“My Tips & Tricks to score 8 bands in IELTS”

Examinations – whether in an academic situation, hospital, for your car license and many other situations– will always leave someone in trepidation! Sometimes in our quest to change our lives for better, we have to surmount some tests along the way and IELTs are no different. I still remember when I took my first test (yes, I’ve done it twice) and it wasn’t exactly a walk in the park. In May 2016, without knowing where my journey would take me, but knowing I needed a change, I took the test and even though the scores weren’t exactly bad (overall score of 7.0), I felt I could have done better. So, where did I go wrong?

English, just like any other language is prone to change, tricky and sneaky. We all have accents (I know, most people think it’s only the British who do), but we all have a way of speaking that identifies our inherent regions. Speaking a language is tricky and if the accents aren’t what you are used to, sneaky. I have to say that the first time I sat for the IELTs test, I hadn’t bothered to practice and didn’t read the test manuals, in essence, I went in blind as a church mouse. That was my greatest mistake. It’s English, how difficult could it be? Funnily enough, it’s not difficult, but rather tricky. How you ask. I’ll explain my experience. In May of 2016, I went in cocky, relishing the coming exam and thinking how I had it all figured out. The results okay, because I knew I could do better.

LISTENING – 6.0

READING – 7.5

WRITING – 7.0

SPEAKING – 8.0

Looking at my scores, I realized my greatest weakness was the LISTENING section. What was I missing? What had I not done properly? Looking back, I discovered my expectation had been that the two people having the conversation would lay out all the answers without any twists and turns. Yes, the sequence of the conversation and the questions is in tandem, but one person will ask something that will get you scrambling to see if you missed another question, or will bring up another topic that is different from the questions that you have in the paper and that will throw you off the plot and leave you lost. That’s why it’s imperative for you to go through the questions in those allocated 60 seconds (I believe) before you begin your listening test. You may get lost (I did the first and second time), but if you have been following the conversation, I’m quite sure you’ll be able to guess an answer (and may end up guessing correctly). Remember, there are no wrong answers in IELTS

In READING I discovered that I had forgotten all about synonyms (a word having the same or nearly the same meaning as another in the language, as happy, joyful, elated, etc.). Trust me, this is something you don’t want to miss because you’ll end up wasting your time looking for the same word in the essay when it’s a different word but with the same meaning that has been used.

EXAMPLE:

In the essay: The farmer was using basic machinery to cultivate his plants and the produce was abysmal.

The question: The simple equipment the farmer was using made his harvest ABYSMAL.

Be on the look-out for such small things because if you don’t know, you’ll miss the bigger picture and end up going through the entire essay (some have as many as 6 – 10 paragraphs). Again, check the questions first before you begin the exam as this way, you can skim through the essays looking for the answers. This works far much better because you know which answer you need to find immediately, rather than re-reading again to find the solution to the problem.

WRITING is fun, truly, you are given a topic and told to put your thoughts on paper. No limitations, just you and the paper talking to each other (yes, I love writing J as you can deduce). There is a simple cardinal rule when it comes to writing – the topic, an outline of your ideas, the body, introduction, conclusion and finishing touches. The topic is already provided, so what do you need? You need to imagine yourself in that moment, in that world and write as if you’ve lived it before. It helps if you can provide examples to back up your suppositions of the stand you’ve taken. Also, be very careful of the words you use, if you aren’t sure of the spelling, please don’t use that word. Use words that you are absolutely sure of and make sure your handwriting is legible (avoid scrawling your sentences and write like a grade 6 student. I’m quite sure no one wants the hustle of stressing over a word which they can’t make out when they have probably 20 other papers to mark). The first section requires 150 word which is a basically full first page and almost a quarter of the second page. The second part is 250 words which fill up both pages. Understand what the topic is about, allow yourself two minutes to come up with a story line (you are required to write a letter to your friend describing your holiday and something that captivated you. Think of a place you are familiar with, what is this place? When did you travel? How was the place? What stood out for you?). Use descriptive words (beautiful, marvelous, wonderful culture, noisy, crowded), claim the story and make it your own. Again, be conscious of the number of words you are supposed to write for each section. Do not over-think it, keep it simple and let your sentences flow continuously and in sequence.

