IELTS blog

In this post we look at some questions raised by the impact of the Covid-19 coronavirus on IELTS. Has your IELTS test been suspended? How can you find out? How does this affect your IELTS preparation?

So, you’re preparing for computer-delivered IELTS (CD IELTS). In this short post I’m going to cover three key areas: basic information about CD IELTS; how CD IELTS differs from paper-based IELTS; and, most importantly, where you can get a free computer-based IELTS test to practise with. (Scroll down to section 3 below for that.)

“I don’t have the time to sit down and work on mock papers. And I don’t find it useful to do them bit by bit. Life is too distracting!” wrote Jorge Gibellini, an Argentinian IELTS candidate who needed an IELTS 7.0 for his master degree. Many candidates, like Jorge, are too busy with their academic study, day job and family commitments. And when they are finally free to sit down to begin their preparation, they are already too tired to take it all in.

‘I have no idea how people cope with nerves on the test day. The previous night I could not sleep and it was hard for my brain to function at 7AM in the morning. And of course the result is worse than I anticipated. How did you do it?’ — from a troubled IELTS blog reader. Exam anxiety is annoying but there are ways to help you feel prepared instead of nervous. Let’s look at how we can get into our best possible form on the test day.

You need to spend a lot of time preparing for IELTS on your own. But studies show that even when independent learners know which of their language skills are strong and which are weak, they still tend to spend more time on their strong areas. In a 2015 study at the University of Hong Kong, Professor David Gardner found that students ‘ultimately preferred to remain in their comfort zone.’