adi28 Posted February 3, 2012 Share Posted February 3, 2012 Hi all knowledgable people, I am looking for some advice on the IELTS test. I come from an english speaking country, i've gone through the educational system up to degree level and completed professional exams. I've done the test four times now :cry: My most recent result was today and once again it wasn't enough. I want to apply for 175 visa before new format comes into play in July. I need 20 points for DIAC therefore I need a score of 8 in each band. Below are my results so far: 03.09.11 L:8.0 R:8.0 W:7.5 S:9.0 (General Training) 26.11.11 L:8.5 R:7.5 W:9.0 S:8.5 (General Training) 03.12.11 L:9.0 R:7.5 W:7.5 S:9.0 (Academic Training) 03.09.11 L:9.0 R:7.5 W:9.0 S:7.5 (General Training) I would appreciate any advice. Clearly my reading is a problem for this ridiculous test but I can read perfectly well, the format of the exam is obviously catching me out. Any link to helpful materials online etc would be great. Thanks for reading, Adi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Helchops Posted February 3, 2012 Share Posted February 3, 2012 I've sent you a PM with a link to a good free paper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guspjmh Posted February 3, 2012 Share Posted February 3, 2012 Would you be kind enough to pm me the free paper too? Many thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greggers68 Posted February 3, 2012 Share Posted February 3, 2012 I have to say not the type of thread i want to be reading 6 days before i take my IELT. I was already nervous about the test as i come from a vocational background and not an academic one, the word 'degree' frightens me. Sorry to hear the problems you have had however, it seems to me you have a problem with focusing and concentrating as you have actually passed every section albeit on different attempts. I understand it is a long day and rather lamborious at times so requires concentration. I would work on that rather than the IELT as you clearly have the knowledge to pass the test. Good luck with your next attempt, my fingers are crossed for you. (And me for next week. LOL!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wrussell Posted February 3, 2012 Share Posted February 3, 2012 Hi all knowledgable people, I am looking for some advice on the IELTS test. I come from an english speaking country, i've gone through the educational system up to degree level and completed professional exams. I've done the test four times now :cry: My most recent result was today and once again it wasn't enough. I want to apply for 175 visa before new format comes into play in July. I need 20 points for DIAC therefore I need a score of 8 in each band. Below are my results so far: 03.09.11 L:8.0 R:8.0 W:7.5 S:9.0 (General Training) 26.11.11 L:8.5 R:7.5 W:9.0 S:8.5 (General Training) 03.12.11 L:9.0 R:7.5 W:7.5 S:9.0 (Academic Training) 03.09.11 L:9.0 R:7.5 W:9.0 S:7.5 (General Training) I would appreciate any advice. Clearly my reading is a problem for this ridiculous test but I can read perfectly well, the format of the exam is obviously catching me out. Any link to helpful materials online etc would be great. Thanks for reading, Adi http://www.aapress.com.au/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mapster Posted February 3, 2012 Share Posted February 3, 2012 Hi all knowledgable people, I am looking for some advice on the IELTS test. I come from an english speaking country, i've gone through the educational system up to degree level and completed professional exams. I've done the test four times now :cry: My most recent result was today and once again it wasn't enough. I want to apply for 175 visa before new format comes into play in July. I need 20 points for DIAC therefore I need a score of 8 in each band. Below are my results so far: 03.09.11 L:8.0 R:8.0 W:7.5 S:9.0 (General Training) 26.11.11 L:8.5 R:7.5 W:9.0 S:8.5 (General Training) 03.12.11 L:9.0 R:7.5 W:7.5 S:9.0 (Academic Training) 03.09.11 L:9.0 R:7.5 W:9.0 S:7.5 (General Training) I would appreciate any advice. Clearly my reading is a problem for this ridiculous test but I can read perfectly well, the format of the exam is obviously catching me out. Any link to helpful materials online etc would be great. Thanks for reading, Adi Did you go and collect your results today? Or did you find them online? My results are out today too but test center is to far for me to collect them!! Tried online but says no results found!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PositivePixie Posted February 3, 2012 Share Posted February 3, 2012 I don't understand why people take the test time and time again at a cost of over £100 a time, keep missing they mark they want, and don't get a tutor! If your heating was not working 100%, you would get a plumber, if your car was making a funny noise, you would get a mechanic to have a look at it - so if you are not performing at the level you want to on your IELTS, why not get a qualified and experienced tutor to give you an hours tuition, see where you can improve and help your confidence all in one bang, for around £25 (depending on where you are in the country). Details of tips and hints (although in your case they probably won't help hugely, as its not that you don't know what to do etc, you're only just missing out on the mark you want) and how to find a GOOD tutor: http://sendusdownunder.com/information/ielts/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candygirl Posted February 3, 2012 Share Posted February 3, 2012 Sorry to hear that Adi28, I agree with PositivePixie. As far as I see it, it does not matter whether you are good at English or not I have read of people getting all 9's and English is not their first language. We know of teachers and very qualified people having difficulty with the exams. Can you speak to someone at the British Council and ask if they can recommend an IELTS tutor. Good Luck. I appreciate how frustrated you must feel, it is an awful exam as you have to take all four modules again if you fail. We found our results online. We received an email from Barcelona yesterday with a link to the results saying they would be available from 10.00 am this morning, but OH checked last night and they were already uploaded. