IELTS 6.5 on My First Try, 7.5 on My Second: My Zishen (字神) IELTS Score-Boost Class Experience

A bit of background first: I graduated in psychology from National Chengchi University and I'm now doing a master's in Health Psychology in the UK (MSc Health Psychology)

Before my first IELTS, I wanted to get it done fast, so I signed up for the IELTS score-boost class at Wordgod (字神), the kind where you take a month of intensive classes and then sit the test right away. I was too nervous and didn't do well, so I still ended up taking it a second time :). Below I share how I prepared and how a prep school can help. I hope it's at least a little useful to my fellow test-takers!

Scores: 1st attempt L7, R7, S6, W6.5, O=6.5; 2nd attempt L8, R8, S7, W6.5, O=7.5

Dates: 1st attempt 2023/11/19; 2nd attempt 2024/04/25

[Notes & preparation for each section]

[Listening]

I'll split this into listening practice and answering strategy. First, "listening practice": for the month before the test, just keep listening to English no matter what. Walking, commuting, eating... listen whenever you have a gap. You don't need to deliberately train on different accents (personally I don't think the accents on the real test are very strong; the accents you hear from locals once you go abroad are the really strong ones). The point is just to get used to listening to English! YouTube channels, English songs, BBC 6 mins and TED talks are all good resources. Back then, on top of doing practice tests, I listened for about 1-1.5 hours a day in total. I took notes when listening to BBC 6 mins and TED talks, and the rest of the time I just listened for fun, so I wouldn't start resisting English listening. Second, "answering strategy": Teacher Pai's tip from class, "watch for transitions and tone", is really useful. The answer is usually close by, so even if you don't understand, you can try to guess.

[Reading]

Given the exam training Taiwanese students get growing up, this is one of the easier sections to prepare for, so I didn't spend much time on it. Mostly I read BBC News on my commute and carefully went over my mistakes on past papers. The parallel reading method Teacher Pai taught was really useful and made me a lot faster on past papers! But I didn't use it every time. For easier passages, or when the question order didn't suit parallel reading, I went back to my usual way of reading.

[Writing]

This is the section I think most needs a prep class. The vocabulary and sentences compiled in the handouts are really practical. They help you get up to speed quickly when you're new to IELTS and write essays that meet the marking criteria, instead of running around like a headless chicken and hitting walls. My intensive prep period was under two months, so with limited time I couldn't practice many essays. My main way of practicing writing was "reading model essays". After seeing a prompt, I'd force myself to set a paragraph outline within three minutes, then compare it with the model essay. If the structure was similar, I was on the right track; if not, I fixed my structure or talked it over with the teacher after class to find my blind spots in reading the prompt. Teacher Pai always answered patiently, and looking back I'm still very grateful to him. As for strategy, if you type reasonably fast I recommend the computer-delivered test, so you don't have to worry about awkward corrections or the examiner misreading messy handwriting. You can also use Ctrl c/v for very long words to save time.

[Speaking]

If it's your first time taking a speaking test, it's nice to have a prep school point you in the right direction, but what matters most is practicing yourself. Teacher Eileen mainly taught mindset and technique: how to greet the examiner when you walk in on test day, not to speak too fast, what to say when you can't think of an answer, and so on. All of this was really useful. The rest is up to you. I strongly recommend going through the questions on 雅思哥 (Yasi Ge) once, because both times I got exactly the same questions. Seriously amazing! But you don't need to memorize an answer for every question. That quietly puts a lot of pressure on you, and slipping up makes you even more nervous (my lesson from the first attempt). Once you're familiar with the question types, just practice with friends as if you're chatting. The key is to dare to speak and not stop.

[IELTS intensive class]

I never took the regular course and signed up straight for the intensive class, mainly because I wanted to quickly get the key points and test techniques for each section, and it really did help me. The course was squeezed into one month, and every week the trip to Taipei Main Station was painful, but once class started I could feel how much the teachers cared, and with a group of classmates working toward the same goal, I got my motivation back to keep going. To me that's what makes an intensive class valuable. But each section only gets 2-3 classes, so it relies heavily on practice after class. Absorbing knowledge in class alone is definitely not enough; self-discipline in finishing your homework and doing past papers is the foundation of success.

[Study plan]

I was pretty busy both times. On weekdays I spent about half a day on IELTS, and on weekends a full day. My prep for the two attempts was mostly the same; the difference was that the second time I knew my weak spot was speaking, so I spent more time in online speaking classes to steady my nerves when speaking English.

[Test center report]

Both times I took the computer-delivered test, mainly because writing is faster and corrections are easier. The 雅思哥 desktop version has exactly the same interface as the real computer test, so you won't be thrown by an unfamiliar interface on the day. As for test centers, the first time I was at the IDP center in Taipei and the second time at the BC center in Taipei. I don't think the venue made any difference at all. A small tip: the restrooms may not have toilet paper, so bring your own.

[Words of encouragement for other test-takers]

Exams are annoying and nobody likes life as a test-taker, but it's also a time when you can focus on growing, and for once it's just for yourself. Every extra word you memorize and every essay you write sharpens you, and along the way you'll see that you're growing steadily, step by step. So enjoy the process! No step is wasted, and everyone who sticks it out deserves to cheer for themselves.

[My second-attempt score report] (I almost cried when I got it)