Chris S

Oh well, good luck with it. I can tell you for nothing that the sun is shining & pool glinting, although not my idea of Christmas particularly. Fair to say Im pretty bitter at this whole rigmarole and will take my skills elsewhere soon.

Haha, now that's an interesting one. I had 2 attempts at the Pearson with a slightly different story. Flying colours in all bar the spoken (72 + 74), ... which is again, subjective marking. No problems in the IELTS face-to-face spoken though. Funny eh. Came to the conclusion that there's obviously a very special way in describing a bar graph that was never taught to me in 44 years as a native Englishman. In answer to your question though, I need points for residency. Without this test, I'm basically stuffed. The whole thing is a joke. If only the UK had the same approach, eh? Why are we penalising our own kind though, and vice versa? I just don't get it. So you eventually made it then?

Hmm, interesting that they didn't give you an 8 in writing either. Same story here, 8.5+ in everything else. I have just 'failed' my 6th attempt, but of course they know I need an 8 across the board in order to get the points I need. And you've got no chance of getting any constructive feedback from them. I'm in Brisbane & it seems that people fair better when taking the test in the UK. Just a total rip off and extremely degrading.

I share your pain having failed it 5 times now (twice with Pearson & 3 times with IELTS). You don't say whether you are in Oz or UK, but I sense a fairer marking system is operating in the UK with Australia using it either as a cash cow or an immigration choke point, or both. Being an ex-pat, it's easy to get complacent. And maybe I was in the early days but now it's just becoming a joke. I'm 44 years of age and now find myself watching helpful clips on youtube to see where I'm going wrong. I passed my English Lang & Lit with flying colours nearly 30 years ago, back in the day when O levels set the bar a little higher. Vanduex is right, form a structured & intelligent response .. intro, middle & conclusion. There are many sources of info out there, this being a good site ... http://ielts-simon.com/ From reading around, you may find that the General module is slightly easier. I was scoring top marks with Pearson on everything bar speaking (7.5) & I've no idea where that was going wrong. IELTS ... Had a disastrous day initially with listening (if you lose the thread or can't quite grasp the context then you get left behind and you've had it, fail). You have to be 100% focused on the listening. Since then, I've also struggled with writing, achieving 0.5 point under the 8 I require. Fair to say, it's grinding me down now. I've got no idea who is marking these papers but I would like a face to face with them to see exactly what it is that they have a problem with. Maybe they see an English face and want you to fail, I don't know, but that's what it's looking like. There aren't many Aussies I know who could pass this test so what does that tell you ... that they should all be deported from their homeland? Let me know how you go & happy to talk offline. Cheers, Chris

Ditto here Alan if possible please, I know there are a couple of brokers, but would rather go direct to the insurance company preferably, its just finding out who they are. Many thanks.

Count me in! Been here 2 days now & need to branch out! Although desperately need a car to get about to do these things... mission for today. Im 40, easy going, from bedfordshire, in the IT game, love a beer & biking (preferably of the motorised variety).

Thanks for replies. OK, so it is possible then. Blimey, makes the UK seem positively hassle-free. I'd best not mention doing a self-build then, my ideal! Yeah, take your point pintpot. My employer is actually going to be my mate .. not sure if thats a good thing or bad thing! Must admit, Im not entirely sure if it'll be for me. I guess it's the brits' obsession with renovation & home owning that fuels me as much as anything, heaven forbid I should miss out on the ladder! Must admit, didnt realise they were falling, Ive only ever heard of increases & the wonderful booming economy propped up by China, but cant say Im surprised. Same situation as in UK I guess, how the hell can young kids get on the ladder & be able to afford a half decent home on a half decent salary? It has to break the growth at some point.

Hi all, Im a newbie on this & due to move out to brizzy in a fortnight, eeeks! Scary stuff. Anyway, one thing is niggling me .... Rent is just dead money & I'd really like to buy asap. But Im on a 457 working visa & its been suggested that I could only buy a new (developer's) home on that visa which sounds absurd. Im into my DIY & would much rather buy an old wreck. Any info appreciated! Great forum BTW, I could be here all week reading these threads & no doubt will be.