The IELTS class is underway, and curious to find out how it was going I talked to Yuna about her experience of the class so far.

Justin and Yuna

“I really have liked this class so far and am beginning to see my English skills really being used. In this class we are learning a lot of skills that I didn’t know before, such as how to skim, scan, to take effective notes while listening, write an academic essay and be able to analyze graphical information. We are studying interesting and specialized topics which the GE classes don’t usually practice.

For me one of the important things about taking this course is that I have to make  a written report or essay every week. I find writing academically really hard, as it requires lots of time and effort and so on. It is never easy to get it perfect!!. I mean, time management is great essential to me as well as everyone. So at the start of this course, I did make a plan in advance, and I did make the best use of after school and weekend  studying hard. As a consequence, I am likely to finish with pride and improve my English skills.

I will tell you how to improve reading and vocabulary and listening skills. Good vocabulary skills will be useful in sentence completion, antonyms, analogies, and reading comprehension. If you know the meaning of all the words in the answer choices, it makes the question easier.  When you come across an unfamiliar word, look it up and write down its definition. You’ll be amazed at how much better your vocabulary is after reading on a regular basis for just a month.

Next, explore different forms of reading material. I mean, check out works in both their book forms and books on tape, CD, or digital recording forms. Because if do that you can read a book while listening to the same book on tape. Listening is very important in our daily life it is a real time skill. So we need to understand what we hear on the spot and often you have to respond immediately. You can practice listening at home, through the Internet, on the bus … wherever you are. I recommend the learning center absolutely. In my case, I love watching movie. So when I go to there I used to watch DVDs so practice listening with joy and fun. Also if you are watching TV or listening to the radio, record it then you can listen again. And you can listen to your classbook cassette and workbook cassette at school. Use as many kinds of material as much as possible.

In general, I have really enjoyed this class. It really is a different experience for me, and I find it exciting to be part of a class that is focused on academic English.