This is an All Ears English podcast test talk IELTS.
Skim, scan, success on the reading section.
Welcome to the All Ears English podcast, downloaded more than 5 million times.
We believe in connection, not perfection.
But today is a special Test Talk episode.
We have Jessica Beck, the examiner of excellence, author of 12 test prep textbooks, and Lindsay McMahon, the English adventurer.
We are here today to help you get the score you need on your next exam.
So let's get started.
In today's episode, what happens on the reading test?
What are the two strategies you need to answer matching questions quickly?
Do you ever feel like your English is good but not quite where you want it to be?
Maybe you can have conversations, but you still hesitate when expressing complex ideas.
Maybe you know what you want to say. but you can't always say it naturally.
If that sounds familiar, our B2 English fluency course was designed for you.
You'll learn how to speak more naturally, express yourself with confidence and finally stop feeling stuck at the intermediate level.
This week, you can save $50 on our basic plan or save $100 on our personal coach plan.
Go to allearsenglish.com slash B2.
That's allearsenglish.com slash letter B number two.
Hi, Lindsay.
Hey, Jessica.
What's up?
How you been?
I've been good, and I'm excited to be back here again talking about IELTS.
Yeah, so we get to talk about the reading test today.
We haven't done that yet.
I know.
So far in the past few weeks, you know, we've really been going heavy on the IELTS.
We've talked about listening.
We've talked about speaking.
And today we're into the reading section, right?
Finally, yes.
Last but not least, reading.
Yeah.
So which, what are the most difficult kind of questions within the reading section?
Where do students tend to stumble?
I think the most difficult questions are the matching questions, because other questions like sentence completion or multiple choice, those answers are going to be found in order in the reading passage.
So it's easier because you know that, you know to expect that.
But the They take longer.
They're more difficult.
Yeah.
Matching questions.
That sounds kind of scary.
It reminds me a little bit of middle school matching.
Oh, gosh.
Sounds like a test I took in middle school.
OK well, we're going to break it down here for our listeners and we're going to make it simple and easy for them.
Yeah.
So what's a typical like?
What are the steps that our listeners should follow when they're taking this part of the exam?
Okay, so the reading test is divided into three passages.
IELTS is very specific about the terminology.
So the reading are passages.
And the first step that you should follow every time, as soon as you see the reading passage, is to skim.
Take one minute.
That means read the title, the subtitle if there is one, and the beginning of every paragraph.
That should take about a minute.
And like we talked about with the listening, what this does is it...
Opens your brain box.
Brilliant term coined by Allers English.
Very excited about that.
So, for example, if you are skimming the passage and you realize that the main idea is about – sun flares,
That's boring.
I can't think of another interesting topic.
Or maybe about hiking.
Sure.
Or a novel review.
Something.
Then it's going to open that knowledge in your head.
So you're going to start thinking about the topic.
So that's why we skim.
So once again, would you recommend kind of again building that brain box, picturing that scene kind of like we talked about in listening, or is it a little bit different?
No, it's exactly the same.
So what you're doing is you're getting ready to understand what the questions want.
You're understanding what the passage is telling you.
So just by spending one minute skimming, and then that sets off a brainstorm for yourself about the topic.
So you're ready to understand.
Ooh, I like it.
I like it.
What's step two?
And then you look at the questions.
So as with listening, there's going to be two or three groups of questions.
So look at the first group of questions.
If it's a matching question, it will be a couple of different options.
One is matching headings to paragraphs.
That's also something that I have a...
Really good system, for we don't have time to talk about it today, but I'll talk about it on another episode.
Yeah, we'll get into it.
Don't worry.
Today, I'm going to talk about matching names to statements.
So a common example would be matching a person to an opinion.
If it's an article that has a lot of expert opinions in it, then you're going to have quotes like in a newspaper article.
So, for example, Professor Jackson said blah, blah, blah, or...
According to CEO Smith, blah, blah, blah.
So as soon as you see that's the question type, go back to the passage and quickly scan and circle all the proper nouns.
Every name you see, you circle.
So this is going back to the idea of the active test taking, right?
Always having a pen in your hand.
I thought that was interesting what you mentioned in a previous episode that you're always going to want to be interacting with the test physically.
Exactly.
Exactly.
So for listening and reading, these are passive skills, but if you're not active, you're not going to find the answers quickly.
So, yeah, so we scan and we circle all the names of people, for example, in this type of question.
Okay.
And then you go back to the questions and you read the statements, the possible answer choices and you circle keywords.
And then you just go name by name.
So maybe it says question 11 and then it has the name Smith and then you have to match that name to an opinion.
So you find all the Smiths that you circled in the article and you just read the sentence around Smith and then you go back to the question and you match it to a statement.
Wow.
I mean, the way you say it, it sounds so easy, but it also seems kind of in depth.
I don't know.
This is interesting.
Yeah.
As soon as I finished my explanation, I was afraid it sounded complicated.
I'm glad you said it was easy.
Well, we'll break down each step, I'm sure, in a future episode easily.
Yeah.
Right.
Hey guys, we have a free cheat sheet prepared to show you exactly what the examiner wants on the speaking section of the IELTS.
