Taking the IELTS written exams will require a lot of work and time from you. It requires a lot of learning and personal study. It also requires you to have a good understanding of what the IELTS tests entail in order to have the right scores. The IELTS is designed to test your proficiency in listening, speaking, reading and writing. It is important to know some specific details in your preparations before taking the tests. Some of these tips include:
1. Study with the right materials
There are several English materials that learners can use. However, studying for the IELTS requires some specific approach to your learning. You must get familiar, as much as possible, with authentic materials such as podcasts, audios, textbooks, etc. It is necessary to have a guide in such instances. Having special tutors who would coach you would be an advantage. For instance, taking an IELTS course in Singapore would help you gain access to the appropriate learning materials, as well as the guided teaching which is required.
2. Expand your vocabulary
One of the tests for proficiency would assess how well a candidate can make use of words in the right context. Hence, it is essential that a learner of English studies a lot of vocabulary and their usages. Within your IELTS course, you get exposed to new expressions and how they are usually used in everyday situations. Thus, by reading and listening to native English speakers, you can take note of difficult words, look them up in the dictionary, and gradually incorporate them into your own vocabulary.
3. Practice your writing skills
It is never enough to study a language without practising your writing skills in that language. In your IELTS tests preparations, you need to practice how to write within a set time frame. You also need to ensure your writing is structured coherently. Writing in clear, well-edited terms must become a mastered skill before you take your tests. This is because speaking and writing in English have their differences.
When speaking, you don’t have to know how to spell certain words and you don’t really have to take note of grammatical rules such as commas, apostrophes and many more. These rules will be clearly examined in your writing and there is no way you can practice them just from talking. Thus, you will have to take note of your spelling, grammar, vocabulary and so on. At the end of the day, practice makes perfect. Therefore, you must practice your writing as much as you practice speaking in English.
4. Practice how to read fluently in English
At first, this might seem like a really daunting task for those taking the Singapore IELTS course, but with consistent practice, you actually get better. This is required because the IELTS test entails a short interview and a short talk for which you would be assessed. In total, this section takes about five minutes, and as such you have to master how to speak in English fluently for a certain length of time. You also have to practice the right pronunciation of words and expressions.
Finally, in your learning of English, it is important that you know the areas where you need more help. If you have only just started learning English in Singapore, then it might take a while for you to learn from scratch before you reach an IELTS standard. However, if you have mastered the language to a large extent, then you may confidently sit for the exams. The IELTS tests are taken at different times within a year, and thus, your preparation need not be rushed. With the right amount of preparation, using the necessary resources and tutoring, you can ace your IELTS tests in record time.