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Tuesday, June 25, 2019

🎧 IELTS Listening Advice: just practise!

In my reading lessons I tend to give lots of advice about exam technique. By contrast, my main advice for the listening test is simple: just practise more!

For example, if you find listening section 4 difficult, I doubt that this is because of an 'exam technique' problem. It's probably because the speaker gives a lot of information quite quickly, and your brain isn't quick enough (yet) to keep up with what you hear. There's no technique that will help this "ear to brain" relationship. It's just a matter of practice and exposure to the language.

📌 @ieltssimon_official

Monday, June 24, 2019

📌 IELTS Reading: which paragraph contains...?


Early modern policing

A) The first centrally organised police force was created by the government of King Louis XIV in 1667 to police the city of Paris, then the largest city in Europe. The task of the police was defined as "ensuring the peace and quiet of the public and of private individuals, purging the city of what may cause disturbances, procuring abundance, and having each and everyone live according to their station and their duties”. The word "police" was borrowed from French into the English language in the 18th century.

B) In 1797, Patrick Colquhoun, a Scottish merchant, was able to persuade the West Indies merchants who operated at the Pool of London on the River Thames, to establish a police force at the docks to prevent rampant theft that was causing annual estimated losses of £500,000 worth of cargo. The idea of a police, as it then existed in France, was considered as a potentially undesirable foreign import. However, Colquhoun used economic indicators to show that a police dedicated to crime prevention was "perfectly congenial to the principle of the British constitution”.

C) With an initial investment of £4,200, the new trial force of the Thames River Police began with about 50 men charged with policing 33,000 workers in the river trades. The force was a success after its first year, and Colquhoun’s men had "established their worth by saving £122,000 worth of cargo and by the rescuing of several lives”. Word of this success spread quickly, and the government passed the Marine Police Bill on 28 July 1800, transforming it from a private to public police agency; now the oldest police force in the world.

(Adapted from wikipedia.com)


Which paragraph contains the following information?
1. positive news that led to a new
government policy
2. the origin of an English word
3. people’s reluctance to accept a
foreign idea
4. a specific problem that needed to
be solved

📌 @ieltssimon_official

Sunday, June 23, 2019

☝️ IELTS Advice: an example of 'general to specific'

Look at the two short paragraphs below. Can you see the difference between them?


Paragraph 1

Every member of society should contribute to improving the environment. We all need to take responsibility for the environmental issues that face the planet. If each individual person plays his or her part, our world will remain habitable for future generations.


Paragraph 2

Every member of society should contribute to improving the environment. Small daily actions, like turning lights off or recycling paper, glass and plastics, can make a difference. I also try to play my part by walking or by taking public transport rather than driving.


Analysis

Paragraph 1 might look good in terms of the vocabulary that I used, but it doesn't really move forward. The three sentences basically say the same thing in different ways. It's all too general.

Paragraph 2 might seem simpler, but it's much better in terms of 'task response' and 'coherence' because the main idea is extended and we can see some progression. Can you see the movement from general to specific in this paragraph?

📌 @ieltssimon_official

Saturday, June 22, 2019

☝️ IELTS Advice: general to specific

I've been checking students' essays this week, and one of the most noticeable problems has been this: most essays are too general, and so there's not enough development and progression of ideas.

When writing a paragraph, or when giving a longer answer in part 3 of the speaking test, try to use a general to specific approach. Start with a general idea, then explain it in more detail.

Note: Don't just explain the same general idea in a different way. Your answer needs to move forward.

📌 @ieltssimon_official

Wednesday, June 19, 2019

📁✏ 7-day IELTS writing course

If you missed my 7-day course, you can now buy it as a single package below.


Course title:

Understanding and using the band descriptors for IELTS writing task 2.


What you get:

- 7 video lessons
- worksheets for each lesson
- one of your essays checked


Course aim:

By the end of the course, you will understand the band descriptors and how examiners use them to score your writing. You will be able to use this understanding to analyse and improve your own essays.


