IELTS preparation - General Training Module

This blog is an attempt to help IELTS test takers. This is not a definitive guide to scoring the highest band in IELTS. However, some practical guidelines and tips will surely go a long way in helping you score a good band. This is meant for beginners or intermediate candidates. I’ve tried to describe my experience of the IELTS test. Let me start with a few facts. This was my first attempt, with minimal preparation. My overall score was band 8.5. I attempted the IELTS general training module, offered by British council. The other service provider for IELTS is IDP. There is no difference in the level of evaluation. Hence, the question, “Is IDP better or British Council better?” does not arise. It’s just a myth that one of these should be preferred because you could score well if you chose IDP over British Council or vice-versa. The test has 4 parts:

1     a) Listening (40 questions: 30 minutes)

2   b) Reading (40 questions: 1hour)

3  c) Writing (2 tasks: 1 hour)

4   d) Speaking (10-15 minutes)

The test evaluates the ability of the candidate to communicate in English. There are no breaks between the first three sections. The speaking test is usually scheduled on another day ( 3 days prior to the LRW test of 3 days after the LRW test). Usually, candidates have to score anywhere between band 6 to band 9 to get preference in their educational candidature (for IELTS Academic module) or immigration (for IELTS General Training Module). I firmly believe that there is no standard benchmark for the number of hours that you need to invest in preparation. There are candidates who score a band 8 or 8.5 with little or zero preparation, and there are candidates who fail to reach band 6 with several months of preparation and effort. The primary language of instruction in your primary and secondary education, your fluency in speaking, reading habits and usage of English in your job affect your competency and ability to score well. However, for beginners with very little competency, it’s better to improve your basic communication skills (Refer: http://vjbreathes.blogspot.com/2016/10/basic-communication-skills.html) and then prepare specifically for the IELTS. Many South East Asians find the writing part comparatively tougher. Generally, the speaking part is easier for those who converse in English on a daily basis. However, this is subjective and depends on each individual. Many people feel that IELTS requires extensive coaching. This is a myth. It requires good preparation. You are very organized and dedicated, you can prepare on your own. For beginners, coaching may be a good option. While choosing an institute for coaching, read their reviews online, interact with students who would have availed their services, the faculty members and then choose a service provider. Nevertheless, choose wisely after due research. I’ve divided my recommendations based on the IELTS sections.  

Listening:

In this part, you listening skills are tested and a recording is played. You are supposed to answer questions based on the audio you hear. You could hear a variety of accents e.g British, American and Australian. The answers are in the same order as the information on the recording. The recording is played only once and you should attempt all the questions because there is no negative marking for wrong responses.  You need to be careful about the spellings and grammar while responding to questions. The key to succeeding in this section is your ability to understand what’s being said, your pace of comprehension and retention of information. You should be able to understand the words and phrases clearly. There may be questions wherein two or more responses could be similar (multiple choice questions). To prepare yourself for this section:

-          Listen to podcasts on your favorite topics

-          Watch videos and reports of BBC( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjR6KRMPQGw, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_cqgbdfZk20).  Try to note down important points while you listen to the information in the videos.

-          Watch English movies with subtitles so that you know the pronunciation of different words. I would personally suggest – The Jurrasic Park, Notting Hill, and The King’s speech).

-          Listen to English songs on the repeat mode ( https://www.fluentu.com/blog/english/easy-english-songs/)

-          Record conversations of native English speakers(colleagues/friends)  on your phone and listen to them

-          Listen to speeches of some presidents of US/Prime minister of UK. ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nv9NwKAjmt0)

-          Remember, you need to recall and reproduce information. Hence, make notes when you listen to the audio. You could use headphones for a simulation experience. On the day of the test, you will be given a headphone, so that you can hear the audio clearly.

-          Since the emphasis is on the audio you can choose to neglect the video part of the youtube links I’ve mentioned.

Reading:

This section will have 40 questions and test your ability to read and comprehend information in English. There are usually three parts.

-Start reading small paragraphs in newspapers and then move on to novels. You could also read magazines and journals.

-Develop your reading speed as you go on and use speed reading techniques like skimming (Wherein you read the whole paragraph in a glance and outline the key information in your mind) and scanning wherein your read specific parts of the text in detail and fish out relevant information needed to answer the questions. To start with, use a highlighter to underline important and relevant information while practicing.

-  Read the questions carefully before you go on to read the paragraph or detailed text. Attention to detail is extremely important. Ex: 201 A and 210 A can be two bus numbers and choices in a multiple choice question.  In case you don’t understand a specific word, guess the meaning using the context of the sentence.

- Develop your vocabulary by reading extensively. Use dictionary (for meaning) and Thesaurus (For synonyms). Buy a Thesaurus in case you don’t have one.  This will go a long way in helping you improve your vocabulary. You can also use an app instead.

- Play Scrabble at home with your family members or friends, to help you memorize new words.

- Get a notebook and note five or ten new words every day in this notebook. Learn to use the words in sentences and scenarios. For eg: The word ‘nascent’ means – new to something. It can be used in multiple contexts. This will help you in your reading, writing and speaking tests.

