I think sometimes when I speak to IELTS students, there seems to be a quest for a magic wand that will deliver the IELTS band that is required.
This can be – the best books and materials – lots of Facebook comments asking for this - as if there is a book that will weave magic. Or the best website to practise and even the best teacher. All of these things are simply aids to help you get to where you want to be not quick fixes.
I have taught hundreds of IELTS students over the years and even I cannot guarantee their score. I can tell them when I feel they are ready for the test and also, I know what bands they should get in the test if all goes well but as the saying goes ‘many a slip twixt cup and lip’.
Things can go wrong, sometimes students decide to throw everything overboard and do something different right in the exam and others make silly errors – lots can happen.
But back to the magic wand – everything that goes into your IELTS exam will need to be generated by you on the day so the very best way to ensure that what comes out will get you your score can only be determined by systematic and regular practice. You have to rely on yourself on the day and you have to rely on yourself as you practise. A teacher will most definitely help you to get there faster and can guide you in the right direction so you should go into the exam ready for your band and knowing exactly what you have to do to get it (this means it will be quicker and most likely cheaper), but in the end it comes down to how much you have done yourself for your teacher to check and mark and guide.
So here is a tale of two students, they are my students.
One, we’ll call her Susie, always completes the work I set every week, turns up for our online lessons on time prepared. She emails me when she is not sure about something and does all those extra little exercises I set to improve her grammar, vocabulary, punctuation etc. We ‘ve been working together for about 3 months and she started at Band 6 and now she’s scoring around band 7.5 in everything.
The second, we’ll call her Daisy, a completely different kettle of fish. She’s often too busy at work to complete the IELTS work I send her (both Daisy and Susie work full time). She quite often re-arranges and cancels lessons sometimes at the last minute. She has only completed a fraction of the work so far and often doesn’t use her time with me as fruitfully as she could by not being prepared.
She frequently emails me to remind her of links to content and what she is supposed to be doing even though both she and Susie have the same programme timetable with all the links and material they need. Daisy has also been studying with me for around 3 months and was also at Band 6 when we started – as I’m sure you have guessed - she has not made the same strides as Susie and it will take her longer to reach the 7.5. However, as I keep chasing her, she will get there sooner than if she were completely alone in her study (I expect she would probably do nothing).
So, the moral of the story – who will get their IELTS sooner and with less stress – Structured Susie or Dizzy Daisy? I’ll leave you to work it out!
(If you want to become a Susie and don’t know how, then I’d love to speak to you and talk about your plan for your IELTS study. Just click the link below, answer some short questions about your IELTS and ten book a suitable time on my timetable and we can explore the best way forward for you - https://englishlanguagetraining.wufoo.com/forms/zeexrjk00ssc9d/ ).