Hi guys, this is Fiona from IELTS with Fiona and today we're talking about a really important topic.
It's something that I covered in the monthly live Zoom meeting that we have in the Members Academy for all members, and it was a question that came up and I wanted to address it.
The question was how do I deal with so much information about IELTS?
And it was a student who felt very, very overwhelmed by the task of IELTS preparation.
So I'm going to talk about that today in the podcast and give you maybe a different way of looking at things.
I hope.
And I'll also relate that to a few things that have happened recently that helped me see the problem of overwhelm in a bit of a clearer light.
Overwhelm is a great word, I think.
So the noun is uncountable.
How do you deal with overwhelm as a noun?
As an adjective, I feel overwhelmed with information.
And as an ING adjective also, the amount of information available is overwhelming, meaning it's just too much, too much information and you just can't cope with it.
And you hear it a lot these days, I think.
I think it's partly due to the internet, I guess you know.
There's just so much information out there.
How do you know what you should do?
Should you do everything?
Who should you listen to?
That kind of thing?
It's, it's really overwhelming.
And things like social media I mean, if you're trying to do anything these days you seem to have to be on different platforms and all that kind of thing.
Anyway, it affects us all.
But I want to show you how it doesn't have to be that kind of all or nothing.
I think when people say I'm overwhelmed, it's a kind of signal that that's it.
I've had enough.
I do it all the time.
You know, you say, oh, God, I can't do this anymore.
I'm overwhelmed.
It really gives you a get out clause and it puts up barriers because you stop even taking small steps, because you think oh, there's too much.
I give up.
And I think we've got to be really careful that we don't have that attitude or that word in our mind all the time that we're overwhelmed.
So we can't do anything.
And I'd like to banish the word.
I would because it means that it stops us from just taking those little steps.
So I'm going to talk about that today.
And I'm also going to relate it to a student recently I'd like to congratulate called Han.
Han was just two months into the Members Academy.
He started a band four can you believe it writing album.
Nothing wrong with band four, but he ended up getting a six in just two months.
And, you know, he worked hard.
But he did a writing test and it was all, he got a horrible question, basically.
He worked really hard.
He finished the course.
It and he got my feedback.
He was doing really well.
I thought he was kind of band six, six point five on a good day of seven.
But the test was last week and he said oh my god, we got this question about describing a prehistoric tool and it was awful.
It was just an awful question, in fact.
Go and have a look at my daily tips.
I've written a model.
I'll do that in a separate podcast.
But when he told me that he'd got this question, all kind of alarm bells went off.
I thought, oh, my God, that was just really bad luck that he got that.
Then I started thinking more positively, because I thought well, it doesn't matter what the question is.
If you're, if you're writing is OK.
You know, if you've learned how to describe something in 150 words, you'll be OK.
And it turns out he was OK.
I think he should have got maybe higher for writing.
And I think it's because of this question, he didn't get 6.507.
But anyway, he got a six, which is wonderful, overall 6.5.
And anyway, I just wanted to congratulate him.
But the lesson I learned from that was this question hasn't come up for years, this idea of describing something weird, like there's one about horses hooves, can you believe it?
How they evolved.
And it used to be in the members academy as a lesson.
But i decided oh look, that question doesn't come up anymore.
So i took it out of the academy.
Why?
Because i didn't want to overwhelm students with too much information.
And You know, the minute you take something out or the minute you decide oh, we don't need that, then it comes up.
And that is the problem with IELTS.
It's like, what is the opposite of too much information?
And the opposite is not enough.
And I think it's better to have too much than not enough when it comes to IELTS.
And I'm going to explain that.
I kind of feel like IELTS sometimes is throwing darts at a dartboard.
The more you throw at it, the more things you'll hit.
But if you only throw one dart, then you might miss.
And I really feel for IELTS that it's really hard to say, oh, don't worry, just learn this.
That's all you need.
Because IELTS is not a subject, it's a skill.
And it's not possible to have too much information.
I mean, I understand that forcing somebody to learn too many things too soon is stressful.
But that doesn't mean that you can't provide everything that the student needs.
So it's my job to break that up into bite-sized pieces, which is what I've done in the Members Academy.
But if I take anything out, then that's when there will be big gaps in your knowledge.
So my way of dealing with it is to have all the information there and you decide how much you can manage according to your time and your level, and it's much better to slow down rather than trying to do everything in a short time.
