IELTS Journey

I've always dreaded taking the IELTS exam because I'm not confident in my speaking abilities since I grew up in a family where we always communicated in Filipino. Even though English is the medium of instruction in schools and at work, I always find myself stuttering and lost for words. 😐

Way back in the early years of my career, a lot of my friends and co workers opted to take the IELTS to go for an English-speaking country to continue their careers but since I didn't have enough funds and I fear failing the exam, i chose to work in the Middle East instead. Little did I know that I still have to take the exam years later when I have finally decided to pursue my American 🇺🇸 dreams. Luckily the scores needed for US is less than of the UK, Australia, New Zealand etc. 

My IELTS exam was postponed once, I was supposed to take it in April 2020 but due to the pandemic, all examination centers were closed and a total lockdown was implemented in Oman. Come October 2020, when everything else was returning back to normal, the test center called and asked for the date I want and I decided to take it on November 21, 2020. I still have ample time to review but I actually didn't finish all of my reviewers because I didn't follow my study plan 🤦‍♀️.  I found my self struggling with review because of work. 

These are the reviewers I used: 

    1. IELTS speaking application 

I downloaded the application and paid 20 usd for a 3 months worth of review materials. I loved this application because it's easy to use and the app allows you to record your answer and they also have sample answers to each questions. The questions are really updated from time to time. In fact, some of the questions I had in the actual examination can be found in the app. Too bad, i was not able to complete the study guide thus I wasn't prepared for some questions. there's an option for a 1 month, 3 months or 12 months of subscription. But if you don't want to pay, there are few sample questions with answers in it. 

2. IELTSLab ( Fluently) - 

I always see this advertisement in FB and was intrigued by it. I subscribed and paid 39 USD which includes lifetime access to IELTSLab website, one time speaking assessment with a lecturer, and weekly writing challenge via their FB group. 

Update: this FB page has been inactive for some time now. 

3. IELTS by Liz  

https://ieltsliz.com/

Liz has a lot of free videos and tutorials on her website and I find it very helpful. However, I decided to buy her ebooks because I struggle with writing idea generation. I availed the ideas for writing topics which costed around 5 OMR and I can access it for 8 years, such a steal. The ebook is actually a workbook and it has a lot of exercises which you can practice on. 

4. IELTS Advantage

I didn't have the budget so I just enrolled in their free classes which I considered as the most helpful among all the reviewers that I had because of the direct approach and simple teaching strategy of Chris Pell. I also watched their YouTube videos on top of the free classes even though there weren't so many free videos. Their fees maybe expensive but it is totally worth it and I would definitely recommend this for everyone.

5. Cambridge Books

At first, I thought of buying a hard copy of at least one of the latest edition of the Cambridge book series (Cambridge 14) but it is unavailable here and it will take about at least a month if I will have it delivered from outside the country. I didn't have the luxury of time to wait for it so I searched the internet and voila, I found a lot of free downloadable ebook version of these books (btw they are illegal 😬✌🏻). I was able to finish books 12, 13, 14 and 15. This is the only resource material I used for Reading, Writing and Listening.

I didn't have a speaking trainer nor a speaking buddy and that was a mistake, if you want to improve your speaking skills fast, you should at least try to converse in English with someone who can give you a feedback. 

Exam Day... 

On November 21, 2020 at 4 in the afternoon, I took the speaking exam, I was already at the testing center at 3.20 pm and I have never felt so much anxiety and fear that my hands were all soaked with sweat and they were shaking the whole time. My examiner was a female British one and she was very friendly. Part 1 was smooth, I was able to answer all the questions smoothly but when part 2 came, disaster happened. I was given a very unfamiliar topic and I didn't know what to say thus had a lot of errors in grammar. Though I was able to talk for 2 minutes, I wasnt confident with my performance. Then on part 3, where all the answers should be at least 3 to 4 sentences long, I remembered giving short answers to some questions 🤦‍♀️ especially the last one, when she asked me if I still have any more ideas and I just answered her with a smile. Oh and I forgot that I was wearing a mask all through out and she couldn't see it 😂. From that time on, I knew I failed. 

The next day was for R, W, and L. Since it's pandemic, IDP Salalah had to change the location of the examination because the rooms were small and proper distancing should be implemented. We ( test takers) were ushered to a place that looked like  a pool room converted into a classroom. It was not well lit and lights were somehow conducive for sleeping 😅.

Listening is the first part, it was the easiest for me for I already know my score as soon as I finished the exam because I know I missed 5 questions. 

Second was reading, during my practice exams, I always make sure to finish each passage in 20 mins but during the actual exam, the opposite happened, I run out of time in passage 3 because I consumed most of my time in passage 2 which was the most difficult. Luckily I was still able to answer eveything and I did not leave any blank answers. Unlike in the listening, I didn't know how many mistakes I had and I expected for the worst possible score. 

I was already exhausted and stressed out after the L and R, yet the hardest of all was not yet finished. The writing task 1 was a table and I decided to write the task 2 first. Again, I didn't stick with the timeframe and found myself losing a lot of time. I was able to write a good essay on task 2 but failed to finish the task 1 (again!) 🙅‍♀️. Though I was able to highlight the important notes on the table, I didn't elaborate my answers and since I was in a hurry, I wasn't able to check the data, and I had written incorrect information at the last part of the essay which meant I will lose a mark. I managed to write 150 words though. 

When I was done and all,

I felt powerless 😔 and I knew i had to repeat the exam again 😵

and the hardest part of all is waiting for the results. I had to wait for 2 weeks which meant 2 weeks of sleepless nights. 

The results were finally out on December 3, 2020, I received an SMS and surely, I failed the speaking test where I got a 6.5 and overall was 7, not enough for my VisaScreen requirement. I almost cried even though I was actually expecting for it. I didn't know what to do, say or think. I felt lost but it didn't take long. 

I remembered that in the event that I fail the speaking, I will do a remarking of scores. I was contemplating whether to have it rechecked or not. After a thorough research, I decided to take a leap of faith and filed for an EOR (enquiry on remarking), paid an amount of 46 OMR and waited until December 24 for the outcome. I sent an email to IDP but was surprised to find out that they haven't received the files. I called Polyglot Institute in Salalah to verify the status of my EOR and was devastated to hear that they only sent the application on December 23 🤦‍♀️ which meant that I have to wait for another 2-21 days 😭. I was running out of time because the next test date was filling up fast and I couldn't book for another exam until I have the final result. I also stopped the review since I silently wished and prayed to pass. 

Finally, on January 6, 2021, just 2 days after my birthday and when I eventually let go of my doubts and fears, I was greeted by a wonderful news of the increased mark in writing and speaking 🥰. I only needed a 7 in Speaking but God gave me more than I needed thus opening a lot of windows of opportunity for me. (So hello Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Canada, UK, and USA 😉)

God is truly amazing. He let me suffer for a few months only to be given His ultimate blessing. ❤️🙏🏻 

Onto my next agenda: driver's license 😂 🚙