Cast Episode 32 You listening to Ayotte's cast the podcast to put you in touch with successful isles candidates from around the world listening land as they explain how the achieved band.

78 Andi, Even nine.

Now here's your host, Ryan.

Hello and welcome to Isles cast Today I'm speaking with Igor and Isles Candidate from Tal Decor Gone in Kazakhstan.

Igor scored an amazing overall of 8.5.

He scored perfect Band nine in Listening Perfect Band nine and Reading a Band, 8.5 in writing and a band 7.5 in speaking.

And he's here today to share a bit about his experience and what he did that allowed him to score such amazing marks on the Isles.

Hello, Igor.

Welcome, tiles cast.

It's a pleasure to have you and I.

I was I was so shocked when I saw your email and I saw these amazing bands that you had you had received on your aisles so eager before we started the recording, you were telling me that that you are a nihilist instructor in Kazakhstan.

So you have seen the examination from from both the instructors point of view and from the candidates.

Point of view.

So why don't you talk a little bit about that relationship?

Yeah, I actually switched from another English test, mainly chiefly American toy foe.

And because many can, the school has to bow tie also.

Yes.

I thought I would give it a try, and I started teaching on Dhe.

Then I felt as if I were carriage who never got punches.

You in the face like never this blood basic.

Graham and I thought, I need to go there and check where What's it's like to be in the testament what it's actually like.

And so, yeah, the first time I took it, I wasn't actually from Even though I came to class, I thought, I can't.

I knew how joyful work.

So I thought I could use this knowledge.

But actually it's got country intuitive, though, And my first corps waas just hello minutes when what?

It was like 7.5 Overall, you're nothing.

And then I said, reading more about, like, the four month in what you expected.

He's tested actually and discovered that I did a lot of mistakes.

I was actually, uh, that's interesting that I mean it sounds as though that the just the basic format of the examination and deepening your understanding of that format was really the key to kind of improving your mark from from, say, the 7.58 region up to the 0.59 region.

Uh, basically, when you know how it works, what they're looking for, you can you can hold your skills and you can name exactly this final points.

And actually, the last band, like from a 89 is really hard to get because, I mean, it's in the aerial freely.

Fine.

Excuse Really finer points.

So today, in this interview, eager and I we're gonna talk about his experience, we're gonna go through all four of the sections so that he can share some tips on it on how to approach these sections and how to score.

Well.

But, Igor, I was wondering if we could just talk for a minute about your approach to teaching the aisles.

And now that you've you've taken the aisles yourself has your approach to preparing students for Iles changed at all.

Oh, yeah, right.

Of course, I had some misconceptions, and I mean that I look off actually a lot of people make money off this.

I mean, looking at the judging by the Internet, I mean, you just search my nose like teaching with my health, and you will see what 100 some kind of claiming they their examiners.

And like, there was this guy Mike Clark complainer.

Yes.

I mean, they're pretty active.

There are many sites in China.

I guess they're like many people could take.

This is and the basically.

And because you need to basically need to focus on, keep in mind the business.

The purpose of this test is to determine the level of your English.

And basically there are some good points my club made, but unfortunately, she wasn't correct all the time.

And I'm for example, he said that you need to use every opportunity just and the inspectors what's off course focusing one's every opportunity.

Use it as an introduction to show your level of English.

Not not like make Examiner Mike forcefully, Nick, wring it out of you.

But actually be on the active side of this and actually try to use, like a high level of bam are higher level of a cap.

And on such a on dhe.

Basically, I tell my sins, Thio, consider the like.

Think off off isles as your personal Olympics like if you think off sports in sports terms, it's like it's your personal Olympics.

You have to be at the peak of your form before the test, like within three days before the week before the actual isles.

And, uh, you're not learning anything.

Editors.

You have to show what you learn before, practically and like Goossens.

Actually no score pretty well before the test because they did the trials with hundreds of times hundreds, dozens of times least.

And they learn new skills.

They learned by captain, whatever listening skills and everything.

Then, after, like every like every other week, they take this child with mock up test escorts to the real test is possible, and they will see their improving.

They received their scores getting higher and, like usually it's indication of what they will get on the real test, especially business reading, because, I mean it's clear you have a good day question, and not out of 40.

You go, Did you want?

It's a score you got like 39.

So let me ask you this though.

So So you scored a perfect band nine in listening and in reading, and you were almost perfect and nine and writing.

So now you just you stress the importance of doing practice tests.

How central were practice tests to yours To your, um, strategy for preparing for the exam?

Uh, actually, I mean the Okay, I think it's Cambridge.

Uh, and the heist.

The latest office nine something You Cambridge test The four test in the book.

These air pretty close to Rio tests.

And I mean, you can study from them.

You're used them.

Thio, test yourself.

But the problem is you have time.

They don't explain me, and they give you the test and basically bases it.

This is X closes as a guest of the real thing and the for teaching me.

Josie.

New unity.

Look somewhere else, like a lot off good books.

Uh, I think it was Sam sometimes.

I mean, they're pretty good.

Especially the three skills that could be structural ized.

Like, uh uh, listening, reading and writing.

Speaking.

This is thinking itself.

It's like anything apart.

Basically, because we work hard too.

You noticed?

And assessing speaking is really hard.

