IELTS Exam Preparation| How to prepare for IELTS

Everyone knows that the IELTS exam consists of four parts: Listening, Speaking, Reading, and Writing. And vocabulary is a crucial factor for acquiring a high score in any section of the IELTS.

In this article, Leapy will teach you how to prepare for the IELTS exam from the perspectives of vocabulary, listening, speaking, reading, and writing.

1. Vocabulary

The content of the IELTS exam is extensive, and a rich vocabulary is essential for understanding reading and listening materials. Moreover, a sufficient vocabulary will make your expressions in writing and speaking more authentic.

However, learning vocabulary is not like answering questions; there are no shortcuts or so-called rapid improvement methods. It requires consistent effort and accumulation.

Whether you use mobile apps or physical books for vocabulary memorization, there isn't much difference. Vocabulary apps often include a forgetting curve, making memorization convenient and allowing you to learn words anytime, anywhere. Physical books are more suitable for students who have a habit of taking notes.

However, this conscious act of memorizing vocabulary is undoubtedly tedious. If there is ample preparation time, it is advisable to cultivate the habit of watching English TV episodes and reading English novels every day to enhance language sensitivity and gradually increase vocabulary through subconscious absorption.

Leapy would like to recommend my favourite English novel to you guys: Wonder

This book tells the story of August, a boy who has facial deformities. He bravely faces the challenges of life, showing immense courage and resilience. Through the perspectives of different characters, the novel depicts the protagonist's experiences in school and life, brimming with sincere emotions and profound life philosophy.

"Wonder" features delicate language expression, with wording close to everyday spoken language, making it highly suitable for those with an intermediate level of vocabulary. While enjoying the reading process, not only can you learn many practical everyday expressions, but you can also unconsciously expand your vocabulary.

Furthermore, there is a movie adaptation of the same name available on Netflix, equally finely portraying the plot and emotions, making it well worth watching.

2. Listening

Without a doubt, a solid foundation in English and an ample vocabulary are prerequisites for achieving a high score in listening. Therefore, if there is sufficient preparation time, it is recommended to steadily and consistently use Cambridge IELTS listening materials every day, practicing intensive listening, reviewing after each session, and gradually improving listening skills.

However, it's crucial to note that it must be intensive listening, not aimlessly doing exercises.

The method for intensive listening is straightforward:

1. Listen to the entire passage at a normal speed and answer the questions.
2. Re-listen to the questions answered incorrectly, identify the reasons for mistakes.
3. Transcribe the sentences corresponding to the incorrectly answered questions.
4. Increase the playback speed and listen to the entire passage again, transcribing sentences that you find challenging or unclear.
5. Read the original text, note unfamiliar words, key terms, or synonyms.

During listening, consciously practice "listening to English" and resist the urge to constantly translate English into your mother tongue in your mind. Take minimal notes during the listening process, prioritize listening over note-taking, and only recap the main idea of the passage after completing the entire listening.

Of course, you can underline words in the passage while listening, especially when you hear words from the questions, to avoid drifting off and missing details.

In addition to Cambridge IELTS and other listening aids, it's also beneficial to occasionally listen to some channels to enhance your skills in English listening.

Leapy would like to recommend a few channels with varying difficulty levels for you to choose according to your needs.

1. BBC 6 Minute English

This channel has a slightly faster pace of speech, but the vocabulary used is basic and simple, making it ideal for intermediate-level English learners. Just as the name suggests, each episode is only six minutes long, making it convenient for learning anytime, anywhere in a busy life. Whether during a commute or a short break, you can easily find time to listen.

The content of the channel covers various topics, ranging from current affairs and technology trends to cultural life. Each video includes sections such as "intro question, cultural content, interview segment, vocabulary accumulation, and public question answers." This structure not only helps broaden your knowledge but also assists in accumulating material for IELTS speaking and writing.

The most notable feature of this channel is that each host has a delightful and perfect British pronunciation, and the interviewed individuals on the channel showcase a wide variety of accents. As we all know, IELTS listening tests sometimes include different accents, so listening to this channel is highly suitable for practicing and improving listening skills.

2. BBC Radio 4

This channel offers incredibly rich and diverse content, covering subjects such as news, science, culture, arts, and drama. The topics discussed in the programs often overlap with those in the IELTS exam, making it very beneficial for expanding the IELTS listening and speaking topic repertoire.

3. Luke’s English Podcast

The host of this podcast, Luke, is an experienced English teacher. His hosting style is really humorous, and the program content covers various topics such as daily life, culture, and travel. Luke often shares English learning tips and some interesting English expressions, making it highly suitable for enhancing IELTS listening and speaking skills.

