IELTS Reading & Listening Success

10 Tips to Improve Your Score in the IELTS Reading and Listening Tests

LY Kimtech & SOV Kok Heng, ACE Students

Many students worry about the challenges they will face in their IELTS test, which may affect their ability to perform well and achieve a higher band score. Two former ACE students and Top Scorers gave us their tips on how best to prepare for the IELTS and achieve higher scores in the Reading and Listening tests.

Reading

1. Make reading a fun friend! Take up extensive reading as a hobby to develop your enthusiasm and improve your vocabulary range. The ACE Book Clubs at every campus are a great place to start
2. Experiment with different techniques for quick and effective reading such as skimming and scanning, or using context clues to understand word meaning
3. Practice, practice, practice! Do plenty of sample practice tests and reflect on your mistakes. Remember, the answer is ALWAYS in the text
4. Time how long it takes you to complete reading tasks and try to improve with each attempt
5. For the Computer-delivered IELTS (CDI), get comfortable with reading on a screen, whether on a PC, laptop or tablet

Listening

6. Make sure you read the questions and any visual information or prompts in the time given before a recording starts
7. Try to predict what type of information is required to answer the question, based on question types and the wider context
8. Warm up your brain! Help your brain to process information quickly by considering the meaning and wording of questions, underlining key words, identifying negative forms, and thinking of synonyms or antonyms which might be used in the recording
9. Listen carefully for keywords and watch out for distractors which may lead to choosing the wrong answer
10. Check and double check your spelling and grammar, especially singular/plural forms (Do you need a final –s?) and parts of speech. Points can be lost for simple mistakes

We hope these tips will help you to become a better test taker and reach your IELTS potential. For sample practice Reading and Listening materials, drop into the GIL centre at your nearest ACE campus.

To book your IELTS test, visit: idp.com/cambodia/ielts/book-your-test/