Are you taking your IELTS test soon? Or are you looking to just sharpen your English grammar skills and ace your IELTS exam with band 7 or above? Here are a few sites that we feel can help you to excel. It goes without saying that websites such as the British Council and IDP offer IELTS resources, but these resources are limited and only available to those who pay for additional training tiers. We would like to introduce you to the English Grammar Cafe which offers a wide range of free resources and exercises to help you move ahead on your journey to better English and success in IELTS.
From grammar lessons to IELTS and DET preparation practice tests, this website does offer meaningful exercises which all seem to be written by native experts. They have a team of English teachers that work together collaboratively to bring you original resources that are designed to help you get ahead. Let’s have a look at the main features of this site and show you ways to improve your English grammar and IELTS band score all for free, which is a refreshing change.
Grammar Focused Study Exercises
Let’s start with something that is often daunting for many people – grammar for IELTS. Grammar needn’t be daunting and can actually be fun even when preparing for a test. This website seems to add new exercises daily and they seem to be curated towards different levels of English learners. You can develop your skills by committing to a few exercises a day and then move forward when you feel more confidence.
Whether you’re struggling with verb tenses, prepositions, phrasal verbs, or subject-verb agreement, they offer exercises that can help you to get ahead. The key to mastering grammar is practice, and then more practice and practical application. We have found this site to be useful as there is a lot on offer and we are confident you can find some exercises that will challenge your linguistic ability. Levels range from A1 to C1 (Beginner to Advanced English students).
IELTS Preparation Fundamentals
This is where the site excels. There are a whole range of IELTS exercises to help you prepare and feel confident for your upcoming IELTS exam. Most students have difficulty with IELTS writing and speaking, and this is where they have dedicated most of the focus of the website.
English Grammar Cafe offers free IELTS practice tests on specifics such as learning about the different approaches to task 1 and task 2. The sample questions are aligned with specific exercises which means you will familiarize yourself with the format and content of the exam. Many students make mistakes with question misidentification, and this site offers a lot of in-depth analysis of specific question types. After spending time practicing on their site, it was possible to feel much more confident in a short space of time. Things seem to be very direct and focused with a minimal amount of fluff on the site. With any test preparation, you need to practice and you will stand a greater chance of obtaining your desired band score by being dedicated.
Vocabulary Building
Having a wide vocabulary is one of the main components of improving your English language ability and this is represented in the IELTS band scoring criteria (vocabulary is worth 25% for speaking and writing). This is why they have integrated word analysis and specific explanations for each sample essay. This will help you to expand your lexical range and improve your language proficiency. A lot of students have passive vocabulary, but by constant usage of vocabulary through exercise, you will develop and make this passive vocabulary active.
The approach the site takes is a multilayered approach and they encourage students to learn new words through flashcards, reading books, or watching movies. In one sense, the key to keeping everything fresh is to have plenty of fun and find ways to engage your new vocabulary to make it active. One observation we have found is that the quickest learners are the learners who read the most. It is good to see that they recommend picking up a book in English to let the grammar and vocabulary seep into your consciousness.
Why is IELTS Speaking and Writing so hard for many students?
A lot of students simply do not prepare effectively before the exam. The saying ‘Proper preparation prevents poor performance’ is very true in this sense. However, many students just don’t know where to begin. Awareness is key, and this is why reading sample essays and listening to sample answers is so beneficial to understand what it takes to do well in this test.
There is often a lot of pressure because the test is expensive and the speaking test is live with an examiner, which is different from other tests such as the Duolingo English Test. However,if you have a few weeks before your exam you can make significant gains and become aware of effective strategies in preparing for the speaking and writing elements.
Listening and Reading Comprehension
The listening and reading sections make up the part of the test. To improve in these areas takes a degree of skill and technique. If you were to take the reading and listening test ‘cold’, even native speakers would struggle. This is because these exams require you to learn methods such as skimming and scanning information quickly to extract key information from reading texts.
This website offers strategies to help you become a more effective listener. By listening to native speakers, you will develop your ability to comprehend a range of accents and speeds of speech. This is crucial in obtaining a higher score.
Grammar Quizzes and Challenges
If you are just after a bit of a brush up of your English grammar skills, then they also have tests and interactive quizzes that will challenge you on many areas of English.
These are well-designed by native British teachers who try to make each test engaging and fun. It is important to identify areas of weakness within your language learning, and this is where exercises can show you areas in which you need to improve.
Success Stories and Testimonials
It is encouraging to see a large amount of positive feedback on the site, and many students claim to have made significant gains especially in the IELTS test. The testimonials seem to be from genuine test takers who have finally passed their exams.
Of course, to achieve success does require focus and determination, and we feel that the resources they offer will give you the quality support that you need for IELTS preparation or general English learning. As we wrap this overview of the resources we found on this site, we would like to remind you that everything is free on this website. Highly recommended.
You can visit the site here.
