At the end of July, Bui Thi Thuc Anh and Le Thi Anh Tho, students of class 11D1, Do Luong 1 High School (Do Luong, Nghe An) received good news at the same time when they both achieved an IELTS score of 8.5. This was an unexpected result because previously, Anh Tho only set a goal of 8.0, while Thuc Anh achieved 7.5.

“Where we live, no one has ever achieved that score. The highest score our predecessors achieved was around 7.5. We always thought it would be very difficult for us to surpass that score,” Thuc Anh said.

Bui Thi Thuc Anh and Le Thi Anh Tho, students of class 11D1, Do Luong 1 High School (Do Luong, Nghe An) both achieved IELTS 8.5.

Having started studying for IELTS to prepare for the university entrance exam since the beginning of this year, Anh Tho wanted to find a companion to "overcome laziness and discouragement". When she learned that Thuc Anh also had the same intention, Anh Tho texted her friend to ask if she wanted to become a "partner". Since February 2023, the two friends have started studying together.

“Anh Tho is a disciplined person. As soon as the two of you decided to study together, you immediately made a clear schedule, specifically which days of the week you would study, how many hours, and what content areas you would focus on,” Thuc Anh recalled.

Initially, both of them mainly practiced speaking together every day to improve their speaking skills. The practice usually took place during free time such as recess or during physical education class, when students were free to do activities.

“We just walked around the school yard, talking about things that happened around us or about our friends. Once we got used to talking, we started discussing topics that appeared in the IELTS Speaking section.”

Because their houses are 11km apart, Anh Tho and Thuc Anh often plan to practice speaking together 2-3 nights a week via Google Meet. Before the exam, which is also during the summer break, the two will practice their skills together for about 2-3 hours a day.

For Thuc Anh, the most difficult part of the IELTS test is Writing. “I often have difficulty finding ideas for my writing. Because this part often deals with topics such as the environment, education, etc., which require a wide range of social knowledge, I have to practice the habit of reading newspapers and learning more knowledge.”

Thuc Anh's difficulty is Anh Tho's strength. With a rich vocabulary and social knowledge base, Anh Tho often supports you when practicing speaking or writing, such as suggesting good ideas, correcting mistakes in vocabulary usage, etc.

On the contrary, Thuc Anh is strong in pronunciation, so she often helps Anh Tho correct pronunciation mistakes when practicing speaking.

“We learned a lot from each other even though at the beginning, my ability was only about 6.0, while Anh Tho was at 7.0. I think having a companion when studying IELTS is very necessary.

For example, when I feel discouraged, you always encourage, urge and motivate me. In addition, having someone respond and find my mistakes during the review process also makes studying more interesting," Thuc Anh said.

“The most important factor in learning a language is vocabulary”

During her studies, with the two skills of Listening and Reading, Thuc Anh often practiced the tests in the Cambridge book series (from book 10 to book 18). Every time she finished, Thuc Anh and her friends carefully marked and corrected the tests, and noted down the mistakes to read again in her free time. In addition to practicing the tests, Thuc Anh also listened to TED Talks, watched detective series in English, read foreign newspapers... to make studying more interesting.

With Writing skills, according to Thuc Anh, the criterion of “task achievement” is the most important factor, so the female student always tries to meet the requirements such as: writing 250 words, dividing paragraphs meaningfully, using careful language, avoiding over-generalization, analyzing the topic in depth and going through each idea thoroughly.

In addition, when writing, Thuc Anh always tries to use correct conjunctions to connect ideas together, thereby increasing her score for coherence.

Regarding speaking skills, according to Thuc Anh, having a partner is very important so that both can learn from each other and be motivated. For this skill, fluency and pronunciation are also the two most important factors.

“Many candidates often have a “fear” of the examiner, which leads to losing their composure and their intonation also “falling”. Therefore, candidates should keep a relaxed mindset when taking the exam, see the examiner as a friend, and be willing to share their feelings, opinions, etc. That way, they will be able to control their speaking speed, and their speech will be more natural, clear, and fluent,” said Thuc Anh.

For Anh Tho, the most important thing when learning a language is vocabulary. Only when you have built up enough vocabulary will reading, listening, speaking, and writing become easier.

“However, many people often make the mistake of learning vocabulary passively, always trying to memorize. Instead, I often try to give examples and write short paragraphs containing new vocabulary to remember it longer.

In addition, listening to the radio, podcasts or reading newspapers helps me understand how native people think and use language, and enrich my social and professional knowledge. My two favorite English newspapers are National Geographic and The Guardian , and my favorite YouTube channels are VOX, Wall Street Journal and David Rubenstein ,” Tho shared.

With the same score of 8.5, Anh Tho and Thuc Anh are jokingly called by their classmates as “legendary best friends”. Both said that their journey to conquer IELTS has left them with many memories. In the near future, both will continue to accompany each other in the English exam for excellent students of Nghe An province.

Vietnamnet.vn