IELTS Energy 1446: How to Crush IELTS
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This is an IELTS Energy Podcast, Episode 1446, How to Crush IELTS.

Welcome to the IELTS Energy Podcast from All Ears English, downloaded more than 22 million times with former IELTS examiner Jessica Beck and Aubrey Carter, the IELTS whiz. If you are stuck with a low score, our insider method will help you get the score you need to unlock your dreams. Get your estimated band score now with our two-minute quiz. Go to allearsenglish.com

forward slash my score. We want to make sure you kill the IELTS exam. Today you'll learn vocabulary for excelling as well as tips that will help you crush every part of the exam.

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when you visit buyatoyota.com. That's B-U-Y-A-T-O-Y-O-T-A.com. Toyota, let's go places. Aubrey, have you like really crushed anything lately?

Lately. It's funny because I was going to talk about an exam from high school that I crushed. That's a long time ago. Let's think of something more recent. No, that's fine. That's great. I did crush the AP English exam, which is kind of top of mind because my daughter took it not long ago. And I crushed it when I took it. I got a five.

That's rad. Of course you did. That's why you're on this podcast right now. Right. It was all leading you to all ears English. Anyway, guys, welcome to today's episode. We are talking about some great vocabulary, but also testing tips today. Because

i feel like we've done a lot of episodes recently teaching vocabulary and then giving you example sentences of using that vocab on the exam and while those episodes are extremely useful we wanted to take today's episode in a little bit of a different direction so we are going to teach you great vocab very slangy like awesome not studenty vocab very native stuff but

We're going to use this vocab to talk about one pro insider tip for each part of the IELTS exam. Yes, love this. The first vocab that we're going to teach you is kill, which sounds quite violent. It sounds terrible. But we do say this, right? You're going to kill it. You're going to do it. Like, yeah, I say this all the time. I'm most likely to say this to one of my kids if they're about to take an exam. Like, you're going to kill it.

Totally. I'll say this to James before he like goes to play a soccer game or a basketball game. Right. Um, I said this to him before basketball trials. I'm like, you're gonna kill it. You're gonna do awesome. I say this more than crush for sure. So I do too. All of today's vocab guys, it is informal, right? This is informal slangy stuff. So it is great for general training letter if it's informal and it's also fantastic for IELTS part one and part two.

speaking, right? Yes, exactly right. If you're asked at any time you talk about performance, especially sports, schoolwork, work performance, you know, you could be like, I had a presentation last week and I killed it. Just means you did a great job. You succeeded. You did really well.

of today's vocabulary. It's all very positive. It's a great way to be entering into the new year, right? It all means doing really well. That's all it is, doing really well. So we talked about kill. We gave you some examples. Now, let's use this in a strategy chat. How, what is the number one tip for how to kill the IELTS exam?

Yes, you can kill IELTS by preparing for sure, but also balancing your preparation. You need to balance learning strategies and practicing the skills you are learning. Whenever we create a course, we think about this a lot, like balancing what someone is learning, because when we're on our own and we just start Googling and searching, often that's the hardest thing to do is to strike a balance on what we're learning. Exactly. So IELTS isn't just about testing strategies.

That's why you cannot just do a bunch of practice tests and then do well on IELTS, right? You can't just like do some Cambridge practice test books and then go and like crush IELTS on test day. No, that's not how it works, guys. You have to have a balance of the IELTS strategies, but also you have to have a high level of English. So just a reminder, guys, we do have leveled English courses for general fluency. That's

will increase that level for IELTS. Our B2 course is fantastic if that's where you're at. Our C1 course is amazing if that's where you're at. So if you want to check those out, just go to our website, allearsenglish.com. All right. So we talked about killing the IELTS exam. Now, the next word is crush. You're going to crush it. It's the same positive, encouraging meaning as kill.

Yeah, we'd use it in the exact same way, right? You can crush it. If your kids go into play sports, you're going to crush it. I crushed that presentation at work. Just means you did really well. Totally. So Aubrey, how can our listeners crush IELTS listening?

Yeah, so you definitely need to be listening to a variety of materials. It's not enough just to listen to the news in English, for example. You should definitely listen to an audiobook that you love, that you find engaging. You're going to listen to that a lot longer and probably pay more attention to the vocabulary than the news, right? Yes, you need to be listening to the news as well. You've got to be learning a topic-specific vocabulary for a lot of different topics, but also listen to something you love.

I mean, I guess that's really the theme today, right? Is balance, right? You can't just do one thing and expect to succeed because you don't know what you're going to hear on the IELTS exam, right? And English is not static. None of these skills are static or, you know, just practiced in and of themselves. Listening is going to improve your speaking, your vocabulary.

