Nice to meet you!

[Ryan]

Hi Joe,

It is very nice to meet you. I spent several wonderful years in China, and Anhui for me was a highlight. Unfortunately, I haven't had the chance to see Huang Shan, but I did see your hometown (which was an incredibly welcoming place), Jing Xian and Xuan Cheng. Anhuinese people are very nice and Anhui food is among the world's finest (you can't go wrong with luo mi!)

I hope your aspirations to go to Australia are realized. Achieving band 7 involves strategy. If your grammar is solid and your essay structure is good, you should be able to hit 7 without too much trouble. Please post a few writing samples here and I'll try to offer advice when I get some free time.

Good luck!

Thanks Ryan,

I'm amazed that you have been to so many places in Anhui. And yeah, Hefei might be the most friendly city to foreigners in China, as I was told by a Scottish friend:) My hometown is actually Xiamen, a beautiful city which I miss a lot. But I came to Hefei for university in 1999 and ended up getting a job after graduation and then having a family here. I moved to Shanghai in 2009 and worked there for 5 months. But then my son was born so I decided to come back to Hefei where life is a bit easier and quieter.

And thanks for the advice on writing. I think there are two major problems with my writing. The first one is lack of practice. I read a lot of English documentation at work and visit English websites regularly, and I have no problem with listening because I watch a lot of Amercian TV shows. But I seldom write. So recently I am trying to write as much as I can. I have to say it's the most difficult part because academic writing is something I am not familiar with, and I'm often not quite sure whether my writing is correct and have to spend a lot of time confirming it with Longman Dictionary. But I am working on it. I will post my essays on the forum. If you have some time, any advice would be greatly appreciated. And another problem that I'm having is handwriting. I wasn't able to write fast enough during the last test because I was too used to typing in the computer. These days I've been trying to practice with a pencil. So far I think that's quite helpful.

I think I'm going to get a tl;dr here:P Thanks again:)

Regards,
Joe

Hi Joe,

Please excuse my delayed response. Yes, push yourself to write every day. Getting your writing assessed is also key to improving. And yes, training yourself to write with a pen or pencil is important.

My friend and colleague, Tom, lived in Xiamen for a period of time. He really enjoyed it. He's also an online IELTS instructor with a website at http://www.drvipmethod.com.

[Ryan]

Hi Ryan,
I am Auradha andy. Living in India. I m very glad to meet you here. I am also a teacher, having 20 years experience. I wish to migrate to Australia with my kids. So I am preparing for IELTS. Unfortunately I am working in a non English speaking environment. But I am trying to get a band score of 8. That is needed for my occupation. Your work on IELTS is very very impressive. yesterday i saw one of your video. I am getting motivated from that video, that I too can get my band score. Service to the man kind is the service to GoD. You are absolutely serving to god. I believe so.
thanks a lot Mr.Ryan.
Regards,
anu andy

Hi Anu,

Thank you for your kind words. Please stay motivated. If you work hard enough, your dream will be realized. Don't let your non-English environment be a deterrent. There are plenty of speaking partners available online that you can practice with. I am envisioning a lovely email from you telling me about your 8.

Good luck,
Ryan

[Ryan]

Hi Ryan,
Thank you for this wonderful forum and your YouTube videos. My test is on 26th October. I wish I could discover this forum bit early! I need a band score of 7 overall and no less than 6.5 in any one section. I hope I will be able to pull it off.

Hi Artha,

Thank you for the message. Tell us a bit more about your situation. Have you taken the exam before? If so, how did you perform? Strategies for hitting band 7 vary a little depending on what your skill level currently is.

Very nice to meet you,
Ryan

[artha]

No, this will be my first time. I feel reasonably confident about listening & reading sections. I am solving test papers for the last two weeks now, and I am able to answer about 34 questions correctly in each of these sections. However I am concerned about writing, especially task 2. I kind of don't like my writing style! Also my grammar is only average. Speaking, well on a good day I will back myself to get a 7 & on a bad one, 6! Iwish I could speak with some fluent speakers though. Thanks again.

[sankeerth amara]

hi sir,
this is sankeerth. i have completed my graduation in india. i am planing to do my M.B.A in abroad.so, i need to complete IELTS. i need a ''day plan'' to overcome this test. please share your day plan with me. i had only 20 days(9 nov 13) left. i con't decide how to plan the 4 modules. could u please help me.

