Message to IELTS Students from Kazakhstan

Welcome back everyone in my blog. In fact, Welcome back to myself. This has been after 3.5 (three and half) years I decided to be back in this blog. I hope my information and materials in this blog will be helpful for visitors in Kazakhstan and others who are looking for many different materials on the web. A bit about myself:

I left Kazakhstan in March, 2019 and these days, I am in Nepal. I am bit distanced from teaching at the moment. But, if it may be that I will be back in Astana (Nur-sultan) around 2022 or 2023 AD. I was there in Nursultan, Kazakhstan in August-September, 2021 and things looked preety cool even post COVID-19 Pandemic. I am hoping to be regular in this forum to update this blog and provide, more and more information to all the readers.

***** 

I had not updated this blog for a very long time but I think I need to be active again. This blog which has a lot of contents on IELTS Test is to help students and immigrants to enhance their English skills, to help make their skills better in English Language.

I am restarting this blog on a very auspicious day of Laxmi Puja, Tihar of 2078 BS. I hope Mother Laxmi will be blessing me to continue to write blog posts in addition to making me richer. :) It is also a time when we have almost surpassed the threats created by COVID-19 pandemic. With vaccines being rolled out in many people around the world, the world is opening, is trying to be normal, is trying to get back to business as usual. The borders are opening, and many countries have started, albeit slowly, to open their arms to welcome international students.

For any foreign (international) students, the popular destinations are Australia, Canada, America, and many European countries. I think people would answer me that they are keen to fly to the Australia or America if asked about their higher education. And, to be in all your dream destinations, IELTS Score is one of such important criteria.

I saw a recent Post from a popular educational consultancy, and they had informed that classes with in-person attendance is going to start soon. This advertisement was mainly directed to prospective IELTS Students.

My message to all prospective IELTS Candidates is that you need to have good skills in English to have a great score in IELTS Test. Of Course, you can attend courses run by various institutes. However, there are plenty of free resources and materials on the web. Our blog is one of them.

The materials published on our blog can be used free of cost by all IELTS Candidates. These IELTS resources are meant to assist all IELTS candidates to understand the examination pattern, to learn how to score better, and to be able to gain necessary skills to score good IELTS band.

All Kazakhstani IELTS candidates and candidates from around the world, keep on visiting us for more and more free and useful materials and resources.

Regards,

Chief Editor

Essay topics: Letter of Advice - IELTS Writing Task - I, General Test - CEFR C1-IELTS Band 7.5

 Essay topics: Letter of Advice - IELTS Writing Task - I, General Test - CEFR C1-IELTS Band 7.5

A friend has written to you asking for advice about a problem at work. You have had a similar problem in the past. Write a reply to your friend. In your letter: tell your friend you understand the problem, explain what happened to you in the past, suggest possible solutions to the problem. Write at least 150 words.

Dear R,

I fully appreciate the challenges of working in a corporate world. Unfortunately, hard work and discipline do not always help to get a promotion. Instead, one should be really smart in building and expanding internal and external networks.

Few years ago, I had the same issue with self-promotion and visibility. In other words, irrespective of the hard labour and efforts to meet work deadline, my contributions remained unnoticed. On the contrary, colleagues and employees who were more vocal, visible and well-connected scored excellent performance ratings and received the laurels. Clearly, I had to change my behaviour and working style in order to promote my contributions in the firm. I had a few coaching sessions with senior leadership team member who shared some tips to succeed in workplace. A couple of months later, my natural modesty were replaced by assertive and confident behaviour.

So, let me give you some advice.

First of all, you should not shy away from sending an email to your supervisor and leadership team stating your achievements in a particular task or project. Secondly, it is likely that people notice you easily when you start writing articles in internal and external journals. Finally, I would suggest you not to miss any opportunity to make presentations at town-hall and meetings.

I hope you will find these suggestions helpful and wish all the very best in your life.

Regards,
A

IELTS Academic Writing Task - 2: Sample Answer

IELTS Academic Writing Task in Astana, Kazakhstan

WRITING TASK 2

You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.

