₦airaland Forum

dane15:
Guys, you won't believe what God did for me today.

PRE-EXPRESS ENTRY

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2. No two applications are the same. Peace People.

waow!...God really carry eye follow this your application.

congrats sir...may God's favour continue to be with you and family

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toocute4uall:
Pls mention me when you share the information. My test is on Thursday.
Thanks in advance.

quote author=youngRx post=75348994]

will soon be sharing some tips based on my experience. working on it.

hopefully it'll be of help to u

Just did.

Phew!...that was some very long post. Even i myself know that.

Goodluck reading the whole thing...Lolz.

IELTS: Thoughts and Experience.

So, what's the big whoop about this test anyway?

Well, as far as I'm concerned, these guys are deliberately failing candidates to generate profit. How else can one explain a situation whereby, out of about 20 people that shared their results in a group chat from all over the world, only 1 person got the desired band scores? The rest are ALWAYS 0.5 short of the exact band scores that EXPRESS ENTRY demands!
Coincidence?... Nah, i don't think so.

But then, Chinua Achebe said in one of his books, "if you must blame the hawk for cruelty, first scold mother hen for exposing the chicks". Even if we blame those guys for not being fair, truth is, the fault is partly from us too. At least to some extent.

To that effect, I'll be sharing some tips; things i did that really helped me. Will be focusing more on listening cos that was the bone of my contention in the test.

1) LISTENING:

a) after practising for 5months before my first attempt and still failing listening woefully, i realized it takes more than just practising. To ace listening, alot depends more on CONFIDENCE and EMOTIONAL COMPOSURE during the test.
You need to let go of past failures, and that crazy rush to ace the test by all means, if you are a first timer. Ease into the conversation and follow it. And no matter what, DO NOT let your attention falter for a second. Once you do, you miss parts of the conversation. This creates panick which makes you miss some answers.

Funny enough, you get to realize later that the part of the tape you missed has absolutely nothing to do with the questions you skipped, and that if you had not panicked you would have still heard the answers. but by then It's already too late.
So, maintain CONCENTRATION throughout. Don't let your thoughts wander, and DO NOT PANICK if u miss part of the conversation or even a question.
To enhance your concentration skills, when practicing with the Cambridge series, play all the audio tapes for a particular test AT ONCE. so that as one section ends, the next starts playing immediately. The time used in going back to the folder to play the next section's tape will give your brain a refreshing break which you will not have during the test.


b) Another important thing to do after maintaining concentration is to IMPROVE YOUR GRAMMAR AND SPELLINGS.

It doesn't matter if you followed the conversation till the end and heard every answer clearly, if you do not get the correct spellings or grammatical structure for that question, you get a ZERO.

For example, was it ADVICE or ADVISE you heard?
Was it BUISNESS or BUSINESS? SEPERATE or SEPARATE? QUESTIONAIRE or QUESTIONNAIRE?
I learnt this the hard way after my second attempt, cos like i said in my testimony, i followed every bit of the conversation, yet i still failed. In my third attemot, i made sure i practised how to spell words correctly.


c) KNOW YOUR COMPOUND WORDS!

Is it MINI BUS, MINI-BUS or MINIBUS?

is it IN DEPTH or INDEPTH?
Is it FACTSHEET or FACT SHEET?
is it HOT DOG or HOTDOG?

you may think these thimgs are trivial and that you already know the correct forms until when you are in exam condition and you cant remember if the H comes before the T in "strength" or not.

What i did was search google store for apps that teach compound words, and i found one amazing app that does it in form of a game. That app really saved ma black ass, as i kept shouting in surprise anytime i failed a compound word i was so sure of.

d) FOR MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS
it made more sense for me to just read the questions only, without the options, then as the tape is playing i read the options along with the speaker in the tape. I.e as the speaker is talking, my eyes are following the optioms while focusing all attention on the tape. That way i get to know if the info in an option was twisted or not.
Mind you, you may want to practice this move very well before trying it. No say i no warn you o.

No matter what you do though, ALWAYS LISTEN TO THE CONVERSATION. Don't lose concentration in an attempt to read a question or it's options.