[Ryan]

No, this will be my first time. I feel reasonably confident about listening & reading sections. I am solving test papers for the last two weeks now, and I am able to answer about 34 questions correctly in each of these sections. However I am concerned about writing, especially task 2. I kind of don't like my writing style! Also my grammar is only average. Speaking, well on a good day I will back myself to get a 7 & on a bad one, 6! Iwish I could speak with some fluent speakers though. Thanks again.

Hi Artha,

User Bunni015 is putting together a Skype speaking schedule that you may be interested in learning more about. Read this thread for more info: viewtopic.php?f=4&t=157

[Ryan]

hi sir,
this is sankeerth. i have completed my graduation in india. i am planing to do my M.B.A in abroad.so, i need to complete IELTS. i need a ''day plan'' to overcome this test. please share your day plan with me. i had only 20 days(9 nov 13) left. i con't decide how to plan the 4 modules. could u please help me.

Hi Sankeerth,

Nice to meet you.

20 days isn't very much time. Do you have any idea of your current band? My suggestion to you is to learn from Vidit and Toby in this video regarding preparation strategies:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIIEz0bSTVs

Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIIEz0bSTVs

[Ryan]

Hi Michaljhon,

Nice to meet you. What subject do you teach?

[mhingz]

Hi Ryan,
Im domingo from Al Ain, UAE. I am working here in UAE for 9 years now and I wanted to migrate which prompt me to take the IELTS examination.
I’m not sure if you still remember me but I emailed you last oct 2012 inquiring your ebook. I have been following your youtube vids since Feb 2010 and have adopted your writing methods which is did helped me a lot on my ielts exam last april 2010 (considering i had a really short time to review). After failing to get a desired band score on reading, I stopped my ielts review for a year and continue to review again just last july. I took the exam last october 26th and Im still waiting for the result next week.
The thing thats puzzled me is that recently, the more i review on my ielts and english communication in general, the more addictive i have been.. its like im enjoying writing and addicted with the process of doing it. This is the reason why until now im still doing my studies!
Suddenly, after listening to vivid, I realized that its not about IELTS that make me study english, its the english language itself is making me love the language which i guess thats what fueled me to study and listen to your lessons (and others too) even after my exam.
My new goal now is to be well versed in english in all aspect be it in reading, listening, writing and speaking, thus i will continue to review my english until I will be satisfied reading my own essay.
I would also like to thank you for your unselfish way of sharing and teaching English to all of us.

best regards
domingo

[Ryan]

Hi Ryan,
Im domingo from Al Ain, UAE. I am working here in UAE for 9 years now and I wanted to migrate which prompt me to take the IELTS examination.
I’m not sure if you still remember me but I emailed you last oct 2012 inquiring your ebook. I have been following your youtube vids since Feb 2010 and have adopted your writing methods which is did helped me a lot on my ielts exam last april 2010 (considering i had a really short time to review). After failing to get a desired band score on reading, I stopped my ielts review for a year and continue to review again just last july. I took the exam last october 26th and Im still waiting for the result next week.
The thing thats puzzled me is that recently, the more i review on my ielts and english communication in general, the more addictive i have been.. its like im enjoying writing and addicted with the process of doing it. This is the reason why until now im still doing my studies!
Suddenly, after listening to vivid, I realized that its not about IELTS that make me study english, its the english language itself is making me love the language which i guess thats what fueled me to study and listen to your lessons (and others too) even after my exam.
My new goal now is to be well versed in english in all aspect be it in reading, listening, writing and speaking, thus i will continue to review my english until I will be satisfied reading my own essay.
I would also like to thank you for your unselfish way of sharing and teaching English to all of us.

best regards
domingo

Hi Domingo,

Thank you very much for sharing a bit about your background and connection to the IELTS. I know precisely what you mean when you say studying a language is "addictive". While in China, I found myself quite enthusiastic about the challenge of learning Chinese. Learning a language is sort of like unlocking a very large mystery, and it is always rewarding to look back on your studies and see the progress you've made.

I appreciate your kind words about my work, and I'm happy to hear the online materials are helpful.

Al Ain is a beautiful city. I used to visit from time to time when I lived in the Emirates.

Good luck with your studies. If you feel comfortable doing so, please consider sharing your results when you receive them.

All the best,
Ryan

PS: By the way, you and your family should consider careers as models!

[kumar446]

Hi Ryan,

I am kumar and i am taking IELTS exam to migrate to Australia. Very SAD... thing about me is i have attempted for 5 times and i was never able to score 7 in each band. I know that it's my mistake that every time, i givemy exam without any minimal preparation .I am not trying do defend myself . My weakest section is reading and i never scored beyond 6 . atleast i had some respectable scores even though i had no preparation.

