IELTS: Mental preparation
It seems that everyone is talking about the best way to prepare for IELTS. Whether we need a study plan or not, how do we master the art of interviewing, what is a good IELTS essay, etc? Well, aren’t we forgetting something? What about the mental aspect?
IELTS, like many other similar tests, requires no less (and can be even more) psychological preparation than good solid study. While reading this, at least two questions must be running through your mind – what kind of psychological preparation, and what do we need for this?
In my opinion, anyone who is planning to take IELTS should be aware that there is a lot of pressure involved in it. For example, the fact that the tape is only played once during the listening section can be very intimidating, so if you miss an answer – you’ve lost it forever, with no second chance. Or trying to speak for at least two minutes during the interview without looking at your watch can scare the person like hell. It is also very easy to get depressed in the process of studying, only looking at the list of tasks that you need to know how to do quickly and correctly.
Being mentally prepared for IELTS does two things for you – it helps you study more effectively and lets you focus on the exam instead of your fears. You can start this preparation by setting a realistic goal – an IELTS band score that you need to achieve. Knowing your target score makes it easier for you to measure yourself – where you are now and what you need to improve to reach the goal. That way you know exactly how many answers out of 40 can be wrong and still reach your goal.
While preparing for IELTS, the most important thing is to realize that time is a luxury that you do not have. That is why strategies were developed to deal with this limitation, and one of them is – to skip time consuming questions. If it takes too long – give up, move on. Some people find it very difficult to give up because of pride, parenting or perfectionism, and they end up hurting by it. To make sure this doesn’t happen to you, train your mind to obey you beforehand.
Another important aspect is knowing your weaknesses. In the process of study you get to know what are your weakest points when it comes to IELTS. The most natural thing is to focus more on those weak areas and don’t get discouraged if you find one subject more difficult than the other. Knowing what to expect of yourself makes it easier to take control of your actions and behavior. For example if you have a tendency to write long complex sentences and you are aware of it – you will pay extra attention to this aspect.
And finally, a very common problem: procrastination. You already know that you have to pass IELTS perfectly, that this is the door to your dreams but anyway – you can’t start studying by yourself. Solution: Commit to it! Set a time limit, start telling people that you are studying for IELTS, tell everyone. The shame of not living up to people’s expectations will push you towards your goal, which is to ace IELTS and forget about it.
