Write down the answer as you hear it

Listening is a very active portion of the IELTS, therefore tests taker have to quickly catch up with the pace of the test. It’s difficult to memorise the answer that you’ve heard, and it will quickly fade away as you continuously take in new information from the test.

That’s why you should write the answer down as soon as you heard it either in the draft or in the answer sheet. IELTS takers tend to worry that writing may disrupt the listening process.

In truth, this may happen, but if you practice writing and listening at the same time then there would be no trouble doing both.

Only focus on one group of questions at a time

IELTS Listening is divided into 4 Sections, with increasing difficulty. However, you may not notice that Section 1 and 3 are also divided into smaller sections, making the listening process easier.

In these two sections there will be groups of questions, for instance from question 7 to 10. You will hear the audio say “Now look at questions 7 to 10” then some moments of silence. In those time, read through the questions and understand their main ideas. But you shouldn’t go further than question 10 since this is the group you should be focusing on.

Another strategy when taking the IELTS Listening is that when moving on to other groups of questions you shouldn’t continue doing the previous ones. For instance, you should stop trying to answer question 10 when the tape says “Now look at questions 11 to 13”.

This helps you not be lost from the answer of the question you’re listening to. WIth missed answers, you can come back to it later or make a guess.

Details in the listening test are very important

Any information mentioned in the test such as names, street number, phone number, date, location, colors,.. tend to have their own reasons for being there. There is a high likelihood that these detail are important for the answers. Therefore, when listening to some specific details, look at the groups of questions to decide where they can be in your answers.

Tactics for doing Multiple Choice

When facing this type of questions, remember that there is only one correct answer. Among 3 incorrect answers there may be one completely wrong one or isn’t mentioned in the tape. Knowing this, you can remove one of the options to increase the odd of getting the right one.

Summary Completion questions

When facing this type of questions, it might be difficult to find a word to fill in the gap, or feel like no word can fit in. You should look at the words before and after the blank, because they may give us a clue about what type of word it is, Noun, Verb, Adverb or Adjective.

For instance, if the word is a Verb, you only need to look for the right Verb when listening, instead of focusing on all other word types.

Don’t be thrown off by synonyms

The questions in IELTS Listening tend to be paraphrased, so take note of that. Many students taking the IELTS are confused when they can’t find the right word in the question because they are not adept at paraphrasing.

The solution is to practice looking for synonyms and build a diverse lexicon to do well in this type of question.

Speakers in the IELTS Listening can change their minds

Just like real life conversations, speakers in the IELTS Listening can change their mind. Thus, you should take note of their sudden changes. Usually, the change happens near the end of the conversation, and the change tend to be the correct answer.

With the above techniques, IELTS 9.0 hope that you will have an efficient time practicing for the IELTS. Good luck!

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Select a suitable location to practice speaking

In order to most efficiently “hunt” foreigners and practice speaking, you should select suitable locations for your own transporting convenience and somewhere you can go to often. It also need to have many foreigners and is not too noisy.

The ideal location should be museums, historical monuments, walking streets,… so that you can easily approach your “targets” and speak to them.

If you’re living in Hanoi, you can go to the Lake Side, West Lake, Ta Hien street, Xuan Dieu street,… If you’re in Ho Chi Minh city, locations with many foreigners are Bui Vien street, 23/9 park,…

Prepare your content

If your English skill is not good enough and you skip this step then maintaining a conversation would be extremely difficult.

First, you should think of a topic of discussion then write it on notes. For each question, you could also prepare 2 or 3 follow up questions to lengthen the conversation.

Most foreigners are quite civil and polite and they enjoy learning about the culture and people of Vietnam. If you wish to lead the discussion this way then you should also prepare knowledge about the culture and historical events of the area you’re in.

For instance, if you select Lake Side as your English practicing location, you should know its history and practice talking about it in English at home beforehand. If you chose a historical museum, you should look for some interesting facts to introduce.

Moreover, you can introduce some famous food places, or help foreigner find their road, or shopping,…

3 rules when “hunting” foreigners

First of all, ask for consent

You should first ask them for 5-10 minutes and state your purpose upfront. You could say: “Excuse me, can I practice my English with you for just 5 minutes?” And once your time has elapsed, stop and say: “Well thanks for your time. I will not bother you anymore.” This is a way of showing respect to foreigners and make them feel comfortable.

Secondly, go in a small group

You shouldn’t have too big a group and surround a foreigner that you’ve found. Go in groups of 2-3, or if you’re confident enough, go alone. Don’t forget to be mindful to see if you’re bothering them!

Thirdly, be confident and patient

You may not always run into easy going and chill foreigners. Some people refuse to converse because they are afraid of unwell intents, or some just don’t enjoy talking to strangers. In those situations, you should apology for bothering them and find someone else.

But don’t worry if you make a mistake either. As long as you use basic communication in English, they will understand what you’re trying to say. Once they’ve known that you’re just trying to improve your English, foreigners will speak more slowly and clearly and use words that are easier to understand. Just be natural, open and friendly.

IELTS 9.0 wish you best of luck “hunting” foreigners and successfully practice your speaking skills!

The post “Foreigner hunting” schedule for IElTS speaking practice in summer 2018 appeared first on HRD GLOBAL.

Reasonable length

When doing IELTS Writing Task 1, you’ll have to write 150 words at minimum and 250 words for Task 2. If the word count is lower, your scores will be deducted.

