Sunday, June 14, 2009

How to get good score in IELTS in 10 days - Part 1 (Listening)

How to get good score in IELTS in 10 days - Part 1 (Listening)

This is part 1 of the article.
There are 4 sections in IELTS: Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking.
In this post, I will focus on listening skills that you can enhance in a couple of days for IELTS.

Here are my test results. I took IELTS on 30/31 May 2009.

Candidate Id : 2976
Listening : 8.5
Reading : 8.5
Writing : 8
Speaking : 7.5
Overall Band : 8

For those who are not aware of what these scores are, here is a brief overview:
9 - Expert User
8 - Very Good User
7 - Good User
6 - Competent User
5 - Modest User
4 - Limited User
3 - Extremely Limited User
2 - Intermittent User
1 - Non User

Listening Skills: This is my personal experience. I am sure it would be helpful for you as well.

1. Listen and see english movies and television serials( on youtube, if you dont have a television). I used to do search on youtube to check television programs in UK and this helped me become familiar with the UK accent. Indeed this helped me in improving my listening skills. This would also help you in Speaking section.

2. When you register for IELTS, you will get a book and 2 CDs for free. Do all the 4 listening tests in the book. It will really be very helpful. In my first test i scored just 31 out of 40, but in my last test i scored 37 out of 40. After that i took my 1st test again and this time i scored 36/40 in listening. So i can guarantee you that taking these tests will really help you.

3. When taking the practice test for listening, you may pause it and resume it at your convenience. In actual test you cannot pause- resume the CD being played. So my advice is that once you have started the listening test, complete it and then only move to next section. So you should complete all 40 questions and see how you are performing. So the idea here is do not pause while taking listening test.

4. Write as you listen- This is the most important point in listening ability. Before you start listening, you will get some time to read the questions. Use this time properly and read the questions and understand the questions completely. When you start listening, keep marking your answers as sson as you listen it. You will not get time to write it later. Also my personal experience is that even if you get time in the end, you will not be able to remember what was played. So it's best to write it as soon as you listen.

I hope these tips would help you in your preparation. In the next part, i would focus on reading skills. All the best..


26 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thanks Ankit ,I am planning to take at the end of this month,I don't have much time to study,so this is really helpful post.

I'd really like to know your inputs on remaining sections as well.

Cheers,
Hussain

Ankit Arora said...

Thanks Hussain,

I am glad to know you find my article good for your preparation. Do check out my next post on how to prepare well for reading section in IELTS.

Cheers,
Ankit

JP said...

man ur article was good .. it was helpful.. i too got band score of 8 in ielts . i took the test 8th of august

Listening : 9
Reading : 8.5
Writing : 7
Speaking : 7.5
Overall Band : 8

Ankit Arora said...

Thanks JP,

I am glad you found my article useful. You got a really good listening score and that's something which really helped in getting you a good score of 8.

Wish you all the best
Ankit

Anonymous said...

hi ankit,
i gave ielts in may 09 and scored 6 bands and nw i have to give that againand i am thinking to give this test since from sep 09 but i am really afraid that i wount get good scores and i am really being lazy as well for again prepration..... i want 8 as well
can u guide me

Anonymous said...

hi ankit,
i gave ielts in may 09 and scored 6 bands and nw i have to give that againand i am thinking to give this test since from sep 09 but i am really afraid that i wount get good scores and i am really being lazy as well for again prepration..... i want 8 as well
can u guide me

Unknown said...

hi ankit,

thanks for ur guide. i want to do good score in IELTS. ur guidelines will help me .

cheers

humayun

chirath said...

Hi Ankit,
I would like to know how did u prepare for reading and writing? Actually, That was very hard for me! i really confused by it! i did the IELTS exam and got the 5 marks!

speaking 6
Writing 5.5
Listening 5
Reading 4

Please help me to reach beyond this
situation!

Ankit Arora said...

I am really glad that the IELTS crack book that I have written is helping the students worldwide. It really gives me a feel good factor.

All I wish is that I can help more and more people in cracking IELTS exam..

