Re: Is IELTS getting harder these days?
I took my IELTS exam on April 12, 2008 in Manila, and I got an overall band score of 8. In Listening, I got 8.5, Reading and Writing 7.5, and Speaking 8. With lots of practice, I believe any candidate can do well.
The Listening module was very easy for me. I got positive feedbacks from other candidates and they also found it the easiest among the 4 modules. There's no other way to pass this test but to listen carefully to the recording, and keep your eyes on your paper the entire 30 minutes. I missed one answer, and I nearly panicked. If that happens to you, just focus on the next item so you won't miss any more. Be careful when the speaker begins to talk really fast because he might overenunciate a word or two, for the sake of testing how keen your listening skills are, I guess. Also, there are some words that are purely British. Thankfully, I didn't encounter any unfamiliar British word in the actual test, it's just something I encountered while practicing at homeFor instance, "The lorry crashed near White Street at 7 in the morning." Lorry is British for truck, so if that was supposed to be the answer and you happened to miss it, and you have no idea that it is a some sort of vehicle, then you'll have a difficult time guessing the answer based on context clues alone. . At the end of the test, try your best to recall the last thing you heard before you missed the answer. The last resort is to guess intelligently. Don't leave anything blank, because who knows, your guessed answer might be right.
I didn't enroll in any review center, so I didn't know that in the actual test, we would listen from loud speakers, and not with headphones. I practiced the Listening module at home using my iPod, so I pretty much got used to listening in a quiet environment. Try to practice at home with slightly distracting noise in the background because in the actual set-up, there are people in the room who could cough or sneeze right at the moment when an answer is being relayed by the speaker, and you might miss that. My test was held in Dusit Hotel Nikko's grand ballroom, the place was HUGE with a large volume of candidates. The candidates are alphabetically arranged, and because my surname begins with a 'V', I thought I got an unfortunate seat in the very back, quite far from the speakers. It doesn't matter, IELTS test invigilators make sure that everyone could hear the recording very well.
The Reading module was okay. The articles get longer and harder as you go. To make things easier to find later on, I underlined topic sentences and encircled important details that might be asked later, like names, places, dates, events, etc. Try to spend 15 minutes or less in reading answering each article, so that you'll have lots of time to go back to skipped items and check your answers. The True-False-Not-Given type of test really drove me nuts, because there's a fine line between False and Not Given. It's very tricky. But with enough practice, I eventually got the hang of it.
A friend shared with me a tip on the Writing module and that is to write a good introduction and a good conclusion. The body is not to be taken for granted, but it can be less impressive and less critical than the other 2 parts of the essay. I'm not sure if that applies to the first task as well, which is the graph interpretation. I did Task 1 first because I found it easier. My topic was quite easy, it wasn't too technical. It helps a lot if you're into writing diaries and blogging, and being a wide reader.
I had my Speaking test 2 days later. My examiner was an old Australian woman. She was nice and unintimidating. She would smile from time to time during the first part of the test. My conversational English was good, but when we got to the third part of the test, I kind of rambled. I began to stutter and use certain word repetitiously. I think my answers themselves were repetitious. LOL. I still wonder why I got an 8. I wouldn't rate myself an 8, I'd give myself a 6.5 or 7.
My topic was very ambigious, something about change in general. When it comes to the Speaking test, I prefer more technical subjects like global warming, bioterrorism, etc. I dunno why. I guess I just like science. Because I got an 8 in the Speaking test, I guess what they say about the difference between Filipino and foreign examiners are partially true, but then there are also lenient Filipino examiners. Another friend who took the IELTS was assigned to a Filipino one, and her question was something like, "Name an elderly person whom you admire the most.", and she began with "My lola....". The examiner mouthed to her "grandmother" (because the Speaking test is recorded) and my friend was able to correct herself. Filipino words are a huge no-no as we all know.
So, that was my experience on the IELTS test. I hope you do well on your exam. God bless!
) but whenever i get intimidated/nervous, my tongue backs-off. 
i panic a lot. 
so it really doesnt bother me much... ok, just a bit.hihi. 
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