Journey to IELTS Success
By: Theodora Dimitrijevic, B.F.A. Honours, B.Ed, TESL DIPL.
Verbling English Teacher

     You want to start a new life in another country. Perhaps you are making a new start in Canada or maybe you are immigrating to the United States, Australia or the United Kingdom. Whichever one of these countries you chose to start a new life in, you will be required to pass the IELTS exam, an English language proficiency exam. Created by the British Council in the United Kingdom, the IELTS is an exam that arouses a variety of emotions in people about to take the exam. While some people look to the approaching exam date with anxiety, others feel a sense of anticipation and other people experience curiosity as they wonder where they will be rated on the band score system. Perhaps you have experienced one of these emotions, or perhaps you have experienced a mix of all or some of these emotions on your journey as you prepare for the IELTS exam. As an experienced English language instructor and a specialist in IELTS preparation, I have taught many IELTS candidates at all stages of the journey as they prepared to take the IELTS exam.

      The most common concern among IELTS candidates has been for success on the Speaking section of the exam. Second to the Speaking section, people share a great deal of concern to succeed on the Listening section. If the Speaking or Listening section is your primary concern about the IELTS exam, you are not alone. The quickest way to improve your English for the Speaking section is to speak English as often as possible. If you can speak with a Native English speaker, this will also improve your listening abilities and will help you on the Listening section. On the IELTS Listening section, speakers with Native Canadian, British, American and Australian accents are used in the audio recordings. Therefore, having classes with a teacher who has a Native accent can help you to greatly accelerate your rate of improvement for at least two of the four sections.

      It is important to not only prepare for the exam but to prepare for how you are going to prepare. What will your strategy be? How often will you practice for the Speaking and Listening sections of the exam? How often will you practice for the Reading and Writing sections of the exam? How will you practice? Integrating the English language into your life as much and as often as possible is the best place to start. Having regular IELTS preparation classes with an experienced IELTS instructor who is a Native English speaker, having conversations with Native English speakers as often as you can, studying with practice tests from the British Council, listening to BBC News and reading magazine articles in the English language are all components of a great strategy to succeed on the IELTS exam. It is essential to become passionate about the language and about learning the language for success on the IELTS exam and for life in your new homeland after the IELTS exam. Always look forwards towards success and never look back.

      If you are interested in booking an IELTS preparation course with me, I would be happy to prepare you for success on the IELTS exam. For courses and individual lessons, visit my page on Verbling: https://www.verbling.com/teachers/theodora

Best Wishes for Success on your IELTS exam,
Theodora Dimitrijevic