midwife momma

Thanks Dananlol, only another week to wait. it was the strangest of tests, darn those ielts!

thanks, yes it was the academic version.

blimey keith, I wish I was confident, cos I know how hard it has been for you and others to pass the damn thing

well I hope so, thanks for the tip

lets hope so flatpack

When I tell friends about having to sit an English test they just assume it would be easy. I can vouch it's not. Right now wishing I was an aussie

So, yesterday I sat my IELTS. OMG, my head was battered by the end of the day. I have spent the past month revising on 'road to IELTS', so went in reasonably prepared ( approx. 400 hrs revised). Listening, reading and writing was in the morning, followed by speaking in the afternoon. About 80 people sat the test which I was amazed at, I was under the impression that it would be all us poms trying to get out of the country, however it was predominantly others trying to get in! In my test room there were about 30 people and man it was hot and sweaty in there, urghh. The listening was the one I was dreading most as a I wear a hearing aid and was anxious I may not hear, however the examiner turned it up nice and loud, so I was fine. I know I missed one answer but think I managed the others ok. The reading went so fast, there were four topics covered and some were easier to read than others. The first topic was something about ancient Chinese chariots. The second about monkeys, the third about nanotechnology and the fourth about video gaming. Lots to speed read, I managed to complete it all, I transferred my answers onto the sheet in batches, I heard someone say they had answered all the questions but didn't have time to transfer all the answers. I don't know how non native speakers coped with the speed this test required. The writing part one was describing a graph about small businesses and the type of media used (150 words min). The second part was about prisons, why do criminals reoffend and what solutions are there to break the cycle (250 words min). I used two answer sheets for my writing, used my eraser loads and just pray the marker can read. I had time to re-read and put in any punctuation I had missed. The speaking, which I was least worried about was actually the one I am now more worried about. When the examiner collected me from the waiting room he said not to worry, that the questions were a little strange but just keep talking. Firstly, the obvious questions about me; where I live, do I like, is it a good place to bring up kids etc so no probs there. Then, have I ever used a map, when, how, what for, do I prefer maps or GPS. why etc, when would I find a map most useful. Then, is English an international language, what language would I like to learn, why, how. What are the advantages of speaking another language. Should the world have just one language. Why, why not. It doesn't sound that difficult written here, but at the time it was tricky to answer. Literally upon leaving the room, loads of ideas flooded my brain for which I could kick myself for not thinking of at the time. Following the test, I promptly walked back into Manchester city centre, met a friend, downed a wine, followed by pizza ( not eaten all day) followed by a long island iced tea! much needed to calm aforementioned battered head. Now the 13 day wait

ouch, I had those, so very very painful. they need whipping out pronto

yes, well done woo hoo

Eek

Fingers crossed

I know you can temper chocolate in them, not that you like chocolate I'm sure, VS

wow, well done. Bet you was nervous. I'm a midwife so at some point will probably experience this telephone interview process. good luck and keep us updated with your progress

annjean, they were building chippies when I stayed with friends in Jindalee in Dec 2012. Obs got wrong end of stick and thought it was going to be a chippy ( chip shop). Doh! loved the beach

@travelchic - thrifty, determined, inspiring @JenPen - brave, supportive, ambitious

we care, cos we love to see progress others are making. I'm sitting my ielts next Saturday then will be wizzing on with all the evidence gathering

yep 20 elusive points to be had jasonM, thanks for the link, one week to go, argghh

Thanks for the extra info

Good luck today Claire, let me know how you found it x

Claire, The full package is $49 for one month however when you booked your ielts you should have had an email with a code for free last minute training. There is also other free training on the site . Good luck for Saturday

The oz health service is obviously not run on cake like the NHS does

Oh all this talk of naughty ovens and even naughtier marg is making me re think my visa, I live to bake! well maybe not but I'll pack rubber gloves n caustic soda for the loo

Hello, I have my IELTS booked for the first time on 2nd Aug. Due to my increasing age and having only been qualified as a midwife for a year I really need the 20 points that can be gained via the test. So, to hopefully improve my chances I have signed up for the online course 'road to ielts' which I am diligently working my way through. Currently my average score on the academic tests are 8.5. My question is has anyone else got experience of using road to ielts to practice and how similar was the actual test and the results? Need the cash so hoping not to have to repeat the test innumerate times Any feedback I would be most grateful. ta ra Lisa

recipes online at BBC good food = awesome

How inspiring , I too have jumped hurdles and am embarking on the visa process, be proud of yourself cos we at Perth poms are xxx all the best