Azam Khan said...

Ankit any help on writting test please

Anonymous said...

Hello! Is it possible for me to get ban 7 (with band 7 in each of the 4 skills) in a period of 6 months?? Notice that my level is around band score 5 in the IELTS !
dersarais@yahoo.com

Mohammad (Egypt)..

ielts said...

nice post about Getting Good Score in IELTS Reading

ilovefootball said...

Hi
I need to score 8 in each. I have attempted the test 3 times and I have had the same result all three times. I usually get 9 in each module except writing; where I usually score 7.5.
Considering you scored 8 in writing, could you please spare some tips for me? Thanks

Anonymous said...

Well,i haven't done anything like that but still managed to score 7 bands......

Anonymous said...

i got a good score as well
listening:9
reading 9
speaking:8
writing:8
overall:8.5

Diana said...

thanks for these tips! I hope to score high in my IELTS exam! I hope I will be able to apply everything I learned from the review center. Wish me luck!

JRooz said...

I hope I will be able to pass the IELTS! Thanks for these tips!

Dr Y V Sathaye said...

Hi Ankit,

I am going to sit IELTS on 19th July. During practice exams I am getting bowled in the Y/N/NG or T/F/NG questions of Reading section. Many a times NG is confusing me with a F or N. What is the way around? Plz reply also to sathaye3767(at)gmail(dot)(com).

Thanks a lot,
Sathaye

Anonymous said...

Hi,

I landed up getting a good score for the 19th July 2014 IELTS. Got band-8 overall.
But I guess the T/F/NG and Y/N/NG must have caused my scores to go down in the reading section. Managed 7.5 in it.

Thanks for your site which did give me some idea about IELTS sitting at home. I did not attend any classes. Also I saw EngVid.com site for lectures. I gave 21 days preparation with sincere commitment between 22.00 hrs to 24.00 hrs.

It is worthwhile doing "Listening" followed by reading and writing one after the other in practice tests to mimic the test scenario. Doing each independently is easy but doing it in tandem as in exams is nerve wrecking..

Wish the exam goers GOOD LUCK.

Y V Sathaye

nancy john said...

Thanks for the heads up! IELTS is very challenging and it should not be taken for granted. It needs time as well as constant review and practice.

IELTS Exam Module

Sandhya said...

Hi Ankit,
I am facing difficulty in writing section. Even after two attempts, I am not able to crack it with band 7. I have got 6 and 6.5 in first and second attempt correspondingly though I am fine with rest of the sections and scored well in all of them.
I was wondering if you could please help me out in this case. I really don't know what sorts of mistakes I am committing while writing.
I look forward for your response most anxiously.

Sandhya

nancy john said...

After attemting for my IELTS five times I had to get professional help and nothing like enrolling in Insearch I had an amazing support team that helped me clear and achieve my required target.

IELTS Reading facts

nancy john said...

English for IELTS is a training program for candidates appearing for IELTS (International English Language Testing System), a test of English proficiency by University of Cambridge held by British Council and IDP Australia. We target and produce band 7 and above in most cases which is truly World Class.

IELTS examination knowledge

Unknown said...

IELTS is not easy. Only students comprehension and analytical skills are important. Constant practice and confidence are needed for the IELTS. Review and train harder since the test fee is not that cheap. It is need to give it all.

IELTS score

Anonymous said...

Facilitating the accessibility of English knowledge to the world comes up By supporting IELTS

Top Speaking Strategies for the IELTS Test

Abhi said...

Nice article Ankit. Though I am reading after writing IELTS :) ��, I find your recommendations similar to my strategy. One should practice more for 'listening section' by watching English movies or TED talks. Must write as you listen and please don't pause while solving exercises given in IELTS practice book. One may simply avoid grammatical errors in writing section to score good. Moreover, placement of relevant words would be ideal.
Reading section requires time management otherwise everything is there in paragraph. Be confident in speaking section and speak in normal flow.
I have scored 7.0 (overall band)
Candidate ID: 091575 [August 2016]
All the best!