Preparing for the IELTS Test!
Here are some common questions I get asked by IELTS students:
How many hours do I need to spend preparing for the IELTS?
How many weeks should I study to get band 6?
How many words must I learn?
How many practice tests do you think I need?
What are the answers? Well,everything depends on…
1) What band score you need to achieve
2) What your current band is
3) How effectively you study
4) The quality of your preparation
Below is my process for preparing for the IELTS test and getting the band score you need.
1) Do a placement test to find out your bands in each of the 4 skills.
2) Decide which skills you need to work on and how much you need to improve in each skill.
3) Look at your calendar to see how many weeks you have until your test date.
4) Add up how many hours you can set aside for preparation.
5) Be realistic. You can’t go from band 5 to 7 with just 10 hours of preparation.
6) Mark your study days on a calendar by writing “IELTS prep” together with the time you want to spend on each skill.
7) Add at least 2 practice tests for the weeks before your test.
8) Start studying!
At iPass, we have online IELTS courses that cover all 4 skills and you can check your current scores in Reading and Listening with our free practice tests or check which CEF level you have with our General English level test.
However, we know how difficult it can be to study alone, especially when you want to improve your Speaking or Writing skills. So, at iPass we also provide assessed speaking and writing tests with detailed feedback from native teachers who are highly experienced in IELTS preparation.
A BIG problem for some IELTS students is not being able to practise their speaking skills with native speakers, which means they are very nervous on the day of the speaking test. Simply being nervous can seriously affect a candidate’s performance.
Also if you don’t get accurate feedback from a trained professional, you won’t be aware of your mistakes, which can cost you valuable marks in the real test. Having an expert trainer to help you correct those mistakes is a vital part of IELTS test preparation.
Using good language in the correct context will improve your score but making common mistakes will lower it. For instance, there’s no point using a great idiom if it is followed by a basic error in verb formation.
We know it’s tough, but help is at hand!! The iPass tutors wish you luck and are there for you if you need them!