In the past, when students did a university degree, they tended to study in their own country. Nowadays, they have more opportunity to study abroad. What are the advantages and disadvantages of this development? Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.

Write at least 250 words.

*******

It is a worldwide phenomenon that many people travel to different countries for the purpose of higher education. This was not possible and less occurring in the past mainly due to lack of knowledge about foreign countries, and expensive travel and cost of studies. However, the globalisation and the revolution in information technology has made it possible today that many people are benefitting from the quality education from universities.

Arguments can be made in favour of study in foreign countries. However, we need to be mindful that there are many critics to such patterns. First of all, opportunity to receive quality education is one of the most important benefits of going to foreign university. This is so true in case of students from poor and developing nations where there is hardly any infrastructure and investment in good universities, colleges, and research centres. Secondly, when students enrol in the foreign universities, they can use their time in understanding cultures, customs and traditions of another country and of other students. It augurs well when young students learn to respect other cultures and languages.

As said before, there are plenty of negative consequences of joining foreign universities. A country which is already poor loses a lot of foreign currency reserves when a student travels to another country. Prospective graduate and undergraduate candidate has to spend a lot of money for his college admission, for hostel, for books in another country and this could be detrimental to poor country’s economy. The second disadvantage of studying in international universities for anyone is that he or she is not able to gain the required amount of knowledge of his home country and there could be some difficulty to work in his or her country when they return.

Therefore, in my conclusion, I would like to state that education in foreign country is not without demerits and each individual should make his own assessment with regard to what is best for him.  

Important language points in IELTS Exam, in IELTS Test

There was a question at FUTURELEARN Forum, and the question was:

What have you identified as the most important language points you need to work on to help improve your IELTS score?

First of all, FutureLearn is a Forum which conducts/organises many free courses in English Language. I was attending a course on IELTS. For example, the course on IELTS which I am attending at the moment is: INSIDE IELTS CAMBRIDGE ENGLISH LANGUAGE ASSESSMENT. You can get the more ideas about IELTS and this free course by visiting this link:

https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/cambridge-english-ielts/2/study-group

Now, let us talk about IELTS. IELTS is one of the toughest exams if you have not studied in English medium, or if you have not studied enough English. I have seen that many people in Kazakhstan and especially in Astana - the new capital of Kazakhstan - dream of "passing" IELTS though there is no such concepts as pass or fail in IELTS. What they mean is that they want to receive a good score in IELTS so that they can prove their English language skills, or apply to foreign Universities.

I am always ready to help you in case you need any help from me to crack IELTS examinations in Kazakhstan. I will be able to help you in reading, writing, listening and speaking part of IELTS. You can contact me through this blog to realise your dreams of getting good IELTS score. If you are based in Astana, Kazakhstan, we can meet face to face and talk about IELTS in Kazakhstan, and if you are located in other cities, you can learn via SKYPE.

******

What have you identified as the most important language points you need to work on to help improve your IELTS score?

I think it is difficult to pinpoint to only one language skill to get good scores in IELTS. Vocabulary is very important in reading, writing and speaking. If you know a lot of multi-syllable words, good collocations and compound words, you can read the text easily, quickly and can understand it without much efforts. It will enhance your confidence and helps to save a lot of time.

In writing and speaking, vocabulary plays a good role but I think examiners are not only looking for your word lists. You need to be able to exhibit multiple skills when it comes to writing and speaking exams. In writing, a good grammar is very important and use of complex grammar without mistakes is highly desirable. Similarly, coherence in expression of ideas, use of suitable collocation is extremely important.

When it comes to speaking, you need to speak like a native speaker. That means we need to use correct grammar, varieties of colloquial expressions, diverse words but not necessarily complex ones.

Now, in listening, ability to understand different accents and dialects of English is important and it comes only through practice. So, the students start from reading different texts on variety of topics. 

