the way. I don’t take either one too seriously."
- Jack London received six hundred rejection slips before he sold his first story.
- Beethoven handled the violin awkwardly and preferred playing his own compositions instead of improving his technique. His teacher called him "hopeless as a composer." And, of course, you know that he wrote five of his greatest symphonies while completely deaf.
- Thomas Edison’s teachers said he was "too stupid to learn anything."
He was fired from his first two jobs for being "non-productive."
As an inventor, Edison made 1,000 unsuccessful attempts at inventing the light bulb.
When a reporter asked, "How did it feel to fail 1,000 times?" Edison replied,
"I didn’t fail 1,000 times. The light bulb was an invention with 1,000 steps."
Here are, I hope 6 reasons to step back, re-group, think about what you are doing and most importantly, WHY you are doing it – don’t lose that vision.
These are all greater people than I shall ever be so I’ll leave them to inspire you.
IELTS Step by Step
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In September we launched "IELTS Step by Step on Gapfillers this is a 12 week lesson-a-day IELTS programme |
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We’re now getting towards the end of this programme and I asked some of the participants for some comments about their experience.
Valeria told me:
I would like you to say how you and your programme helped me!
You gave me the enthusiasm to study, the disciplines to learn, correction to improve, knowledge to share and above all a love of great English language!
I have achieved since you taught me such a lot. I have touched on a very broad range of grammar and vocabulary, though (I hope) all with a practical, useful bias for IELTS.
With your programme "Gapfillers" you found ways to make your lessons interesting and full of important information.
Thank you, I discovered the method of learning that suited me best, and I continue to use it this day
Suvarno said:
This gapfillers programme is a very good sources of improvement of English. If anyone is thinking of the ielts exam this sources is very good source for preparation of ielts exam.
Muhammad thinks:
You have to realise that it is not an easy exam if you have not used English for communication in day to day practice. After that, you have to work hard as well as practise what you have learnt and moreover, there should be a teacher available who can support you and suggest improvements which is really most essential in your preparation. This step by step programme is ideal for getting good practise every day as well as advice on strategies and techniques for the exam.
This has been a fantastic IELTS journey for all of us. Imagine a dedicated IELTS lesson every day for 72 days!!
If YOU ARE SERIOUS ABOUT YOUR IELTS then YOU need to BE ON THIS PROGRAMME.
And the GOOD NEWS
We are about to launch this again and will be sending out information very, very soon.
We will tell you next week how you can join so look out for your Gapfillers emails we don’t want you to miss this chance.
I have put everything I know into this programme (that’s 20 years of teaching and examining) and I really want to share it with you
If you don’t want to wait and want to know NOW – contact me here.
This month I want to look at exam preparation. How best can you get your self ready for the day of your exam?
How to prepare for your exam
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I’ve just been helping my 11 year-old daughter prepare for a mid-term French test. I was ironing and she was at her books. We practised some short dialogues about the weather, transport, time etc.. did some drilling on pronunciation, new words and word order and then the usual recitation of irregular verbs. A few weeks ago another daughter took a French oral exam. This was a little more involved, we practised dialogues on given topics and I sent her a couple of questions in French during the day as text messages and she responded. Our big area of grammar was tenses. |
My reason for describing this is not to give you an insight into domestic bliss in our household or to boast about my dedication to my children’s education. In fact I have two older daughters, now working, neither of whom speak any language other than English (cobblers’ children and all that). No, in fact it got me thinking about language exams and approaches to language exams and what activities might be most productive when facing a language exam. Don’t forget that the IELTS exam is a language exam – a test of your English language ability.
I’d like to explore first what language exams are. In my opinion, they are simply benchmarks showing staging posts along a journey of developing and enhancing skills. (IELTS is not an end in itself – for you it is a key which will open another door in your career or life). Language exams show that at some stage a particular level of skill was reached. That doesn’t mean to say that someone is still able to demonstrate that level and herein lies the rub! Skills can get rusty if you don’t keep practising them. If you took the IELTS six months ago and need to re-take you will have to get you skills back up to the level you had 6 months ago before you can move forwards. I don’t see a language as an academic pursuit (the literature and other studies around language such as linguistics, philology etc.. are excluded here).
To me it is akin to learning to drive, or playing a musical instrument or even achieving a certain level of physical fitness. Language development starts small and then grows. See how any baby develops language and you will see this. It is ‘additive’ in its nature. You cannot enter straight at Upper Intermediate level and expect to perform well immediately (let me know if this has happened!). We start with a foundation (however you choose to learn) and then build on this. The more you build the better you get just the like the more you drive the better you become at driving.
OK so how is this important for IELTS exams? It is important because language exams in my opinion need a different approach – I don’t believe you can ‘revise’ for a language exam in the same way that you would revise for a history or a medical exam. You need to practise for a language exam and the more practice you get the better you will be. OK this is trite stuff you may think – it’s obvious.
If so, then why do I see time and time again students going over and over practice tests instead of getting out and about in the language?
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Why do students contact me two days before their IELTS asking for help with speaking or writing?
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Why do my students, when I return their corrected writing to them, put it carefully in their folders where it never sees the light of day again?
