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Showing posts from May, 2014

IELTS Practice Materials - IELTS practice book

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Make sure to prepare well for your IELTS test in order to get the results that best help you fulfill your dreams. You can download or purchase the following IELTS practice materials for better preparation. IELTS Official Practice Materials Official IELTS Practice Materials, Volume 1 (with CD) Official IELTS Practice Materials, Volume 2 (with DVD) Other popular preparation materials These guides are available for purchase from online bookstores.  Cambridge IELTS 8 Self-study Pack (Student’s Book with Answers and Audio CDs (2)): Official Examination Papers from University of Cambridge ESOL Examinations (IELTS Practice Tests) by Cambridge ESOL (Apr 29, 2011) Cambridge IELTS 7 Self-study Pack (Student’s Book with Answers and Audio CDs (2)): Examination Papers from University of Cambridge ESOL Examinations (IELTS Practice Tests) by Cambridge ESOL (Jul 6, 2009) Barron’s IELTS with Audio CDs: International English Language Testing System (Barron’s Ielts: International English L

IELTS Speaking Test Tips For 7.0 Score

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The IELTS speaking test is probably the most difficult for candidates because they have to speak to someone. Actually, you might not need to worry as much as you do. A number of studies have suggested that candidates feel their speaking skills are weakest when this is not the case. If you can speak confidently, clearly and make your ideas understood, there is no reason why you shouldn't get a reasonable speaking test score. These IELTS speaking tips will help: 1. Unless your pronunciation is particularly poor, don't waste time on pronunciation lessons. It is much more beneficial to spend the time acquiring a good range of vocabulary and structure. 2. This is easy to say, but don't be nervous. Think of is like this: if you are really nervous and can't speak then your score will be poor. If you are confident and speak freely, you will have no idea what your score will be - it could be great! 3. Remember your job is to give the assessor something to assess - if you o

IELTS speaking topics - Sample Questions

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These are IELTS speaking topics - Sample questions that you need to be able to answer in the first part of the IELTS speaking test . I have divided these into categories to help you prepare better. In the test you can expect to receive around 12 questions divided into 3 topic areas. Key advice is extend your answer  speak naturally and try not to give a “prepared” answer speak about what you know if you don’t have much to say, don’t worry as there is always another question coming How to prepare yourself using the IELTS speaking topics - sample questions You should note that these questions are not all the same. Normally each group of questions you are asked will have questions that need different types of answers. Good preparation means recognising these different types of question and learning the language you need for them: yes/no questions – make sure you explain your answer and don’t just say “yes” or “no” – think of reasons and maybe use the word because wh questions

IELTS speaking topics and practice

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This is a selection of sample cue cards for IELTS speaking topics part 2 . To help you I have divided them into six IELTS speaking topics you need to be able to talk about. Please note how some questions ask you to use either the present, future or past tenses. people places objects habits and likes (or present tense questions) plans (or future aspect questions) experiences (or past tense/present perfect questions) How to get band score 7.0 IELTS speaking and above All these answers are easily band score 9.0 even though they do not contain much “clever” vocabulary. You should note that to get a high score in IELTS you need to structure your answer coherently (mostly follow the points on the cue card) remember to link your speaking (e.g. “As I was saying“) use simple but effective spoken phrases (e.g.” some time ago now“) include interesting detail  speak at a natural pace using natural spoken English You will find highlighted phrases in the answers to help you wi

IELTS speaking test practice

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1. Learn how IELTS speaking is scored This only makes sense. IELTS speaking test is scored according to strict grading criteria and if you want to impress the examiner, you need to know what the examiner wants! In brief, pronunciation, fluency and coherence, grammar and vocabulary all count for 25%. To get more details about what each of these criteria mean, visit my page on this: 2. Before the exam – IELTS speaking practice – and listen Following on from the previous advice, you need to practice before the exam to make sure that the appropriate skills are automatic. The very best practice is to listen and then speak – language learning is about repetition. If you don’t have anyone to practise with try here: 3. Understand what you will be asked about – everyday ideas Typically you will be asked to talk about everyday topics and ideas. As the test goes on though the questions do become harder and more theoretical. One simple suggestion is to just to look at the types of ques

IELTS Reading Practice - Learn More - Earn More

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IELTS Reading Skills If you want to improve your IELTS reading band score, you need to work on your general reading skills. These skills are 100% important in the IELTS reading paper. One of the most practical and effective ways to improve your score is to work on these skills separately. Try IELTS reading practice all time to time IELTS Reading Practice Overview Advice on understanding the 3specific reading skills: scanning, skimming and close reading the 3 skills of reading: the place to start to understand the basic skills you need to improve your band score Skimming/reading for general meaning Skimming is the ability to read a text quickly for general meaning. This is an IELTS reading skill that often gets ignored. Don’t make that mistake. There are certain question types where you must skim the text first if you want to get the answers efficiently. Do I need to read the whole text first in IELTS? – the quick answer is yes you should. Read this lesson for an exp

IELTS speaking test – band scores explained

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How is your IELTS speaking test band score calculated? This is an important question for any IELTS candidate because many mistakes can be avoided by knowing what the examiner is looking for and how your speaking is graded. This post gives you a brief outline of the grading criteria, how band scores are calculated and how examiners typically grade the speaking. There are 4 grading criteria in IELTS Speaking Test: Fluency and coherence How fluently you speak and how well you link your ideas together Pronunciation How accurate your pronunciation is Lexical resource How accurate and varied your vocabulary is Grammatical range and accuracy How accurate and varied your grammar is What do these criteria mean? This is IELTS and IELTS examiners are trained to interpret these criteria in a particular way. In theory it should not matter where you take your test as all examiners grade consistently. I suggest you should spend time understanding the detail here as that way you can avoid m

