To retake an IELTS skill effectively

Many candidates need to register to retake an IELTS skill (OSR). How to retake this skill effectively?

While preparing to retake an IELTS skill, Master Pham Nguyen Quynh Anh, Academic Director at The IELTS Workshop, advises candidates to focus on test-taking strategies and get used to the pressure of the exam room.

Improve speaking and writing skills

Along with that, candidates should also maintain their daily English knowledge to have the best performance and achieve the desired score. For the two speaking and writing skills, Master Quynh Anh suggests that learners approach the most recent paper exams and review by topic groups.

"I do not encourage candidates to memorize, but candidates can review based on the most recent exam to get an overview, from there adjust their practice by focusing on certain groups of topics. Studying by topic groups also serves a longer-term purpose, helping candidates understand the world, become people who can speak and write on different topics in English," informed Master Quynh Anh.

Candidates take IELTS practice test on computer, familiarize themselves with the exam room environment

To be able to do well on the IELTS test in general, Master Quynh Anh suggests balancing between developing language skills and improving test-taking strategies. "Test-taking strategies will help candidates demonstrate their true abilities, not help them do better than their real abilities. IELTS is just an exam to test English proficiency, so if you have good English skills, you can also do well on the IELTS test," said Master Quynh Anh.

Master Khuu Hoang Nhat Minh, CEO of Minh Khuu Academy, an IELTS test preparation expert in Ho Chi Minh City, suggests that candidates seek help from experts in the "sprint" stage before the OSR test, because "experts know how to speed up the learning process and improve candidates' level better than self-study".

To retake the exam effectively, Master Minh noted different issues in reading and listening skills. Regarding reading skills, Master Minh suggested: "Students need to pay attention to two issues: question processing and reading analysis skills. Reading analysis skills are the most difficult to develop. Candidates can watch expert correction videos or seek help from teachers."

What is correct pronunciation?

To retake the speaking test better, understanding the four assessment criteria is important. Master Minh said: “One of the factors that causes candidates to not get good scores is poor pronunciation. Standard pronunciation does not mean pronouncing like a native speaker, but candidates basically need to stress correctly, pronounce all syllables, and not drop final sounds. In addition, candidates need to improve their fluency and coherence. The easiest way is to participate in English events of clubs, teams, and groups.” Regarding vocabulary and grammar, Master Minh advised candidates not to focus too much on them and forget about pronunciation and fluency.

In the reading skills test, Master Minh advises candidates to grasp the question types. "First, students need to make sure they do the gap-filling question type correctly because this is the easiest type. It is important to pay attention to common errors in gap-filling, including misspelling, missing s/es... Then, students grasp more difficult types such as multiple choice, true/false/not given, matching heading...", Master Minh shared.

Regarding listening skills, Master Minh believes that those who have good reflective skills can self-study, otherwise they need to find an expert; as well as pay attention to the issue of passive listening and active listening. "Passive listening is simply identifying words while listening, while active listening is analyzing the content of the listening, seeing if it is important information or not. The secret to achieving a high score in listening skills lies in analyzing the questions before listening. If candidates analyze the questions well, grasp the flow of the lesson, predict the language in the lesson as well as the answers well, they will have a higher rate of choosing the correct answer," said Master Minh.

Should you give up a skill to retake IELTS with a higher score?

In some cases, candidates choose to skip or do a poor job of a skill in order to retake the test with a higher score. Experts agree that this is not a good thing to do.

Master Quynh Anh believes that giving up a skill during the entire language learning process is unscientific. “No skill can be improved without other complementary skills. For example, reading a lot about a topic helps you listen to that topic better. On the contrary, listening to a topic enough also helps you read and understand that topic better,” Master Quynh Anh shared.

According to Master Quynh Anh, choosing to retake a skill as a backup plan can help candidates feel less pressured. “If in the exam room, candidates know that they only have one chance to take the test and that one chance determines everything, then they will become even more anxious and their test performance may be affected. Candidates can develop a healthy mindset, that I will try my best in the exam room but I still have a chance to do it again. This helps candidates feel more comfortable, and may even do better,” said Master Quynh Anh.

Candidates talk with experts at IELTS festival

The cost of retaking the exam is nearly 50% of the cost of the first exam, which is a reason why candidates should not give up a skill on the first exam, according to Master Minh. In addition, Master Minh said: "The units deploy the retake feature to create conditions for candidates in cases of force majeure. Therefore, during the exam, you need to make an effort in all 4 skills and not worry about retaking the exam. No matter what question or type of test you encounter, you need to find a way to conquer it."

IELTS One Skill Retake, or OSR, is a feature that allows candidates to retake a skill, first launched in Australia in late 2022 and will be rolled out globally in 2023. In Vietnam, the Ministry of Education and Training approved this feature and allowed co-owners of the IELTS test in Vietnam to deploy it from April.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/de-thi-lai-mot-ky-nang-ielts-hieu-qua-185241216074729214.htm