Yes, this waits there.

So many myths and misconceptions about speaking.

That's a good point, you know?

Yeah.

Now let's let's get to these different skills in particular and we can get your advice on each in turn.

So if we look at the 1st 2 skills that involve information coming from the exam to the students, the student having to digest it and answer questions on it.

So we're talking about listening and reading here.

What were your what sort of tips?

Ideas, experiences Can you share regarding these two sections for listening?

Uh, but, uh, book.

It's actually by Beijing culture and something in your steel breasts.

I'm sorry, e.

I can't remember the name, but it's, uh, listening stretches four day.

I'll test.

I am agree title, but it's Bijan culture and planning to steal your strippers, I think, basically, e.

I mean, there were three editions.

I mean, they're almost identical.

I don't know why they make this three different books, but basically it's, uh what?

Yeah, I think it's blue Bruce color recover, and basically it's really methodical teaching you the listening, but they there is whole sexual numbers and dates.

And then there is a name.

There is a whole unit, Oh, different spring, like unusual names and ST addresses and stuff and and and so installments.

Every every aspect of listening is in this book, and it's really it's kind of fun.

Actually, it's called them the real test.

It's faster, and actually, it's good practice platoons to like Actually, if it's Carter when they train, they will probably find it easier.

Yes, I agree with you.

Yeah, there are a couple of resources out there that that I've also recommended simply for that reason is that there actually more difficult than a lot of the questions in the and the readings are the listings that you see on the actual aisles.

And in a sense, I mean, it pushes the student, and I think it creates a healthy level of anxiety within the students.

So they, you know, they score seven when they thought they were going to score eight.

So they just study that much harder in preparation for their examination.

And that could be a good thing because it helps them, in the end, come out with with a higher mark on and also, of course, the more traditional sources like McMillan and, er, Cambridge years depressed right there.

Critical.

Little off when preparation books for reading.

I found, like, some different, of course, their books and stuff.

But I have this I invented.

I don't know if I'm a minute stolen Theis method.

Basically, I don't treat anything because I mean I could comfortably, but I'm different, Ofcourse, I guess I had, like, so many years of experience, I could constantly read the whole thing.

Then go to questions, read equations, and then we'll bacon find answers.

But Jean struggled all the time because they ran out of time.

They couldn't defeat three texting to one hour.

It's really hard, and it's time consuming, going back and forth between questions and the text, and it is.

But they will strike off stuff, and it's just they run out of time before they finish text, too.

So let me just to see that we got your strategy here.

Correct.

So So what you do is you read through the text completely.

Do you read the text one completely, Then go to the questions.

I No, no, no.

I couldn't do it because I mean because of my level.

English like it understand all the words I don't need to guess and stuff, but my students couldn't do like this because, I mean, they had to like, uh, presentable every other sentence hit.

Didn't know if it's really hard to guess with you work with really limited information.

So I had to invent a way off a wedding.

This and actually they sometimes point at the war, and no, it's an answer, but they didn't know what Manti was.

Kind of funny.

E They knew it, but I answer to the question, but they didn't know what they were actually Watts.

I didn't know how it was displayed where rational because it So the method is this kind of project.

It's It's kind of a long, winding explanation, but it makes sense in them.

So basically, you just read the tangle, Thio herself for the whatever is coming, and then you go through to the questions.

But you don't just can't through them.

You actually do.

Actually, you underline keywords and phrases that basically it's it's almost like you're becoming human search machine.

You are making shortcuts for the future search.

Musically, it's like you have to sift through colts.

Question and think will help me find not just women.

Keep what is kind of a wake over what you discover here.

E counselor practiced the skill.

You know what I mean?

After a while, you start seeing how to search your house in point.

Sometimes you're wrong, but usually it's lent off shooting.

And basically, you find this.

You go through all the questions or 13 questions for the fish on.

Do you go to the text and you do the same thing.

You can have this Vegas deal after you.

You sifted through your kind of have 13 keywords, basically, and before in your short, your memory at the time you start underlining, uh, the main text.

And so you don't go back because this is counterproductive.

You you can't help here.

Uh, remember all these 30 was not exactly because it has somewhere getting again.

And so your underlying the main text now with the idea of what is asked because you just get this tremendous job, huh?

Basically, extracting 30 words from these questions which are generated kind of kind of like a short whatever just off the text itself, because somebody give this back for your baby.

They created these questions for these texts, and so, like they asked these questions based on the text.

Usually it's about something important in the in the tech side, so if you kind of think about it, it's It's almost like a gist of the text in question form, so you will have the gist.

You kind of make it even smaller shoulder bye.

Like Underland, Kim wants.

And so you go through the text again, just and the land, the keywords you takes, and then you go questions and you use that special questions and on the checks.

But it's not like we'll text anymore because he already made anchor points in it by underlining.

Sometimes you don't take your finger on the exact place.

You could just kind of circle the hope or a question mark on the on the side or something.

I mean it.

Every person has his own system off marking, but basically it's like, uh into in the natural.

It's, uh, make underlining keywords in the questions, underlining words in the text and then going back to questions and searching for this actual, Uh, is this information okay, that's interesting.

Um, and Iwas think that could happen in Iast?

Reading is, uh yes.

No, no, you're not.

You're first given.