That's why I changed the course so you've got one year access to everything.
Instead of trying to do everything at once, all you have to do is slow down and take your time.
And where was I?
Right.
So I was talking about That awful task that I took out and now I've put it back in, because then I know I can say OK, it could come up in the exam.
And at least the students now will know.
OK, I know how to describe something weird using the language that I have.
So I feel better that it's there.
And I feel always better in the Members Academy that the materials you need are there.
I don't expect you to do them all at once.
And I'm going to try and explain how that applies in life as well.
So the title of this session that we did in the Academy.
It was called How to Deal with Information Overload.
And I think the first thing you have to remind yourself is that there are always different levels of expertise in life.
There are always different levels of knowledge, skills and expertise.
I'm going to give you a few examples so you can see what I mean.
So when you do a degree in most education systems, most people will just do the bachelor's degree.
So they'll choose a subject and just do a three-year degree in it.
Now, that's my green level.
I'm calling this a traffic-like system.
So the green is the kind of general, everybody does a degree.
If you're really interested in that subject, you'll do a master's degree.
That's the yellow.
So you'll become a bit more specialised.
And what happens?
If you're really into that one subject?
Well, you'll do a PhD and you'll become an expert in that subject.
So there are choices.
You choose what you feel is best for you, depending on where you want to go with your qualification in life.
So I did a bachelor's degree.
I did French and English and i taught for a few years, realized i was really interested in it, and then i did a master's degree, but i didn't go into a phd phd i've i've helped lots of phd students.
To me it looks like an absolute nightmare.
So unless you're utterly, utterly devoted to that subject and want to study it, then stop at wherever you feel comfortable.
And This traffic light system is very, very similar to the band system in IELTS.
So let's say band 6.
Most people kind of need a band 6 or a 6.5, and that's OK.
It's called a survival level.
You can survive in English if you've got band 6.
But if you want to study, you tend to need higher.
You tend to need band 7 higher. maybe 7.5 even to work.
And then you might need, if you wanted to maybe teach IELTS or I don't know, teach in English, you'd probably need more like a band eight and a band nine.
So again, what do you need from IELTS?
If you just need a band seven, then don't try and do everything.
Just do what you need to get band seven.
And that's how the Members Academy is organized.
So it's organized into each lesson is.
If you just want in the basics, you just do the video.
If you want band six, if you watch the video, that'll get you a band six.
If you want band seven, do the video, do some extra practice.
So all of the extra practice materials I provide, that will get you seven.
Then I've got lots of other things, extra practice.
Now, I'm not saying you have to do that extra practice.
You don't have to click on all those links.
You don't have to watch the TED Talks I recommend.
But if you're aiming for a band eight, then this is what will get you to band eight.
But you don't have to do that.
I think students tend to think if it's there, they have to do it.
But you don't.
You've got to decide what do I want?
And most people are happy with a six or a seven band.
And therefore, there's absolutely no reason to feel overwhelmed by IELTS.
And I think it just applies to so many things.
Like, if you're only going for a Band 6, you could probably just do a course.
You know, Band 5, you could just use Google.
Band 6, do a course.
Band 7 don't to all my courses I would recommend, because they're all linked and then band eight.
You'd probably get a coach, wouldn't you?
Or a tutor, if that's what you wanted.
I told my students the difference between band six and band seven.
Band six is you're interested, band seven is you're committed and band eight is you're obsessed.
So only people aiming for band eight or band nine, People obsessed who absolutely love English for the sake of the language, then do the extras.
So if you look at the general band descriptors, I don't mean the individual ones, but the general ones for IELTS.
For a six it says you can use and understand fairly complex language, particularly in familiar situations.
So band six is a competent user, but it's in familiar situations, everyday situations.
Band seven is called a good user.
You can handle complex language well and understand detailed reasoning.
So it's more in depth and you need it to study and work.
What does it say for band eight and nine?
So nine is an expert user.
Your use of English is appropriate, accurate and fluent.
You show complete understanding.
So if you wanted to teach IELTS or teach English or become an examiner then, then you'd need, to be well, band eight or band nine.
But not everybody needs to do that.
So be really clear about your goals.
Now, let's just have a look a few more levels in life.
And I want you to think of your job, you know, how this applies.
So I'm thinking of...
Teaching, again, this is how I see it is I'm you know, this has nothing to do with intelligence.
It's just about where you want to be.
So I'm a teacher.
