IELTSNetwork.com

Hi Ryan,

I'm planning to do my IELTS this year for immigration purposes and situation is such that I have to aim for band score of 8.0 in each module in order to better my chances for migration. The type of exam required for this purpose is General Training.

A friend suggested to check out your videos on youtube for assistance but honestly I have no idea where to start studying from. I bought an IELTS book called Barron's IELTS (http://www.amazon.com/Barrons-IELTS-Aud ... 1438072783) few months ago so I'm starting off with that. However I would appreciate if you can guide me in what aspects to prepare for in all the four modules: Listening, Speaking, Writing and Reading.

I would be grateful for your assistance.

Thanks,
batcoder

Hi batcoder,

The Barron's IELTS material is terrific. I'm sure you'll pull a lot from it.

I guess the first thing you should do is assess what your current level is. Your Barron's includes a few mock reading and listening tests. Carry those out and see how you place. If you find you need improvement in these areas, listen to a few of the successful IELTS student interviews at http://www.ieltscast.com for preparation tips.

For writing, run through my videos at http://www.youtube.com/user/englishryan. I've organized them loosely into different lesson groupings. I'd suggest watching all of the Lesson 1 videos and then perhaps a few of the model answer and vocabulary videos (depending on how useful you find them). When you feel comfortable with the structure and want to experiment, post a few sample writings to this forum to receive feedback.

For speaking, there are many videos on YouTube offering advice. I would suggest watching a few of those to get a feel for what a strong IELTS speaking performance looks like. Then post an MP3 here and elicit some feedback.

For more, try these threads (your question regarding how to start has been asked a few times before):
http://www.ieltsnetwork.com/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=756
http://www.ieltsnetwork.com/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=776

Thanks Ryan.

I will follow your advice and post what I have learnt and seek feedback in due course.

Thanks once again.