Please share me your tips or plans to score.I really need help.Below are my scores in my previous exams.Please give your thoughts in achieving 7 in each.I am eagerly waiting for your reply.

Thanks for your time.

Section Attempt1 Attempt2 Attempt3 Attempt4 Attempt5
Listening 7.5, 6, 7, 8, 8
Reading 6 ,5.5, 5.5 ,6, 6
Writing 6.5, 7, 6, 6, 6.5
Speaking 6.5, 7, 6, 6.5, 5.5


Thanks,
Kumar

[Ryan]

Hi Ryan,

I am kumar and i am taking IELTS exam to migrate to Australia. Very SAD... thing about me is i have attempted for 5 times and i was never able to score 7 in each band. I know that it's my mistake that every time, i givemy exam without any minimal preparation .I am not trying do defend myself . My weakest section is reading and i never scored beyond 6 . atleast i had some respectable scores even though i had no preparation.

Please share me your tips or plans to score.I really need help.Below are my scores in my previous exams.Please give your thoughts in achieving 7 in each.I am eagerly waiting for your reply.

Thanks for your time.

Section Attempt1 Attempt2 Attempt3 Attempt4 Attempt5
Listening 7.5, 6, 7, 8, 8
Reading 6 ,5.5, 5.5 ,6, 6
Writing 6.5, 7, 6, 6, 6.5
Speaking 6.5, 7, 6, 6.5, 5.5


Thanks,
Kumar

Hi Kumar,

It is very nice to meet you. One encouraging thing is that you have scored 7 in most areas (aside from reading), so you can rest assured that you can do it.

Reading is a curious thing. As you've likely heard me say, practising is the answer to your problems here. Are you doing reading mock tests regularly? If so, what are you scoring?

Good luck,
Ryan

[mhingz]

Hi Ryan!
Its nice to hear that you have been to al ain, indeed its a quite and nice place.
I just got got my IELTS result a couple of days ago and unfortunately it wasnt good, and I had a very low score (again) on reading.
Listening=6 Reading 5.0 Writing 6.5 Speaking 7.5
Regardless, i knew that I will continue to practice more even after the exam, in fact when i saw the result, i was kind of happy coz it gave me a solid excuse to study harder on english.
Im still assessing my study regiment as of now and will work closely on the right strategy and commit more to mock practice test. As what you mention, "every battle is won before it is ever fought."
Regards
domingo

ps
thanks for the compliment on my avatar, but i guess im too shy to be a model

Hi Ryan,
Im domingo from Al Ain, UAE. I am working here in UAE for 9 years now and I wanted to migrate which prompt me to take the IELTS examination.
I’m not sure if you still remember me but I emailed you last oct 2012 inquiring your ebook. I have been following your youtube vids since Feb 2010 and have adopted your writing methods which is did helped me a lot on my ielts exam last april 2010 (considering i had a really short time to review). After failing to get a desired band score on reading, I stopped my ielts review for a year and continue to review again just last july. I took the exam last october 26th and Im still waiting for the result next week.
The thing thats puzzled me is that recently, the more i review on my ielts and english communication in general, the more addictive i have been.. its like im enjoying writing and addicted with the process of doing it. This is the reason why until now im still doing my studies!
Suddenly, after listening to vivid, I realized that its not about IELTS that make me study english, its the english language itself is making me love the language which i guess thats what fueled me to study and listen to your lessons (and others too) even after my exam.
My new goal now is to be well versed in english in all aspect be it in reading, listening, writing and speaking, thus i will continue to review my english until I will be satisfied reading my own essay.
I would also like to thank you for your unselfish way of sharing and teaching English to all of us.

best regards
domingo

Hi Domingo,

Thank you very much for sharing a bit about your background and connection to the IELTS. I know precisely what you mean when you say studying a language is "addictive". While in China, I found myself quite enthusiastic about the challenge of learning Chinese. Learning a language is sort of like unlocking a very large mystery, and it is always rewarding to look back on your studies and see the progress you've made.

I appreciate your kind words about my work, and I'm happy to hear the online materials are helpful.

Al Ain is a beautiful city. I used to visit from time to time when I lived in the Emirates.

Good luck with your studies. If you feel comfortable doing so, please consider sharing your results when you receive them.

All the best,
Ryan

PS: By the way, you and your family should consider careers as models!

[Ryan]

Thank you for the update, Domingo. I'm sure you'll nail the mark you need next time. Practise makes perfect.

