Grammar IELTS itu Mudah

Jangan pernah berpikir examiner akan melewatkan yang satu ini. Grammatical structures yang ditandai dengan penggunaan simple dan complex structure dalam speaking module 1, 2, and 3 sangat menentukan peraihan IELTS Anda.

Simple structure dengan one grammatical structure mengindikasikan ACCURACY Anda dalam mengeksplor idea, ‘I like shopping’ or ‘I went shopping yesterday and bought some eggs.’ Dan Complex structure dengan more than one grammatical structure juga mengindikasikan RANGE Anda terhadap idea yang dipresentasikan, ‘I would buy cars if I had a million dollars.’ or ‘She is the girl who returned the book to me.’ Sebagai calon candidate yang akan mengikuti tes IELTS, Anda harus bisa mengeliminir semua kekeliruan-kekeliruan penggunaan simple dan complex sentence.

Speed Reading IELTS

Beberapa tahun yang lalu, saya mengikuti pelatihan SPEED-READING IELTS yang diadakan oleh sebuah lembaga asing. Di dalam pelatihan tersebut saya diajarkan cara yang sangat luar biasa melakukan SPEED-READING untuk meningkatkan konsentrasi saya. Pengetahuan itu saya bagikan ke Anda dalam tulisan ini.

Look at the picture and learn the vocabularies used

1. Rose/ increased steadily
2. Rose/ increased dramatically
3. Rose/ increased gradually
4. Plunged to ...
5. Peaked at / reached a high of ...
6. Stood at
7. Fluctuated
8. Fell/ dropped dramatically/ sharply
9. Reach a trough of ...
10. Remained constant/ unchanged/ stable at ...
11. Levelled off/ evened out at ...
12. Hit a low of ...

Unfamiliar Vocabulary in Reading IELTS

It is more than likely for you to deal with some unfamiliar vocabularies. Being panic for sure is not the best solution to have. Instead, you can practice on the following strategies to solve your vocabulary problem.

Check the content

You should check at the surrounding words of the difficult vocabulary. You can have a look at the words just before and after the unfamiliar vocabulary. Those words will help you to guess the meaning correctly, based on the context.

Look for a definition

For some cases, the writer realizes that the word that he or she uses might be very uncommon. Therefore, they usually simply translate the meaning of that word by using easier to understand unfamiliar vocabulary.

Identify the word’s place and purpose

Understanding whether a word is a noun, adjective, a verb or an adverb in a sentence is very essential skill to own. It will also help in understanding the meaning of the word.

Look for connective words

Connective words usually located near the unfamiliar vocabulary. That is why it can be used to help in identifying the general direction of the argument. There are four kinds of common connective words, including addition, sequence in order, consequence, and contrast/ comparison.

Break the word down into syllable

You can also get help to identify the meaning of the word by knowing pretty well on the common roots, affixes and possible similarity in your own language.

Treat the unknown word as an algebraic entity ‘X’

You can make use the relationship among the unfamiliar vocabulary, ‘X’, and the concept that you are familiar with.  You can use this way to help you answering questions that are related to ‘X’

Source: IELTS to Success Preparation Tips and Practice Test by Eric van Bemmel and Janina Tucker (Melbourne: 1997)

Differentiating T/F/NG in Reading IELTS

Always remember that in T/F/NG section, test taker’s ability to find particular information from the reading passage will be assessed. It does not mean that as a test taker, you have to memorize the passage in detail to discern whether the answer is T (True), F (False), or NG (Not Given).

You can use the following guideline to help you determine the correct answer. Read carefully to find the differences.

1. You should pick ‘false’ as the answer when the question states an information or statement that is on the contrary to what is mentioned in the passage. You need to make sure that the argument is in contrast. You can simply draw a line on the sentence in the passage to make sure that you don’t miss any important point.
2. You need to answer ‘not given’ when you cannot find the information or statement mentioned in the passage. In this context, you cannot say it is true and false. It is just a condition where you cannot find any supporting argument to support ‘true’ or ‘false’ as the answer.
3. You can choose ‘true’ as your answer when you find that the information or statement is explicitly mentioned in the passage. You need to be aware because sometimes, the words are not exactly the same but they are same in meaning.