I put this on the band six line, the green.
Lots of people become teachers.
Band seven, you want to be a bit more specialised.
You become a lecturer at university.
It means that you're an expert in your subject.
I'm not.
I'm a teacher.
I'm the green band nine.
I'm the average teacher.
Band seven, I would lecture in it.
Band eight, possibly become a professor or write books again.
It's a different level, a level that I don't want to.
Probably I couldn't because it's probably too difficult for me.
And so I'm not going to aim to be a band eight, nine professor.
And I'm happy with that.
The degree system in the UK.
The most people.
I don't know most people, but the band is a two, a two two is the kind of common term.
What most people get, let's say, a 2-2 is what it's called.
So you've got a 2-2, a 2-1 and the highest is a first.
So a 2-2 basically means that you show up, you do the work, you do the minimum and you can get a degree.
That's a band 6 IELTS.
2-1, you do the work, but you do it well.
It's slightly above.
So it's a band 7.
To get a first class degree.
Let's say that's the band eight, band nine.
You just do more work than everyone else.
You just stand out.
I think it's about 1% of all degrees are a first class.
Now I have to say I got a first class degree not because I was good, not because I was intelligent, but I did more work than everyone else because I was really boring.
That's all.
That's all.
Nothing to do with intelligence.
But this red level, getting a first class, is all about.
I read the books that the other people didn't read.
I didn't know what else to do, so I studied.
And I was talking to my nephew, who's at Oxford, and he studies about 12 hours a day.
And I just said, why?
Why?
You know, you're already at Oxford.
Why are you doing this?
And for him, he said, I don't want to be just at Oxford.
I don't want to, which is the green.
He goes to Oxford.
I don't want to just get a degree from Oxford.
That would be the yellow.
He said, I want a first.
I want a first from Oxford.
And that's his decision.
That's why he spends 12 hours a day studying.
And this is mirrored.
This is quite important.
If you go to university, you read articles for your research.
If you look at an average article, it's divided into three main parts.
The first part is the abstract.
It's called the abstract.
It's really short and it's a summary of the whole article.
Now, a lot of people I know don't read the whole article.
They just read the abstract.
So that is your 2-2, your band 6.
If you want the 2-1, you have to read the article, the main body.
And that will give you enough information to get 2-1.
If you're going for a 1st, Then you've got the bibliography, the references at the end.
Nobody reads these references, but I did.
And my nephew at Oxford clicks on the references and reads that article.
He reads all of them.
He does not leave anything untouched.
And the last thing I heard, he was getting like 82% scores there. his tests because that's the amount of time he spends because that's what he wants doesn't mean that everybody is aiming for that or has to read all of those references so what other examples have I got so if you are Look, if you Google Bloom's taxonomy of learning, so Bloom, B-L-O-O-M, it's like a pyramid of different levels of learning.
The pyramid again breaks up into our three levels.
So At the bottom of the pyramid, it's like what most people do with learning.
They remember facts.
You know, that's what we do when we're at school.
We just remember things.
We learn lists.
We memorize things.
We repeat things.
So that is kind of band five.
Band six would be understand.
So that means you can explain things because you understand them and you recognise them and you can discuss them.
Then going to band seven, you apply and you analyse.
So remember in IELTS writing task one how important it is to analyse the data rather than just describe it.
So analytical language gives you the seven and you're applying your understanding.
Now, There's two at the top.
There's evaluate and create is the highest one.
So evaluate would be band eight.
And it says this is when you argue, defend an opinion, support your opinion.
We know how important that is for task two and critique things.
So critical thinking is band eight.
Then band nine is when you create. and it says produce new or original work.
So that's for people who understand the topic and then they write about it.
Who, you know, authors, people who produce content.
That is a band nine.
Are you aiming for that?
Are you aiming to write books in English?
No.
So don't stress about the optional extras.
And then finally, this thing came up in my Twitter feed.
It's about the impact of reading for 20 minutes a day.
And there are three levels.
It's really fascinating.
So a student at school who reads for only one minute a day is exposed to 8,000 words a year.
And that puts them in the bottom 10% of of the test results, okay?
So that would be, well, your band five, I guess.
Student who reads five minutes a day is exposed to almost 300,000 words a year.
So just by doing five minutes rather than one minute, immediately puts them into the the top 50.
So that's the middle.
You know kind of band six, band seven.