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strick Posted February 3, 2012 Share Posted February 3, 2012 I think you've had a fair amount of bad luck considering you've passed all the different sections at an 8 or more at one time or another. The reading has let you down more often than the other sections, so you need to focus there. This might be the easiest to revise as it's much like a traditional English Language GCSE comprehension paper (or as they used to 20 years ago). Good luck next time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adi28 Posted February 13, 2012 Author Share Posted February 13, 2012 Thank you all for your time in responding. I think reading is my main area of concern. I can read perfectly well but with the matching questions to paragraphs to me the answer is 50/50 and obviously i'm chosing the wrong one. Would you recommend me doing academic or general. I heard recently you need to get 38/40 for band 8 in GT and you only need 35/40 for AT, is this true? I think i am definitely going to do some work on this before I do my 5th and final test. My main worry is skilled visa rule change in July 2012 :-( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guspjmh Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 I did my IELTS for the first time on the 9th, I felt all sections went well, except the writing - which is difficult to judge, as you don't know what they are looking for really. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caz Brady Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 If you don't get what you want in IELTS could you consider a 457 visa? Would give you the extra 10 points you need on top of the 10 for the band 7. It's not ideal as it's not permanent residency but you can apply after 2 years. No medicare and stuff but might be worth having a look at. Hope all goes well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adi28 Posted February 13, 2012 Author Share Posted February 13, 2012 If you don't get what you want in IELTS could you consider a 457 visa? Would give you the extra 10 points you need on top of the 10 for the band 7. It's not ideal as it's not permanent residency but you can apply after 2 years. No medicare and stuff but might be worth having a look at. Hope all goes well. Should have said i'm already in Oz on a 457 visa just want to feel more secure because I think there is a bit of uncertainty in Oz at the moment with employment so if i was to lose my job then i would be on the plane home to Ireland :-( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ari000 Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 Hi Adi i sympathise completely. IELTS dorve me mad and to despair but the good new is you can get throught it it just takes lots of practice tests. Like yourself i always fell short on the reading and writing and your right its just the format of the test and getting used to the silly questions which some ar elike tricks questions so its a case of keeping on cos you will get there.. I used to get so nervous too especially listenng and reading. all ican reccomend is to do lots or practice tests which i did until my mind was so sussed on the ielts pattern that i was bound to pass it in the end- from getting 7.5 s i went up on my 4th attemot and lots of practice tests to 9s and 8s. i do sympathise as it makes you feel like rubbish when you dont get the 8s but remeber your going to pass it its only a test and i would say its a test of how good you are at tests rather than at english A Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest AnAppleADay Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 Hi adi, GT is easier. I've read a number of IELTS practice book and have been failing on the matching questions as well. but got an 8 on the actual exam. I would suggest that you practice on your reading using academic materials but take the general training exam. For matching you have to learn how to search for keywords. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WIandVAinWA Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 dear adi28, don't worry, you are not alone. My friends called me -the Ielts veteran- and it's true! I'm not from an engl. speaking country and my problem was only the reading test where I always failed. My english tutor (senior tutor, with more than 30 y. of exp.) told me that it was only a matter of stress during the test. What I can suggest you from my personal nightmare is to take practice tests onlyin the right way : turn off all telephone and mobile around you, use an alarm clock in front of you (THIS IS VEEEEERY IMPORTANT) and start from the listening to the writing test as it is in reality : without any kind of pause! 