IELTS Academic Test - Questions from the past - conducted by InterPress, Astana

My another student Assem appeared for Academic IELTS yesterday (on 27.08.2016). She had registered for IELTS via InterPress, Astana, Kazakhstan and it was conducted in Miras International School in Astana. Her Speaking Test was conducted few days ago. When I asked her if the examiner in Speaking test was a native english speaker. Her answer was very interesting. She said, "No, there was a Russian woman with blond hair." Well, that is not important.

We generally talked about her test and she could remember only the few questions from reading paragraphs.

The questions were:

1. The first passage about "Movement of Honey bees, and their effect on pollination"
2.  Corporates and their marketing strategies and consumer behaviour
3. She could not remember the third question/reading passage. :)

Let me know your exam experiences and the questions if you remember.

Regards,
-Your Astana English Teacher: Raj

IELTS in Astana conducted by British Council - Academic IELTS and General IELTS

Hello Everyone, I was quite busy in the last few days and could not update my blog but I am back again. Life has been on a roller coaster ride and it has been quite tough but I hope to update my blog continuously in the future.

Today, I have an update from Student A and from Student B who have appeared for IELTS Examination recently in Astana. A appeared for Academic IELTS and B appeared for General IELTS. They have remembered some of the questions and have shared with us.

Academic IELTS Speaking Questions asked to A in Astana, Kazakhstan:

Part - 1 Questions

1. What do you do? Do you work or study?
1.1. Why did you choose this job?
2. Do you like singing? Who is your favourite singer?
3. When was the last time you bought flowers?

Part - 2 Questions

Mr. A was asked to prepare for a minute and speak for 1-2 minutes. The question was:

Tell me about a mistake that you have made.

You should tell:

• When did you make this mistake?
• How and why did you make this mistake?
• And what did you learn from this mistake?

Mr. A talked about the mistake that he made while he was in the University. While answering this question, in the middle of answer, Mr. A was further asked, 

• "Did other people/your friends/other students also make similar Mistake?"

Part - 3 Questions

• Why do people make mistakes?
• Do you like to work in a team or alone?
• What kinds of punishments/actions should be taken if employees make mistake?
• Can there be minor mistakes and major mistakes?

That was the end of IELTS Speaking test for Academic Schedule.

#IELTS #IELTSAstana #IELTSKazakhstan #IELTSAcademic #IELTSEnglishTest #IELTSTEST

Similarly, we also have the Speaking questions asked to Candidate B in General IELTS test conducted by British Council in Astana.

General IELTS Speaking Questions asked to B in Astana, Kazakhstan:

Part - 1 Questions

1. What do you do? Do you work or study?
1.1. Why did you choose this job?
2. Do you like singing?
3. Do you like Science?
4. What do you know about the Science Museums in the City?

Part - 2 Questions

Mr. B was asked to prepare for a minute and speak for 1-2 minutes. The question was:

Tell me about a family that you admire.

You should tell:

• Who is this family?
• Why do you admire them?
• How do you know them?

Part - 3 Questions

• What kind of influence media and TV can have on the modern family?
• What children can learn from their grandparents?

That was the end of IELTS Speaking test for General Module.

#IELTS #IELTSAstana #IELTSKazakhstan #IELTSAcademic #IELTSEnglishTest #IELTSTEST

Note: The IELTS Speaking test was conducted on June 23 and 24 in Astana.

Do visit our blog regularly. We will bring you more test questions and answer very soon.

Goodbye!

Подготовка к IELTS в Алматы, Астане, Актау, Атырау
сдавать экзамены IELTS. Сдача теста IELTS играет немаловажную роль в жизни человека, если он принял решение пройти обучение за границей

Полностью провалить экзамен IELTS невозможно. Минимальную оценку «0» тестируемый получает лишь не прибыв на сдачу экзамена. В остальных ситуациях сертификат выдается с полученными баллами от одного до девяти (1-9) – данные показатели и будут являться Вашей оценкой.

В основном, для иммиграции достаточно набрать 5-6 баллов, а для того, чтобы поступить в зарубежное учебное заведение уже необходимо получить 7-7,5 баллов.