Some positive feedback from people who took the course:

"For me, the most important thing I learned from the course is knowing how to mark and improve my own essays, which I couldn't do before."

"I know now that I would have regretted it if I didn't sign up for the course. It helped me to figure out my strengths and weaknesses, and understand what IELTS expects."

"It was a pleasure to take this informative course from an authentic (ex-) examiner!"

"The course has been a real eye-opener for me because I now understand the criteria much better."


Payment

- The full course package costs £80.

- Click on the 'pay now' link below, and
complete the payment process.

- You will receive an email from me with
all of the materials within 24 hours.

📌 @ieltssimon_official

Tuesday, June 18, 2019

🎧 IELTS Listening: an alternative to doing tests

As an alternative to doing practice tests in the normal way, try this study technique:


1 Choose one section from an official
listening test, but don’t do it as a
test. 

2 Instead, get the correct answers
from the back of the book.

3 Then listen to the recording with the
aim of understanding why each
answer is correct. Listen more than
once if necessary.

4 Write the key vocabulary in a table or
in your notebook.

📌 @ieltssimon_official

Sunday, June 16, 2019

☝️👉 Maybe you understand it, but can you use it?🤔

A student reminded me about the following advice, and I think it's worth repeating:

When you read these lessons, you probably understand everything. But understanding is not enough to get you a high IELTS score. You need to be able to use what you have read.

Look again at the language in one of my sample answers. Maybe you understand it, but have you written it down? Would you be able to use it correctly in your own answers?

📌 @ieltssimon_official

Saturday, June 15, 2019

☝️ IELTS Advice: "the method isn't working"

One of the main aims of this blog is to give people a method for tackling each aspect of the IELTS test.

I hear from many people who have been successful after following my advice, but I also hear from people who haven't passed yet. And when people are stuck on the same score, they sometimes think that "the method isn't working". But this is the wrong way to think.

Methods / exam techniques will only help you to get the score that reflects your current level of English. If your English level is 'beginner' or 'intermediate', no method will suddenly give you a band 7. Exam techniques don't increase your vocabulary knowledge or your grammatical accuracy.

Remember that we're working on 2 things here:

- Methods e.g. knowing how to write
an essay.

- English language e.g. expressing
your ideas using good vocabulary
and without making mistakes.

If you've been following my advice but you're stuck on the same score, don't change your method! Instead, work on point 2 above.

📌 @ieltssimon_official

Friday, June 14, 2019

🗣 IELTS Speaking: slow down!

While you may be marked down by the examiner if you hesitate too often, there's nothing wrong with speaking a bit more slowly and carefully.

In my experience, many students speak too quickly and this causes several problems. If you speak too quickly, you're more likely to make grammar and pronunciation mistakes, and you'll probably lose clarity and coherence. If you slow down, you'll have more time to think, to pronounce words clearly, and to correct yourself if necessary.

One more tip: Have you ever practised pronouncing words very very slowly? For example, can you pronounce every individual vowel and consonant sound in the word "slowly" (s...l...ow...l...y)? I've tried this with students and they are not usually very good at it - they find it easier to rush the pronunciation of words. Native speaker children, on the other hand, love pronouncing slowly and do it very well, so maybe it's something that adult language learners should practise more!

📌 @ieltssimon_official

Thursday, June 13, 2019

✒ IELTS Writing Task 1: don't write 'came first'

Don't describe items on a graph or chart in terms of coming first, second or last. This makes it seem like you're describing a competition!

For example, don't write:

- Theme parks were first.

- Theme parks came first, and
museums were in second place.

- In last place were wildlife parks and
zoos.

Instead, you should write:

- Theme parks were the most
popular type of tourist attraction.

- Theme parks attracted the highest
proportion of visitors, and museums
were the second most
visited attraction.

- Wildlife parks and zoos were the
least popular of the four types of
tourist attraction.