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And why am I told when I set about the present perfect tense for the umpteenth time, ‘we’ve already learned this!’ – been there, done that – yet still make mistakes when using it?
The truth is you need to keep going there and doing that and each time you do, push your usage a bit further forwards. If you are guilty of some of these approaches then take heed – you could be making the process far more difficult than it needs to be!
So, some top tips for preparing for language exams:
- Don’t make the exam the be all and end all of your language learning. The IELTS is a key which will unlock your next step on the journey of your career or life. In fact, you will find that whatever you do after the IELTS exam will require much more demanding English than you need to the exam
- Don’t leave your exam preparation until the last minute – make sure you go over areas that you are not sure about immediately after your lesson/online session
- Make sure you do something each day (it’s like learning the piano or improving your fitness level – 10 minutes per day is better than 30 minutes once a week). Try something like Gapfillers word of the day or Gapfillers Daily practice
- Do things you enjoy – all language learned is relevant it really doesn’t matter if it didn’t come up as an IELTS topic last year! In your speaking and writing tests YOU ARE IN CHARGE use any language you like as long as you address the topic (and remember it doesn’t have to be true!)
- Be critical of yourself – don’t accept mediocre, if you are not sure ask or test it out
- Jump in and try using new phrases, words and new grammar the feedback will tell you if you’re on the right track – best to find out now before you use it in your exam!
- Use the internet – no excuses now for not having enough exposure. Listen to videos on your favourite subjects or that are related to your job or profession (that way you’ll be involved in something you enjoy and is useful too). Read, watch, listen, find grammar and vocabulary exercises – bookmark the ones you find useful so you can come back again
- Try and think in your target language – do this during your short daily practice resolve never to translate it rarely works and the more you think in English the better your English will become
- Make sure you are a bit better than the exam requires you to be that way you’ll be more relaxed when you take it
- You should use the exam to demonstrate your ability – make sure you have things to say/write. Make sure you learn language that can be adapted to different topics and scenarios
With as much exposure to and practice in the language as possible and an approach to your study that is both systematic and enjoyable, you should pass the exam with flying colours!
Getting your writing checked
Don’t forget that you can have your writing marked to check that you are on the right track!A Task 1 and Task 2 cost just £15 and you will get detailed corrections, a band score and also advice on how to improve.
Find out more in IELTS Corner or go to Member Home/Account/Credits
(You should send your essays as Word documents to get the very best feedback).
Showcasing your IELTS Writing on Gapfillers
You can set up a blog in Member home and then add posts documenting your practice or writing Tasks and allow others to comments and give feedback. This is great way of getting your writing out and scrutinised!!
You can even post your Tasks 1 and 2 and ask for comments and advice from Gapfillers Members and teachers.
Here are the instructions from the blog challenge we held a little while ago to get you started. Let me know if you need any help with this.
http://www.gapfillers.co.uk/default.aspx?atk=7448
IELTS Speaking practice via Gapfillers
Finding speaking buddies on Gapfillers is great way to improve your fluency and give you extra opportunities to practice your speaking.
I see that some of you are doing this – well done!
This is a great way to get regular practice so don’t be shy!! You can also use the calls to help with other parts of the exam. I know people who have discussed and helped each other with reading and listening too! If you have questions then you can post them on the site or send them to me and I will answer them.
Be honest with your level and tell other Gapfillers members which band you want that way you will be able to find people who are going to be great partners and helpful to your practice for the exam.
To find speaking ‘buddies’ here for your own practice. Simply send a message from Member Home to the IELTS group network (a network message) asking for people to share Skype names with you and then you can meet on Skype and practise your English!
If you want to practice your speaking then contact those members who have already left messages or post your own message and connect with others.
You don’t have to struggle along alone with your IELTS?
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We are here to help and advise you – just contact us or post your questions
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Keep an eye out for workshops and webinars offered via Gapfillers
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Give me YOUR suggestions for how I can help YOU
If you want individual help that will show you exactly what YOU need to do to make sure you get the band you want – join our "How to get IELTS Band 7 our Higher" programme and MAKE SURE that you are ON TRACK.
http://www.gapfillers.co.uk/default.aspx?atk=7476&vrk=7455
or check out other programmes on:
IELTS Corner
http://www.gapfillers.co.uk/?atk=7233
Latest results
In the last month we have had so many band 7s and 8s in all areas of the exam – it’s been a fantastic month for high bands!
One member got two 7s and two 8s
Another got three 7s and a 7.5
Well done and congratulations!
These band scores take a lot of hard work and dedication so I really appreciate all the hard work that you are doing and you just have to focus – if you are getting 7s and 8s but one part is not yet there yjen clearly you have the language, you need you just need to push a little more and focus on how you can bring that score into line with the others!!
We love to hear your successes so please let us know so we can all celebrate with you!!
Don’t forget to check The World of IELTS for any new updates!
That’s all for this week. I hope you will find this little digest of information useful.
If you need any help with anything just send a message via Contact Us in the Gapfillers site or directly in Member Home or the IELTS Network – I check all the messages every day!
Happy practice 🙂
Until next time!
Berni