My IELTS Experience
IELTS is a standardized English proficiency test for non-native speakers that managed by British Council, IDP Australia and Cambridge Assessment Test. For those who has a plan to study abroad, I recommended this test because it has been accepted for over 3000 academic institution and not to mention many scholarships also accept IELTS for the English requirement. Back in 2017, I planned to apply for scholarship to study in Australia so I took this test on April that year.
PREPARATION:
Believe it or not, I only had less than 2 months to prepare for IELTS 😂 I started studying when I got fired from my job on February 2017 by using a book, YouTube for listening section, and taking intensive course. I joined IDP Bandung 9-day intensive class because I got 25% discount that I got by applying to one of the universities on their Education fair so I only paid for Rp 1.800.000,- (normal price: Rp 2.400.000,-) There were two tutors: Mr. Joe for speaking section and Mr. Abi for the rest. They both were great and nice, with Mr. Joe he expected us to not be afraid to speak up even though we're not sure about the grammar, while Mr. Abi taught us the basic of writing (including grammar, vocabulary enrichment), listening and reading exercise. He also didn't mind to give consultation outside the class, especially about writing. He often gave practice writing test for us and then we can send our handwriting result to his WhatsApp or email. I can say this 9-days intensive class is good especially when you want to know at least the basics of IELTS.
TEST:
Some of my classmates in intensive class took the test at the end of February or around March but due to some personal issue, mine was taken in April 8th, To join this test, first you need to book your date test online at http://www.ieltsregistration.com or you can visit IDP office (since I joined the test at IDP office, I didn't know much about the test that was held by British council, sorry ). After you did the registration, you need to pay for the test of USD215 by transferring to IDP's Commonwealth Bank account or if you use Mandiri debit card, you can pay it at their office. Don't forget that registration closes 4 days before the test (or it can be before that if that date is fully booked).
I got my speaking test a day before the other test (April 7th). On the test day, don't forget to bring your ID that you used to register for the test (it can be passport or KTP). When I got called, first the examiner will check your ID first and explain about the test. The IELTS Speaking test is broken down into three parts:
- Part 1 is about YOU. They will ask you familiar, everyday questions about your life. This will last around 4-5 minutes.
- Part 2 is sometimes called the ‘long turn’. You will be given a cue card and you will have 1 minute to prepare your answer. You will then be asked to speak for up to 2 minutes.
- Part 3 is more abstract. This is your opportunity to really develop your answers and discuss the issues brought up by the examiner. This will last 4-5 minutes.
On the second day (April 8th), I did the rest of the section. Started by academic reading, then listening and academic writing. If you guys take IELTS for scholarship purpose, I recommend you to take Academic test because the universities and scholarship providers said so, lol. The difference between academic and general is from the reading and writing section. I'll explain you about the reading first. So academic reading is using the passage that usually taken from scientific articles or books and it's more complicated than general ones (since nobody in my intensive class took general IELTS so I didn't know much about general reading and writing section). The test had 3 sections with each one had one long text and 40 questions that needed to be answered in 60 minutes. Unlike TOEFL, the problems IELTS are not multiple choices and you have to write the answer EXACTLY how it was written in the text. Here is the example:
See? There is no choice on the question so you have to read at the passage to write the answer. This is also applicable to listening section that I'll tell you on the next topic.
Moving on to the listening section (a.k.a my favorite one!) The listening audio will only be played once so you need to listen carefully about it. The test consists of 4 section:
Section 1: A dialogue between two people set in an everyday social situation,
Section 2: A monologue set in everyday situation
Section 3: A conversation that involves more than two people set in more professional situation (such as in school, work, etc)
Section 4: A monologue about academic topic.
Why I mentioned that listening is my favorite? Because every time I took simulation test, I often get perfect score in this part (usually 36-40 out of 40 question). Plus, there are plenty of listening practice audio available on YouTube
And the last but not least... The 60-minute academic writing. Most IELTS fighters mentioned that this is the most difficult section and I have to say I agree on this. If you misinterpret the question, it would be fatal and no matter how perfect your writing is, your score is not going to be good. Heh, actually it happened to me 😭 Okay, so on writing section (academic) you were asked to write twice: on first part you guys were given a table, diagram, map, cycle, or anything else and you need to write a description about it in at least 150 words. While on second part, you guys were ask to write an argumentative paragraph about a topic that will be given by the examiner and your writing must be in at least 250 words.
RESULT
I forgot how long exactly they give us the result, but I think it's about 14 days or so? Hehe. If you did the test with IDP, you need to get the result at their office. Whereas if you did it with British Council, the result will be mailed (this is what my friend mentioned since she did her test with BC.) And my result was..... Not that bad for the first-time taker.
Reading: 7.5
Listening: 7.5
Speaking: 7.0
Writing: 5.5
Overall Band: 7.0
...... Welp, I'm not happy with the writing because I needed to get at least 6.0 due to the university requirement 😂
TIPS:
1. PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT! Yes, this is true. Practice your listening section on YouTube like I've mentioned about. There are PLENTY of them, do it more than once if necessary. For reading, there are some sources on internet that provide the example of reading passage. There is a website that provide the reading test simulation but I forgot which one. Do those practice books help? Yeah, actually. At least it helps you to get familiar with the test problems.