 - Use apps to improve your vocabulary. ( https://zapier.com/blog/improve-vocabulary-apps/)

- You could also play games online and take mock tests. (www.freerice.com / http://takeielts.britishcouncil.org/prepare-test/free-practice-tests)

- Time you reading attempts. You should be able to read 450 words in 5 or 6 minutes, in case you are an expert. Intermediate candidates should be able to do so, in 10 minutes. Record the time you take to read and you will observe great improvement with practice and efforts.

Writing:

This part involves writing a letter an essay. Typically, the letter writing topic is a problem situation (ex: You’ve lost your wallet at the bus station. Write a letter to the station chief in this regard) and the topic of essay is something that could have multiple perspectives and is debatable (Ex: Is making sports compulsory for school children a good move?) The candidates are evaluated based on their ability to convey the message/cover the topic, grammatical accuracy, lexical resource (vocabulary) and sequence/flow of the arguments. It’s strongly suggested that the letter should contain at least two paragraphs and the essay should contain at least three paragraphs. The central idea or theme should be conveyed clearly. Subject-verb agreement, use of punctuation marks like the comma, use of connectors, spellings, use of articles and selection of the right words can be crucial. Collect a list of 20 topics for both these tasks for practice. This will help you get an idea of the range and scope of the tasks. Many candidates have shared topics on the Facebook page –IELTS Free preparation 9.0 or IELTS Mega.

Start your practice by writing paragraphs and then move to the complete tasks of letter writing and essay writing. It’s always better to get peer evaluation of your letter/ essay done to get feedback. At the next level, you could request experts (English teachers/IELTS trainers/people who have scored band 8 and above) to evaluate your tasks. View writing samples of candidates (available on the FB page). Use the ‘Grammarly’ app to check for grammatical accuracy. It’s available online for desktops. There are several other applications - http://insiderguides.com.au/top-grammar-apps-help-improve-writing/ that can help you improve your grammar. There are other resources like the Cambridge IELST guide (multiple versions), guidelines, tips and tricks, checklists, writing samples, audio files that have been shared in the IELTS Free preparation 9.0 page/IELTS Mega. When you get feedback on your writing attempt to try and address all the issues in a systematic manner. Ex: You can dedicate two days specifically for ‘spellings’ and two days exclusively for ‘vocabulary improvement’. It’s always better to be a part of a serious learning group. You can also tag along with a learning buddy and prepare for the test together. Ensure that the partner/group is at the same level (Basic/Intermediate/Expert) as you. Ensure there are ground rules for the group and all the members adhere to the ground rules, like a compulsory time dedication of 4 hours a week, mutual respect and focused approach.) Make it a habit to write a few sentences every day. In case your handwriting is not very good, work on improving your handwriting. You could do this by writing on 3-liner notebooks for a few days and then move to normal papers with two liners. Don’t practice the writing task on your computer because that will not help you realize your mistakes. Try to write consistently in the British English pattern or American English pattern (ex: ‘organise’ is British pattern and ‘organize’ is American pattern). Keep time for your writing attempts. Try and improve on your writing speed while improving accuracy. This can happen with practice and effort on a constant basis. Start writing a blog/diary to record the events of your day and that will also help you improve your flow of thoughts.

Speaking:

This section will take a maximum of 12-15 minutes. First, you will be asked your full name. Then, you will be asked certain questions (2-3) on some broad topic. Further, you will be asked follow-up questions (2-3) wherein you need to give elaborate responses. If you speak English at your workplace every day, this part will be relatively easier. Otherwise, you may need preparation and practice. You can start by listening to conversations and interviews online (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hJvMSKPSv0). Make it a practice to speak English. If you are from a country having less English speakers, you can tag with buddies from Facebook groups. You can also call the helpline numbers/customer care numbers and interact with the customer care executives. If you don’t know how to start the conversation, just go online, find a product name and code, and ask the customer care executive to explain its features and pricing options. You can also speak spontaneously on some small topics like the importance of family, use of mobile phones etc. Record your speech and send it to peers for evaluation. At the next level, you can converse with experts/trainers and request them to evaluate your speaking effort and give you feedback. You should be confident in your approach and have belief in yourself. This does make a great difference in the output. Practice, practice, practice is the key. You should ideally dedicate at least 45 minutes every day to practice. (Assuming you have 45 days to go). Watch videos that help you understand the benchmark (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HjrlnyFKVKU), (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDFkCbf_PchxLBoqQVTYCEA ). I’ve used resources from IELTS free preparation 9.0, Makkar Ielts , ieltsfever and Youtube. You can also get cue cards and sot copies of books from these pages.

Many friends have asked me if I had a schedule or a timetable for the preparation. Frankly, I didn’t have one since I did not feel that was needed, considering my current competency. But then, I would say that beginners need 2 – 3 hours of preparation for 45 days, intermediate candidates would need 1.5 hours every day for 45 days and experts can do with 30 minutes of preparation for 30 days. Don’t lose hope if you aren’t able to get the desired band in the first attempt. Most people repeat the attempts. Work hard and get expert help if needed. I wish and pray that you score your desired band! I hope this blog post has been helpful. Feedback and comments are welcome.