To help me concentrate more, i increased the volume of my headphone to MAX. Those long hours of listening to very loud music with an earpiece finally paid off, as i was very comfortable with the sound level.

e) LISTEN FOR PLURALS
very important. If the tape says "Family Outings" and you write "Family Outing" you get a Zero, even if your papa is Dangote. I think Liz has a video on that.

f) practice writing down your answers as the tape is playing VERY FAST. Writing distracts you from listening, so you have to write very fast to save time. In listening, every second counts.





2) WRITING.
I've never had a problem with writing, however i realized for this test, it's a different ball game entirely. Studied numerous tips by many ielts tutors, but none of them could teach me what i needed. the one that gave me the breakthrough was one on Agree $ Disagree essay by this tutor, IELTS-UP.
Pls if you have not watched this tutorial video, go look for it on YouTube, it made a whole difference in my writing. this is because, my problem after getting the MAIN IDEAS for the essay was how to develop them.
IELTS-UP taught me how to do that.


WORK ON YOUR PUNCTUATIONS!
pinctuation, they say, is very powerful. They can change the meaning of any sentence.
Did you know that after listing some items, a comma must come before and after ETC if it's in the middle of a sentence?.

For the essay structure, JAY'S fornat was helpful, and Liz's introduction style too was great. But i think the examiners are tired of seeing those common styles. Tweak yours a little...

READ NOVELS!
i think writing is an individual thing that needs to be developed & one way of doing that is by reading NOVELS!.
you get to learn different styles of writing by different authors, and how they play around with words. And you know what, they make an entertaining read, unlike reading articles in jounals or magazines. If you're reading this and still got months till your next attemot, i recommended you start reading novels. I actually enjoy those in the AFRICAN WRITERS SERIES most...honestly, Africans are powerful storytellers. Unfortunately, the series are gradually going extinct and nothing is being done to revive them.
Books like THE POTTER'S WHEEL, THE CONCUBINE by elechi Amadi, BOTTLED LEOPARD etc are very interesting to read.

3) READING
Never being a fan of practising for reading. It takes a whole hour and i end up getting bored reading those long passages so i don't thimk I'm in the best position to give tips on it.
However, in exam condition, my senses the extra extra sharp o.

I think the most important thing here is time management and searching for answers very fast.

4) SPEAKING.
just be in a very chatty mood for a great conversation with the examiner. Be yourself. Smile often. Flow with the little vocabulary you know, it's way better than struggling with borrowed vocabs.


Finally, PRAY! PRAY!! PRAY!!!

Pray to whatever God you serve.
If you are an atheist, pray to Albert Einstein, Steven hawkins etc...cos the importance of prayers in acing this test can never be over emphasized.

STUDY AS IF THERE IS NO GOD, Then PRAY AS IF YOU HAVE NOT READ A THING.

Just putting all your trust in a supreme being or a higher authority gives this feeling of assurance that's very important in exam conditions.

Prayer boosts confidence, keeps you calm, eases the exam tension.... which brings out the best in you.

Besides that sef, these markers are humans and prone to mistakes. One never knows how scripts are handled. There could be an oversight, a mistake on the part of an examiner, etc. How else do we explain the sudden jimps from 7.5 to 8.5 in LISTENING of all sections after an EOR in some cases? So you see, prayer is very important both before and after the test.

Last last, no matter what happens, DO NOT GIVE UP. you see these two, DETERMINATION and a DIEHARD SPIRIT?...they can get you very far in life.

damzy88:
Congrats bro. I can relate.When you start thikning of another 68k/75k in the exam hall then you know something is wrong

As in........

it's not funny fa

the exam embarasses you, humiliates you, and worst of all, drains your hard earned cash while wasting your precious time in getting an ITA.

God help all those caught in the web at the moment...it really is not funny.

ultrazone:
Congratulations. Can you please help with your materials and strategies for IELTS? My email is eazyguy206@gmail.com

Thanks.

will soon be sharing some tips based on my experience. working on it.

hopefully it'll be of help to u

nomad26:
Congratulations! That IELTS tension no be small. By God's grace, the rest of this journey will be smooth for you o!

AMEN!!

Thanks a bunch

chebyshev:
Please how do I join the telegram group

will get the invite link for you then.

ayotami:
Congratulations Pharm. As men of honour,...

...we join hands my brother/sister...to create a healthy world

Oya oooo...you people should gather round. It's my turn to testify. I've been reading people's testimony since part 3, now it's my turn

God has finally freed me from the shackles of IELTS (shudders at the mention of that test) after 3 attempts.