It should be highlighted as well that you should understand that you should not use your prior knowledge to help you answering questions in this section. Every answer that you have should be referred to the passage.

One of the ways to referred back the statement to the reading passage is by scanning and marking. Scanning is important to do remembering that you will get only a short time to read the passage. Marking should not be forgotten as it can give some easiness, especially in verifying our answers.

Source: http://tips-4-ielts.blogspot.com/2011/04/identifying-information-ielts-reading.html

Predicting what is in the passage of reading IELTS

The problem that most of test taker deal with in reading IELTS comes from fear that they have even before they start reading the whole passage. Reading IELTS will be academic text which is sometimes not really familiar for test takers. In this case, you need to remember that being panic does not give you anything. Now, let us learn on how to predict what is the passage in the reading section is about.

Reading passages are only text. They have some items in every passage such as titles, paragraph headings, sub-headings, italicized or bold type, pictures, diagram and other visual information, and tables and charts. You can use these items to have ‘smart guessing’ on what kind of information that the passage is going to give. For example, when you see a picture, you can ask yourself some questions such as:

1. What is happening?
2. Who is doing it?
3. Where is it taking place?
4. Why is it being done?
5. What is needed to do it?
6. What other things do I know about this?

You can try to ask such kind of questions to help you get the prediction. You will be more confident in answering questions and finding the information in the passage because you are using your prior knowledge to help you. Actually, that is the thing we do every day every time we read something. However, it should be noted that for answering the section of T/F/NG, you need to be very careful because may take a wrong answer when you merely use your prior knowledge. Remember that prior knowledge should only be a kind of help for you to predict what is the passage is about. Still, you need to check the answer from the reading passage.

As your daily exercise, you can try to read English newspaper. You can write some questions about a newspaper article after looking at the headings and pictures. Then, find out whether you can find the answer in the passage.

Source: http://www.ieltstips.com/reading_strategies_pdfs/how_can_i_predict_what_the_passage_is_about.pdf

IELTS Reading (Serie 2)

Talking about understanding instruction in IELTS reading section, you need to recognize some important things in this section. Those important things cover the following items.

• What type of question you have to answer (gap-filling, multiple choice, matching information, etc)
• Whether or not the question requires a specific or general answer.
• What form the answer should take (is it in form of number, date, etc)

Besides, you need to master well on how to scan the text for specific answer. The important point from scanning application is the use of time efficiently. You should not spend more than one minute to find each answer. You need to look in the given passage, table, diagram or graph for the answer required. Then, locate keywords in the question and find them. Sometimes, you need to look for its synonym in the text. The sentences around these words are most likely to contain the answer that you need.

If you have some unsure answers, make sure that you give mark on it so that you could go back to those questions later after finishing all questions in that section.

Next skill to master is checking your answers. You should make sure that you leave no blank answer as you will not lose any mark even if you make some incorrect answers. Instead, you could go back to the questions that you consider as difficult ones. In checking the answers, you must keep holding on the instruction given. You should be careful to avoid a simple mistake in answering the questions. In order to help you get the ability to complete this skill, you should also know how to work out with unfamiliar vocabulary and master some common connective words. If you know well about connective words, you will get a big help to understand the general meaning of the text.

Source: IELTS to Success Preparation Tips and Practice Test by Eric van Bemmel and Janina Tucker (Melbourne: 1997)

IELTS Reading (Serie 1)

Most of students deal with difficulty in finishing the reading section on time. They feel that they have not enough time to complete the test. It happened because they have no sufficient skill to have effective and efficient reading activity. In IELTS reading section, there are four main skills that you need to master for smoothing your flow to complete this section.

