해외에서 중학교부터 박사까지 이수하고, 회사에서 아이엘츠 점수를 원해서 보게 되었습니다. 처음 아카데믹을 보았을 때, 듣기, 독해, 작문 8점, 구술 9점, 총 8.5점을 받았습니다.
많은 학생들이 모두 기출문제와 후기를 보며 배우는게 많은 것 같아, 저의 경험도 한번 적어 봅니다.
1) Try to speak without fear. The biggest problem most people face in learning a new language is their own fear. They worry that they won’t say things correctly or that they will look stupid so they don’t talk at all. Get over it for god’s sake! The fastest way to learn anything is to do it – again and again until you get it right. My own experience is to talk to yourself when you are along. It would be a self introduction when you are having a shower in the bathroom or it would be an argument with your mates or anyone you familiar with when you are walking with your dogs etc. In this way you get more used to your voice/words and you would feel much comfortable when chat with others. Anyway don’t let a little fear stop you from getting what you want.
2) Put yourself in the position to control/command the language. Take notes in English(eg. Your shopping list, to do list etc) , watch English news (eg. If you are a basketball fan, go to the official website of NBA instead of reading the translated version). Watch movies without looking at subtitles. Speak English with your friends whenever you can. The more English material that you have around you, the faster you will learn and the more likely it is that you will begin “thinking in English”.
3) Make the most of it when you have the opportunity to talk with native speakers. Learn their accent! When I was doing the oral test on the 31st Feb, the examiner was pretty impressed with my Australian accent, even there are grammar or logical errors involved, my speech still “looks” fluent and explosive with the native accent. So I guess the success pretty much relies on that.
Basically to wrap it up, on the test day, cool yourself down and have a casual talk with your fellow friend (ie. the examiner). Throw away all the prepared the notes and have fun! I saw a large number of students still looking at their notes in the last minute inside the waiting room. You know what? That is pathetic and you ll never get the job done!
Cheers and wish you all the best!