As a pharmacist, I've written extremely difficult exams
in pharmacy school and passed them all. Never have i imagined I'll be humbled by an examination in my lifetime.

Actually started preparation very early, around june, cause i wanted to "blast the test in one sitting ". Started with listening and was doing excellently in all my practices. I however concentrated more on writing, since almost all the 6.5 I've been seeing on this thread has always been on writing. Registered for November 10th with MOD after almost 5 months of practice, so you understand how high my confidence was. Well.....

1st attempt: LRSW 7,6.5,7.5,7.5.

The 7 in Listening was understandable cos somehow, mysteriously, i just panicked in the middle of the listening test and couldn't follow the conversation. There was this sudden urge to get all the answers right that made me panicked.

Reading, however, was a shock. i could have sworn I'll get a 9 in it. If not for the listening score, i would have reqiested for a remark.

Surprisingly, writing turned out better than i had expected.

Well, i shook that one off and registered for the next one, this time with intense focus on listening.

2nd attempt, MOD, LRSW 7.5, 9, 8, 7.

this time i was completely devastated cos i was very sure of, at least, an 8 in the listening. I followed every part of the conversation and was totally calm throughout the test. This one so angered me that i applied for a remark. Still awaiting the outcome though. My 46k must return to me

I gathered all my life's savings and registered for the 3rd time. It was hell surviving without a single penny. By this time i was so used to the listening tests in the Cambridge series that i could predict the answers. So i delved into youtube and Practised all the tests i could download.
Went for the exam and....

3rd attempt: MOD, 19/1/19 LRSW 9,7.5,7.5,7.

Funny enough, during the test, the same panic that came over me in the first attempt came again, but this time, i heard the answers, just that i wasn't following the conversation the way i should, so i wasn't sure of about 7 answers. After the test i gave up, & started thinking of how I'll raise the money for the next attempt.

Later in the evening, i decided to visit the IELTS chat room on telegram where the answers are usually discussed after a test. Infact i almost had a heart attack when over 6 answers i wrote did not match what majority were sharing. To make matters worse, the majority were unanimous about the answers.
Well, since i got a 9 in my listening, i guess i was the only one that got the correct answers among the bunch then.

ECA: was completed since December with PEBC. Thanks to baba Salford1 who came to my rescue at the dying minute. God bless you sir.
Current CRS score sits at 450.

POF: Absolutely no hope for this one yet. Just going blindingly on. But I'll rather get that ITA then decline it for lack of funds than sit idly by while this rare opportunity passes by. At least, in years to come, when my children ask why i didnt migrate when everyone was doing so, I'll show them my ITA as proof that i did tried my best to give them a better life.

Thanks to @Bellniki and @Reemefolaks for their wonderful support especially at those times when it mattered most.

I think I am now a banafide member of this thread and will be open to any questions about the process, especially for Pharmacists.
I hope to do a detailed breakdown of the ECA steps with PEBC too so others can learn.

And as for those of you who think this testimony is trivial, i used to think like you: "is it not just IELTS?". well, here we are after 3 humiliating attempts.
may you never experience this nightmare of multiple IELTS attempt.

I know many are still battling with the test, don't give up please. Keep pushing, and the next one will be definitely yours. Last last, it will end in praise for all of us.

hopefulLandlord:
Prayers should be hated as its been proven to be useless. The Templeton Foundation - a group inclined to believe that prayer is effective - ran an experiment on the efficacy of prayer and concluded its useless
Since prayers have been proven to be useless (see above) then I see no correlation between lack of prayers and depression
Therapy has , they're confusing reportage for happenings

Lolzz...if i decided to respond to everything you typed up there, this issue will never end.
so I'm just gona say this.

Prayer gives HOPE, COURAGE, INNER STRENGTH, CONFIDENCE etc to face even the worst of life's problems.

There are certain things in life that there's ABSOLUTELY NOTHING anyone can do about it.
Not you, not your doctor, not science.
That's when prayer comes in.

Instead of worrying or wasting away in depression over certain things you cannot change, prayer lets you drop all your worries at the feet of a supreme being and gives you strength to carry on to the next day.

It takes away the fear, the anxiety, the worry, the panic.

