How to make an effective IELTS study schedule at home

To achieve high results in the IELTS exam, you need to study hard and try your best. So, how to make a plan? IELTS study schedule effectively? Let's ETEST English for Study Abroad Discover important and useful tips to help you build your own IELTS study schedule at home in the article below.

What to prepare when making an IELTS study schedule

Before creating a specific and detailed schedule for self-studying IELTS at home, you need to prepare the following to increase the effectiveness of your review:

Define goals

Goals are one of the most important factors when you prepare to take the IELTS exam. Why do I take the IELTS exam and what band score do I need to achieve? Clearly answer these questions before creating a specific IELTS self-study schedule.

Not only will this help you have more motivation to study, but knowing what you want will also boost your determination and effort to achieve that goal. From here, you can create a specific IELTS self-study schedule and estimate the time needed to achieve your desired score.

Determine your level

Determining your current English level is also extremely important, because this is the deciding factor in how much you can improve during your self-study process. Understanding your own ability will help you know how much effort you need to put in to achieve your goals. Thanks to that, your IELTS study schedule will become more effective and reasonable.

There are many ways to test your abilities, and one of the most effective ways is to take tests before starting your self-study process.

Here are some suggested websites to help you assess your English proficiency:

• cambridgeenglish.org
• learnenglish.britishcouncil.org
• examenglish.com

Find out the route now IELTS for beginners effective at ETEST!

Choose learning materials that match your goals

Before making a self-study schedule for IELTS, you also need to prepare yourself with the necessary materials and textbooks. Do not use unofficial materials, instead use books from Cambridge, or the IELTS practice test from reputable test preparation centers.

See also: IELTS study materials best for each skill

How to make a reasonable IELTS self-study schedule

Below are some steps you can refer to to create a reasonable IELTS study schedule:

Determine exam time

To create an effective IELTS study schedule, the first thing to do is to determine the date. Register for IELTS official.

Once you have registered for your test date, you need to update your study schedule accordingly. Setting clear goals will help you focus and work harder to achieve your desired score.

If you have not yet chosen a specific exam date, estimate the time period in which you plan to take the exam. In which quarter or month do you plan to take the exam? In this case, you need to plan your study at least 2 months before the expected date. This will give you enough time to prepare thoroughly and achieve high efficiency in the review process.

Arrange effective self-study time

Depending on your level as well as the time you have to study IELTS every day, you can arrange a reasonable self-study time.

Normally, there will be 2 main levels when starting the IELTS self-study process:

Beginners, no background knowledge

During this period, self-studying IELTS will certainly be very difficult, because you have gaps related to grammar and your vocabulary is not yet large.

Therefore, it is necessary to create a reasonable IELTS self-study schedule to both consolidate grammar foundation, improve vocabulary and gradually get used to self-studying all 4 skills.

Specifically:

• Spend about 80% of your daily self-study time to strengthen your grammar foundation.
• You can combine some basic Listening and Reading exercises to gradually get used to practicing the skills.
• Learn vocabulary every day, but don't cram too much into it and end up overloaded. Instead, alternate study sessions with review sessions to reinforce the vocabulary you've learned.

See also: How to learn English grammar effectively

For those who already have basic knowledge, start getting familiar with IELTS test formats.

This group is mostly people who already have basic knowledge of English or have studied it before. However, there may still be shortcomings in grammar, so at this stage we need to focus more on developing specific skills such as:

• Spend 50% of time to reinforce grammar and correct common mistakes when doing the test.
• 50% The remaining time is used to improve all 4 skills. You can divide the learning into 2 skills a day to avoid boredom.

Note: In fact, the 4 skills of the IELTS test are not separate, but are very closely related.

For example:

• The IELTS vocabulary What you learn when doing Reading is often formal and serious ⇒ thereby contributing to promoting your Writing skills.
• Listening tests often use familiar everyday language. Practicing listening a lot will help you have more suitable vocabulary to use for the Speaking test.

Therefore, you can combine Writing with Reading, or Listening and Speaking is also a very reasonable combination.

