BONUS: Conversation with an IELTS Expert ✍️

In today’s show I speak to Chris Pell from IELTS Advantage to get some top tips regarding the exam! ✍️ Chris has many years experience working closely with IELTS, so if you’re DOING the exam, this podcast is a MUST! ✅ If you are THINKING about doing the exam… then this episode is still a MUST! ✅ If you’ve got absolutely no intention of doing the exam… then you should probably listen to a different episode! 😉

Below is a quick summary of what Chris and I spoke about, but remember to go to his website HERE to find some more in depth information about all the strategies mentioned. You will be able to find detailed information for every part of the exam here, so make sure you check the site out!

Anyway, here is the summary of what we spoke about:

Speaking Part 2

You do not need to ONLY the bullet points on the card, use this as a GUIDE.
You can speak about the points in ANY order.
You can even not speak about any of them, just make sure that what you are speaking about is related to the general topic.
There are 2 types of fluency problems: content related and language related.
Don’t worry about content related fluency, focus on your vocabulary pronunciation, fluency and grammar.

Writing Part 2

Start your preparation early and buy yourself a notebook to record new vocabulary and grammar.
Read daily articles about technology, health, environment, social issues and education. Makes notes of new vocabulary in your notebook and record it with synonyms and antonyms.
Do not waste time brainstorming, ask yourself direct questions to answer the question asked and go with the ideas that pop into your brain. Remember you are not being tested on how magnificent your ideas are.
Many students do not practise writing, so don’t make this mistake and practise!

Reading

If you do not know the meaning of a word, guess it from the context. Remember that native speakers will always find words they don’t understand in the reading section.
Familiarise yourself with all the different question types.
Skimming and scanning is not the answer, different questions require different techniques.
Make sure that you practise this skill and that the first time you read for an hour in English is not in the exam.

Listening

Make sure that you are regularly listening to English!
You do not need a teacher to practise this, do the listening tests on your own.
Make sure you analyse your mistakes to see where you went wrong.

Remember to go and check out Chris’ site again which you can find HERE …. in the meantime…

Keep on ROCKin’ baby! 👊