My IELTS experience

I took the “IELTS UK VI ACADEMIC” in November 2018.

1) Why do we have to give this test?

This test is to determine whether you can communicate effectively in their local language, English. We are used to communicating with our patients in their local language and then jotting the notes in English. But, when working in the UK one must be prepared to communicate with the patients in English, especially because the accents are different, both of the patient and the doctor. I didn’t think of it as a big deal initially, but later I realized that I found it easier to perform history taking and counselling in Marathi or Hindi, simply because I had trained that way for the past few years. There are certain words which don’t have an equivalent English word to describe it exactly so I had to make a transition.

2) What is this exam like?

o Before I delve into the depths of it, I want to highlight that this test is unlike the regular English exams in school. There is an expected set pattern to everything that we must follow in every section. I cannot cover the entire pattern in this article so I will give you the links while covering the other aspects briefly.

o The exam itself has 4 components - to test your ability to read, write and speak in English, and comprehend native English speakers by listening to their audio clips.

o Usually Speaking test is conducted separately on another day but you may have it on the same day itself. They should let you know at least a week in advance.

i) Listening: You can read the questions for a particular section before they play an audio clip of a native English speaker/s which cannot be paused or replayed. You must then jot down the answers while carefully listening to the clip. Later, you can transfer the answers to your final answer sheet. My test started with the listening session.

ii) Reading: They provide a few paragraphs followed by questions on the same, just like the comprehension tests in school. However, please note that, unlike the listening session, there is no additional time to transfer your answers to the answer sheet after the reading session.

iii) Writing: You have to write a short and a long essay of specified word lengths. There are different types of essays of which you may be given any 2. There’s a slightly different approach to each of these types. Please note that they collect the answer sheets after the listening and reading session before handing over the writing test. So you should have completed those sections beforehand.

iv) Speaking: You must converse with the examiner sitting across the table, which is video and audio recorded. My examiner was roughly my age and quite friendly. They are not threatening or trying to ask twisted questions unlike what you may have experienced in school or college.

3) How did I prepare for this exam?

Materials:

a) Oxford/ Cambridge IELTS: Get one or two latest books and solve them for a brief idea about reading and listening. Solve it with a pencil. If you get something wrong, especially in the listening part, erase your answers and repeat that portion after a while. They are available at local bookstores and even on Amazon. (This is not a sponsored post).

(1) I used to get the 'understanding maps' part wrong, in the listening part. Sometimes, it was difficult to grasp if they said the plural form or singular one, for example, bird vs birds. So I would skim through the questions, to get an idea of what the answers could be, and then carefully listen to the audio for these words. You get that with a bit of practice. For the maps, sometimes I would mark the map while listening to the audio and then get back to properly filling in the answers later on.

(2) I was unable to get feedback for my essays. Even though I got them reviewed from friends and family, it was tough to estimate how much I would score. This is where the extensive collection of essays on Liz's website came in handy. I spent more time analysing the construction of the essays and less time writing them myself. This improved my understanding of their expectations. I just had to stick to their format just like we do in letter writing. I wrote less than 10 essays, but I made sure to learn from my mistakes. You don't need to write a certain number of times, but you must aim to improve every single time.

(3) My only regret:-

I practised writing with my favourite pen. My speed was fast enough to leave me with sufficient time to check my essay at the end. However, in the exam, I was told to write with a pencil which I had to sharpen at least twice. It slowed me down, breaking the flow of my thoughts. I barely got a few seconds to check my essay. Had I been able to go over it even once, I am sure I would’ve corrected some errors and scored higher.

(4) We need to get 7.0, overall as well as in each section, to be eligible for the PLAB exam. But they demand 7.5 for applying to FY2 posts in the UK. If you get an exact 7.0 in writing, you will be able to give PLAB but would not eligible for the FY2 post, even with a 9.0 in another section. Extra marks in one section won't compensate for fewer marks in the other. In case your aim is to enter FY2 training then please make 7.5 as your target. Non-training posts don't have this requirement of 7.5.

(5) So the take-home points are:

• Practice writing with both pen and pencil.

• Make sure you are always able to review your essay.

• Understand the different types of essays and the expected format for each.

• Before you start writing anything on the answer sheet, take a few moments to think about how you want to structure your essay and what keywords you’d want to elaborate on, in each section. Write this down in the rough work area. This will prevent you from getting carried away while writing the essay.

• Ask for feedback from colleagues, if possible.

b) For the speaking part:

I went through the recent common topics listed on IELTS Liz website. My friend, Nichelle was kind and patient enough to randomly challenge me with the topics followed by giving me feedback along with some of her own ideas. I jotted down the key points related to the topics that we discussed.