3. Reading

The key to improving reading scores is undoubtedly practicing with exercises! !

Here are some tips from Leapy that you can use when practicing reading:

1. Vocabulary Building: Start by memorizing words! In addition to your daily vocabulary tasks, after finishing a reading passage, review it. Record synonyms or words that caused reading errors due to a lack of understanding.
2. Mental Imagery of the Text: Visualize the content of the passage in your mind. Since reading passages are often lengthy, try to imagine the scenes described in the text. Annotate each paragraph's main idea as you read to prevent forgetting the beginning when reaching the end.
3. Focus on Negation Words and Tone: Pay special attention to negative words and tone in the text, such as "barely" and "rarely." These can help you better understand the author's viewpoint.
4. Be Mindful of Synonyms: Correct answers often involve synonymous replacements for the original text. When facing vocabulary questions, if uncertain, try to guess the meaning by considering the context.
5. Read Academic Articles: Since IELTS reading passages are academic in nature, students with a solid foundation can read one foreign publication every day, such as "The Economist" or "The Guardian"

Remember, consistent and thoughtful practice is key to success in IELTS reading. Good luck!

4. Writing

The key points to note for IELTS writing are as follows:

1. Both Task 1 and Task 2 require clear and organized logic.
2. Task 2 should include specific examples and details to support arguments.
3. Use appropriate linking and transition words to ensure logical connections and fluency between sentences.
4. Avoid repetitive use of words and unnecessary phrases.
5. Pay attention to grammar and spelling during the proofreading process.
6. Employ a variety of sentence structures and patterns to enhance language expression diversity.

In both Task 1and Task 2, expressing the intended meaning based on the given topic is not difficult. For instance, when interpreting a dynamic chart in a small essay, most people can articulate the content in English. However, the reason many people consistently score low in essays is due to a lack of organization and unclear logic.

Logic and organization are challenging and non-standardized aspects. Due to habitual thinking during self-checks, it's challenging to identify expression and organizational issues in our own writing. Hence, the writing evaluation is particularly crucial.

Writing evaluation is not only a process of understanding one's writing situation but also a self-reflective and thought-organizing process.

Regularly using Lingoleap.ai 's writing evaluation function allows you to explore the logic of IELTS writing, gaining mastery over more language resources.

5. Speaking

Although speaking is divided into three parts, the topics revolve around a few key themes. Therefore, when preparing, it's helpful to go through the question bank, categorize the questions by type, such as people-related, environment-related, event-related, and so on.

However, it is not encouraged to simply memorize different topic stories and apply them to all questions! Such responses often sound rigid and may not directly address the question.

Leapy suggests organizing response strategies based on different topics and then compiling relevant lexical resources from various aspects.

Take the most basic topic - people-related topic as an example:

People-related questions can be answered from the following aspects:

1. Who is this person: Name, relationship, appearance, personality.
2. Story: How did you meet this person (time, place, reason, state), current relationship (do you often hang out together, where do you usually go, what do you usually talk about).
3. Your evaluation of this person.
4. Any point can be supplemented with explanations, and appropriate connecting words can be added, incorporating complex sentence structures.

Following this approach, we can organize lexical resources like this:

Appearance:

• Hairstyle: Length - short/long
• Curly hair or straight hair
• Styled or not: fashionable hairstyle/hair dyed
• Body shape: thin, slim, slender/fat, heavy/well-built
• Specific features: round face, bald, wrinkle
• Adjectives: Good-looking/have a nice figure/well-dressed

Personality:

• Adjectives: helpful, outgoing, passionate, generous, easy-going, thoughtful, humorous, mature, warm-hearted, positive, active, optimistic, sweet, reliable, considerate, caring, polite, talkative, patient
• Negative traits: Rude, impolite, stubborn, bad-tempered

Likes:

• Expressions: I like/be fond of/be into/enjoy/be a big fan of/be crazy about

Opinions and evaluations:

• Phrases: I think/in my point of view/in my opinion/from my perspective, I believe/I confirm, I guess/I reckon/I suppose

Practicing speaking in this way not only avoids rote memorization of question banks and stories but also strengthens vocabulary accumulation. It shifts the focus from "responding with memorization" to "responding through self-expression."

In addition to regular practice, it's essential to take speaking mock tests. Most IELTS test-takers are non-native English speakers, and even when recording one's own speaking, it can be challenging to identify expression issues or sometimes realize problems with the thought process.

Regularly using Lingoleap.ai 's speaking evaluation function allows you to learn and refine the expression of answers, mastering more authentic ways of expression.