Learn one IELTS skill a day

The IELTS test consists of 4 skills: LISTENING – SPEAKING – READING – WRITING. Some people are so worried that they choose to cram, studying all 4 skills every day to quickly get a higher band score.

However, this method is almost ineffective, even creating the opposite effect, making you easily feel discouraged and no longer focused on the self-study process.

The most suitable way to learn is to divide it into learning only one skill in a day, but learn it thoroughly and make sure you make progress after each lesson.

For difficult skills or skills that you are weak in, practice from easy to difficult level. This will help you improve your score effectively, and the review process will also be more productive.

In addition, do not just focus on the 4 specific skills above, but also pay attention to reviewing grammar and improving vocabulary every day. This is the basic foundation to help your score increase steadily.

Practice concentration and patience

Self-study IELTS at home It has never been an easy and quick process. It will take you a lot of time to achieve the score you want.

Especially for those who are new to this IELTS, not knowing anything about this certificate will easily cause a feeling of lethargy, boredom and lack of motivation. Therefore, try to focus and be patient during self-study time.

While doing the test or reviewing, stay away from electronic devices such as phones, TVs, etc. Temporarily turn off the ringer so you don't hear notifications or messages until you finish studying.

Besides, you also need to be consistent with the goals you have set. This is the prerequisite to keep the fire burning, helping you have more motivation in the self-study process.

Arrange reasonable rest and relaxation time

IELTS preparation is an extremely hard process, don't forget to give yourself some reasonable time to rest and relax in your IELTS self-study schedule.

Set a break time between your study time, for example, study for 30 minutes continuously and take a 5-minute break, or study for 50 minutes continuously and take a 10-minute break. Relaxing and resting will help you dispel fatigue, avoid getting bored or giving up halfway.

You can also take advantage of your daily free time to passively absorb English such as reading newspapers, listening to music or watching movies in English. This method will help you remember new vocabulary faster and longer, much more effectively than the stressful, cramming method.

Practice test before the official test starts

The ideal time to start taking practice tests is 1-2 months before the official exam. Practice tests will help you determine your abilities, thereby strengthening your knowledge and skills and giving you more motivation to strive further.

Effective IELTS home study schedule

If you are wondering how to make a reasonable IELTS self-study schedule, here is how a candidate allocates time. 8.0 IELTS that you can refer to and apply at ETEST English for Study Abroad:

STT	Read newspaper, listen to music, watch movies	Practice Listening and Reading skills	Practice pronunciation	Practice Speaking Skills	Grammar Practice	Practice Writing Skills	Do exercises in IELTS textbook	Total study time
Day 1	1-2 hours	30 minutes	20 minutes				1 hour	3-4 hours
Day 2	1-2 hours	30 minutes	30 minutes	30 minutes	30 minutes		3-4 hours
Day 3	1-2 hours	30 minutes	20 minutes				1 hour	3-4 hours
Day 4	1-2 hours	30 minutes		30 minutes		30 minutes		3-4 hours
Day 5	1-2 hours	30 minutes	20 minutes				1 hour	3-4 hours
Day 6	1-2 hours	30 minutes		30 minutes	30 minutes	30 minutes		3-4 hours
Day 7	1-2 hours	30 minutes	20 minutes				1 hour	3-4 hours
Day 8	1-2 hours	30 minutes		30 minutes		30 minutes		3-4 hours
Day 9	1-2 hours	30 minutes	20 minutes			x	1 hour	3-4 hours
Day 10	1-2 hours	30 minutes		30 minutes	30 minutes	30 minutes		3-4 hours

Through the above article, ETEST English for Study Abroad has provided you with specific and detailed steps to build an effective IELTS self-study schedule at home. If you have any questions related to the IELTS test or courses, please contact ETEST Study Abroad English immediately for advice and dedicated support.

ETEST English for Study Abroad currently offering the IELTS course suitable for each person's level and time. Regular, consistent and continuous study will certainly help your IELTS preparation become more effective and productive.

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