The first skill is previewing. You can do some actions which are initiated by studying the passage from its title, heading, illustration, diagram, and any print in bold type or italics. Then, you can study key parts of the passage by skimming. You can start by read the first paragraph as usually it focuses on the main idea. Generally, the first sentence for each paragraph expresses the key points of the paragraph, while the concluding paragraph provides a summary of the passage. To make it easier for you, you could use a pen to highlight these ideas.

The second skill you need to master is interpreting the instructions and questions. It is important for you to read the instruction carefully to make sure that you are fully understand on what is required and in what form. It might seem ‘small’ but very determining to your score. Have a look at the following instruction.

Using no more than three words for each, identify TWO types of women that regularly experience discrimination when seeking private rental accommodation. Write the names of one group in boxes 6 and 7 on your answer sheet.

From the above example, you need to understand that using four or more words will not be acceptable. In some cases, many students know the right answer for the question. However, they make a mistake in picking the right for to express his or her answer. That makes them lose chance to add the score. So, it is true that understanding what is required is as important as finding right answer from the passage.

Source: IELTS to Success Preparation Tips and Practice Test by Eric van Bemmel and Janina Tucker (Melbourne: 1997)

5 Cara Meningkatkan Kecakapan Mendengar

Kunci sukses mempelajari bahasa yang baru adalah dengan berlatih sebanyak mungkin. Bahkan jika anda tinggal di wilayah yang jarang orang berbahasa tersebut, kesempatan akan selalu ada bagi anda untuk meningkatkan kecakapan mendengar. Berlatihlah dengan meluangkan sedikitnya 30 menit setiap harinya untuk melakukan kegiatan tertentu guna melihat sejauh mana peningkatan kecakapan mendengarkan anda.

Instruksi:

• Manfaatkan sumber belajar online gratis, seperti situs BBC Learning English dan the English Club, keduanya memiliki fitur pelajaran dan lembar kerja gratis untuk memperkuat kecakapan mendengarkan anda. Situs-situs ini menyajikan latihan diksi, dan lembar kegiatan bersama program radio, berita, puisi, dan banyak lagi.
• Bergabunglah dalam pertukaran dua bahasa dengan menjadwalkan sesi yang setengah waktunya digunakan anda mengajari seseorang berbahasa Inggris untuk mempelajari bahasa anda dan setengahnya lagi orang tersebut mengajari anda berbahasa Inggris. Metode ini cukup menyenangkan karena anda akan bertemu dengan orang baru dan berlatih dengan orang yang memahami seperti apa rasanya belajar bahasa baru, dan tentunya akan lebih sabar. Anda bisa menemukan orang yang tertarik bertukar bahasa dengan membaca bulletin di sekolah bahasa lokal atau komunitas kampus, atau lewat kelompok online.
• Mendengarkan musik berbahasa Inggris, kemudian membaca liriknya untuk melihat apakah anda memahami yang anda dengarkan. Dengarkan lagi lagu tersebut sambil membaca liriknya atau sambil menyanyikannya. Sangatlah penting untuk mendengarkannya terlebih dahulu tanpa membaca liriknya untuk melihat sejauh mana anda bisa memahaminya.
• Tontonlah film berbahasa Inggris tanpa subtitel dan cobalah mengikutinya. Bahkan jika anda tak mengerti setiap kata, pelajari pergerakan tubuh dan petunjuk verbal sang aktor untuk mengetahui apa yang terjadi dalam film tersebut. Ulangi menonton, kali ini dengan menampilkan subtitel guna melihat apakah pemahaman anda benar. Ingatlah, subtitel umumnya tidak cocok kata per kata, karena mereka dirancang untuk dibaca dengan cepat, maka gunakan sebagai cara memahami apa yang terjadi dalam adegan dan bukan sebagai terjemahan yang sempurna atas apa yang sedang diucapkan.
• Jadilah sukarelawan untuk berbicara bahasa Inggris dengan turis asing atau magang di perusahaan tur lokal. Hal ini akan membuat anda berlatih kecakapan mendengarkan bahasa Inggris sehari-hari dengan pembicara bahasa Inggris. Pengalamannya mungkin membuat anda frustasi pada awalnya, namun anda akan senang berada dalam lingkungan yang membuat anda cepat meningkatkan kemampuan mendengarkan bahasa Inggris.