 

SPEAKING is where you get to meet with the examiner and let me tell you, it’s a daunting experience. You are in tether hooks the whole time, with butterflies swimming in your stomach. The trick is to take some breathing exercises before the exam. Find a quiet place and relax your mind. Don’t try memorizing or cramming anything, instead, think of it as going for an interview for a job you applied for. You want to make the best impression as much as possible. Body language matters because if you are jittery, it makes you sound unsure in the tape recording. Be confident, sit calmly and avoid fidgeting in the chair. If anything, place your hands on your lap and maintain eye contact with the examiner. Listen to the question being asked carefully and respond slowly and precisely. Don’t try to impress the examiner by using words which you cannot pronounce properly (this is not the place to practice this, you can do that later in front of your mirror J). You want to make sure you have a continuous line of conversation as you would be having with another person. Again, there’s no right or wrong answer, the examiner is just looking to see how your thought process works, your understanding of everyday mundane life.

Question: What do you think of public transport?

Respond giving examples. I think the use of public transport is great because it allows us to travel to our destinations at an affordable rate. Not everyone can afford a car and if we had to walk long distances we would…….

The more confident you are about what you are talking about, the better you get at answering the questions. Try as much as possible to relate things to what you do daily and what you observe and base your answers on this.

Finally, I did retake the IELTS  but the GENERAL TRAINING in August 2017 and my scores all averaged the same:

LISTENING – 8.0

READING – 8.0

WRITING – 8.5

SPEAKING – 8.0

This gave me an overall score of 8 which felt pretty amazing. I was asked what are the tricks to make this happen, and I can honestly say it’s believing in yourself, praying to God for guidance and be confident in what you are doing. Also, I believe in the old adage that practice makes perfect and the more we exercise our capabilities the more we grow in strength. For most of us, English is a second or a third language, but that should not deter you from getting to your goal. In your everyday life, instead of speaking your dialect (Swahili, Hindi, Tagalog etc.), opt to express yourself in English. One of thing I noticed is that some people have the habit of doing a direct translation of their language to English. When you do this, you mess up the past, present and future tenses. Try and watch more English programs and movies as this will help with your enunciation. Read magazines and newsletters or even simple books like The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemmingway, Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie, Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White and much more. This will help you achieve a continuous and fluent flow of constructing sentences when writing and also in speaking because you’ll understand better how to form and align words in your mind. Don’t be scared to pronounce words out loud, because I discovered while reading, that even though I do pronounce the word perfect in my head when spoken out loud, it tends to come out wrong. It took me a while to pronounce the word distort because I kept missing the S .

Never fear the unknown because it’s only by been audacious that we transcend our capabilities. All the best to all the other IELTS candidates and I hope through my rambling monologue I have helped someone somewhere on their road to a better future.

7th September 2017.

By Catherine

Skill Select Client.

Ready to Apply for Canadian or Australian Skilled Migration

Call us & take a Free Second Opinion

What makes us write this blog is the stories of folks who are completely non-eligible to apply for any permanent residency program but ended up starting the immigration process based on the wrong advisory of migration agents & sooner got the rejection.

It is painful for us to hear from non-eligible candidates that they applied for Canadian Permanent Residency Program, by entrusting on the words of migration agent that he /she qualifies to apply. We strongly condemn those migration agents and hereby taking the stand by spreading the awareness with some of the real scenarios we heard from applicants who were trapped or about to be trapped and got saved by us finally

Scenario-1    

Mr. Aneesh worked as Accountant & holds B.com & Master degree in Management. He was glad to receive a call from Migration agent that he qualifies to apply for Australian Skilled Migration Program under the nominated occupation as Accountant. The sad part is, Mr. Aneesh haven’t studied 8 mandatory subjects in his Bachelor & Master Degree Program, which is the core requirement to apply as Accountant & it’s non-negotiable. In spite of that the Migration Agent have applied for Skill Assessment & the result is certainly Negative, the applicant isn’t meeting the basic criteria to apply for Skill Assessment

The Question is – Why did the agent applied & accepted the client application when the applicant isn’t meeting the basic requirement? Agreed, no agent can guarantee the positive skill assessment but utmost due diligence can be done to satisfy the most basic requirement and the case can be made stronger with the information & the way your documents are presented to the authorities.

Scenario – 2

Ms. Christine is a Retail Sales Person at a Garment Store. She took the free counselling from the migration agent & was happy to hear that she qualifies for Canadian Migration Program via express entry, she had prepared the funds to pay the agent fees & It may be bound to happen that she called Skill Select to recheck her eligibility before she makes the payment, we felt good to save her from the false promise because Retail Sales Person is the occupation under Skill Level C, who can not apply under express entry program, the only possible way for them is to get the provincial nomination.

