This is an IELTS Energy Podcast Episode 1613, Score Stories Part 2, AMA's IELTS Tips for Overall 8.
Welcome to the ielts energy podcast from all ears english downloaded more than 35 million times with examiner trained ielts whiz aubrey carter and michelle kaplan the new york radio girl
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How did Ama score overall eight on IELTS?
And how can her story help you get the score you need?
Find out today and get a huge boost to your motivation for IELTS.
Hey, Michelle, how's your summer going?
It's going really well.
But I am excited to hear about motivation, right?
Today, that's what we're going to be talking about on this episode.
We really might need sometimes an IELTS motivation booster.
Don't you think, Aubrey?
Absolutely.
It's really easy to get stuck.
And the summer is hard because you're busy.
You might be going on vacation, hanging out, and then it's hard to get back into your IELTS groove.
So you might need a little bit of a jumpstart to get that back, to get your motivation back.
So today, you will meet Ama.
Her excitement after scoring an overall eight is palpable in this interview.
And we're so excited to share that with you, as well as her tips for getting the score that you need.
So let's hear the interview with Amma.
Hello, everyone.
Very exciting guests today.
I would like you all to meet Ama.
Can you introduce yourself?
Let our listeners know where you're from.
Okay.
Hello, everyone.
I'm Ama.
I'm from Japan, and I'm a university student senior.
So I have one year to go before my graduation.
Nice to meet you.
Yes.
Oh, this is so exciting.
Ama let me know that she passed IELTS with the scores she needed, and it's such a good feeling.
So let us know first so we can congratulate you.
What scores did you get on the exam?
Okay, I got overall eight.
Amazing.
Congratulations.
How do you feel?
Um, actually, when I saw the result, I was in transportation, public transportation, and I started to shake, literally shake because of what I saw in the screen.
And I almost shouted, but I managed because, of course, in the public.
And then I soon got out of the train and I actually called my dad and I did it.
It's the time I shouted in the station.
It's the first time I shouted in the station.
I love the image of that, of you on the train just holding in your excitement.
I almost wish you did shout on the train.
That would be amazing and everyone staring at you like you're a crazy person.
I love it, but I can only imagine that kind of excitement because you had studied, you had worked hard, and a lot of our listeners know how that feels or excited to feel that if they don't yet, how good it feels to get the scores you need and be able to move on with your life.
So congratulations
First of all thanks for being here with us today and we are going to get from you some tips and advice for our listeners to let them know how you got those scores how you can encourage them to keep working to their scores
But first give us a little background
Why are you taking the ielts exam
What are your future goals
Okay, the reason why I'm taking, I took IELTS because I'm actually applying, I'm trying to apply for a graduate school in England.
Okay, oh, very exciting.
What degree will you complete?
Um i'm actually i'm planning to like um take the masters of migration studies oh oh that's awesome that's very exciting
So you have one more year for your undergraduate and then you'll start applying to graduate schools
Yes
Very exciting.
And now you have the IELTS scores, you're right on track, you'll be able to move on with that.
That's awesome.
Okay, so let's get into it.
Let us know you were a three keys student in our IELTS study system.
How did you find three keys?
How did you decide to sign up?
Because I've been a listener of IELTS Energy Podcast and All Ears English for almost a year and a half.
Actually, it was the first show or program in a podcast, and it has been a favorite since then.
Well, keeping listening to your podcast, I realized that maybe your system is really trustworthy because your team has Jessica, who is a former IELTS examiner.
And also, I really love how you all guys talk in a really natural way.
Okay, gotcha.
So you signed up, you completed all the modules.
What did you think of the course?
Let our listeners know everyone out there listening who is not yet one of our students doesn't really know much about it.
What did you think?
What did you like about the course?
Um, the, what I like the best is how she say, um, I can like, um, so how she say like three kids is, um, well constructed.
So that's why we can start with our own courses, but, um, but while it's how she say.