IELTS writing task 1 – Trend vocabulary

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This post looks at some vocabulary for IELTS writing task 1 when you need to describe a graph or chart that has a time element. I begin by looking at some of the most common vocabulary you need. Then I give you some variations and talk about some grammar for  academic writing practice for ielts . The most basic trend vocabulary – a few variations Let’s look at this graph and see what words we need to describe it. Put simply we need language that describes up (2009 to 2010), down (2008 to 2009), up and down (between 2006 and 2009) no change (2006 and 2007) the top (2010) The trend vocabulary I am going to suggest may seem very basic. It does, however, allow you to say the same thing in up to 6 different ways.That’s good. Tip: if you find yourself repeating a word, try changing the form of it from a verb to a noun You should also note that, even with this basic language, there are a variety of grammar problems that cause many candidates problems. That’s bad. Up variations D

10 practical IELTS writing tips for better exam essays

I think the pratical IELTS writing tips is very simple, simple for me, and sure it is also simple for you. I should add that these are mostly band score 8.0 IELTS writing tips and are written especially for candidates who are aiming high. The moral is: " the road to band score 8.0 often means doing the simple things well " 1. Read – write – read – write – read – write – read – write – read – write – read What does this mean? It means that you should go back and read the paragraph you have just written before you start the next one. You may think that this is a waste of time. If so, you’d be wrong. It’s important to link your paragraphs together – what more practical way to do that than just read what you have written? It helps you with words for the next paragraph – it is good to repeat some words as this improves your coherence. Look at my sample essay to see how I repeat/reflect language. In one paragraph I talk about the short term, this makes it easy to mo

IELTS Preparation Tips

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Every aspect of life, which is new for us, attracts our sensibilities. May it be a new cuisine, a new flavour, a new country or a new culture. This tendency of magnetism towards everything new is giving rise to a phenomenon of finding one’s foot in foreign nations. But not everyone gets a chance to fulfill their ambition, courtesy the competitive forces buzzing all over. The developed nations look out for the cream of the talent while considering foreign applicants for both jobs and migration to their countries. They, thus do that with the help of a qualifying exam, called IELTS. But we have IELTS IELTS, an acronym for International English Language Testing System is a two-pronged ability test, meant for: Aspiring students who are looking forward to admissions in universities and institutes of higher education, and doctors, nurses among other professionals who want to practice in English-speaking countries, and The other alternative is the general Training version which is

IELTS Preparation - How to Prepare for IELTS

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So if you know that your next step is to study abroad (UK/AUSTRALIA/CANADA). Then you have to clear the IELTS first. How to have a good IELTS preparation ? Here are some steps how you can make it to your expectations. Steps Step 1/  Start with searching the web.  There you will find a lot of information about the test, e.g. the test format, how many sections it has, etc. Step 2/ Consult with your nearest British Council, as they will provide you many helpful materials for taking the test, or you may like to join the British council to have practice classes for the test. Step 3/ Try to find out your weak points and start working on them (e.g.-if you are not so strong in the writing section then you should start with this and eventually you will end up in liking it), or if you have difficulties in the speaking section you ought to start to talk and think in English, as there is no better way of speaking. If you think in English you will be able to express yourself properly.

6 Nguyên Tắc Khi Lựa Chọn Học IELTS Ở Đâu Tốt

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Mặc dù mỗi người đều có thể tự học tiếng Anh và luyện thi IELTS, nhưng không thể phủ nhận việc tham gia học tại một trung tâm tiếng Anh sẽ mang lại những lợi ích thiết thực. Ở đó, bạn sẽ được rèn luyện và thực hành thường xuyên, được cung cấp những thông tin cập nhật về các kỳ thi mới nhất và các chiến lược làm bài đã được kiểm nghiệm. Thêm vào đó, bạn còn được theo dõi sát sao suốt quá trình ôn luyện và được giáo viên hướng dẫn một cách cặn kẽ. Nhưng làm sao để lựa chọn giữa một rừng trung tâm luyện thi và dịch vụ trên thị trường?  học ielts ở đâu tốt  nhất? Sau đây là một số lời khuyên giúp bạn có thể chọn được trung tâm tiếng Anh, luyện thi IELTS hiệu quả nhất.

Học IELTS ở tpHCM và đăng kí thi IELTS ở trung tâm nào cho hiệu quả?

Đọc giả hỏi: Học và đăng kí thi IELTS ở đâu cho hiệu quả? Chào các chuyên gia tư vấn. Con tôi hiện đang học lớp 7. Xin cho tôi hỏi hiện có nơi nào tại TP.HCM dạy và cấp bằng IELTS để các tòa lãnh sự chấp nhận. Vì trong tương lai tôi dự định cho cháu du học Úc hoặc Canada. Xin chân thành cám ơn! (Hoang gia Loc ) Trả lời của nhà tư vấn:  Học IELTS ở tpHCM tại trung tâm nào? Cháu hiện đang học lớp 7 và ông có ý muốn chuẩn bị cho cháu kiến thức về Anh ngữ để sau này cháu đi du học, đó là một sự chuẩn bị tốt và chu đáo cho cháu từ thời gian này. Theo kinh nghiệm chung, khi có ý định cho con em đi du học, ông nên chuẩn bị cho cháu có từ một đến hai năm học Anh ngữ tại Trung tâm ngoại ngữ chất lượng tốt. Con ông có nhu cầu học IELTS ở tpHCM , hiện ông có thể có rất nhiều lựa chọn với rất nhiều Trung tâm ngoại ngữ do giáo viên nước ngoài phụ trách và mức học phí cũng khác nhau. Kế hoạch của ông là chuẩn bị cho cháu trong thời gian dài vì cháu hiện đang chỉ học lớp 7. Như