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Warning: What you must check before you take the IELTS Exam
I meet students every day who need IELTS for various reasons; higher education, immigration to get jobs, to keep jobs or for promotions. One thing that strikes me often about some students is how they will just book a test without giving any thought to, firstly, whether they are ready to achieve the band they require and, secondly, to the amount of preparation that they may need in order to be ready for the exam.
Sometimes it is almost as if some sort of miracle is going to happen when they enter the exam room.
The IELTS exam is a serious exam especially if it is the only thing standing between you and your dreams for the future.
Learning a language to the level you require for a band 7 or 8 is no easy thing. You have to perform almost at native speaker level and imagine how many years of practice this takes! Also, for many students, a requirement of band 7 or 8 is made for EACH part – all of this amounts to a lot of skill, a lot of confidence and a great deal of practice and preparation all of which takes some time at least.
I meet many students who have taken the exam more than 10 times. This means that they have already spent around $2000 on the exam fees alone which is a not inconsiderable amount not to mention the considerable amount of time spent and also the delay in starting their new job or new course. If you start to add this up then not only is the amount of money and time costs significant but also the emotional and psychological delay in starting a new career.
I would not imagine that in any other exam scenario someone would book a test without first considering their level of skill, the amount of preparation and how ready they were to take the test – so why is IELTS any different?
And the truth is that is isn’t.
So, before you leap in and book three or four tests stop and consider your preparation. To do this you need to ask yourself some questions:
- Am I ready for my band? You can check your readiness by taking an IELTS test (choose one from one of the Cambridge IELTS Books) and also by taking an English general test (you can try this one on Gapfillers). These will show you where you are exactly with all your language skills. They will also tell you where you need to focus your practice. The Gapfillers test also tells you which area of grammar is tested so you can go straight to your grammar book and practise. You need to trust the answers you get as these tests are usually pretty accurate.
- The second thing to ask is do I have enough time to prepare? If you achieved band 6 in your previous test and you need band 7 then it is going to take a little while to improve that score. Most teachers say that to improve your score by a band you will need around 6 months of study. Some people may need this to improve 0.5 of a band (especially from 6.5 to 7 which can be very hard). A lot depends on what is stopping you from getting your band. For most people this is English skills but for some it could be lack of exam skill or lack of understanding about what is expected – in these two cases if your English is actually good enough for your band you will need less time to study. My friend Dominic in his great IELTS blog has some examples and information on this here.
- Finally make sure you have the support that you need so you don’t waste time and money taking the exam when there are things which will stop you every time from getting the score you want. You probably don’t know what these things may be and that is precisely my point. If you are making grammar errors in your writing this will ALWAYS cost you marks – you cannot ever ‘get away’ with grammar errors. If you are unable to manage your time well in reading and writing then this will continue to be a problem for you and stop you from getting the best result that you can. You may have studied in English; you may use English in your job and all of this will help – up to a point – if the English you are using is not the standard English that IELTS is looking for then this will also cause you to lose marks. If you can find this out and get help adapting your English to what is required then this will save you a lot of wasted time and money and heartache too. Trained and experience IELTS teachers are also trained and experienced English language teachers and they are experts at showing you exactly what you need to do to be sure of your score – so if you can it’s worth working with them. Native speakers will also be able to tell you if something is ‘not right’ , unlike teachers they won’t be able to help you understand why it’s not right and show you how to change it but at least you will know what you have to work on.
If you are about to spend money on a degree course in an overseas country (and the living expenses that go with that) or take up a new post overseas and spend money on a consultant surely it is worth factoring in some investment in your English language training to get the IELTS score you want – if not then not passing the exam with the band required might only mean more time and money wasted. The truth is that without the score you need you can’t progress.
Working on your English is a long-term investment in your future. It is not just about the exam itself but also about your readiness and ability to make the most of your new job or your university course. IELTS is only the beginning and I know from my long experience as an IELTS teacher, examiner and English language specialist that those students who achieved band 7.5 and 8 in their exam were able to settle into their courses and jobs far more easily.
So make sure you prepare and study well and cut down the number of times you will need to take the exam.
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