IELTS a bridge, not an obstacle
I remember teaching an IELTS exam course class many years ago. We sat down and discussed why they were taking the exam. For all of them, it was to get into university, but I realized as we talked that there was a common feeling amongst them all. It was a feeling that surprised me. Each and every one of them saw IELTS as an obstacle standing in the way of their future, an unfair and unnatural exam blocking them from going to university.
I was really surprised because for me, IELTS is not an obstacle, it’s not a gate blocking the way, it’s a bridge, a bridge to their future. It’s ensuring they have the skills and language necessary to be successful in their chosen future.
Let’s imagine for a second that you are entering a new university for the first time. In the first week, you’re going to meet so many new people and you’re going to have to introduce yourself, talk about where you’re from, and what you’re interested in. You’re going to have to make all that small talk over and over.
But then as the days and weeks go by, maybe even as you get into the first evening at university, you start to relax a bit. You begin to open up and tell each other stories about your life and your experiences, stories about what brought you to this point, stories that made you the person you are today.
As that first evening gets a bit later and people are really relaxed, maybe they start to share their ideas on the great problems of the world, suggestions for solving the big issues of the world, how they would go about it and why.
Let’s take a closer look at that conversation:
- Introducing yourself and sharing personal information is just part 1 of the IELTS speaking.
- Telling stories about your experiences is part 2 of the IELTS speaking.
- Suggesting solutions to wider issues is part 3 of the IELTS speaking.
The IELTS is not standing in your way, it is providing you the skills you need to be successful at university. At EC, we understand this and instead of approaching the test as a list of items that need to be ticked off and learnt, we’ll help you to see how the skills and language you learn in your IELTS preparation lessons can be applied to your future, how IELTS is a stepping-stone to future success.