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The perfect IELTS Band 7/8 student
I was speaking to a student today and we were joking about putting together a perfect IELTS student for band 7/8 and then making every IELTS student into this character. I could picture my best listening student, my best reading student, speaking and writing students and I said that if I were able to combine all these elements into one person I would have the perfect band 8.5/9 candidate. The reality, of course, is that sadly life is not like this and each IELTS student has different strengths and weaknesses.
The student to whom I was speaking is excellent at speaking and always gets a really high band for this practice and he felt that this was not an advantage as what he really needed was better reading skills. I thought about all my students who would LOVE to have his speaking ability! I was working with another student last week who got a 40/40 score in one of the reading tests we did – this is a really amazing achievement but she was much more worried about her listening so wasn’t overly excited.
So the real truth is that there isn’t a ‘perfect IELTS student’ but ALL students have their strengths and weaknesses regarding the test. It’s easy to feel depressed at our weaknesses BUT what can really help motivate you to keep on working at this skill is to also celebrate your success – don’t be blasé when you get band 7.5 or band 8 in speaking or listening, take a moment to feel that success. Think back to the time when your speaking wasn’t so great and when you were only scoring band 5 or 6 in listening – remember that time and then look at how far you have come with this skill. YOU did that, YOU made that happen and having done it once means that YOU CAN DO IT AGAIN!!
What did you do to make it happen?
I am sure that one of the things was practice another would have been analysing WHY you weren’t getting the high scores. So now look at the areas that are still not reaching your band 7 in and apply those same techniques and processes. If you are not sure then get help to find out – an hour or two with an IELTS teacher is well-worth the investment if it helps you to discover how to move forward with developing your skills.
My very best students achieve their scores because they are focused and diligent in their practice. Half an hour every day is far more valuable than 4 hours on a Sunday. Language is a skill that needs to be constantly practised and repeated to make it stick. Skills like reading and writing often need longer than the others to develop but with perseverance they will reach the level that you want. Be patient take the steps that you need to take and keep moving step by step to your goal.
The advice given by teachers is solid and it’s the right advice – BUT – you have to do more than just read it, you have to follow it by practising all the techniques you learn and it won’t happen overnight.
So, the perfect IELTS Band 7/8 student is you when you do what it takes to get your score and go into the exam and achieve it – YOU can do it with patience, determination and focus.
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