Mazza227 Posted October 31, 2014 Share Posted October 31, 2014 Hi, Can anyone who has taken this test give some advise please. My husband will have to take it as he is applying for a skilled visa. I was told by 1 agent that for a tradesperson to get 20 points would be very difficult as they are not used to writing etc. which I can understand. But then another told me that basically if you prepare well for it then you should be able to achieve the result you want. Do you think that's true? Basically if he gets a 10 we can apply for a 489, and he he got a 20 we could go for the 189 which we would prefer to do. If anyone has any advise on how to prepare and if they think that is realistic or not please advise? Oh and finally, how much time do you think would be realistic to prepare for it? Really would like to get it done asap so we know which route to go down, but don't want to book it before he is fully ready! Thank you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blossom Posted October 31, 2014 Share Posted October 31, 2014 How absolutely patronising! If he did ok in school he'll be fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nearlythere1 Posted October 31, 2014 Share Posted October 31, 2014 Hi, I did the IELTS a few months ago. Needed the 20 points for our 189. It's only £130, which is not a great deal when you tally up the rest of the costs.. I thought i'd use my first attempt as a guide to how much work I would need to put in to get the 8s across the board.. Got 8.5s on my first attempt with little revision, which amazed me to be honest, was terrified prior to going in lol.... Some have struggled with it which is understandable, as peoples strengths are always in different areas, but when you sign up for the test, they give you a log in that provides access to practice info and examples etc. Also, I googled IELTS band 8 and that came up with lots of info. Don't see why any native Brit shouldn't get it, with the right amount of effort etc.. Best of luck.. :wink:# Edit: PS, you can sit it as many times as you like, but £130 each time.. :chatterbox: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozmaniac Posted October 31, 2014 Share Posted October 31, 2014 Have a read of the following thread for encouragement. The title sums up the challenges and the thread has heaps of great advice and tips. http://www.pomsinoz.com/forum/migration-issues/204946-ielts-band-8-too-hard-iam-tradesman-my-skills-my-hands.html Ielts band 8.too hard ,iam a tradesman my skills are in my hands Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mazza227 Posted October 31, 2014 Author Share Posted October 31, 2014 How absolutely patronising! If he did ok in school he'll be fine. It was my husband who agreed with her statement. He actually did really well in English at school, but that was over 20 years ago, and as Ozmaniac says, he has been working with his hands ever since! Maybe he should just go for it then and see how he gets on. I'm sure he will be fine in the reading/listening and talking, its the writing bit that sounds the hardest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nadz128 Posted October 31, 2014 Share Posted October 31, 2014 I just received mine this morning, I will be honest, I'm 26, messed around at secondary school, ended up with 1 c in my gcse's and the rest under a c grade!!! I don't mine 2 weeks ago, and was dreading it, I'm a fully qualified mechanic who now has his head screwed on, I downloaded a iPhone app for IELTS and done very little revision, i started possibly a week before my test date, and done 15minutes a night, I went in sweaty palmed by tried my overall best and scored a 8.0 overall, I only required a 7.0 for my 189 visa!!....just don't rush your work, listen carefully, speak clearly, speak well spoken (they don't know how you usually speak)...and take your time!!!....good luck... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mazza227 Posted October 31, 2014 Author Share Posted October 31, 2014 I just received mine this morning, I will be honest, I'm 26, messed around at secondary school, ended up with 1 c in my gcse's and the rest under a c grade!!! I don't mine 2 weeks ago, and was dreading it, I'm a fully qualified mechanic who now has his head screwed on, I downloaded a iPhone app for IELTS and done very little revision, i started possibly a week before my test date, and done 15minutes a night, I went in sweaty palmed by tried my overall best and scored a 8.0 overall, I only required a 7.0 for my 189 visa!!....just don't rush your work, listen carefully, speak clearly, speak well spoken (they don't know how you usually speak)...and take your time!!!....good luck... Wow, well done! I guess it's about the preparation and knowing what they expect then as much as anything. He's not silly but it's knowing the systems more than anything sometimes! so if you get average of 8 does that give 20 points or do you have to get 8 in each section? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lebourvellec Posted October 31, 2014 Share Posted October 31, 2014 Wow, well done! I guess it's about the preparation and knowing what they expect then as much as anything. He's not silly but it's knowing the systems more than anything sometimes! so if you get average of 8 does that give 20 points or do you have to get 8 in each section? You need 8's In each section to get 20 points. My OH got 8.5 overall, their first language is not English with some revision of one of the ielts books picked up on ebay. Think the trick is to try not over complicate it, there are some YouTube tutorials IELTS Ryan not sure how good they are. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevsan Posted November 1, 2014 Share Posted November 1, 2014 As said above... Don't panic and don't rush... I downloaded some sample papers and did a practice test the week before. Got 9.0. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
srg73 Posted November 1, 2014 Share Posted November 1, 2014 I was useless at English but still got 8.5 as part of my application. Your score is judged by your LOWEST SCORE and not the average score which must be used for other purposes. The listening test is fine, starts easy and slowly becomes progressively harder. Reading is ok, read and read again then answer. Writing is my weakness due to spelling which has never been strong (I was great at maths at school but the written word remained my weakness), use simple and correct language with correct grammar. Speaking test is a simple conversation, try and bring a little humour and relax. My main tip is to get used to answering the question and not giving the answer you think they want. Read the questions twice and if they want a single word answer then give a single word answer. S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oddball Posted November 2, 2014 Share Posted November 2, 2014 I would recommend practicing the writing portion with sample prompts you can find online. No, it's not fun to lock yourself away for an hour to just practice writing, but going above the minimum word count in the allotted amount of time can require finesse. I considered myself to be quite a strong writer, and I scored lower in this than other sections. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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