I intend to study IELTS on my own, so do you think what book should I use first ? And can you please tell me the way to learn IELTS effectively. Thank you !
The first thing you need to do is understand the format of the test! The IELTS is probably unlike any other test you have taken, so understanding what you should expect is the first step. The IELTS has four parts:
- Reading
- Listening
- Speaking
- Writing
You should work through many different practice problems to get the hang of testing. Make sure you pick the right version of the test that you need! If you plan to apply for an academic program (you want to study), you should take the IELTS academic test.
If you are doing something else, including working, you probably only need the general training test. You can get books anywhere, and the books you use should be fine as long as the questions are close to the real testing style.
Some of the best resources for this is the IELTS website (https://www.ielts.org) where you can find both practice questions and books you can buy.
If you want more materials, you can buy a test book from a well known test preparation brand, such as Kaplan or Barron’s. Before you buy any book, check to see that there are practice questions and answers, and explanations for the answers. If you don’t know why an answer is correct, it is not very helpful!
For reading and listening, you should be able to just do practice questions by yourself. The answers can be checked with an answer key.
For speaking and writing, the best thing to do is practice. It certainly helps if you look up examples of high scoring essays and speaking examples! You can find them all over the internet with a simple search, and examples of great speaking answers are on YouTube. Use those as a guide, but do not copy the answers.
The more you write and speak, the better you will get. However, you need to get feedback as well! Try to do this yourself by editing the essays that you write, and recording your speaking answers.
Identify the mistakes that you make and try to rewrite or speak your answers again! Improving something you have already written or spoken is better than creating something new every time.
If you want to get feedback for your writing, you can find an editor online or even through a forum for IELTS! For speaking feedback, you can use a similar platform or even hire a native English speaking teacher to point out mistakes.
Some things to keep in mind while you write and speak are:
- Organization of your ideas
- Simple grammar points, such as subject and verb agreement and pronoun use (he and she)
- Identifying your main points and making them clear, and using details to support those points only