Scenario –  3

Ms. Lisa is a teacher assistant in a primary school and pursuing an additional diploma course in teaching in UAE which is affiliated with UK university. She had undergone through the free counseling with migration agent and convinced with the agent and paid to apply for skilled worker program under the occupation teaching assistant. It was heartbreaking for her to hear that the applicants who are teaching assistant are only eligible to apply if they work in a university, college or post-secondary institutes. It’s very clear that teacher assistants who work in kindergarten, primary and secondary school do not qualify to apply for skilled worker program.

Fill out our free online assessment form to assess your eligibility – or email your resume to info@skillselect.ae
http://skillselect.ae/assessment-form/

Call +9714 284 4414,

Aug,25th, 2017 1440 hrs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Success story of Skill Select Immigration Services “Mr Vidhun is happy & celebrating his upcoming life in New Zealand”

I was very much concerned about accuracy of my Ielts.

Hello ?My Name is Megha and I am sharing my (IELTS) examination experience. I believe my experience might help someone who is planning to appear for exam.

I appeared for my IELTS exam on 19th November, 2016 through IDP. After preparing for about a month, I finally decided to take the test.I used the material provided to me by SkillSelect, it had practice papers from the past 5 years which gave me an idea of how the pattern is. It was the best source of information.

For Listening — Practice as much as you can. Whenever you get any questions wrong, go back and listen that part again or read the manuscript available. This helps you to avoid mistakes in future. Mark questions/underline only on the basis of what you listen.

On the exam, I made a few mistakes in the first section and lost concentration in the middle of second section. This might have got me a few questions wrong. Though I still managed to score 7.5.

For Reading – Again practice is the key to success. Don’t analyse too much while practising, especially the first two sections. Infer very little. Try to complete all the first two passages in 30 minutes and spend more time on the last section as it is quite lengthy and tricky at times. During the practice sessions, emphasize on accuracy first, then improve on the timings.

For Writing – It has two parts and the second part has more weight (40 minutes allotted) than the first part (20 minutes). Keep it original and avoid repetition of words. You must paraphrase the question and try to stick to the topic. Make sure to provide an introduction, body and discussion and lastly, conclusion. I’ve got 7.5 here.

For Speaking – The best way to practice this section is to switch on the timer and record your answer responses to the questions from the IELTS book. Check for the timing as it is very crucial. Moreover, avoid grammatical mistakes while speaking and avoid stammering if possible. Speak slowly as it gives you enough time to frame sentences and think about ideas in your head. I scored 7.5 here.

My target score was 8 is reading and at least a 7 band in other sections.  When I saw my result, 7.5 overall, I was very excited. Reading band disappointed me as I was expecting a 7 or 7.5 after practising so much in this section. I decided to retake the test and improve my scores.

I took my test again on February 11, 2017 and scored the following

  • Listening 8.00
  • Reading  9.00
  • Speaking 7.50
  • Writing 7.00

The most significant thing everyone has to bear in mind is that websites- ieltsliz.com and ielts-blog.com has heaps of truly useful knowledge and experiences shared by IELTS-takers. Thereby, you have to utilize this site wisely. I thoroughly followed it along with the practice material provided by SkillSelect.

I would recommend Skill Select to everyone, for being so honest and unambiguous through out the process and helping me attain the best scores possible.

Thanks and Regards,

Megha.

 

 

 

Are you eligible for Australia Immigration ?

Applicants whose occupation is listed in SOL (Skilled Occupation List) may eligible to apply for below visa category.

  • Skilled Independent Visa (Sub Class 189) – This is 5 years’ visa comes with the Permanent Residency Status. Applicant must stay in Australia for 2 years to be eligible for renewal of this visa for another 5 years & Applicant must stay in Australia for 4 years consecutively to be eligible to apply for Australian Citizenship.
  • Skilled Nominated Visa (Sub Class 190) – This is 5 years’ visa which gives Permanent residency status. Applicant must stay in the state which nominates the applicant for the minimum period of 2 years to be eligible for renewal of visa and applicant must stay for 4 consecutive years in Australia to be eligible to apply for Australian Citizenship
  • Skilled Regional (Provisional Visa) (subclass 489) – This is Provisional Visa for 4 years , Applicant must work & live in the state which nominated the applicant for the minimum of 2 years to be eligible to convert the status into Permanent Resident Visa status Via Sub Class- 887

Applicants whose occupation is listed in CSOL (Consolidated Sponsored Occupation List) for State Nomination may eligible to apply for below visas.

