What Should I Check To Prepare For The IELTS Test, Self-Study Vs. Academy?
by Abdul Aziz Mondal Job & Career Published on: 10 May 2022 Last Updated on: 16 January 2023
Have you made any plans to go abroad to study or immigrate? Then, there are things you should prepare realistically before you expect where and how you will spend it. It’s the IELTS test! The IELTS test is very different from the TOEIC or TOEFL that we are familiar with where we must take the reading, listening, writing, and speaking evenly. Since IELTS has its uniqueness, you better take time to study how this test is conducted and how it is done first.
In addition, the way you study for the test is bound to vary from person to person. The level of English skills that you have has been different, but there are physical limitations as well in order to get a high score for IELTS too. This is because most of the exams are held in the main city of a country, such as Seoul in South Korea, and related IELTS academies are also mostly concentrated in those cities. So even though it is an unfamiliar test, there are many students who must study by themselves.
Now, let’s get started. The story that AmazingTalker prepared today is comparing self-study for IELTS exam preparation versus going to an academy. Let’s see what is more suitable for you.
Self-study
Are you thinking about preparing for the IELTS exam on your own? Then you need to be more realistic about yourself before you take the test.
IELTS is a test that requires good performance in all areas of English. When you study for reading and listening, these are not very different from before. But for writing and speaking, you might need to try hard to get new study methods. Therefore, you should have the ability to control your study schedule and mind by yourself.
There is also an unexpected ambush. This is because the IELTS test is rather very difficult to read and listen to, and it is said that it is easy to score in a short period of time because writing and speaking somewhat have similar formats. Therefore, I would recommend self-study to those who have some basic English skills rather than those who are entry-level beginners.
»If you study with books, remember this!
There are two different methods: reading a lot of various books or choosing a few books to study. Which method would be better do you think?
Of course, it would be better to check out a lot of books, but you need to remember that whether you read many books or not, the important thing is how much you can digest them as your own. Therefore, if you can afford to spend time fully immersed in the IELTS test, I recommend you read various books, set a time, and if you have a limited time to get better scores for the test, you should take a good look at few books and choose the right book to conquer it.
But there will be a burden of buying books when you study with books. In that case, I will share how to get help from Google. You can easily download or get free resources by searching keywords like “Cambridge IELTS on Google”. There are many materials distributed free of charge on various websites, so you can freely get various books and pdfs.
Besides, if you decide to take the IELTS test on a computer, you should get used to looking at pages on a computer screen, right? Keep in mind that reading your pages on the computer can be another exercise for you to master it!
»Are you going to do an online lecture at the same time?
If you want to study on your own, but you think it’s going to be hard just by books, many people are looking for online classes! IELTS courses that you take through famous platforms, and you can see many language schools that promote classes that are emphasizing their specialties in IELTS.
These courses can be easily searched for curriculums and reviews. Therefore, it will be a very important process to find an online lecture that fits your level and can study steadily without losing interest. But even if you teach yourself while enrolled in online lectures, there are definitely fundamental difficulties that are hard to fill in.
And to solve this problem, some online lecture provides a community-based curriculum, such as creating an online group chat or providing a free study center to get help for editing and revising services. I recommend you check if there is a way to check your steps in many different ways as well as the overall evaluation of the lecture!
»Why don’t you prepare it with AmazingTalker?
The most difficult thing about preparing for a test by yourself is that you can’t get feedback on your growth. Why don’t you look for AmazingTalker?
In AmazingTalker, you can take as many classes as you want from the tutors you choose. In addition, it’s all made up of a 1:1 online video class! The effect of studying at home without any burden will be tremendous, right? While preparing for the IELTS exam, take this opportunity to study what you lack and what you want at AmazingTalker.
Academy
Have you decided to study at an academy instead of studying alone? If so, it will be helpful for you in terms of that you don’t have to struggle alone. You can cheer up with the people you study with, and you’ll get feedback from the instructors and take the classes as a team.
»Deciding which academy to attend
But before that, why don’t you first check that academies can exist in various forms? The academy we think of it is usually IELTS specialized academy. But in reality, there are more and more different types of academies. There are also groups of people with the same goal to meet and study with a tutor, and there are language schools that provide customized tutoring according to levels. Please find out which of these forms provides you with the most suitable way to study.
»Short-term completion? Achieving no matter what?
Also, I recommend you put down the idea that you can finish everything in a short period of time by attending an academy. There are many promotional phrases that can be tempting to listen to, such as short-term completion classes and unconditionally achievement classes, but there are certainly cases where they cannot be done. Also, if you take classes that don’t fit your level, this gap and frustration will only make you worse.
It’s good to encourage yourself by paying a lot of tuition but preparing for the exam with a lot of pressure on yourself will bring back a lot of stress too.
»Free lectures, level tests, etc
Lastly, I recommend you use the various tests provided by the academy before registering for the academy in earnest. There are many places that offer free lectures, and there are places where you can test your level also without any price. An in-depth consultation is also recommended at the service desk. Through this direct experience, you will be able to see if you can get what you want from them before you start.
Please remember this for the successful results of the IELTS exam
1. Studying with a strategy
It would be nice to raise the score in all four categories, but you can’t study until you get the score you want on the IELTS test! I recommend you take it realistically at what you are doing well now and what you should try harder on and take a strategic approach. Especially if you want to get a certain score, you need to prepare for the test more systematically.
2. Constantly preparing
But strategic preparation doesn’t mean you have to take chances or tricks. The IELTS test is famous for being more honest than any other English test. It is said that those who work hard get higher scores, and the longer they prepare, the higher the score. You should set a goal and study systematically but remember that it is the best way to do it steadily without looking for any shortcuts.
3. Stick to the basics
Everyone says that the IELTS test is so difficult that it is not an exaggeration to say that reading and listening are deciding factors whether you are passing or failing. Therefore, the basics of the word and sentence structure must be solid to move on to the next level. Even if you are impatient, I recommend you study faithfully the basics first.
4. Study the way you choose for the test
In addition to reading on paper, IELTS can also take tests on computers. We’re already used to reading and writing questions on paper, but we might decide to take the test on a computer because of the schedule and convenience of the test. However, reading a page on a computer feels completely different from reading it on a hard copy, so if you don’t prepare in advance, you may face worse results than you prepared for. Therefore, it is necessary to decide what type of test you will take and prepare accordingly.
Take the mock tests often
Frequent mock tests are a very effective preparation! Amazingtalker will introduce Mini-IELTS where you can take the IELTS mock test. Here, we can not only solve various questions, but we can also practice reading on the computer. Also, it has a similar configuration to the actual test website, so I strongly recommend you try it at least once before you take the test.
Today, we’ve learned about preparing for the IELTS exam. Have you made up your mind to prepare for it on your own or with the IELTS academy after reading this article? It doesn’t really matter what choice you make. What’s important is to work hard just like your initial commitment! AmazingTalker supports you to achieve all your goals and points 🙂
Read Also: