If you're in a situation where you're thinking maybe you're going to abandon IELTS, or it's becoming too difficult or you're losing focus, then you should read this post because I want to try and remind you why you thought about doing the IELTS in the first place.
So why is IELTS important?
It isn’t really, it's just an English language exam that anybody can take, at any time and get an assessment of their language ability. That's not so important, on the face of things. However, for those people who choose to take the IELTS, there is a story behind it, which is what makes it important. Therefore, the first reason why it might be important and why it's important to remember this is that it is part of your dream. I'm sure when you first thought about IELTS or first learnt about it, it wasn't because you were fascinated or interested in English language, it was because you had some kind of dream for your future.
Maybe that dream was to go overseas and continue your studies, to do a master's degree or a PhD. For a lot of students, that is the dream. It might have been that you wanted to pursue your career in another country. There may be more opportunities in your field in, say, the US or in Canada or in Europe, perhaps that's your dream. For other people, and I've worked with many hundreds of students over the last 25 plus years that I've been teaching IELTS, the dream was more a dream about their family and about their children, because they wanted to have opportunities for their children through an education that was perhaps not so easy to attain in the country in which they were living, or they wanted a different opportunity for their family life. This is another reason why people start studying for the IELTS exam.
In fact, very recently, (and you may have seen a post about him), a student of mine called Kamal wanted exactly that. In fact, he wanted two of those things. Firstly, he wanted to pursue his own career at a higher level and he saw opportunities in Canada. But he also wanted his children, to have those same opportunities immediately after they left school. Therefore, he studied hard for the IELTS. He had a few up and downs when he didn't get the score that he wanted, but because he didn't lose focus, he kept going and achieved a really fantastic IELTS result (he even got 9 in reading). Now his IELTS result will open the door to his dream. IELTS provided that mechanism for him and he’s on his way!
I'm sure a lot of you dream to be in that same position as Kamal of having a good IELTS result. As an IELTS teacher and an English teacher, I can tell you that having a really high IELTS result means you can step into a job very easily and live very comfortably in an English-speaking country with lots of opportunities. So that's the first reason why IELTS is important - it's all about your dream.
The second reason is the opportunity that it might give you. Maybe the opportunity to become more qualified in your field, or the opportunity to have a new job and pursue your career at a higher level, or maybe the opportunity for your children to have good education and be able to take advantage of all of the things that you want for yourself without having to go through the IELTS hoops.
What does that opportunity mean for you?
Well, it probably means a higher salary. I'm pretty sure in most cases, having a Master's or PhD will mean a better earning potential in an overseas country, in an English-speaking country, but perhaps also in your own country. I work with a lot of students who, once they've done their PhD or their master's degree overseas, return home to their own country because they know that it will also give them more opportunities and open new doors for them there. All of this will mean a higher earning potential and a better standard of living whether you stay overseas or whether you move back to your own country. It will happen in both cases.
IELTS is in some ways the magic key. Another of my students, Mohammed, who is now in Canada, when he was working through the IELTS, like Kamal, was having some bad luck. He took the exam three or four times, didn't get the band he wanted and was thinking of giving up, but luckily, he didn't. He finally made it to Canada and he said to me when we spoke, “IELTS is like a magic key. Without it, you are stuck, you can't go anywhere”.
IELTS can actually stop you from achieving your higher earning potential, from achieving the higher standard of living that you may be looking for, for you and for your family – it can also stop the new life that you want for your children. If you really have this dream, this idea of a new opportunity, then IELTS might stop you in your tracks and prevent you totally from achieving it. That’s why it is really important that you do get over this hurdle of IELTS.
I had another student; you've probably seen her if you've been to my website because she did an interview with me. She's a doctor called Sophia, and I worked with her a few years ago. Now she's living in New Zealand - her dream for many years, in fact it was over a ten-year period that she took IELTS exams. She kept trying it over those ten years because her dream was to go to New Zealand. She took the IELTS about twelve times in total and just kept missing out on the band she needed (7.5/7/7/7.5). She was very determined to achieve it!
Eventually, I met her and we worked together, she got her IELTS result (8.5/7.5/7/7.5) and she moved her family to New Zealand to work there as a doctor. Although it took time, it took many tests (before we worked together but just 1 test after we did :-)), she achieved her dream. I'm not suggesting that you will take ten years. It may only take you another year and for some of you, it could take just another three or six months.
What I want to stress is that it is a real barrier if you don't get it - it can spoil everything that you're planning. That is why it’s important not to lose focus on IELTS so as not to lose your dream. I also sadly know a lot of people who finally just gave up and said; “It's too hard, I'm not going to do it anymore”. But it's not hard really. Everybody can do it and if you go about it in the right way and get support then you can be exactly like Kamal and Mohammed and Sophia and all the other hundreds of students I’ve worked with over the years who are now all living their dream.
I want you to be able to live your dream as well. If you're feeling that you want to give up, or if you've lost focus, then come and speak to me because by getting some support and by getting somebody to show you exactly how you can get your Band 7 or 8 at IELTS, it might just renew your plans and help you. Let me show you how you can refocus so that you can achieve IELTS, for your family and for your study or job in the next three or six months. I'd love to help you with that and show you exactly how you can do it.
Don't give up. Focus on your dream. Look at the new opportunity and keep going. It won't take you ten years, but it might take you another few weeks or months.
Book a call with me by following the link below and we can discuss that, and maybe you'll be my next successful student to achieve your IELTS Bands and realise your dream.