Posts Tagged ‘ielts test’

IELTS success tips

June 16th, 2012 in IELTS

The IELTS tests your proficiency in all areas of English language. Needless to say, to get a good band score you need to have excellent reading, listening, speaking and writing skills. Here are some tips for scoring well on the test.

Make English a part of your everyday life

Cultivate the habit of thinking in English. It can work wonders. An advantage of using this method is that you can practice it even when you are alone. Many ESL students can write well in English, but they cannot speak fluently. To get around this problem, you need to make English a part of your life. If you can find a native English speaker or someone fluent in the language, don’t hesitate to strike up a conversation with them. You are going to make some mistakes in the beginning, but you will eventually learn to speak with confidence. Practice answering those speaking questions that are asked on recent IELTS tests. They can repeat.

Read academic texts

Read standard newspapers and magazines. The IELTS reading materials are usually taken from well-known magazines, journals and academic text books. While preparing for the reading module, pay special attention to texts academic in nature.

Familiarize yourself with British English accents

The listening module requires special practice. You can hear a variety of accents on the listening test, but the most important among them is undoubtedly the British accent. If you aren’t already familiar with it, you should start listening to British radio and television channels. The BBC has some excellent materials for improving your listening skills.

Practice writing essays

IELTS essays and letters often repeat. Many test takers can write a good essay if they get time, but unfortunately on a test like IELTS, you have to deal with time constraints. Practice writing as many essays as possible before you attempt the exam. Find out the essay topics that were asked on recent tests and try writing them on your own. Although you can find model essays on many IELTS blogs, don’t memorize them. Remember that examiners are trained to distinguish between a learned answer and one that you actually write on your own.