My English background:
In April 2024, I took my second attempt to sit on the IELTS computer format. This was my first time experiencing the format, my 1st attempt at the paper-based test received a 7.0 overall.
However, I don't title myself good at English since I still lack of grammatical knowledge, plus my risky style of word choice.
I've never been a straight-A student with flying colors (I am even not straight, tho, pun intended). I remember every time I took the English tests and exams in high school, I only got a 5, 6, or 6.5, not higher. However, man plans god laughs, I got 2 magical 8s two times in my university entrance exam in 2014 and 2018.
So, even if I am granted with 7.5, I am not good at English at all.
Why I took the IELTS again
I realize I have long been distant from the academic language. I do use English in my work but neither the frequency nor the level meets my expectation. Moreover, shortly, I think I will study abroad for a Master's degree and challenging my safe zone.
2018 was the first time I received my first 7.0 overall. I remember the reason was to have something tremendous to forget my dumbed relationship.
This 2024, I also needed a big challenge to move forward from my father's decease. So I think IELTS may be a safe choice for me (not for my wallet). After securing the certificate, I will continue with TOEFL, may be?
And of course, I want to re-check my English proficiency.
How did I study and for how long?
I decided to enroll in the test in mid-Feb 2024, which means I had less than 2 months to prepare. Well, I got nothing to lose so just go with the flow. I will briefly outline my learning path from 4 skills of the IELTS computer test:
Reading:
I practice my reading on online platforms which simulate 99% of the test screen. My results were always below my expectation
I still followed my strategy, first read questions, then scan & skim the articles to detect the relevant keywords.
Luckily, I always keep which types I'm struggling with in mind which are the True False and Yes/No. I did have to check any sharings on the internet again.
Listening:
The skill tests were much worse than the former. I was kinda panic and I did not know where to begin again, so just keep practicing.
Writing & Speaking:
The duo is my nightmare since I studied by myself not from any English centers. I studied traditionally by reading sample essays and watching speaking videos.
However, when I laid my fingers on the keyboard to start my own essays, it was another matter. I felt awkward, and unnatural and did not know the quality of my essays.
I luckily have had Dane who insisted, for several days, on giving my essays to her fiance who is also a decent IELTS trainer. On some days, I had to come to the office much earlier and spent 60 minutes writing, and visited my friend's house weekly for face-to-face speaking mock tests. There were days I was lazy and exhausted.
On the speaking D-Day, I just brought what I've got and the true me. I luckily have had chances to interact in English with international friends previously so confidence is what I've got so far
So generally, my time spent practicing was may be not much compared to people who took training classes.
For lone learners, what are the implicit stories?
Not learn solely the reference - Writing, speaking
It's great to have a collection of sample writing and speaking band 8.0. We can read, watch intensively then copy the phrase. However, these skills are related to communication which implies that you have to understand who your audiences are and what they want to hear.
Finding their insights is much easier than that in life, you can find the band description which outlines their expectation based on the scores.
Don’t hesitate to ask for help
I am still hesitant to ask. Without Dane, I would not have met my personal English coach, even just for a short term. He gave me a rod, not a fish so that I am aware of what I need to improve my English.
I am grateful for this.
Self-inflicted wound
Every time I received my essay recorrection or speaking mock test result, I felt myself so terrible.
It was not because the score made me so, it was because of my mindset and thoughts. Rather than my reservoir of grammar and lexical resources, writing and speaking addressed my flaws in detecting the right target. For example:
I would “Iceland increased from 30% to 50” in 4 mentioned years, instead of “the 65 and over citizens of Iceland increased"
Or, during the speaking mock tests, I also forgot the main target of given questions, leading to my off-track answers.
Learning something again that I thought I was capable of and realizing my flaws was uncomfortable.
From this blog, I am not sure if you wondering how much I got in writing. But I can assure you my writing is still clumsy. I don't have to show my certificate here, whether you believe it or not, I have it.
IELTS is not everything, in life I still have many skills need to acquire for a better me.