Basty

HAS ANYONE SAT THE IELTS EXAM AND HOW DIFFICULT IS IT???

Don't ask why but for some stupid reason O/H now has to sit it as we are 5 points short!!!!!!
Before TRA submitted we were fine, now we have been successful we seem to have lost some because of trainee/qualified time scales - talk about do your head in....................so any help would be appreciated

BethandAndrew

Hi, my hubby has passed the IELTS. He too was worried about it. My advice is to either buy some practise materials from any IELTS test centre (about £10) or do some practise tests online.
Read the questions carefully.......watch your spellings too.
If you can understand the way the test is set you shouldn't have a problem passing.
One man I know didn't practise at all and failed all 4 modules.................another practised only the night before and only failed on one module.....but that meant he failed to qualify for the 5 points.
Good Luck,
Beth x x

kew

Dont panic basty i sat mine in august ,if your english is ok (reading,writing & spelling) you will be fine. Just be prepared for a long day.

tonyk38

I have to sit the IELTS test too when I apply for PR. I actually can't help but feel deeply resentful that as a native English speaker I need to do this. I used to be an English teacher and have a good technical understanding of the language. I've seen practice examples on the net and have not been impressed: in one 'model' essay answer I spotted a grammatical error (treating a plural noun as singular when conjugating the verb) and even spotted a blatant spelling mistake in one of the sites links!

vlooi

I would advise people to do some preparation before the time; the test is not really difficult but complex in the sense of the way questions are asked and the way answers have to be answered eg. if they ask for a three word answer which should be "black leather coat" you get NOTHING if you put "THE black leather coat" because you used 4 words in stead of 3!!! And if you do not know these things and repeat these type of "mistakes"...

welshtony

I presume you are looking at IELTS ahead of STNI from Queensland or WA ? The STNI would always be a fall-back if the IELTS failed. not sure where you lost points - maybe it is for the 3/4 years for 10 points - assuming you were approved under Pathway B, (5 years training/experience with min. 900 hours study) for the 10 points, 8 years training/experience would have potential to score the 10 points if the last 3 years was obviously trade level duties. Depending on when you got your trade qualification, assuming it is equivalent academically to an Australian AQF Cert III, you may be able to claim skilled experience earlier.

e.g. 3 year apprenticeship plus 3 years trade experience and NVQ 2 completed near the end of the 3 year apprenticeship. As long as the reference given to TRA clearly states that you were working as a fully competent tradesperson at the end of three years, DIAC can consider you to have the required 3 years of skilled experience for the 10 points. Where the TRA reference has been maybe watered down a bit and makes it look like you were a trainee for five years, then there is a risk that DIAC will not award the 10 points. so you need to tie down exactly on whether you do get those 10 points - if you don't, the IELTS could save you otherwise the STNI should definitely be the successful fall-back position.

Regards


Tony Coates
MARN 0635896

Kaitlin

For a non-native english speaker it was rather difficult. My hubby didn't manage to pass the writing module (required band 6) trying 3 times! That's when we gave up on that route to Oz and changed me to be the primary applicant since of 1st September I got more points of it.

If you have good command of english and take a look at these few sites where you might find hints of how the test is constructed you shouldn't have any problems! It is always more difficult for us non-native speakers so I wouldn't worry. I think it basically tests if you hear, understand, can write and speak understandable english. You don't have to master it all.

http://www.ieltshelpnow.com/the_free...tutorials.html
http://www.writefix.com/englcourses/ielts/index.htm

Kaitlin

iwilldoit

Hi
All i have to add is, do not take anything for granted, it is not as easy as some people make out, and you do have to practice before you take it, there are many free IELTS tests online that my OH did prior to his test, he did one a night, It is a test and therefore needs a lot of attention before you sit it. good luck
Sharon

Oz Rascal

Hi,

I had to take the test to make up points and I achieved an overall grade of 9.0 (individual grades were 9.0, 8.5, 8.5, 9.0).

I studied quite a bit for this test - that's just the type of person I am. I don't want to leave things to chance.

I actually bought the Barrons book off Amazon - it cost £10 and was worth every penny.

It's not a difficult test providing you understand what they are looking for, as a native English speaker the biggest problem is giving it the respect it deserves and paying attention.

It is a long day and you could easily fall in to the trap of thinking "this is easy"...

I looked at it with a point of view of...this is one day out of my life for the chance of spending the rest of it in Australia - I didn't want to mess it up.

Anyway, I would highly recommend the book. I passed mine onto a friend afterwards who had used the IELTS practice materials and she has told me the Barrons book is far more comprehensive and has put her mind at rest.

Good luck and I hope you pass.

Oz Rascal

Basty

Thanks for all your messages - Since posting the thread I have calmed down abit!!!!!!

OH is sitting the exam on 19th Jan and the local test centre do a pre-exam course for 3 evenings a week for 2 weeks - so as a few of you all said 'we will do anything to ensure we get to Oz, so loads of preparation will be going on in our house. And it is only another month to wait before we put in visa not 6 months or a year - what is 4 weeks!!!

OH lost points due to not having a full 3 years qualified in his trade however, we can wait until June (that will be his 3 years) so if all else fails we have that to fall back on - BUT HE WON'T FAIL

lith in oz

Hi,
We are just about to submit our visa application ( through a migration agent) and my husband has to take the IELTS exam. He has lived in UK for 9 years but his reading and writing skills are not great. It sounds to me as if he is going to have trouble passing. He only needs to get 5 points as he is on the skills in demand list. How easy is 5 points do you think? Those who have sat the test, how long have you been speaking English?

Kaitlin

If I remember right it was about 15 minutes the speaking part. Hearing was the most difficult to me since I didn't prepare at all to the test so I had no idea what they would ask plus there was noise outside somekind of construction yard :// so all things like that can easily distract you. Concentration is very important!

My husband got 5,5 in writing even though he trained for it a lot (many months actually and private classes), but just got a difficult subject to write about so all went wrong. So it also depends about good/bad luck what kind of reading and writing tasks you'll get.

good luck with the test!
Kaitlin

Billy_NoMates

I'll just add my bit. As others have said preparation is the key, even for native speakers. I had to do it, even though I was born and bred in the UK. Most frustrating. I went to the local library and borrowed a few books and did some practise. Good luck to all those that are required to take it.

Basty

My OH is also born and bred english so like many of you have said it is sooooo frustrating but if it means we get to go to Oz then he shall sit it!!

Lith - when is your OH sitting the exam??? We only need 5 points too as on the jobs in demand list.
Let me know how he gets on?
Have you had your TRA back (I'm presuming you have if you are about to submit visa - are you not waiting to submit until found out if passed ielts?)

Basty

NikiL

As others have said, preparation is the key to getting through it. Even if you are used to sitting exams it is essential to practise the IELTS tests - they're not like standard exams. (IMO anyway).

You can drop marks easily (as was also mentioned earlier) for putting 4 words instead of the required 3 - boils down to RTFQ

For what its worth, I'm sure some could get through without practise, but I wouldn't recommend it. The more familiar the format, the less stressful it will be, and the greater the likelihood of getting the mark you want. Best of luck to all those who still have to take it.