This IELTS student was a doctor, Karam, who was from Syria. He had been living in the UK for some time and was very fluent in spoken English. He had spent some time at school in the UK so his English skills were quite polished.
When I first met Karam he was about to take the test for the second time.
He was worried about his reading and just wanted a lesson to go over some techniques. He was very confident about the exam and was certain that only the reading would be a problem. This was unusual as mostly it is the writing that people want to have checked. I asked him about writing but he hadn’t brought any to the lesson and said that he was fine. He was looking for an overall band of 7.5.
Working on just one part of the exam is not something I always like to do unless students are already getting high scores in other parts, I like to make sure that all parts of the exam are on track as none of them work in isolation and the reading and listening impact on the writing and speaking.
By integrating the study, the outcome in all parts is more assured. I was a little concerned that he was concentrating so much on this one part when his previous scores were not very high.
He told me that he would be able to get a high score in speaking and listening and that if he managed to improve his reading then the writing would not be a problem. This seemed logical to him but in my opinion as an IELTS teacher I felt that in order to be safe in the result ‘all the balls needed to be in the air’ at all times. We agreed to disagree and spent the lesson on the reading. I got the impression he was there reluctantly and felt deep down that he didn’t really feel that he needed help but his friends, some of whom had worked with me, had urged him to come.
After the lesson I wished him luck and asked him to let me know his result. I heard nothing more from Karam.
A few months later he called me and asked if he could come to see me. It transpired that he had not got the score he required and the thing that had let him down badly was his writing. He told me that he thought he had been a little over-confident (even arrogant – his words) and now realised that he needed to work more systematically and not try and get the score he needed ‘by numbers’.
This tendency to rely on one or two parts to get the desired result is a high risk strategy and also flies in the face of the whole point in preparing for IELTS in the first place – which is to make sure that you have the required language level for the job that you are going to do or the course of study you are going to undertake. There is little point in getting the required IELTS result by the skin of your teeth and then struggling through your course or putting your new job in jeopardy because your English is not the best it can be.
I have also worked with several doctors (and other students) after they have secured their job or course because they were having problems with their English actually in the hospital or with their study. Passing the IELTS in only the beginning!
The second meeting
When we met for a second time we decided to take a more holistic approach and look at all parts of the exam and also language level. As I mentioned before Karam’s English was very fluent and he was a confident speaker, he didn’t, however, have a lot of control over register and tended to speak in a very colloquial manner which is not always appropriate for every type of communication. This was affecting both his speaking performance and his writing.
The study plan
This is a pattern I often use with IELTS students both face to face and online.
The week’s work would consist of exercises both IELTS tests and general English exercises (to improve vocabulary, fluency, structure etc.) that I would give Karam to do at home. Karam would produce, at his best band 7 level work, and a Task 1 and Task 2 every week. We would then meet to go over the writing, do speaking practice and check the listening and reading he had got wrong.
This approach worked well. We covered all aspects of the exam so everything was up at band 7 or 8 level. We improved Karam’s flexibility in his choice of formal and informal language and he became comfortable with this. His reading got better and better and his writing was not just left to chance any more. He was able to use more formal language in his speaking and felt more confident about tackling even the most unusual topics.
After a month he took the IELTS again and got 8 overall (8 in listening and speaking, 7.5 in reading and 7 in writing). Not only had he managed to pass the IELTS exam with flying colours, but he had also improved his English to such a standard that he knew when he started to work at the hospital he would not have any problems at all and would be able to deal with any situation!
I met Karam almost a year later in the street. He was working at the hospital and he was really enjoying his job and his life. He was with a group of friends some of whom were also preparing for IELTS. He greeted me and again thanked me for my guidance and said to his friends: “Don’t be arrogant, do as your teacher tells you – that is the best way to get a good IELTS score!”
Although this story has a happy ending, it took more time than was necessary for Karam to get his IELTS sorted.
Don’t waste time being unprepared – get support now and make the next time you take the IELTS test the last time.