How to prepare for an IELTS exam
At IH Valladolid we have teachers with many years of experience of teaching IELTS. Our teachers have prepared students from all over the world for this exam and we have had fantastic success in getting people ready for the exam. We would therefore like to share some ideas with you on how to prepare for the IELTS exam, either with a school, or by yourself.
- Set yourself a realistic objective. When you know what level you want to have (be realistic) you can start to target your preparation around that level. If you need a level 7.0 then you need to be learning and demonstrating correct use of vocabulary and grammar points connected with level 7.0. If you are not sure what level you have then contact IH Valladolid and we will arrange a FREE level test for you at one of our centers.
- Make a study plan and stick to it. You should think about how many words you are going to try and learn every day and record those words. You should think about when and how you are going to improve your ability in terms of reading, writing, listening and speaking for the exam. In our experience, students who plan and take responsibility for their own learning usually do much better on the exam than those who do not.
- If you do not practice the exam several times before you take it you may encounter a surprise in the exam. No one likes surprises in an exam!
- Monitor your progress and adjust your learning plan if you need to. If you are getting better at the listening part of the exam but your reading scores are not improving for example, you may need to change your approach. A teacher can help you with this.
- Keep calm and persevere! To persevere means to continue to work hard for something even when it is difficult. This is very important for ANY exam. Some days it may feel like the exam is too difficult and you are not making progress, these are the days when it is most important to practice your English.