However, you shouldn’t write too long either since the examiner wants a quality writing, not a drawn-out one. The maximum word count for Writing Task 1 is 250 words and Task 2 is 300. Don’t assume that the more you write the higher the score!

How to properly manage your word count? Don’t count word by word because it’s very time consuming, and the examiner won’t do that either. The way they do it is by counting lines, each line contain about 10 words. Therefore, you should practice writing about 10 words each line from now on.

Effective time management when doing the IELTS

Don’t start writing immediately, but instead follow a 4-step system of: Brain-storming, Outlining, Writing and Editing.

• Brain-storming: You should spend around 2 minutes for this step when doing Task 1 and 5 minutes for Task 2. Brain-storming is when you analyse the task requirement, find the keywords and come up with points.
• Outlining: Building an outline should take 3 minutes for Task 1 and 5 minutes for Task 2. A writing should have 3 parts: Introduction, Body and Conclusion. When building an outline, don’t write the whole sentence, instead write the keywords for the points you want to make.
• Writing: Writing a complete essay based on the established points. For Task 1, the time should be 10 minutes, and Task 2 20 minutes.
• Editing: Reevaluate and adjust your writing. For each Task, you should spend 5-10 minutes for Editing, double check the grammar, spelling mistakes,…

Spend more time for Task 2

Task one makes up 33.3% the tests score and the remaining 66.7% is in Task 2. Therefore, you should spend more time for Task 2 in your IELTS Writing.

The minimum word count is 150 words. Therefore, you should spend 20 minutes for Task 1 and 40 for Task 2.

Be clear and concise

You won’t be marked for your handwriting, however, try to write clearly so that the examiner can read it.

Don’t hand in an essay that’s too dense in words. Divide them into paragraphs, leave a blank space between paragraphs for examiner’s convenience, and to also mark that your paragraph is complete.

Do not rewrite the question

Never copy the question directly! If you wish to use the question to write the Introduction, use synonyms and rephrase it in your own way.

Read the question and requirement carefully

This is one of the important requirements in IELTS Writing. When writing, many make the mistake of not answer the correct question. Study the question carefully and make sure you understand what you’re writing.

Pinpoint each requirement in the given question and be sure to read them carefully. This will help you answer each question correctly.

If you don’t write the correct prompt, your points will be deducted.

Use multiple sentence structures in IELTS Writing

Grammar is one of the 4 important aspects of the Writing exam. To avoid a monotonous essay, use multiple types of sentence structures, instead of repeating the same simple structure. You can use many types of sentences like complex sentences, compound sentences, along with simple sentences.

Remember the above tips, and you will score high in IELTS Writing!

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1. What is IELTS?

IELTS – International English Language Testing System: A system designed to evaluate English skills internationally. IELTS is a tests for 4 skills: Listening – SPeaking – Reading – Writing, with two modules: Academic and General Training.

The Academic model is the language requirement for University and post-University courses, suitable for those who wish to immigrate to countries like Canada, USA, England, New Zealand,…

Meanwhile, General Training focuses on basic communication skills in daily use.

IELTS is recognised by immigration organisations, governments, international academic associations (over 6000 organisations and academic institutions in 135 countries).

2. What is TOEIC?

TOEIC – Test of English for International Communication is an English test in the international communication condition. TOEIC allows you to work in international organisations.

However, in Vietnam, TOEIC usually act as a test practice material since most people have only had exposure to Reading and Listening skills. Whereas Speaking and Writing are not yet popular.

3. Should you take the IELTS or TOEIC?

Each individual has a different aim and therefore will have a more suitable option for themselves. TOEIC will be more suitable if you’re a student taking the test for graduation, or working individual who wish the be able to communicate in English at a basic level to work in Companies/ Cooperations/ Businesses that require English proficiency.

Meanwhile, if you wish to study abroad, work or immirate in other countries then IELTS is the best fit. IELTS has more application since in order to get a high score, you must practice all 3 skills. Therefore, you can use English in basic communications, work in foreign Companies/ Cooperations/ Businesses or immigrate to foreign countries.

4. Where can you learn IELTS?

If you decide to study for the IELTS, but don’t know a place with high quality training and affordable price, then IELTS 9.0 is an optimal choice for you.

Coming to IELTS 9.0, you will get to experience the first-of-its-kind IELTS program in Vietnam. The program is copyrighted by IELTS training Association of IELT NINER in Phillipines. It’s regarded by the British Council and IDP as the number one IELTS center in the world today.

HRD GLOBAL – IELTS 9.0 Center

Address: 2/37 Ta Quang Buu St, Hai Ba Trung, Hanoi

Phone: 02485861366/0981978999

Email: hrdglobal.vn@gmail.com

Website: ieltsniner.edu.vn / hrdglobal.edu.vn

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This is the first section of your IELTS Academic Writing Test. You should spend about 20 minutes on it. TheIELTS Online Practice Test For Academic Writing Task1 requires you to write a summary of at least 150 words in response to a particular graph (bar, line or pie graph), table, chart, or process (how something works, how something is done). This task tests your ability to select and report the main features, to describe and compare data, identify significance and trends in factual information, or describe a process.

IELTS Academic Writing Task1

Sample Example: Take a look at the Diagram and complete the task below.

The diagram above show how houses can be protected in areas which are prone to flooding.

Summarize the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make where relevant.

Write at least 150 words.

See >>Model Answer IELTS Academic Writing Task 1

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