Also, if you fill out our one question survey, you'll be entered into a very cool contest for an opportunity to have your speaking evaluated by the examiner of excellence at All Ears English, Jessica Beck.
So go right now to allearsenglish.com evaluation.com. that's e-v-a-l-u-a-t-i-o-n to get your free cheat sheet I'll see you next time. and can make a huge difference in sales for your online business.
Shopify is the e-commerce platform behind millions of businesses around the world and 10 of all e-commerce in the US.
From household names like Skims and Thrive Cosmetics to brands just getting started.
Get the word out like you have a marketing team behind you.
Easily create email and social media campaigns wherever your customers are scrolling or strolling.
Best yet.
Shopify is your e-commerce expert, with world-class expertise in everything from managing inventory to international shipping, to processing returns and beyond.
See fewer carts go abandoned and more sales go... with Shopify and their Shop Pay button.
Sign up for your $1 per month trial today at Shopify.com slash A-E-E.
Go to Shopify.com slash A-E-E.
That's S-H-O-P-I-F-Y dot com slash A-E-E.
Yeah, so let's keep going.
Today we're just talking in pretty general terms.
We're just getting a taste here of you know what's actually possible on the IELTS and the right way to do it.
So don't worry, guys.
We're going to come back to all of this down the road.
Yeah.
But just kind of stay tuned.
Yeah.
I think if you're going to take anything away from today's episode about the reading test is that timing and strategies are very important.
You have to be able to skim quickly and access your information on a topic.
And that's That's a skill that you have to practice.
You can practice it on your own with anything with magazine articles, with newspapers, online but you do have to practice it.
And also scanning, scanning for names, scanning for keywords.
You have to be able to do those two skills in order to pass the test.
Yeah.
And it seems like the fact that time pressure is an issue and I think it's also an issue on the TOEFL, basically on any test right.
And the fact that, as we mentioned before, I like your idea about always doing practice tests on a regular basis.
So you're not just doing exercises casually.
You're actually doing the practice test on a regular basis.
So you're putting yourself under that time pressure on an almost daily basis.
For example, if you have the exam in a week, right?
For sure.
Yeah.
With anything.
You know, if you want to get a seven I mean, if you're shooting for a five then maybe you're not going to be as hardcore about your practice.
But if you're shooting for a seven or higher, then You really have to plan your time and you really have to focus on the test practice.
I like that.
I like that.
Well, this has been great.
This has been great.
So let me see if I can just recap the steps real quick.
So first you said we want to – well, actually, maybe you should do that, Jessica.
Yeah, I guess it was more complicated than I thought it would be.
Okay.
So in general, how to approach almost any question is first you take one minute to skim and that will give you the general idea, the main idea or the gist of the article.
And you have to do that first in order to understand the questions and the answers more quickly.
So first you skim and then you look at the questions.
You underline key words.
And then you go back to the passage and scan.
And that's how you find the answers.
Very nice.
Very nice.
And I'm out of breath.
It's a lot of information, which, as you said, we're going to break all this down in other episodes.
But those two things, I think, are good to take away today.
Absolutely.
This has been a already.
I can tell this has been a huge help for our listeners who are getting ready to take the IELTS.
So guys, as you've just discovered over the past few weeks, if IELTS is your next destination, then we are the place to come, you know.
We have Jessica, the examiner of excellence here, and we're going to be able to help you guys out with the IELTS exam.
So we'll be back soon with the next episode, right, Jessica?
Definitely.
Let us know what you need from us, listeners.
I am here to help you.
Yeah.
We are really excited to hear from you guys.
And actually you guys are going to get an opportunity to jump on Skype with Jessica for 15 minutes to have your speaking evaluated.
What a cool opportunity.
One lucky kind of All Ears English listener is actually going to get that chance.
You need to go to allearsenglish.com slash evaluation.
And you need to enter your email.
You'll get a cheat sheet and you'll find out exactly what the examiner wants on the IELTS exam.
And then, if you take our one question survey, you'll be entered into a contest to speak with Jessica and to get tested from the examiner of excellence.
Only one question.
That's it on the survey.
Only one question.
Well, that's the plan.
I'm going to try to keep the... I want to ask so many questions, right?
Because we want to hear from our listeners so that we can develop awesome content.
But we know that time is tight.
Yeah, that's what I'm saying.
One question is nothing.
That'll really take a couple seconds.
Very simple.
Really, the question is just what's your biggest question about the IELTS?
Very simple.
And you guys can even drop us an email if you want.
But if you want to be entered into the contest to practice the speaking section with Jessica, then we recommend you fill out the survey.
Please do.
It will take mere seconds.
Absolutely.
Well, thank you so much, Jessica.
I'm so pumped.
I'm so excited about the IELTS and we're going to help our listeners get those sevens.
Sevens everywhere.
I'm seeing sevens.
I am surrounded by sevens, as will our listeners.
All right.
Have a great day, Jessica.
Take care.
Thanks, Lindsay.
You too.
Bye.
Bye.
If you believe in connection, not perfection, and you wanna put your ears into English more often, please subscribe to our podcast in iTunes on your computer or on your smartphone.
And hey, if you liked today's show, please let us know with a review in iTunes.
Thanks so much for listening and see you next time.