2. FIND A PRACTICE BUDDY FOR SPEAKING. Don't be shy to ask them about this. You'd better find a friend who is also going to take the test so you can help each other. There's no such thing as competing for getting a high score in IELTS, believe me.
3. (FOR SPEAKING ONLY) DO NOT BE AFRAID OF GRAMMAR. Some people (including me, actually) were not that fluent in speaking because we overthink the grammar. Seriously, in IELTS you only need to care about grammar in writing, babe.
4. BE FAMILIAR WITH BRITISH ACCENT. For listening section, all the speakers use British accent, Try watching British movies/ TV series like Harry Potter, Sherlock, Bridget Jones, etc.
5. ENRICH YOUR VOCABULARY. In writing section, using diverse vocabulary may add points so try not to use same words (for example, if you have written increase/decrease, use the synonyms such as up/down, climb up/fall down, etc.). You can start it by reading English article and using dictionary and thesaurus.
6. MAKE TARGET WHICH BAND YOU SHOULD BE GOOD AT. Your IELTS score is the average number of each section, in case you don't know. So if you think you're not good at one section, the others should help you (but remember your target each band because for university admission, each section has minimum requirement.) For example: I know I'm not that good in writing so I emphasized to excel in listening and speaking (I did make target to get perfect score in listening tbh 😂)
7. AND DON'T FORGET TO PRAY!
Off the Northern tip of Scotland, where the Atlantic Ocean meets the North Sea, lies a group of 70 or so islands called the Orkneys. These largely treeless isles are frequently battered by Atlantic storms, gales and rain. It was during one such storm in the winter of 1850, when the combination of wind and high tides stripped away the grass from the top of a small hill called Skerrabra on the west side of the largest island known simply as ‘The Mainland’. This revealed a number of stone dwellings.Question: The village of Skara Brae is located on an island called _______
See? There is no choice on the question so you have to read at the passage to write the answer. This is also applicable to listening section that I'll tell you on the next topic.
Moving on to the listening section (a.k.a my favorite one!) The listening audio will only be played once so you need to listen carefully about it. The test consists of 4 section:
Section 1: A dialogue between two people set in an everyday social situation,
Section 2: A monologue set in everyday situation
Section 3: A conversation that involves more than two people set in more professional situation (such as in school, work, etc)
Section 4: A monologue about academic topic.
Why I mentioned that listening is my favorite? Because every time I took simulation test, I often get perfect score in this part (usually 36-40 out of 40 question). Plus, there are plenty of listening practice audio available on YouTube
And the last but not least... The 60-minute academic writing. Most IELTS fighters mentioned that this is the most difficult section and I have to say I agree on this. If you misinterpret the question, it would be fatal and no matter how perfect your writing is, your score is not going to be good. Heh, actually it happened to me 😭 Okay, so on writing section (academic) you were asked to write twice: on first part you guys were given a table, diagram, map, cycle, or anything else and you need to write a description about it in at least 150 words. While on second part, you guys were ask to write an argumentative paragraph about a topic that will be given by the examiner and your writing must be in at least 250 words.
RESULT
I forgot how long exactly they give us the result, but I think it's about 14 days or so? Hehe. If you did the test with IDP, you need to get the result at their office. Whereas if you did it with British Council, the result will be mailed (this is what my friend mentioned since she did her test with BC.) And my result was..... Not that bad for the first-time taker.
Reading: 7.5
Listening: 7.5
Speaking: 7.0
Writing: 5.5
Overall Band: 7.0
...... Welp, I'm not happy with the writing because I needed to get at least 6.0 due to the university requirement 😂
TIPS:
1. PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT! Yes, this is true. Practice your listening section on YouTube like I've mentioned about. There are PLENTY of them, do it more than once if necessary. For reading, there are some sources on internet that provide the example of reading passage. There is a website that provide the reading test simulation but I forgot which one. Do those practice books help? Yeah, actually. At least it helps you to get familiar with the test problems.
2. FIND A PRACTICE BUDDY FOR SPEAKING. Don't be shy to ask them about this. You'd better find a friend who is also going to take the test so you can help each other. There's no such thing as competing for getting a high score in IELTS, believe me.
3. (FOR SPEAKING ONLY) DO NOT BE AFRAID OF GRAMMAR. Some people (including me, actually) were not that fluent in speaking because we overthink the grammar. Seriously, in IELTS you only need to care about grammar in writing, babe.
4. BE FAMILIAR WITH BRITISH ACCENT. For listening section, all the speakers use British accent, Try watching British movies/ TV series like Harry Potter, Sherlock, Bridget Jones, etc.
5. ENRICH YOUR VOCABULARY. In writing section, using diverse vocabulary may add points so try not to use same words (for example, if you have written increase/decrease, use the synonyms such as up/down, climb up/fall down, etc.). You can start it by reading English article and using dictionary and thesaurus.
6. MAKE TARGET WHICH BAND YOU SHOULD BE GOOD AT. Your IELTS score is the average number of each section, in case you don't know. So if you think you're not good at one section, the others should help you (but remember your target each band because for university admission, each section has minimum requirement.) For example: I know I'm not that good in writing so I emphasized to excel in listening and speaking (I did make target to get perfect score in listening tbh 😂)
7. AND DON'T FORGET TO PRAY!
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