There are always principles to adhere to when it comes to taking language tests. It takes a huge amount of money to register for internationally recognized tests like IELTS and TEF Canada. Currently, these two tests cost a whooping sum of ₦75,000 ($195) and ₦140,000 ($359) respectively in Nigeria. So, you will agree with me that it pays well for you to prepare enough in order to get the best grades at one sitting so that you can use it for the reason of taking it at once…..
There are always principles to adhere to when it comes to taking language tests. It takes a huge amount of money to register for internationally recognized tests like IELTS and TEF Canada. Currently, these two tests cost a whooping sum of ₦75,000 ($195) and ₦140,000 ($359) respectively in Nigeria. So, you will agree with me that it pays well for you to prepare enough in order to get the best grades at one sitting so that you can use it for the reason of taking it at once.
The Listening Skill
As you may already know it, these two tests evaluate you on the four (4) main language skills which are listening, reading, writing and speaking. Many other exams like TOEFL, TCF and DELF-DALF also make use of these skill sets in conducting their evaluation process. I would like to educate you on the strategies you need to follow in order to excel in just one skill in this post. The skills actually the first skill to be tested on in the IELTS test and the second skill for the TEF Canada test among other related language-based proficiency tests.
For listening tests, both the IELTS and TEF Canada tests have four (4) sections in which questions are asked. IELTS have varying amounts of questions in those sections but TEF Canada strictly adheres to 8 questions in section A, 26 questions in section B, 16 questions in section C and 10 questions in section D. However, IELTS and TEF Canada have 40 questions and 60 questions respectively. The two tests take just 40 minutes to complete. And, audio recordings will be played either from a loudspeaker or earpiece set you would be provided with at the test center. So, you do not really have much of time to waste on frivolities or hazardous methods of listening to the audios and answering wrongly to the questions.
Without much ado, let us dive into the strategies you could use in preparing yourself for passing the test and listening to the essays, discussions, conversations, talks and speeches given in the audio for answering the various competence levels questions in the IELTS and TEF Canada tests. Here they are
Start Listening Early
I emphasize on this point a lot when I start preparing my candidates for any of these exams. For English tests, do listen daily to CNN, BBC & VOA while for French tests, listen to movies, podcasts, television and radio stations like TV5Monde, RFI (Radio France International), CGTV Français and Canal+. These help you to get used to the different word pronunciations, most common oral expressions, hear various accents of the languages, know the difference between them and focus on the ones that really do matter to your own test preparation.Study Charts, Designs and Graphs
As you prepare for the listening test, learn how to start interpreting the data represented in them. Always try to do this by knowing and differentiating the designs or sketches in the practice scripts. Describe all the characteristics, details and features of the flow charts, bar charts, pie charts, graphs, persons or objects that you can notice.
Learn How to Determine the Theme behind the Communication
Firstly, you need to listen well enough to grasp the intention of the conversation, the name or characteristics of the speaker and other participants in the dialogue, when the conversation happened, the reason why the message is shared, the used words that distinguish speakers opinion from facts, the entire tone of the speakers voice more than their chosen words and sentences.Follow Instructions very Carefully
This is very crucial. Examiners of the IELTS and TEF Canada tests would not spare you if you are found faulty of adhering to instructions. When the instructions state, ‘Write no more than two words’, then you must only pen down one or two words from the passage, writing three or more words will earn you zero mark for your answer even if some of the words written are part of the right answer. Hence, read every instruction on the various exercises and sections of the tests, they may be different from the previous ones.
Know that Questions Follow the Oral Text
One major tip about the listening skill test is that every answer to questions is in a chronological order. So, you just need to listen well enough to spot the answer to the first question in the first audio excerpt, move on to the second question and do the same all through.Bother not About All Information
When listening to long conversations and messages on the audio recordings, do not focus on hearing all that is said about a particular phenomenon or concept. Just lean in to listen to the aspects whereby the answers can be found and pen them down once heard. Here, you need to have the ability to sniff through the jargons and get the main contents.
Answer Questions Directly on Response Sheet
This is my own personal tip for the both tests. I use and tell my students to simultaneously listen to audio, read the questions and answer them immediately on the answer sheet. This will give you the time to crosscheck your work after completing the exercises and sections. However, if you are not fast with responding to the questions, you can first write on the question paper and then transfer your answers to the answer booklet. Note that any answer you leave on the question paper will never be marked.Indicate when Audio is not Audible Enough
In the test hall, before you and the other test takers start the test fully, the examiners will make sure that all candidates clearly hear the audio recording. Thus, once you feel that you have problem(s) hearing the talks either before or during the test, quickly call the attention of one of the examiners. They are there to make sure everyone has a fair chance to excel in the test, so make use of them.
Anticipate the Correct Answers
It is true that in these tests you can predict the kinds of words that would be required for answering the questions. For Instance, if a question writes ‘John _____ ‘, most likely you should be able to predict that the answer can be the last name of John, hence a noun. Likewise, in many situations you can predict if an answer will require a verb, adjective or more content words.Read Answers first Before Listening to Audio Clips
Note that there are multiple-choice questions in the tests which require you to read and even study the questions and their answering options before listening to the audio recordings. Only one option is the correct answer, so do not choose two or more responses for you can get a zero mark or even negative marking for that based on the test you are taking.
Do not Write Answers very Quickly
The tests are developed in such a way that you need to listen carefully to the words and mostly the intonation of the speech in order not to get trapped into picking the first seeming right answer which may be quickly nullified further in the audio. Take for instance, if a negative opinion of an issue was first altered but after it was swiftly changed to the positive one, if you have written the first one, which would have been wrong.My Bonuses
In all, pay attention to your answers, their spellings should in case you are asked to write down some response words or phrases and do not forget to check for silly selection mistakes in the multiple-choice questions. I do hope these strategies would immensely be of assistance to you as you take the tests. I wish you the very best. Please do not hesitate to contact us for help on preparing you for these tests. We have the IELTS part time, IELTS full time, TEF Canada online courses among other exam preparation classes offline and online for you to participate in and see yourself take the test with ease as you obtain the very best results. Kindly rate, comment on and share this blog article with your colleagues. Talk to you soon!