  • Skilled Nominated Visa (Sub Class 190)
  • Skilled Regional (Provisional Visa) (subclass 489)

Why do we need to apply for Sub class 190 or Sub class 489 ? when your occupation is in the SOL list and you can apply for the most preferred visa option – subclass 189.

The answer to above is, if the applicant isn’t meeting 60 points to be eligible for Australian Migration then state nomination awards additional points which are 5 & 10 points for subclass 190 & subclass 489 respectively. State is awarding the points so you can make 60 points & be eligible to apply for Australian Migration. In return, the particular state would want the applicant to live & work in that particular state for minimum of 2 years to contribute to their economy. After completing 2 years’ period – applicant can relocate to anywhere in Australia & gets eligible for the renewal of Visa. However state expects the long term commitment from the applicant to reside in the area.

The Crux is, applicants occupations under SOL list may target for Skilled Independent Visa (subclass-189) & also the state nomination at the same time to widen the selection probability.

Call us at +9714 284 4414 or email your CV – info@skillselect.ae  to know your eligibility.

 

How to Become Canadian Permanent Resident in 6-12 Months under Express Entry Program

                                                                                                                                                                                

What is Express Entry?

Canada has a fast-track system for immigration called Express Entry

Express Entry is a system to manage applications of Permanent Residency, it’s the first step to apply under Federal Skilled Worker program,

All the applicants under Express Entry will be ranked by Canadian Immigration Council under several factors which includes

  1. Your Education
  2. Age
  3. No of Years of work experience
  4. Language Skills
  5. Combination of Education and Language proficiency
  6. Combination of Work Experience & Language Proficiency
  7. Job Offer from Canadian Employer
  8. The last & Very-Important – Provincial Nomination

 

Factors plays a major role in Getting Invitation from CIC (Canadian Immigration Council) for Permanent Residency

 

  • Provincial Nominee Program – Canada is a land of Provinces, The Provinces in Canada have a separate Quota to nominate the Candidates from Express entry pool, or to accept applications directly even if someone is not eligible for express entry pool. Most Often Provinces are selecting the applicants especially for the occupation which are in current demand in there Province. Most often Provincial Nominee Programs aren’t open all the time to accept applications but they are accepting the applications on intervals & gets open to apply for Provincial Nomination for a very short duration, some time for few hours or few days & gets closed as soon as the no of application threshold reaches its ceiling. The list of major provinces are Nova Scotia , Saskatchewan , Manitoba & Ontario. The applicants who are getting selected by Provinces, are getting Invitation to apply for Permanent Residency from CIC
  • Job Offer – The job offer from Canadian Employer can award some extra 50 points for most of the occupations & extra 200 points for a few limited occupations of Senior Managerial Level which can boost your chances of selection.
  • How you present your initial application plays a major role in obtaining the ranking, which includes claiming all your work-experience by categorising it to correct Occupational Code, claiming points for both Language Proficiency (English & French) & especially to the same Canadian Language Benchmark which are required under Federal Skilled Worker Program or Provincial Nomination.
  • Each Province brings several advantages for applicants & comes up with its own unique criteria of selecting candidates. Some prefer French Speaking Class, Some prefer the applicants who have their friends or distant relative living in particular province, some are looking for only applicants whose occupation matches with the occupation in current demand in particular province.

 

Route to Canadian Citizenship and it’s benefits

It’s all upon you to decide whether it’s tough or easy to obtain citizenship, below are few mandatory requirements

 

  • Applicant must stay in Canada for minimum of 4 years out of 6 years as PR holder. Must not be outside Canada for more than 183 days in any single year.
  • Must stay on your good behaviour
  • Know a thing or two about the country you’ll soon call home – like Flag Color , Basic French Proficiency etc.
  • Free Healthcare for Family
  • Free Education for Children’s

 

You may call us to check if you’re the best suit for Canadian Immigration under Skilled Worker program

 

Call +9714 284 4414, or Send your CV to info@skillselect.ae for Pre-Assessment

 

Merry Christmas

15th December 2016, 1640 Hrs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Success Story of Skill Select Immigration Services ” Ms Macabenta is Happy & Celebrating her Upcoming Life in Canada.”

Shiela Macabenta Got her visa approved in September 2016.
To apply visit our office for a consultation.

We love to keep candid pictures of our client & we hope the next one be you!