5 times per week, if you are strong enough. It is like NY Marathon and you should be prepare for it! Have a better look on the Internet, there are lots of free exercises. good luck to all prisioners of Ielts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maruska Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 Hi, thank you for this SCARY thread:wink: I am booked for the exam in April. I am on the same boat, also trying to get 8 for DIAC points. I come from non- english speaking country . Personally I think that the format of the exam needs to be reviewed, how is it possible that people who are native english speakers have difficulty to pass the test at the required level ?! For the reading section I agree with previous post that it is about stress and poor concentration but hey who is not stressed during an exam ? I did couple of sample tests, there is a thread I started about IELTS 2 days ago and some nice person sent me a link to free samples:biggrin:. I did not have any difficulty reading, what I am scared of big time is the writing part, what a nightmare!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lauracoldwell Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 Hi, thank you for this SCARY thread:wink: I am booked for the exam in April. I am on the same boat, also trying to get 8 for DIAC points. I come from non- english speaking country . Personally I think that the format of the exam needs to be reviewed, how is it possible that people who are native english speakers have difficulty to pass the test at the required level ?! For the reading section I agree with previous post that it is about stress and poor concentration but hey who is not stressed during an exam ? I did couple of sample tests, there is a thread I started about IELTS 2 days ago and some nice person sent me a link to free samples:biggrin:. I did not have any difficulty reading, what I am scared of big time is the writing part, what a nightmare!!!! Hey Maruska, I see we are stalking all the IELTS threads trying to scare ourselves haha!! Please could i ask where the link is for free samples? Id love to check it out. xxx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greggers68 Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 Here's some websites for you: http://sendusdownunder.com/information/ielts/ http://www.ielts-exam.net/ http://www.canadavisa.com/ielts/free...ice-tests.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lauracoldwell Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 Here's some websites for you:http://sendusdownunder.com/information/ielts/ http://www.ielts-exam.net/ http://www.canadavisa.com/ielts/free...ice-tests.html Cheers Greggers, Your saving the day again xx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greggers68 Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 Here is another for you: http://www.ielts-blog.com/ielts-writing-samples/ielts-essay-samples-of-band-8/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maruska Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 Hey Maruska, I see we are stalking all the IELTS threads trying to scare ourselves haha!! Please could i ask where the link is for free samples? Id love to check it out. xxx Hi there:laugh: it`s on the thread that I started ( Ielts) and the link was given by PositivePixie. It`s not actually a link, you have to click on the BLOG in her signature ( under the main text) I don`t need any more scares, already scared enough!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WIandVAinWA Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 hey guyz ,,,, wake up please!! Is Ielts your enemy? open your mind : search on google "free download ielts" and perhaps add some key word like -books- or -pdf-. The secret is always not to focus on the first 3 pages, go ahead, there are many interesting things to find out. Regarding writing test I have 2 useful tricks that my personal tutor (Martin the Great) gave me. You should understand that most of examiners are always very bored of reading the same things from everybody : 1- try to write as legible as possible, 'cs is not a good idea to change their mood for some difficult words to be understood (as my OH says, I have "Maya" handwriting style so it was a good idea to force myself to write as clear as possible). 2- always ask yourself : would all other candidates write the same phases/ideas of mine? It would be better to intrigue your examiner (the same for the listening test). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest davek Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 hi adi28 we are going to try and get to oz on the 457, missus is going to take the ielts in march... so does she need to do this again when applying for permenant visa after 2 years once in oz ?? confused dot com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest davek Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 Should have said i'm already in Oz on a 457 visa just want to feel more secure because I think there is a bit of uncertainty in Oz at the moment with employment so if i was to lose my job then i would be on the plane home to Ireland :-( hi adi28 we are going to try and get to oz on the 457, missus is going to take the ielts in march... so does she need to do this again when applying for permenant visa after 2 years once in oz ?? confused dot com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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