📌 @ieltssimon_official

Wednesday, June 12, 2019

✏ IELTS Writing Task 2: the BIG mistake

A student asked me the following question:

If the question asks "To what extent do you agree or disagree?", can I discuss the two views of other people and end with my opinion in the conclusion?

I hope most of you know that the answer is NO. This is the big mistake that so many people make - they write a "discussion" essay instead of an "opinion" essay.

When the question asks "To what extent do you agree or disagree?", you should state your view in the introduction, support it in the main body paragraphs, and repeat or summarise it in the conclusion. The whole essay needs to be about YOUR views, not the views of other people.

📌 @ieltssimon_official

Monday, June 10, 2019

📖 IELTS Reading: paragraph heading

Read the paragraph below and choose the best heading from the list.

Reading underwent serious changes in the 18th century. Until 1750, reading was done “intensively”: people tended to own a small number of books and read them repeatedly, often to a small audience. After 1750, people began to read “extensively”, finding as many books as they could, and increasingly reading them alone. Libraries that lent out their material for a small price started to appear, and occasionally bookstores would offer a small lending library to their patrons. Coffee houses commonly offered books, journals and sometimes even popular novels to their customers.

1 The appearance of the first public libraries.

2 Intensive and extensive reading habits.

3 The reading revolution.

📌 @ieltssimon_official

Sunday, June 09, 2019

☝️ IELTS Vocabulary: 'easy' words in 'less common' phrases

You might think that a word is 'easy' because you understand it. But do you really know all the uses of that word? There might be some 'less common' uses that would impress the examiner.

Take the word "interest" for example.

When teaching a class of advanced-level students, I used the phrase "out of interest" (e.g. I decided to take the course out of interest in the subject). My students admitted that they had never heard the phrase "out of interest" before.

out of interest in the subject = because I'm interested in the subject.

Can you think of any other examples of 'easy' words that are used in 'less common' phrases?

📌 @ieltssimon_official

Saturday, June 08, 2019

☝️ IELTS Advice: 'know what you know'

People often ask me what they should do in the final week before an exam.

My advice is that it's probably too late to learn anything new. It's best to review what you have already studied and make sure you "know what you know".

Go through the topics and techniques that you have studied, and make sure that you have learnt from any mistakes you have made. It's too late to worry about what you haven't studied; just focus on what you have.

📌 @ieltssimon_official

Friday, June 07, 2019

🗣 IELTS Speaking: if you don't understand

What should you do if you don't understand a question in the speaking test? Here are my tips:

Part 1
In part 1, the examiner is not allowed to help you, but he/she can repeat the question. Just say: "Sorry, can you repeat the question please?" If you still don't understand the second time, try to say something related to the topic or any of the words that you heard. Try your best, then focus on the next question.

Part 2
You are given a task card with the question written on it, so you shouldn't have any problems in this part. If there is a word that you don't understand on the task card, don't ask the examiner - he/she is not allowed to help.

Part 3
In this part of the test, the examiner is allowed to rephrase the question. If you don't understand, just say something like: "Sorry, can you explain that question in a different way please?"

📌 @ieltssimon_official

Thursday, June 06, 2019

📝 IELTS Writing Task 1: checklist

Here's my preparation checklist for writing task 1. Can you put a tick next to each point on the list?

- Know what the six types of question
are (e.g. line graph...).

- Try several real test examples of
each type.

- Know the 4-paragraph method
suggested in lessons on this site.

- Practise paraphrasing the question
to write introductions.

- Understand why we don't write a
conclusion for task 1.

- Know how to write an 'overview', and
what to include in this paragraph.

- Practise selecting key information,
rather than describing everything.

- Be able to write good 'comparing'
sentences.

- Be able to describe changes and
trends (e.g. increase, decrease).

- Be able to use the passive to
describe steps in a process.

Note: I shared this checklist a couple of years ago, but I think it's worth looking at again (if you've seen it before).

📌 @ieltssimon_official