· Most likely, you’ll get a totally different topic to speak on. Nevertheless, practising like this will allow you to reflect on the mistakes you make when speaking impromptu. It also helps to streamline the thoughts when a random concept or topic is thrown at you.

· We may be asked to talk about something we may have never experienced. You’ll be at an advantage if you are good at storytelling, but most of us are not. Some of us feel we cannot make up things on the spot. I feel it’s an English exam and not a declaration in court, so we are allowed to make up a story if the situation demands. The important thing is to try to be composed and answer calmly.

· I had to speak on a topic I had very little idea of and yet I managed to score well. Sometimes it not what you know but how you present it.

4) Some more tips:

a. Reading:-Quickly skim through the paragraph to find the topics for each section. Always mark or circle the keywords in the paragraph so that you don’t have to re-read the whole thing if you have to come back to it later on. Then read the questions and get back to reading the paragraph in a targeted fashion.

b. Listening:- Writing answers in capitals will help avoid silly mistakes.

c. Speaking:-Record yourself speaking on a topic and listen to it besides getting feedback from friends.

d. In general:-

· Confirm the location of the test centre, and if you can, pay a visit before the actual date.

· Carry enough eatables as the registration can take quite some time.

· They do have a place to deposit the bags with a tag, yet label your belongings well and don’t carry unnecessary expensive things.

· They provide water, pencils, a pen, an eraser, a sharpener and headphones for the listening part. Always check the audio quality! Alert the invigilator if any issues arise while listening to the sample audio. My headphones weren’t working so I informed them and they were promptly changed.

· As you know, it’s crucial to be attentive at every second of the test. Displaced headphones cause loss of time and marks, especially if it involves understanding a map. Ensure that they are secured in place.

5) How much time do you need to prepare for this?

I gave about 2-3 weeks for it. However, it depends on how eloquent you are currently. Everyone has a different starting point. I know people who passed without studying and also those who had to repeat even after dedicating a lot more days compared to me.

Let me give a background about myself so that you can judge how many days you would require:

I passed from an SSC English medium school where I could easily score a distinction in English without stress. I feel confident speaking impromptu. My targets were to improve my vocabulary, stick to the expected pattern of essay writing and avoid grammatical errors. If you are from ICSE or CBSE board, I assume that it will be a cakewalk for most of you.

Initially, I took it quite lightly just like the other English exams in school, so maybe it was a little late by the time I started preparing seriously. The main hurdle was to get used to the pattern of the test. I spent an entire week utilizing the Cambridge and British council books followed by going through Liz's writing and speaking sections in the next week. Retrospectively, I should have done it the other way round. All is well that ends well.

6) Is there anything else that I should know about this exam?

i) There are different subtypes of IELTS exams. We have to give the “UK VI ACADEMIC’’ exam, which enables us to take the PLAB as well as get the VISA (Hence, the VI in its name).

ii) You can choose to give it through IDP or Cambridge, but I chose to give it via the British Council just based on reviews from friends.

iii) There are centres in multiple cities in India and abroad. You can choose any one of them.

iv) You can choose to give the computer-based exam, however, I preferred the paper-based one because I find it more comfortable and faster with fewer chances of a glare induced headache or technical glitches impairing my performance. Plus I have my own way of symbolically marking things I need to get back to or are important, especially in the reading section, which is only possible with pencil and paper.

v) The validity of the results is only 2 years. So plan to take it roughly 6 months before your PLAB 1. This way, when you get the results, you'll have sufficient time to book and study for the PLAB 1 test or retake IELTS if you need to. PLAB 1 dates are booked months in advance, so if you miss the March date and can't travel abroad for it, you’ll have to give it in November. You must aim to get GMC registration within the 2 years of validity.

7) How do I book this test?

i) Click to visit the website for the British council.

ii) Fill in the details accurately and be careful to choose UK VI ACADEMIC only. I had made a mistake in writing my email id as “ XYZ gmail.com”. There was a typo and the ‘@’ had been omitted. This is a big issue because they send all the correspondence to your email. Thankfully I found it while rechecking my form and had to make a second account using my alternative email id.

iii) Make the payment using Credit card visa card. I was unable to pay using a debit card. The cost is approx. 15,000 INR (as of June 2020)

iv) They will send a booklet with sample tests and a CD with the audio clips by post.

v) Keep an eye out for their email regarding the date of your speaking test, which could be a week prior or later to your booked date. So it’s better to be prepared in advance.

8) What about OET?

Although it is being accepted instead of IELTS, I don’t have personal experience of it as it was approved after I appeared for IELTS. Check out this link https://www.occupationalenglishtest.org/ for more information.

Hope you find this useful :) If you did, hit like and share it with your friends. Suggestions, constructive criticism and doubts are always welcome.

Have a lovely day!