Non-native English speakers are usually afraid of taking their IELTS examination. Their fear stems from the fact that they didn’t grow up using this tongue. However, with the right approach, anyone can get a good IELTS score, even non-natives.
If you’re a non-native English speaker wondering how it’s possible to get a good IELTS score, you’ve come to the right place. Today, we’ll tell you how you can do well in your IELTS examination.
Enroll in a Good English Program
Enrolling in a good English program will get you the individual attention you need to develop your skills. For many non-natives, it’s challenging to master academic English or improve their writing skills by themselves. So, joining an IELTS class isn’t a bad idea.
You must make the most of these classes and learn everything there’s to know about the exams. You should also take the practice tests your program might offer. That also has its benefits, something we’ll get to later on.
Get Yourself a Study Buddy
Studying alone doesn’t work for everyone. At the same time, group studies can feel overwhelming too. For your IELTS preparation, attending different intensive English programs or IELTS classes will help a lot. However, having a regular study buddy will make the learning experience more fruitful.
Not only can the two of you motivate one another, but you can also assess each other’s performance, share new things that you learn, suggest new ways to learn, and so on. Non-native speakers and international students can significantly benefit from this practice.
Regular conversations with your study buddy will also help develop your speaking skills. You can later reap its benefits when you attend your IELTS speaking test.
Understand the Test Format
Most non-native speakers are super careful about the IELTS examination format, and they are right in being so. That’s because without knowing the format, it becomes hard to split your time for answering all the segments.
Knowing the format will also prevent the final question paper from taking you by surprise. As a standardized test, IELTS doesn’t just test your English skills. It also tests how you can present and make the most of your existing knowledge in English. Once you familiarize yourself with the format, you’ll better understand how the examination does it.
Take Practice Tests
Both native and non-native speakers can benefit from taking practice tests. Here, you can time yourself, see what the question looks like, and feel the true intensity of an IELTS exam.
The more practice tests you attend, the better it is for you. That’s because you must get comfortable with the question format and different segments. You should also use this opportunity to get rid of your fear of IELTS (if it exists).
Don’t Worry About Not Knowing
IELTS doesn’t measure your general knowledge. It’s a measure of how good you are at speaking English. Therefore, you don’t have to worry about not knowing stuff. Examiners won’t deduct your points because of that.
However, there should be an appropriate response to their question if you don’t know its answer. A simple, “I am sorry, sir/ma’am. I don’t know” should suffice. It’ll count as a bonus if you can add something to that, maybe something that can act as an alternative to the answer they were expecting.
Read As Much As You Can
Reading books helps develop your vocabulary. However, you can also go through daily newspapers to enhance your vocabulary. Newspapers are, in fact, better for non-native speakers as they can help you understand how formal sentence structures work.
Learn to Listen
The listening test is one part of your IELTS exam where you’ll need 110% of your concentration. You’ll end up losing precious points if you fail to catch whatever the speaker or audio is saying. So, to prepare yourself, you’ll have to master the art of listening.
YouTube has a ton of IELTS-speaking videos that you can check out. Go through those audio clips and get familiar with the pace and tone the speakers speak in. Listen to how they pronounce each word and time their pauses. Also, try to identify keywords that will help you answer the questions later on. These keywords can include directions, colors, etc.
Taking part in IELTS practice tests will further help you develop this skill. However, you need to take at least four to five tests before fully understanding how to grasp what the speaker is saying.
That’s all for this article. Now that you know how it’s possible to do well in your IELTS exams, it’s time to start studying and practicing. Remember to be consistent with your practice, and the test won’t feel difficult at all.
Founder Dinis Guarda
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