Срок действительности сертификата IELTS составляет всего 2 года. По окончанию этого срока придется заново идти на подтверждение своих языковых знаний.

В ходе экзамена IELTS оценке подвергаются все языковые умения и навыки тестируемых. Так как в ходе тестирования оцениваются и чтение, и письмо, и разговорная речь, и аудирование, то каждая из этих оценок вносят равный вклад в конечный результат экзамена.


Существует два вида экзаменов IELTS:

Academic module – рассчитан на поступление в учебное заведение;

General module – рассчитан на уезжающих за рубеж на работу или постоянное место жительства.

 Статистика показывает, что большинство людей, которые сдали General module отправляются потом в Канаду, Новую Зеландию, Австралию.

А те, кто получил сертификат IELTS Academic module, выбирают пунктом назначения страны Европы.

Для того чтобы Вы могли успешно сдать экзамены по IELTS мы предлагаем Вам пройти специальные курсы «Подготовка к IELTS».

Курсы IELTS проводят квалифицированные специалисты. Подготовкой руководят как местные преподаватели, так и носители языка (иностранные преподаватели).

 Длительность курса составляет 45 академических часов (5 недель).

Занятия проходят как в группах, так и индивидуально.

 Программа курсов подготовки к IELTS включает в себя все направления тестов:

- ielts writing;

- ielts speaking;

- ielts listening;

- ielts reading.



С нами Вам всегда доступна подготовка к IELTS в Астане!

IELTS in Astana conducted by British Council - Academic IELTS and General IELTS

Hello Everyone, I was quite busy in the last few days and could not update my blog but I am back again. Life has been on a roller coaster ride and it has been quite tough but I hope to update my blog continuously in the future.

Today, I have an update from Student A and from Student B who have appeared for IELTS Examination recently in Astana. A appeared for Academic IELTS and B appeared for General IELTS. They have remembered some of the questions and have shared with us.

Academic IELTS Speaking Questions asked to A in Astana, Kazakhstan:

Part - 1 Questions

1. What do you do? Do you work or study?
1.1. Why did you choose this job?
2. Do you like singing? Who is your favourite singer?
3. When was the last time you bought flowers?

Part - 2 Questions

Mr. A was asked to prepare for a minute and speak for 1-2 minutes. The question was:

Tell me about a mistake that you have made.

You should tell:

• When did you make this mistake?
• How and why did you make this mistake?
• And what did you learn from this mistake?

Mr. A talked about the mistake that he made while he was in the University. While answering this question, in the middle of answer, Mr. A was further asked, 

• "Did other people/your friends/other students also make similar Mistake?"

Part - 3 Questions

• Why do people make mistakes?
• What kinds of punishments/actions should be taken if employees make mistake?
• Can there be minor mistakes and major mistakes?

That was the end of IELTS Speaking test for Academic Schedule.

#IELTS #IELTSAstana #IELTSKazakhstan #IELTSAcademic #IELTSEnglishTest #IELTSTEST

Similarly, we also have the Speaking questions asked to Candidate B in General IELTS test conducted by British Council in Astana.

General IELTS Speaking Questions asked to B in Astana, Kazakhstan:

Part - 1 Questions

1. What do you do? Do you work or study?
1.1. Why did you choose this job?
2. Do you like singing?
3. Do you like Science?
4. What do you know about the Science Museums in the City?

Part - 2 Questions

Mr. B was asked to prepare for a minute and speak for 1-2 minutes. The question was:

Tell me about a family that you admire.

You should tell:

• Who is this family?
• Why do you admire them?
• How do you know them?

Part - 3 Questions

• What kind of influence media and TV can have on the modern family?
• What children can learn from their grandparents?

That was the end of IELTS Speaking test for General Module.

#IELTS #IELTSAstana #IELTSKazakhstan #IELTSAcademic #IELTSEnglishTest #IELTSTEST

Note: The IELTS Speaking test was conducted on June 23 and 24 in Astana.

Do visit our blog regularly. We will bring you more test questions and answer very soon.

Goodbye!