My name is Matt, and I am part of the Student Recruitment team at BROWNS English Language School (BROWNS). As I spent many years as a teacher I’ve prepared a short blog on IELTS Exam Preparation at BROWNS, and the test itself.  As you may know we are running a Mock IELTS Test at the end of the month both in Brisbane and the Gold Coast which I would advise any student currently at Intermediate English proficiency or above to take.  IELTS is looking like it will emerge as the most important certificate to have if you are one of the billion plus English language students or second language speakers around the world.  If you would like to do further study, perhaps live in an English speaking country for a while (or forever), or get a job at a multi-national company, the IELTS certificate is going to be very important for you.

It’s important to know you cannot pass or fail an IELTS test.  All it does is measure your English as best it can with a focus on the four skills Speaking, Listening, Writing and Reading.  Whatever you ultimately want to do, you will be provided with a score that will assist you with your end goal.  Lets say you get a job here in Queensland and you really like it and they offer to sponsor you on a five year business visa.  This could be your dream come true but the Visa application will need to include an IELTS certificate. I could give you a thousand more examples but the point is you should take advantage of your time in Australia to do a preparation course and take a test.

You might think that your English is so good that you don’t need a preparation course.  That is a mistake.  Since most of our emigration into Australia comes from multi-cultural Britain and New Zealand, a passport was no guarantee of the language skills necessary so we started testing those without academic qualifications.  Many native speakers were tested and many of them didn’t make the score.  There are important techniques that you must learn in order to reach your potential in the test.  The test is not cheap so you should have all the tools you need and have done as much preparation as you can.

As an IELTS teacher myself, and as the BROWNS teachers do, you end up taking a very personal interest in helping your students achieve the score they need. Your teacher at BROWNS also will have experience as an IELTS professional and will know exactly the criteria you are marked on for your speaking and writing. They will probably have a good idea what score you will get before the test; this will help to make you feel more confident.  With the current small class sizes at BROWNS you are going to be able to get a lot more time with your teacher and the curriculum is a perfect balance of learning the skills and techniques as well as plenty of IELTS practice.  Plus you get an extra hour every day to work on your weakest skill with the BROWNS Accelerate program.  You can do up to 20 weeks of the IELTS Exam Preparation course at BROWNS if you need, but usually after 10 weeks and if you are at the right level you will walk into the exam knowing you are going to do well no matter what questions you get asked. Everyone gets nervous before exams but there is a big difference when you are well prepared, most especially if you have been scoring well in the practice tests.  A couple of days and a few hours of concentration and you have opened the door to your next step along your journey.

I look forward to seeing you at our Mock IELTS test in Brisbane on 31st August or the Gold Coast on 1st September. If you are not able to make it to our Brisbane or Gold Coast campus, you can take the free BROWNS Online Placement Test (BOPT) which includes a free personalised study plan based on your target IELTS score.

Each BROWNS study plan comes with the BROWNS IELTS Guarantee.

BROWNS IELTS Guarantee
If you do not achieve your target IELTS score, BROWNS will guarantee you a free IELTS Exam Preparation course (same number of weeks as your original booking). Conditions apply. To find out more, visit https://brownsenglish.edu.au/files/pdf/course-guides/ielts-guarantee.pdf

Matt Pickering
Student Recruitment and IELTS Pro