Good luck,
Ryan

[sherielyn01]

Hi Sir Ryan. I am new in this forum. I am from Abu Dhabi. I want to retake my IELTS for study purpose in Australia. Unfortunately, last October 2012 I took my academic exam with scores W 6.5 R 6.5 L 9 S 7. I need at least 7 in all. I have seen some of your videos and I am practicing since then. Hope I can make it. I will book my next exam on January.

[mubari]

Hello & Good Day Sir,

My name is Mazhar and I'm from Pakistan. I am planning to immigrate Australia and required band 7 in each section of IELTS exam. I appeared in IELTS General exam in the month of October 2013 and got 6 in Reading, Writing, Listening while got 7 in speaking. My desire score is 7 in each section and this was my first attempt.

I would like to know how can I further ascend my score in aforementioned three sections in shortest possible time. I could have done well in my exam but I was quite nervous as it was my first attempt. During practice tests at home, I usually get reasonable bands but reading section always gives me hard time.

I will appreciate if you enlighten me with valuable instructions to nail the exam.

Thank you

[Ryan]

Hi Sir Ryan. I am new in this forum. I am from Abu Dhabi. I want to retake my IELTS for study purpose in Australia. Unfortunately, last October 2012 I took my academic exam with scores W 6.5 R 6.5 L 9 S 7. I need at least 7 in all. I have seen some of your videos and I am practicing since then. Hope I can make it. I will book my next exam on January.

Hi Serielyn,

It is very nice to meet you. I lived in Abu Dhabi for several months and would love to go back again. It is one of my favourite places in the world.

I believe in your ability to nail that 7. Let me share something with you from my experience that will help you get there: students often get stuck at writing 6.5 because of grammatical issues. Weak grammar leads to incoherence, awkward wording (which alters your lexical resources mark) and ultimately a poor response overall (which will convince the examiner you have not achieved the task). An examiner colleague of mine once told me that one of the clear indicators of band 7 is grammatical accuracy in at least 50% of the sentences written. When this level of grammatical accuracy is present, other areas of the exam follow suit (like I mentioned above: Coherence, Lexical Resources and Task Achievement).

So how do you improve your grammar?

There are many things you can do to improve, but I personally find the following two strategies by far the most effective. Firstly, have your writing checked regularly. Find yourself an English speaking colleague (that understands essay writing) or a personal IELTS coach in your area. Nothing will improve your writing faster than having this person point out your specific shortcomings to you and offering advice on how to improve. Secondly, read band 9 essays and try to reproduce the grammatical devices you see in your own writing. In the essays I post to my blog, for example, you should be noting cohesive devices (linking phrases), verb tenses, article usage, colloquialisms, etc. I guarantee that committing these devices to memory and reproducing them again and again in your own writing will accelerate your improvement dramatically.

I hope that helps! Good luck with your studies.
Ryan

[mehh_mgr]

Hello Ryan

I am Ann from Nepal. I am a medical graduate. I have to get band 7 in each module of ielts and i'm struggling in writing. I got 7 in all section except for writing i got 6 band 3 times consecutively... I did take IELTS course 8 month back and all I practiced was writing but the results were unsatisfactory. It is really frustrating and I am planning to give again in January 11. I hope I can learn more from your site.

[Ryan]

Hello Ryan

I am Ann from Nepal. I am a medical graduate. I have to get band 7 in each module of ielts and i'm struggling in writing. I got 7 in all section except for writing i got 6 band 3 times consecutively... I did take IELTS course 8 month back and all I practiced was writing but the results were unsatisfactory. It is really frustrating and I am planning to give again in January 11. I hope I can learn more from your site.

Hi mehh_mgr,

It's nice to meet you. Yes, transitioning from a band 6 writing student to band 7 can be tricky. I hope you have a friend or someone in your professional circle that can check and comment on your grammar to ensure your efforts are pushing you in the right direction.

Try to stay positive. I hope this community helps you do just that.

[agneslyc]

Hi Ryan,

Nice to meet you. I came to know you when I goggled about "IELTS" and I found the link to youtube where you posted your lesson on "How to score band 9 in all sections of the IELTS!". It is a very good recording which I have learned a lot from it. Your speech and pronunciation are clear and I enjoyed it very much and admired the way you speak.

Let me introduce myself. I am Agnes from Singapore. My first attempt to IELTS exam was 7 months ago which I got L:5.5, R:6.5, W:5.5, S:7.0 and overall of 6.0 However, this is far from what I have to attain. In order to apply for a Permanent Resident in Australia, I need to have band score of 7.0 in each of the area.