You know, everything is connected, guys. So that is great advice. Don't just listen to this podcast, but...

keep listening to this podcast but listen to it yeah um i just realized not that long ago that there are like if you subscribe to um spotify like if you have spotify premium if you pay for it um there's so many free audiobooks and like brand new ones on there i started listening to shares autobiography last week and i'm like oh that way into it it's so good that's awesome i love share

I wonder if Apple Music has a similar feature because I don't do Spotify, I do Apple Music and maybe I'm going to have to look into that because I love a good audio book. I know. And like, yeah, so you don't have to pay for them, right? Look for free audio books. That's another takeaway. All right, guys. So the next phrase is rock. We say this all the time, right? But I like this as like an adjective to describe somebody doing something well, right? You rock. Just as an adjective, it's great. Like I, man,

We're rocking on this podcast. That's a verb. We rock on this podcast. Yeah. Or say it about yourself, right? Anything part one and they're asking about, you know, again, your job, something where you're talking about your performance to be like, I rocked it or I rock to describe yourself just as doing well at something. And part two, if you're asked to describe your best friend, right? You could start off by saying, first of all, let me just say she rocks. She is an amazing person, right?

Okay, so Aubrey, how can our students rock reading? - Yeah, so first of all, be sure that you are reading a novel in English and I recommend, I really love to read a novel in Spanish or French that I've already read in English.

So that I'm more familiar with the vocabulary. I don't feel like I'm having to look up every word or sometimes I'll read them in tandem. That really helps as well because you don't want your brain to be like working so hard that you give up quickly, right? Scaffold for yourself. And then maybe in a couple of books, then you'll be ready to read one that you've never read before in your first language. But you can start by making it a little easier on yourself.

I love it. Or, you know, what if you've seen the movies also like Harry Potter, right? Everybody's seen Harry Potter, I hope. Go and read the books, right? Yeah, that's great. Read something that you're going to enjoy and also that you already know something about so you're more ready to understand it. But again, here, guys, variety is the key. So

In addition to novels, think about magazines, comics, blogs, newspapers. I mean, there's so much stuff that you could read just right on your phone, right? Just make sure that it's a variety that covers a lot of different topics. Yeah, don't feel like you're limited to the news. Yes, you need to be reading news articles, but you can also read articles about your hobbies, things you're passionate about. The more variety you can take in, the more interesting vocabulary you're learning. Yeah.

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Plus, both Camrys and Corollas are available in hybrid models. So no matter your style, you can drive efficiently and affordably. So visit your local Toyota dealer and check out amazing national sales event deals on Camrys, Corollas, and more when you visit buyatoyota.com. Toyota, let's go places.

All right, so the next vocabulary word is ace. I feel like this is an old one. I don't say it that often. It has a more specific meaning, right? The first four words we taught are general, just like doing well. That's what they mean, doing really well. To ace something is really to get an A or to do something perfectly. So it's a more specific meaning, but we do still use this verb.

Yeah, and the same would still use it for like doing a presentation, even though you're not getting a grade. I could be like, I aced that. I aced that presentation. We use it pretty flexibly. Exactly, exactly. So yeah, it's not just doing well, it's doing something like perfectly, you know, like just exactly the way you want to. So how can students ace writing? Yeah.

Yeah, so first of all you need to be reading good writing, right? The more... I am a good writer because I read so much. You see grammar that you can use in your own writing. You learn vocabulary as you're reading. So if you are reading good writing, and especially writing that will pull you in, this is going to teach you how to organize your own writing.

Jessica, what else about like the examiner is looking for specific things in task one and task two, right? Yeah, guys, you got to remember that IELTS is a very unique exam. You cannot write the same essay that you'll do on TOEFL. You can't write the same kind of essay you'll do in a college class. IELTS is unique. So we'll start there with task one. I mean, with task two, because that's the essay, right? It has to be a four paragraph essay. We, of

finding a good dependable template like our templates and three keys IELTS. You just need to have a four paragraph essay with body paragraphs that are built out in a very specific way, you know, a limited number of ideas with a lot of details and examples. And then task one, what the heck? I mean, nobody writes letters anymore, right? But general training, you have to write a very specific kind of letter and

academic task one, get out of here. It's so weird. Nobody writes stuff like this, describing a chart in this way. So guys, this is, again, this is the balance we're talking about. You have to be a good writer. Your writing fluency has to be high level. Your English has to be up there. But you also have to know exactly

what the examiner is looking for. We've done lots of episodes about writing, right? So remember to hit follow or subscribe on YouTube right now so you can see all of these amazing shows.

Yes. And again, it's about balance, right? You can't just write 13 task two essays in one day and expect to not burn out. You need to be balancing what you're spending time on, being really thoughtful about it. You don't want your IELTS preparation to be miserable, right? You can keep it interesting and fun, and that is really going to make a difference. Yes. It's all about balance. I feel like this is a great message for our new year that's coming up. So guys...

So that's the takeaway today, balance. Everything is about balance in IELTS preparation and life, if I do say so. So guys, go to holliersenglish.com. You can see a lot of free resources there and find out about our paid courses as well. - Awesome, great vocab today, great tips. Thanks for joining us, guys. - Thank you, Aubrey. I'll see you next week. - See ya, bye. - Bye.

Thanks for listening to IELTS Energy. Hit subscribe now and don't forget to find your estimated band score at allearsenglish.com slash myscore.