You are a student planning to sit for the IELTS test. Naturally, you want to get the best core you possibly can. What is the most effective preparation for the IELTS test?

First of all, you must be realistic. How good is your English now? A student who currently has a band score of 5 will need about 6 months full-time study to raise it to 6,5, Preparation for the IELTS test - improvement in your level of English - will take time and work. Below are some suggestions for useful activities.

Time

One of the biggest problems that students have in the test is that they run out of time. The first thing you need to practice is speed, especially in the reading and writing sections. Whenever you read something in English, give yourself a time limit. While you are reading, stop at the end of every paragraph and summarize it to yourself. By forcing yourself to read with time limits you will find your reading speed increases, and reading under exam conditions will get easier.

In the same way, practice writing quickly. Every day, sit down and write as much as you can for 5-10 minutes on any subject. Don't worry about accuracy when doing this - the idea here is to increase your speed, not your accuracy.

Use your classes

Speed without accuracy, however, is not enough. Not only must you use your present language skills more quickly, you must gain new skills, and improve old ones. This can be done through classwork and personal study.

Most students reading this book will be studying English with a teacher. Here are some of the skills your teacher will be working on with you, all important in the IELTS test:

Speaking: pronunciation, fluency, common phrases, interaction (dynamics with another speaker), asking questions;

Listening: voice tone, listening for keywords, listening for general information, vocabulary, summarizing;

Reading: skimming (general understanding), scanning (looking for specific information), vocabulary, summarizing;

Writing:  adjusting style according to purpose; writing paragraphs, introductions and
conclusions; using conjunctions and reference; structuring information within a text.

Make the most of every class by reviewing your lessons, preferably the same day. Make a note of any new vocabulary learnt (spelling, pronunciation, meaning, part of speech). Look at the activities the teacher gave you - what were they for? If you had problems, do the activities again at home. If you still have problems, see your teacher. By looking at your classwork again, you remember it better; by thinking about it, and how it will benefit 3 you will acquire the skill(s) it teaches you more quickly.

Extra work

You will also find it useful to do other study apart from class review: extra work on that you find difficult.

Also, you simply need to hear, read, write and speak as much English as possible. Here are some suggestions:

• do an adult education course;
• join a social club, or a community service organization;
• use every opportunity where appropriate to talk to native speakers;
• read at the supermarket, in the street, in offices and shops;
• use a detailed TV guide to gain more information about a programme;
• dial-a-robot - work through the recorded messages in the phone book;
• telephone for transport information: specific buses, trains, flights;
• telephone for travel information: costs of journeys, accommodation.

Many of these things you could do only in an English-speaking country. If you are studyingтп in a non-English-speaking country you should try to find English interest groups with whom to practice. You should also regularly read books/journals on topics related to you future study. This will increase your knowledge of the vocabulary and style of academic writing.