Hello, Pals!
Well, I want to tell you about my IELTS journey which is just for a short period of preparation time. I took the test on March 11th, 2022. To be honest, I've planned for taking the IELTS test for the previous 5 months, but I always feel not ready and postpone it. But in the end, whether ready or not, I must face it because I intend to apply for the LPDP scholarship and IELTS is one of the requirements (specifically for a master's program in a foreign country). Other than that, I also applied for a master's degree in January 2022 and I've already got a conditional offer. So, I must reach an overall score of 6.5 with no subtest under 6.0 to be able to apply for the LPDP scholarship and satisfy the offer condition.
At the first, I feel that I was modest in English, which means not too poor and not too advanced. So, I was really nervous, what if I couldn't gain the expected score? My mind was burdened with negative feelings because I didn't have experience taking any official English certification, even TOEFL ITP test. Besides, the IELTS test is expensive, about 3 million rupiahs for one attempt. Thus, I endeavored to reach my targetted score.
To begin with, I bought several IELTS books published by Cambridge. I was convinced that those books were the right choice because Cambridge is one of the institutions which organize the IELTS test. I got to know more and comprehend the type of questions from those books because I was not familiar with IELTS before.
About two months before taking the test I also joined an online English Speaking course by Kampung Inggris for one month to enhance my speaking skills. Moreover, I took a partial class for IELTS Writing Task 2 in Kobi Education. Why did I just take the course for speaking and writing? It's because, in speaking and writing, I needed someone to evaluate my capability. Whereas in reading and listening, I could do self-training by answering questions in the book, setting up the time just like the real test, and scoring based on the answer key.
Here are the lists of my preparations for the IELTS test:
1. I got to know more IETLS questions from IELTS Cambridge books, the picture below (from googling):
2. For listening and reading, I did self-training by answering questions in the book, setting up the time just like the real test, and scoring based on the answer key
3. For speaking, I tried to answer questions while recording my voice, then I listened to the recording and evaluated myself. Besides, I also reached English speaking environment by joining the Kampung Inggris class and VOTES community. Furthermore, watching IELTS speaking mock tests and tips from the youtube channel was also very helpful. Here are some recommended youtube channels for IELTS speaking:
English Speaking Success (Thank you, Mr. Keith!)
Lingua Marina (Thank you, Mba Marina!)
4. For writing, I took KOBI education specifically in Writing Task 2 (The task is to write an essay about one issue given on the question). This is highly recommended because KOBI gave me an explanation about some types of Writing Task 2 questions and the method to answer each type of question. Furthermore, I've not found the tricks in any book I’ve read, and it’s work! Wonderful!
Check their IG --> KOBI Education
5. Two weeks before the real test, I took the IELTS Prediction Test from Schoters, they produced detailed feedback for you after 10 working days. Really helpful! Kindly check their IG --> Schoters
I chose IELTS Academic at British Council, South Jakarta. I preferred a computer-based test because the result comes out faster (3-5 calendar days after the test) and it’s more convenient for the writing section I think. Check their website to book your test --> Booking Your Test at British Council
I selected the Listening, Reading, and Writing (LRW) section in the morning (9 am – 11.30 am) because I reckon that in the LRW section I need to be concentrate on looking at the screen for about 3 hours. And for me, I have more energy in the morning. Then for the speaking test, I chose 02.40 pm.
One adding tip that I want to spill with you is before the IELTS Speaking test please be engaged with the English words and sentences. In my case, I made up a WhatsApp call with my senior 30 minutes before the test and she gave me some IELTS topic questions as it was a mock test. For the sake of making up your tongue be more flexible in pronouncing English and changing up your brain setting into English language mode. LOL, but again, it’s work! Thank you for my supportive and brilliant senior (Kak Adlin)!
5. Two weeks before the real test, I took the IELTS Prediction Test from Schoters, they produced detailed feedback for you after 10 working days. Really helpful! Kindly check their IG --> Schoters
I chose IELTS Academic at British Council, South Jakarta. I preferred a computer-based test because the result comes out faster (3-5 calendar days after the test) and it’s more convenient for the writing section I think. Check their website to book your test --> Booking Your Test at British Council
I selected the Listening, Reading, and Writing (LRW) section in the morning (9 am – 11.30 am) because I reckon that in the LRW section I need to be concentrate on looking at the screen for about 3 hours. And for me, I have more energy in the morning. Then for the speaking test, I chose 02.40 pm.
One adding tip that I want to spill with you is before the IELTS Speaking test please be engaged with the English words and sentences. In my case, I made up a WhatsApp call with my senior 30 minutes before the test and she gave me some IELTS topic questions as it was a mock test. For the sake of making up your tongue be more flexible in pronouncing English and changing up your brain setting into English language mode. LOL, but again, it’s work! Thank you for my supportive and brilliant senior (Kak Adlin)!
Bear in mind that IELTS is an international test so the regulation is really strict. Every candidate is only allowed to bring an identity (either passport or citizen ID Card, which must be similar to what they use in the registration), and a clear bottle of water onto the test room. Remember that even a small picture that covers the water bottle is prohibited.
Back to my story, after the test, I was very overthinking and pessimistic. I really really did not want to fail, because if I fail, I could not apply for the scholarship because the deadline is on March 27th (there is no time to retake the test). On top of that, I spent a lot of money on this test. LOL :D
Finally, the day of the announcement came. Because I took a computer-based test, I got a quick result which is 3-5 calendar days after the test. It was on March 14th (3 days after the test day), I tremendously trembled to see the result. And finally… the burden out of my chest. GOD, MY SCORE IS ENOUGH! I got 6.5 overall with no less than 6.0 in all components (reading 7.5, listening 6.0, writing 6.5, speaking 6.5). Alhamdulillah….
For your information, the certificate was sent in 7 calendar days (6 days in my case) after the test, so please measures the right time if you want to take the test.
Finally, I believe that there are many people who already reach a higher score than me, but this time, I am just greatly grateful because I could make it. Later, I desire to re-apply to IELTS and increase my score for another purpose, maybe for my Ph.D.? Aamiin….
So Guys, always do everything but expect nothing. Let's break a leg!
Finally, I believe that there are many people who already reach a higher score than me, but this time, I am just greatly grateful because I could make it. Later, I desire to re-apply to IELTS and increase my score for another purpose, maybe for my Ph.D.? Aamiin….
So Guys, always do everything but expect nothing. Let's break a leg!
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