And then the student who reads 20 minutes a day just 20 minutes is exposed to 18 million words a year and it puts them in the top 10.
So that's your band nine.
Just by doing reading more than the other students so not more intelligent, they're not more capable, they're not more advanced, they just read more, they do more and it's not a huge amount more.
It's just 20 minutes instead of one minute or five minutes, and that 20 minutes is your band nine.
In this, in this situation the, the impact of reading just a little bit more.
So again, if you want to do just a little bit more, It's there for you in the academy.
If you want to aim for that just a little bit higher score.
If you don't, don't do it.
Don't get stressed by it.
So to conclude.
My other thought when the student says there's too much information, I keep clicking on different links and trying different things.
I kind of think well, does it matter in English if you click a link and it takes you to another reading task or another listening task or another video in English?
So what?
It's all English.
Doesn't really matter.
It's all improving your English.
The other thing I wanted to say is if you've ever downloaded my 28-day planner, you'll open it and you may go.
Oh my God, there is so much there.
And lots of people have told me I should take that off my website because it's too overwhelming for students, right?
So two things.
One thing is I have tried to simplify that planner.
In fact, if you go to November, you know, I do this free planner in my shop for each month.
So if you go to November, you can get my November planner and it recommends that you just do one thing each day.
So just reading one day, listening another day, writing another day.
But if you actually just do one thing each day, then in one month, you'll only do four readings.
And that's if you actually stick to the planner.
Well, there's no way you can get a band seven with just doing four readings.
It's just not possible.
So that is the problem is if you don't have too much, then you have not enough.
And where is the ideal amount?
I don't think anybody can tell you what the ideal amount is.
Nobody can tell you, you know, do 300 reading words a day.
It's not quantifiable.
The ideal amount to do each day is what you can do in that day.
And that is your choice of whether you're happy with what you're doing or if you feel you're not making progress, then you have to do more.
There's there's nothing magical about that, but there is no need to feel overwhelmed by it either.
Just take a bit more time, that's all.
And also two quotes to finish.
Just because it takes time, it doesn't mean that it's not happening, so You can take as long as you want over it and you may think I'm not making any progress.
I'm clicking here and I'm clicking there.
I'm doing all of these things.
I'm overwhelmed.
Well, it doesn't matter.
It doesn't matter.
Just because you're overwhelmed, it doesn't mean it's not happening.
It probably is happening.
And the other thing, I read this yesterday.
This is just true for me, I think, maybe for you.
It says you're not overwhelmed, you're under-organized.
And that summed up my life you're not overwhelmed.
I always say oh my god, I'm overwhelmed.
Social media marketing blah blah, blah.
I'm not overwhelmed, I'm under-organized.
And once you get organized, it's easier said than done.
But once you've got a plan, Like the 28 day planner, and you're doing something every day, then it's going to happen.
Something will be happening.
You'll be making progress even if you don't notice it straight away.
Oh, last thing.
Right.
You can switch off now if you want.
If you're tired.
Fine.
Switch off.
I don't blame you.
But this is one of my favourite stories.
It's from ASAP. fables.
I'm sure Aesop's fables are true in every language and every part of the world.
This one is about the farmer and he had three sons and the three sons were really lazy.
So when the farmer was very old he said to his sons before he dies he says look there's treasure buried in that land on the farm so please don't sell the farm you know because somewhere there is a huge treasure and when he died the three sons started after doing nothing for years they started digging the land over and looking for the treasure, but they couldn't find anything.
However, when harvest time came, because they'd spent so much time digging and weeding and looking after the land to look for the treasure, they got the best harvest that they'd ever had.
And they realized this was the treasure, the father.
This is what the father meant by a treasure is that, like doing the work, that's where the treasure will come from.
And in the Members Academy, there's lots of information dotted about.
But by working through it, you will find bit by bit that you are discovering the treasure.
Some people, when they join they go straight to the library and they say I want to download all the PDFs.
That's not going to help.
It's only digging through the treasure that's going to help you see results.
Little by little, finding on a daily basis all the treasures that I've hidden for you.
That will have its effect, I promise.
OK, thanks for listening today.
It was a long one.
And do let me know if you've got any thoughts or any questions about it.
Thank you for being one of my listeners.
I appreciate you.
And remember, you can get these live lessons in the academy for anybody who buys anything from me, even if it's just a dollar download from my shop.
Thanks for listening.
Chat soon.
Bye bye.
