8 Ways to Boost your English for a 7+ Band in IELTS
The first step in preparing for the IELTS exam is achieving the appropriate level of English. This includes grammar, vocabulary (lexical resource), pronunciation, fluency, writing, reading, comprehension, and every other aspect of English. To get the band you want, you must have excellent English!
Here are 8 ways to improve your English reading, writing, speaking, and listening for the IELTS exam:
1. Give yourself enough time
Assuming that you are able to study and practice English 4 hours per day, 6 days per week, we generally see improvement as follows:
Between bands 4 and 6, you can improve about 1 band per month.
Between bands 6 and 8, you can improve about .5 band per month.
Above band 8, you can improve about .5 band in 2-3 months.
So, if you are currently at band 5 and you want to score band 6, you will need to take at least one month to improve your English. If you are at band 5 and you need to score band 8.5, you will need to make sure you have at least 7 months to improve your English. Improving English takes time, so make sure you give yourself enough time.
2. Read Fun Stuff
Surprisingly, newspapers, poetry, and Shakespeare are not the best materials to grow your everyday English, because they don’t use everyday English. However, novels, biographies, short stories, popular magazines, and blogs do use everyday English! So you can learn the way people normally talk and express themselves. If you like football, find a biography of your favorite footballer. If you like fantasy stories, read Harry Potter! Reading these kinds of materials gives you access to normal vocabulary, grammatical structures, and nuances of spoken English. Plus, if you find the material interesting, you are more likely to enjoy it and spend more time reading.
3. Subscribe to ESL YouTube channels and watch them regularly.
ESL stands for English as a Second Language (These are the kind of classes we teach at Upward IELTS). ESL Youtube channels are great because you can see the person talking, and often there are visual clues to help with comprehension as well. There are thousands of ESL videos available on Youtube. One of my favorite channels to recommend is EnglishClass101.
4. Listen to Podcasts (and slow it down)
Podcasts are great for listening to natural English. Much like the “read fun stuff” suggestion, this suggestion works better if you are really interested in the material. A couple of my favorites are the BBC Global News Podcast and any of the podcasts by NPR. Check out the speed option on your favorite podcast. Many have the option to slow down the podcast to 80% or even 50%. This can be really helpful for students struggling to keep up with native English speakers. Also, many podcasts have a transcript (written record) of the episode, so you can read along as you listen. Try not to overuse these tools, but definitely use them if you’re having a hard time understanding.
5. Practice speaking English in everyday situations with people who speak better English than you.
It might go without saying, but the only way to improve in English is to use it. Find someone you can speak with on a daily basis in English. It is best if you can find someone whose native language is different from yours, so that you must speak in English with each other. And it is best if that person’s English is more advanced than yours. (Check out tip #8 if you’re struggling to think of someone to practice with)
6. Join an online interest group and interact in English
You might not have an eager queue of volunteers to talk with you just to practice English. However, there are millions of people on the internet willing to talk about a variety of other topics in English. Maybe it’s a video game based forum, or a Facebook group about local waste management efforts, or an Instagram page with sweet motorcycles. Find a niche and start interacting in English! (Pro-tip: see the next tip before posting..)
7. Write on a computer with a spell check or proofreading tool like Grammarly or Google Documents
You don’t need to pay anyone to check your writing for most mistakes. Software like Grammarly or even the built-in spell checking software on Google Docs or Microsoft Word will do wonders for your spelling and grammar. Make sure that you fix your errors and understand how to not make the same mistake in the future, because there will be no proofreading software on the IELTS exam!
8. Take a multi-skill English course
One of the best ways to improve your English is to join a class where speaking, listening, reading, and writing are all being taught by a TESOL or TEFL qualified teacher. They can help spot errors that your friends haven’t told you about. You might also meet some new friends to practice tip #5 with! (Click here for more info about our online and in-person classes)
Follow these 8 tips and start on your way to a 7+ band on your IELTS exam!
