I have been preparing students for the Academic IELTS exam for 15 years and one of the main things I hear students tell me after taking the exam is that they didn’t do as well as they could in the reading paper because they ran out of time.
One of the main pieces of preparation we incorporate into the IELTS programme at our school is understanding that the time limit of one hour for reading 3 texts and answering 40 questions is part of the assessment of a student’s reading ability. This is because the stronger their reading skills are the more quickly they will be able to take on board the key information from the reading and then utilise this to answer the questions. Practising exam techniques within a timed environment is key to being successful in the exam.
The next piece of advice I give to English learners who want to improve their reading skills is that there is no substitute for practice, practice and more practice. It might not be the answer you are looking for, but it is 100% true, the main way you can get better at anything is by doing it as much as you can.
There are many resources available to you – use them!
Finding the opportunity to read is made much easier by the amazing variety of free resources available to you. This is especially true if you are a student at The Essential English Centre where we have a huge bank of reading materials to provide to you, but also highly knowledgeable and experienced staff who will point you in the direction of suitable resources. Here are some of the resources I would recommend….
A number of English media outlets offer an uncountable number of articles all free for you to access at just the touch of a button. Here are some of the best:
One of my favourites, apart from the Learning English section of its website, which I have discussed in another blog, the BBC offers short articles on a range of subjects, such as world news, sport, music, film, fashion in fact anything you can think of. These articles are normally short and written in an accessible way so they are great for learners of English who are just starting out on their IELTS preparation.
The Guardian is one of the most respectable British newspapers and offers all of its content online completely free (they also have an app, but here there is a limit to the number of articles you can read each month). Therefore, without paying you can read news and articles going back over 20 years. They cover the same subjects as the BBC, but are normally slightly longer and also harder to read, meaning that once you feel settled into your studies and feel your reading developing, they offer a great next stage in your progress.
For the more academic amongst you, this website has a massive library of professional journal articles. These are written for students and lecturers so are more difficult to read and to understand. However, they not only provide you with some practice for the texts that you will find in the exam, they are also a great way to learn more about the subject you want to study at university. This is because their online library is so extensive that they will have something on your chosen subject.
Libraries
Manchester has many libraries dotted around the city with Manchester Central Library only a short walk from the school in the city centre. Most parts of the city have a local library so you will often find there is one close to your home. Libraries are free for everyone to join, including international students. Once you are a member you can use any of the libraries in the city, which means that you have access to thousands of books (if not tens of thousands) completely free!
With all of this reading, I would really strongly advise finding something on a subject you like. Remember any practice you get will help you improve. My key recommendation is that you read things that are interesting to you because then you will stay motivated, positive and engaged. However, it is also important to try to read some more academic style texts just like those you will encounter in the exam. This will all make a significant difference in improving your reading skills, help you understand the written English word more quickly and so get through those tricky exam texts and questions all the more quickly.
Author: Gary Sangster, Director of Studies, The Essential English Centre
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