itchyfeet Posted July 5, 2013 Report Share Posted July 5, 2013 Hello new to the site and just starting the process :-) I have been checking out the points and appear to fall just short of what I need. To get the points up I am going to have to do the IELTS test which really worries me as I'm dyslexic main issue being spelling. Has anyone on here with any advice or share their experience to put my mind at rest. Thanks :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarolineD82 Posted July 5, 2013 Report Share Posted July 5, 2013 Hi there, I'm not dyslexic but have recently just failed to get the score I need by 0.5 mark in writing. Are you sitting the general or academic? It's a farce of a test. People say practice practice & practice before your exam. There are lots of websites online to help you through it. Hopefully someone who can empathise with dyslexia can comment & give you some advice. Be positive, you'll get there! I'm going to get my second attempt booked :-/ I wish you good luck & hope you pass first time :-),Caroline x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itchyfeet Posted July 6, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 6, 2013 Thanks Caroline, I was looking into it I can request extra time but have to give 6 weeks notice :-( it's so frustrating as i'm only 5 points shy! Good luck with your second attempt. :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thesteels Posted July 6, 2013 Report Share Posted July 6, 2013 Hi itchy feet, my hubby if due to sit Ielts again shortly and only struggling with writing bit as yu will see from his scores below and he also struggles with spelling and I wondered if he too were dyslexic, how do you find out and how much more time do you get for it? thanks again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itchyfeet Posted July 6, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 6, 2013 Hi, I found out whist I was at uni and had to have a test with an educational psychologist, you can pay for the privately but think they are pretty expensive :-$ you could try checking out your local susport group/ advise (Google it), not sure how much time extra as you will need to contact the centre where the test is being held. Good luck. :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thesteels Posted July 6, 2013 Report Share Posted July 6, 2013 Thank you so much I will try and find out more info & good luck with your test!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rangerboy Posted July 6, 2013 Report Share Posted July 6, 2013 Hi all,I passed my Ielts on the 4th attempt having needed 8's,and my advice would be to keep the writing simple,by that I mean don't bother with fancy long words,but its more about identifying the topic and doing what it asks for,a book I found helpful was called "ace the ielts" wasn't expensive on eBay,all the best!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
travelchic Posted July 6, 2013 Report Share Posted July 6, 2013 There are online practice tests that you can access for free. I used www.ielts-exam.net. You have to do 2 written tests. My first one for 150 words was to write a letter to a friend who was planning to visit the Country you live in giving them advice on when is the best time of year to visit, available transport and places to visit. The second one for 250 words was 'what are the advantages/disadvantages to before and after school club'. I used simple wording and kept looking at the question to make sure I hadn't gone off on a tangent. I used pencil so I could erase mistakes. You get given the question paper, which you can doodle on, and a separate answer sheet for your work. I spent a couple of minutes to jot down a plan of what I wanted to write. I also used this paper to write words that I wasn't sure how to spell to see if they looked right. Make sure you count your words too. It doesn't matter if you go over the word count but if you go under then you lose points. I think I was about 15 words short on the first test so waffled about how I couldn't wait to see my friend as I had missed her blah blah blah. Anyway I got an 8 so was well chuffed. Debs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKIPPY59 Posted July 6, 2013 Report Share Posted July 6, 2013 Thank you so much I will try and find out more info & good luck with your test!! Hi I checked this out for o/h - you need a certificate or something official from Doc to state dyslexia - apparently this will give you an extra 25/30 mins for the test. I wasn't told if you get to use a computer but I don't think so and yes you do have to give notice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itchyfeet Posted July 7, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 7, 2013 Thanks all going to book it tomoz. Fingers crossed. X Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidgarner_uk Posted July 9, 2013 Report Share Posted July 9, 2013 Hi itchyfeet, I’m dyslexic and failed 4 times for the IELTS test. I even took it at adifferent location on the 4th attempt. Every time I was .5 down on the requiredpass mark, always getting L-9, R-6.5 (6.0), W-8, S-9 on the General Test. I enquired at theuniversity where I was taking the test about been dyslexic, and I was requiredto show a cert that was 3 years within date, anything later you needed to re-sita test to prove that your were dyslexic. this was about £400 to do. My lasttest I did for this was at the age of 15, so I was to re-sit another test. Idecided not to do this and just bite the bullet and do the IELTS test. if youdo the test to prove you are dyslexic, you only get 25mins extra on the readingand writing, some test centre's provide a computer with the spell checkingdisabled. as people say on here, you can use practice material which does help, but forthe reading section I found hard and couldn’t find anything to help get me thatextra 1 or half a point. The listening section is easy, does get a bit harder towards the end, so youneed to pay attention as the answers are not direct to the question The Reading section I can’t really give any tips apart from try answer allquestions as you are only allowed to get 3 questions wrong to get a score 7 onthe general test. The writing section, I chose to write in pencil as it is easy to changemistakes once you have read over your letter/essay. Try to keep above the wordcount, and also waffle if you need to at the end. don’t spend too much time onthe letter as you gain more points on the essay. The speaking Section, this should be no problem for your partner. sorry this is the only advice/help I can give on my experience. hope it goes well Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
travelchic Posted July 9, 2013 Report Share Posted July 9, 2013 You can get 6 answers wrong on the reading and still achieve a 7. I used this calculator http://www.examenglish.com/IELTS/IELTS_Band_Score_Calculator.html to check my answers when I was practising. Debs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itchyfeet Posted July 10, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 10, 2013 Thanks for the advice. Spoke to my agent (which I should have done in the first place!) who told me I don't have to as not going for points visa. :-) all the advice was really good though and will help someone. Thanks all. :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest jellyfish Posted July 22, 2014 Report Share Posted July 22, 2014 Hello itchyfeet, Hope everythings good with you. I am also Dyslexic and I got lots of help from IELTS. I got 50% extra time, Computer, brakes... ect.. Let me know if u still need to do IELTS and might be able to give u some advice on how to get things sorted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kookylittlestar Posted July 22, 2014 Report Share Posted July 22, 2014 My OH is dyslexic but has no certificate. In his first IELTS he scored 8,9,9,7.5 (writing). It's dented his confidence a bit about retaking, which is a shame. I'm hoping next time he will be okay. I am a teacher so I have been trying to give him help and I've provided assistance/marking for the practice texts. It's just a shame that it would cost so much for the certificate of dyslexia. Feel like he may as well just keep retaking it until he passes for the cost of £400 just for that certificate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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