Check out our video section on the link below about her happiness.
https://www.facebook.com/SkillSelectConsulting/videos

 

 

 

 

Student Visa Services for Sep 2016 & Jan 2017 Intake.

Are you planning to Study Abroad?

I will guide you about studying internationally for good reasons. Follow the steps to start with SkillSelect Team.

Globalize Yourself

While studying abroad you will be given the opportunity to further your academics or continue your education in a foreign country. There are multiple programs and universities to choose from. SkillSelect Team always give a detail session to a student accompanying parents to know and understand your reason to move internationally for education.

Professional Growth

World seems small when we are restricted to the city since long but International travel can relieve you of this, You will surely learn how your home country fits into humanity and through eyes of a different culture, while learning another country’s traditions you will understand the significance of keeping your own traditions alive while sharing them with your friends .Most of the countries allows you to travel around being host, if you get a chance take advantage of it and  experience unforgettable sights that may help you see the world through a new set of eyes.

Take the Challenge

No matter where you end up, you will be likely out of your comfort zone as you face obstacles like homesickness and simply living in a new, unfamiliar place. These may seem like small feats now, but in retrospect you’ll be proud of the accomplishments you have overcome. You’ll most likely return home a wiser individual and ready to face any future challenges head on. (Don’t forget to work hard to achieve future goals

 

Make your Career Bright with Student visa for International education.

  • Get enrolled with one of the best Universities and colleges.
  • Get Visa for two to three years and extension of visa after completion of your studies.
  • Get Guideline to apply permanent Residence
  • Get guidance on working hours under student visa
  •  Get full guidance to proceed admissions with successful visa for the desired Country

 

Excited by the idea of studying internationally follow the steps & Contact us.

  • Selecting a destination.
  • Choosing a program.
  • Financial Information.
  • Pre Departure preparations.

We can help you with this and anything else regarding your move to Abroad.
To start your tailored and confidential consultation for admissions for following countries contact or write to me: Info@skillselect.ae

  • Canada
  • Australia
  • UK
  • U.S.A
  • New Zealand
  • Germany

 

My Express Entry Experience

I wanted to write this blog for our readers who visit our website or they are connected on our social platform.

Applicants who are planning to apply for Permanent Residency in Canada through

  • Express Entry System

This blog would serve as a guide about the process that what the process includes, what to expect during your processing and what you should avoid after applying.

This express entry is basically a three step process

  1. You first submit an express entry profile – Pre Application
  2. Pre Invitation to Apply
  3. Post Invitation to Apply.

Coming to our first point that is Pre Application: At this phase when we check if applicant is eligible to apply, We calculate points on base of 67 eligible criteria Out of 100 points, anyhow you may contact any of our team member for your free points evaluation anytime but make sure your education & IELTS evaluation is calculated on our Assumption as per the requirement & it is verified once education evaluation is positive and IELTS results is ready.

Profile is created only once you are having education & IELTS report.

Interestingly second stage is what attracts all of us: Pre Invitation to Apply

In this phase we created an online profile and we are waiting to get Invitation to Apply that’s why we call it in short (ITA). I call it waiting phase because you are waiting to get invitation by the govt.

Who are getting invitation?

How many months it takes?

Am I eligible for provincial Nomination?

If you are having same questions right now, we suggest applicants for the free session at our office as right now there are too many links available online which leads to confusion.

Coming back to pre-Invitation: I suggest you to start collecting all of your documents like :

  • Police Clearance Certificate: I call it PCC in short, Pcc is required from the current residence of the applicant and other countries where you have stayed for more than 6 months.
  • Reference letters by employers
  • Proof of funds

Post Invitation to Apply: This phase is very important and this is where your application is either accepted or rejected .We get 60 days to file a complete application where all your documents are attached electronically. It includes following points:

  • Medical Examination- The medical test is to ensure that you or your dependents do not have any contagious diseases & you will not be a burden to the Canadian healthcare system initially. Kindly note that this medical test must be performed by a doctor who is a CIC designated panel physician. Pregnant applicants can choose to complete their medical exam after the baby is born (since chest X-ray is a part of the tests) else they can choose to go ahead with the Medical test by wearing a lead apron. After completion of tests, you will get an upfront medical form and then we need to upload this form along with the other documents on the checklist. (Medical test validity is 1 year normally)
  • Passport Travel documents.

 

I hope I am able to clear few of the doubts and you are most welcome to know more as I am going to re-write more blogs with new updates.

I am reachable at info@skillselect.ae