Cara membaca Cepat dan Lebih Baik

Sebelumnya sudah dibahas tentang cara membaca cepat dan lebih baik dengan teknik meusatkan perhatian. Berikut teknik lain yang bisa anda coba.

Berhenti berbicara pada diri sendiri saat anda sedang membaca. Seseorang berbicara pada dirinya dalam 2 cara, yaitu:

• Memvokalisasi, yaitu pergerakan bibir yang nyata saat anda membaca, dan
• Subvokalisasi, yaitu berbicara pada diri sendiri dalam kepala anda sambil membaca dalam hati.

Keduanya bisa memperlambat anda tiba pada poin yang harus anda temukan sehingga anda tidak dapat membaca dengan lebih cepat ketimbang saat anda berbicara. Pidato adalah kegiatan yang relatif perlahan; bagi kebanyakan, kecepatan rata-rata berbicaranya adalah sekitar 250 kpm (kata per menit).

Membaca seharusnya menjadi suatu kegiatan yang hanya melibatkan mata dan otak. Vokalisasi mengaitkan membaca dengan berbicara langsung. Cobalah untuk memikirkan kegiatan membaca seperti saat anda sedang melihat suatu pemandangan, suatu panorama ide, ketimbang melihat bebatuan di bawah kaki anda.

Anda juga bisa membaca dalam kelompok pikiran. Penelitian menunjukkan bahwa saat kita membaca, mata kita harus berhenti sesaat di sepanjang baris. Pembaca yang buruk banyak melakukannya, lebih banyak hentian mata ketimbang pembaca yang baik. Hal ini tak hanya bisa memperlambat anda, tetapi juga menghalangi pemahaman karena makna lebih mudah diambil perkelompok kata ketimbang dari kata per kata atau bahkan huruf per huruf. Cobalah untuk membaca dalam frasa yang terdiri dari tiga atau empat kata. Terutama dalam klausa lengkap dan frasa preposisi. Pikiran anda bisa menginternalisasinya seolah frasa tersebut adalah satu kata yang memiliki makna besar.

Jangan terus membaca frasa yang sama. Pembaca yang buruk mempunyai kebiasaan membaca dan membaca ulang frasa yang sama lagi dan lagi. Kebiasaan membuat regresi waktu membaca dobel atau tripel ini dan seringkali tidak menghasilkan pemahaman yang lebih baik. Membaca dengan kehati-hatian dan peenuh perhatian tak akan cukup untuk benar-benar memahami, tetapi seringkali lebih efektif ketimbang regresi konstan di tengah bacaan. Sangatlah disarankan untuk memberikan perhatian lebih saat bacaan pertama. Lakukan pratinjau dulu sebelum membaca dengan teliti dan anda akan mengingat dengan lebih baik tanpa harus membaca ulang.

Terakhir, ada baiknya anda memvariasikan laju membaca anda untuk menyesuaikan kesulitan dan jenis teks. Pembaca yang buruk selalu membaca dengan laju yang sama perlahannya. Sedangkan seorang pembaca yang efisien mempercepat lajunya pada materi yang mudah dan memperlambat pada materi yang sulit. Beberapa hal tak akan bermakna jika dibaca terlalu cepat. Materi resmi dan teks yang sangat sulit sebaiknya dibaca perlahan. Materi yang lebih mudah dan majalah dan koran dapat dibaca dengan cepat. Puisi dan drama dibuat untuk ditampilkan, dan jika tidak diperagakan, maka setidaknya, dibaca lantang secara lisan. Hal ini tentu akan bertentangan dengan kecepatan metode membaca yang baik yang melarang vokalisasi. Tulisan religious dan kitab suci sesungguhnya ditulis untuk dibacakan dan didengarkan pada audiens yang tak hanya pintar tetapi juga mereka yang buta huruf. Yang menarik dari puisi, drama, atau doa tidaklah benar-benar anda alami jika anda “membaca cepat” teksnya.