It is an examination that lasts for almost 3 hours and it is required for people who has plans of immigrating to another English speaking country or working in any English speaking country.
Here in the Philippines, there are review centers that help and guide people for this examination. it costs 5000 pesos but its really worth it! the review center i took was Niners Review Center which was owned by Sir Ervin Nil Temporal.
Whats important is you have to sacrifice and make time for reviewing. My aim was to work in Australia and i needed a score of all 7 in 4 subtests in the IELTS exam. i had my first take last Sept. 21, 2013.
listening 8, reading 7, speaking 7, writing 6.5 – tbs: 7
yes it is high but … my Writing was only 6.5 😦 i had to risk another exam and each exam costs 9000 pesos.
i took it again on Oct 26, 2013 and this time.. i finally got the score i needed.
yeah i say its a miracle haha. listening 8, reading 8, speaking 7, writing 7 – tbs: 7.5
determination + dream = SUCCESS
Let me tell everyone who are going to take IELTS an advice: i am not a god nor am i intelligent. We dont even speak English at home but Fookien which is a dialect in China… Tagalog at my workplace. i want you all to know what i’ve been through for this score.
1. night shift for 1 whole month at my work.
– i would work at night, sleep in the morning… study in the afternoon then head straight to work. im a zombie at work hahaha, but i have no choice. a lot of my friends enrolled in Niners also… but not everyone put their effort in reviewing for it. i always hear a lot of excuses from my friends but … what about me? i didnt complain of my schedule coz i cant resign from work, i needed money to pay up for my own examination plus i needed to have 3 years experience of work as a nurse. 5000 pesos is wasted money f you just pay but dont go to review. bottomline… if you want to succeed, sacrifice is needed.
2. prayers
– i know that if my family didnt pray for me or my friend Tina who even went to Manaoag church just to light me a candle for my exam? i think i couldnt make it. hahaha. plus my effort of going to St. Jude Parish every Thursday and lighting a candle. Divine Intervention is important as well.
3. practice
– keep practicing whenever you have the time. no excuses. to get a good grade time management is equally important. i advise that for reading portion, take 20 minutes each per story. for writing, even 1minute can save your life. hahaha so put each minute to good use.
4. coaching
– if i have time, i let my writing papers be checked by a coach in Niners Review Center. its important to hear comments from coaches so as to improve your Writing and grab techniques from them as well.
I hope this helps other people who are going to take the exam … haha … As they say, “may the odds be in your favor.”
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