Due to my busy schedule, I have put "IELTS" aside for the past few months. Recently, I have registered for IELTS test again and the test date is just around the corner which is 25 Jan 2014. Up to now, I have not done any preparation except listening to your lessons online.

Now that it has left with just a week time, I am short of time now to prepare for the test and my work is
very busy during this period of time. Please advise how to maximise my preparation within such a short time frame?

Thank you.

[Ryan]

Hi Ryan,

Nice to meet you. I came to know you when I goggled about "IELTS" and I found the link to youtube where you posted your lesson on "How to score band 9 in all sections of the IELTS!". It is a very good recording which I have learned a lot from it. Your speech and pronunciation are clear and I enjoyed it very much and admired the way you speak.

Let me introduce myself. I am Agnes from Singapore. My first attempt to IELTS exam was 7 months ago which I got L:5.5, R:6.5, W:5.5, S:7.0 and overall of 6.0 However, this is far from what I have to attain. In order to apply for a Permanent Resident in Australia, I need to have band score of 7.0 in each of the area.

Due to my busy schedule, I have put "IELTS" aside for the past few months. Recently, I have registered for IELTS test again and the test date is just around the corner which is 25 Jan 2014. Up to now, I have not done any preparation except listening to your lessons online.

Now that it has left with just a week time, I am short of time now to prepare for the test and my work is
very busy during this period of time. Please advise how to maximise my preparation within such a short time frame?

Thank you.

Hi Agnes,

It's nice to meet you, too. Welcome to the community. I'm sorry for the delayed response. I suppose you are really short on time now.

There isn't too much you can do in such short time for reading and listening. I will outline a few testing strategies below, but I think your skills in these areas as they stand today will be the mark you receive later this week. Writing and speaking offer more area to incorporate structure and presentation, and this can lead to an improved grade.

The following are a few specific testing tips. Unfortunately, I do not think any of them are new to you.

Listening: read ahead during the periods given for answer review; try to predict the word type for each answer
Reading: read the questions first and then skim through the text for the answers
Writing: follow a structure (critically important!); write short, concise sentences linked with cohesive phrases
Speaking: average response time is 22 seconds, so don't be afraid to elaborate; as with writing, speak in concise sentences and link your ideas with cohesive phrases

Good luck! Please share your exam experience with us here.

[axar]

Hello my new friend. First of all I say thanks to you for such a good IELTS on-line web forum.
let me first I introduce myself.
" My good name is Akshar Jitendrakumar Patel. I'm from INDIA. Recently , I have completed my bachelor degree in an Engineering (Electronics & telecommunication). Nowadays , I have just started preparation of IELTS because I intend to go USA or Canada for further education but you know for getting admission in good university good score required in an ielts examination.

Right now my current score by module vice is ; Listening (6-6.5 ), Reading (5-6), Speaking (4.5-5.5), and writing (4.5-5).
I have taken my primary education in vernacular medium , so I'm not good in the English.

so , as my friend I need your help to improve my overall English and getting 9 band in each module of IELTS. Whatever, you say I'll be ready to do. only one aim of mine " 9 bands in an ielts exam" in any condition .

Hi Akshar,

It's very nice to meet you. Thanks for providing a bit of background about your situation. I'm very happy to hear that Canada is on your list of possible destination countries.

If your goal is band 7, I would guess you have several months or maybe even a year of study ahead of you. Going from 4.5 to 7 in speaking doesn't come easily, but it is entirely possible if you are diligent.

I hope you find the resources here helpful. Good luck with your studies.

[Alwalid]

Hi Teacher Ryan ,
I am 26 years old Libyan . I work for an oil company in Libya called Ras Lanuf . I have taken the Ielts test 8 years ago . I had got 6 overall . Now I have registered to do the test again in the 1st of March .
I was looking for good website to practice with other people . I found this amazing website with your lessons and advice . So, I really hope that I get some friends to study with them .

Best regards

Moftah Alwalid

[leeza]

Hi Ryan,
I am Leeza. I am new to your community. I am now preparing for ielts for post graduate education. I find the materials you provide to be very helpful. Thank You. Hope to score better.

[Ryan]

Hi Teacher Ryan ,
I am 26 years old Libyan . I work for an oil company in Libya called Ras Lanuf . I have taken the Ielts test 8 years ago . I had got 6 overall . Now I have registered to do the test again in the 1st of March .
I was looking for good website to practice with other people . I found this amazing website with your lessons and advice . So, I really hope that I get some friends to study with them .

Best regards

Moftah Alwalid

Hi Moftah,

Thanks very much for the kind words and for joining us here. I hope you find the community and resources helpful!