It's based on the self-study, but there is a clear guidelines which is called study plans for 30 days and 60 days.
And I chose 30 days plan and all the strategies, all the resources were useful.
Oh, I think that is huge, right?
To have to get in there and have this study plan that was created by a former examiner, by Jessica.
And you're seeing that all your time is spent in the most useful way possible, right?
Every resource.
Every activity you can feel that is directly related to the scoring system is directly related to what you need to work on.
Yes, that is common for a lot of our students that to get that study plan that's created by an IELTS expert is so powerful for sure.
So let us know, can you give our listeners some tips?
Tell us first of all what were your individual scores on the different exams if you remember or have that handy and then let's get some specific tips that could help our listeners
Okay, first of all, I got eight in listening.
Okay.
And nine in reading.
Amazing.
I got perfect score on reading twice.
Oh, nice.
Awesome.
That's so great.
And 6.5 in writing.
Awesome.
And 7.5 in speaking.
Amazing.
7.5 in speaking is very impressive.
All of those scores are very impressive.
Let's talk about speaking first.
What specifically in the three keys speaking module did you feel was able to help you improve that score to get that 7.5?
Well, I really loved the concept of Excel in front of this examiner.
So I learned how to be fearless and confident.
Which is like i think main motto or and then it's rustic uh in ielts energy podcast so um when i first sitting in front of the examiners i feel i've i feel that i'm so energetic
Even though it's the examination setting, which is often like pressuring, but how should I say, I was full of energy and I was confidently started talking in front of him.
I love that.
I think, you know, we say all the time that confidence is half the battle, but in a way it's the whole battle because you can have all this vocabulary at your fingertips.
And if you're not confident when you go in,
It's so easy to get derailed to not be able to think of that great vocab those great idioms and phrasal verbs you've been working on if you're nervous and don't have that confidence to just be to know that day on test day that you're going to get the score you need
So I love that
I think that's
Probably the best advice someone can get is to be confident.
But then the trick is, how do you become confident?
Right.
So do you feel like the strategies you learned in the three key speaking module helped you gain that confidence?
Yes, I actually really love the like anti-anxiety part.
Yes.
I watched it several times before the exam because I had like three hours to four hours before the speaking test.
So you reviewed that module, the anti-anxiety module, right before the speaking exam.
Yes oh that's so smart for everyone listening
Who's not aware
Our the three keys program has this anti-anxiety module which lindsay does the videos she um shares her expertise about how to control and use that energy that comes with anxiety
And I love that idea.
That's such a great tip for everyone out there to review that module right before the speaking test, because it would, it would give you that confidence and it would help refresh in your mind what to do if you do start feeling nervous.
I love it.
Hello, everyone.
I'm so excited you get to hear Amanakawa's story today and be inspired by her journey.
And if you are ready for a system with a study plan and strategies to help you get the score you need on IELTS, sign up today for Three Keys IELTS at allearsenglish.com slash keys.
Awesome.
Okay.
Let's talk about writing.
So it sounds like you had taken the IELTS exam exam before you scored a nine twice on reading.
What were your writing scores previously?
Let me check.
Actually, writing used to be my weakness for a long time.
I got like 6 and sometimes 5.5, which is pretty bad.
And so what's bad about 5.5 is like...
If I got like, for example, even if I got like 7.5, for example, in listening, but if I have like 5.5, that would let my scores really down to 6.
It pulls your average down so much.
Yes.
So that is a huge jump from 5.5 to 6.5.
Everyone out there who has scored a five multiple times or even a six knows that that is no easy feat to get that extra band point on writing.
So let us know, are there, is there any advice or any tips you would share that helped you increase that writing score?
What I learned most from the three keys IELTS was task one, because I learned many, many vocabularies to express the data and also numbers and comparison, which is the key in task one.
So I think that scales or expressions could be used after IELTS.
Oh, for sure.
So you took academic IELTS because you're clearly talking about academic task one where you have graphs or charts and you have to compare these numbers, which can be the most difficult part about IELTS because like you're saying...
