Skilled Migrant Professionals February 2015 | Page 16

Career

Preparing for success in your
IELTS exam

P

reparing for the International English Language Testing System
(IELTS) exam is a daunting prospect for most people, even for native English speakers let alone for those whom English is a second
language. There are many reasons why people have trouble achieving
the required scores, the main one being not knowing how to focus on
finding the answers and structuring their writing to suit the IELTS test.

by Trevor McGrath
Owner and senior tutor
at McGrath English
Language Training Centre
In this article we give you some useful tips on what to be on the
lookout for. When you record your answers for both the reading and
listening exams be aware that misuse of capital letters and incorrectly
spelt words will result in a wrong answer. It is not just a matter of finding the right answer, it is important you record that answer using correct
English grammar.
IELTS writing, both academic and general, requires a preferred structure and format to score well, so it is not just a matter of answering
the question or topic, you have to consider the four marking areas of:
task response, coherence and cohesion, lexical resource and grammatical range and accuracy.
The speaking test is usually unnerving for second language candidates as many rarely speak to family and friends in English. The best advice is to immerse yourself in the language. Find a speaking partner and
practice daily with them, don’t stress about what you’re saying at first,
just communicate and enjoy the language. You will both eventually
start to correct each other and most importantly, improve your language
skills. If you don’t have a practice partner try these websites verbling.
com and sharedtalk.org.

Here’s some more tips to help you focus your preparation.
Look for someone who is a native English speaker and
make sure you talk to them and check out their website
before making a commitment.

Speaking Tips
•  ake the time to practice speaking English – with friends,
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at work and on the phone
•  ecord yourself so that you can hear your own voice and
R
become more confident
•  peak clearly and at a natural pace. If you speak too quickS
ly, you may make mistakes or pronounce words incorrectly
• t is better to use simple, commonly used vocabulary and
I
to use it correctly than it is to use advanced vocabulary that
you are unsure about.
Listening Tips
•  hen listening to the audios, use the 30 second breaks to
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find keywords
•  etermine which speaker will be giving the answer, for exD
ample: Is it the sales person? Or the customer?
•  fter completing a section, it is better to look ahead and
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read the questions for the next section don’t worry about
the last section until the end.
Reading Tips
•  o improve your performance in the reading test you need
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to practice reading English texts so choose books or XY