We don't use it that much in normal life, but once you have those skills and you understand how to write about numbers and think about information and compare, those are definitely going to be skills you're going to use later in life.
I love that.
OK, so definitely task one.
I think a lot of students sign up for three keys out just for academic task one, because that's the most difficult thing to do on your own, to study on your own.
And a lot of students feel that, like, I need strategies for this.
I need some insider information about how to make.
How to simplify this and make it easy.
So once you got through the three keys writing module, did you feel very confident like you understood how to write your task one essay, a high scoring task one essay?
Yes, I did.
Especially on change over time, change over time, blind glove essay.
Okay.
And is that what you got on test day?
Did you get a change over time essay?
Yes, I did.
And I got 6.5.
I love it.
And you're ready.
You saw, you said, I know how to write this essay.
I think that is such a huge part of it, right?
Once you have strategies, then you can go in on test day knowing you're prepared for whatever IELTS is going to throw at you.
You know, you understand the test.
Three Keys really gives you a holistic understanding of the test, the overall picture, what to expect, and then strategies for each section of the exam.
So let us know, is there anything, any extra tips, any further advice you could give to students that are now preparing for IELTS?
Um, okay.
Extra tips.
Well, um, I it's, it's a simple tips, but like taking a deep breath before the start before starting exam.
Like
I think we're very like our hearts are really fast paced there because we're like suffering from pressures and it's because like test center is really quiet and we're not
We are not allowed to bring anything aside from like some necessities such as pencils or erasers or like
Um plastic bottles so um so of course it's unusual right so that's why we have that can be very nerve-wracking right when you're in it's just such a different situation than you're used to
So that's, you know, that's anxiety inducing for anyone.
And I love that advice just to take a deep breath before each exam, sort of center yourself.
Yes.
Remember, you know, give yourself that confidence boost and remember that you have the strategies you've studied, you're prepared and sort of set yourself up for success just by having that positive mental outlook.
Yes, it seemed like I was almost meditating at that time.
I was thinking of what Jessica was saying, like a moment of Zen.
Yes.
Because it's from Japan, Japanese concept, so Zen.
That's why.
Yes, so let our listeners know we do, we share this, the moment of Zen after each module.
Can you explain to our listeners what you mean by that in case they're unfamiliar?
Okay, like moment...
So then like um you know you i think you many of the listeners know that joshua is really like happy person she's always cheerful and talking a lot but uh when when
When she is in the moment of them, her voice really calms down and it's so relaxing.
I really love that moment.
Yes, I do.
I know.
Right.
To take a moment to appreciate what you've done, to recognize where you are and how much you've accomplished.
I love that.
Like, let's take this moment of Zen to be here and really experience it and be grateful for all that we've accomplished and then look forward to everything we have to look forward to.
I love it.
Thank you so much for being here today.
Congratulations on these IELTS scores.
Thank you for coming to share this advice and these tips.
And we're so excited for you and everything that you have now to look forward to in the future.
Thank you very much.
Yes.
Thanks for coming.
Have a great day.
You too.
Bye bye.
Michelle, I absolutely loved chatting with Ama and I really agree with all of the tips that she shared.
Confidence is so key for any exam, right?
Yeah.
Oh my gosh.
You really need to be confident.
It's really important for IELTS success.
So guys, use Amma's tips as you study for IELTS and really let her excitement give you that motivation boost that you might need about now.
Yes, exactly.
So guys, for more information about all of the three key strategies that Ama talked about, you can sign up for our online course at allearsenglish.com slash keys.
And we're so excited for you to be motivated to keep up the IELTS goals, the IELTS journey so that you can get the score you need.
Thanks for joining me today, Michelle, and I will see you next time.
All right.
Bye.
Bye.
Thanks for listening to IELTS Energy.
Hit subscribe now and don't forget to find your estimated band score at allearsenglish.com slash my score.