It's the most effective therapy for the soul, and you know what? IT IS ABSOLUTELY FREE.

you should pray often.

lastly, i really don't understand this antagonism displayed by you athiests, especially against the Christian faith. I mean, all the GOOD BOOK ever says is don't steal, don't lie, don't cheat, be good to each other etc. What is wrong with all that? Are these not good things??

The only problem is that people will rather listen to what their PASTOR says than read the bible themselves.

If everyone does what the HOLY BOOK says (not what the pastor says) the world will be a much better place to live in.
We won't have to run away from our country, children will learn that killing is a sin and there won't be mass shootings.

Last last, everyone has the freewill to believe or not to believe in God. If you'd rather spend much money and several hours in the name of therapy sessions, good and fine. Just leave those of us that chose the path of prayer alone. As long as our religious posts does not stop u from achieving your goals on this thread, or harm you in anyway, just scroll past any u come across.

Live, and let live.

Peace.

CanadianNaija:
People that want to pray can form prayer threads of their own.
We can all respect each other’s religion, or stand on religion, while keeping in mind the purpose of the thread.

And how is the prayer not related to the purpose of this thread? Or is IELTS no longer needed?

i don't, blame you though, you probably already passed your IELTS so you won't understand what others are going through.

live, and let live!

and oh, next time your hatred for prayers prompts you to reply to such posts, just scroll past...it's only one post for crying out loud and will not stop you from achieving your goals on this thread.

johnnybravo1990:
Exercise in futility. You dont need supernatural power to pass an exam. Pagans have passed IELTS. Africans and God ish. A white man will look for a practical approach to a solution. We Africans will look for the God approach.

One last thing, people don't do all-night prayers and night vigils in Canada. If they solved all their problems with prayers in Canada, I don't think we would all be aspiring to go there.

You know, the level of hatred you athiests/free thinkers (or whatever the hell y'all call yourselves) have against prayers and religion generally is enough to shorten your lifespan by 50years.

Did you even read what was posted there?
how does 30minutes of prayers translates to all night prayers or not finding practical solutions?

And these people in Canada that don't do all night prayers, do u have any idea how many hours they spend at the therapist's battling one form of depression or another?

oh, so it's okay to go to the therapist and waste hours of productive time but suddenly not okay to pray for 30minutes abi??

if you know how much one hour session with the therapist cost in Canada you will appreciate prayers better and understand why despite the hardships in this country, the number of people battling depression in Canada is way more than those in Nigeria.

see you atheists should leave us alone abeg.

if your "practical solutions" is the answer to all life's problems, there will be no suicide cases due to severe depression in your Canada, and obviously, no visit to the therapist.

Osaze007:
My pple well done
I just got an offer as assistant director with a bank in
I felt like a failure
due to
I don’t have blank outs again
Everything is going smoothly
Peace out

waow!...a whole assistant director!
this your speed is awe-inspiring bro. And to think u were about commiting suicide few months back. That's why i tell depressed people, suicide is not worth it.
In just about 6 months your whole life has turned around amazingly. congrats bro...

Now, i know it was God that did it, but no Canadian employer will make a newly landed immigrant an assistant director at once. You must have proved yourself worthy of that position over and over again. Surely there must be tips; strategies on how you climbed so fast.

so I'll be sending a PM sir, if you don't mind. You really are a force to reckon with.

May you soar higher in your career sir.

And i take God beg u, find better wife biko...we dont want to hear that our very own osaze lost all his earnings in a nasty divorce.
There are plenty of nice ladies here on this thread.

There are even wispers that @Ifeoma77 is still single and even searching

**runs outta thread before she comes for my neck**

God!...all these good news everywhere just got me teary and so excited that i didn't know when i jumped from my desk and started pacing about praying to God for my IELTS. this feeling of ITA/PPR is so ecstatic i cannot miss out of it. NO!!!!....God will never allow that.

the look my colleagues in the office gave me ehn.


And just look at a SYSTEM THAT WORKS yet. everything is so Guaranteed!
if u sow yam, you reap yam.
If u scored at least 439 and tie breaking rule is to your favor, YOU MUST GET ITA. no need for begging, fasting or any form of bribery.
you don't have to "know" someone before it drops, cos it's as certain as the sun rises in the east.

May God make us citizens of this system that works.

Congrats to all ITA/PPR clinchers. can't wait to be in your shoes...especially to wasseynewest. ah swear na only because of you scores drop this low. All other 439s should be grateful to you

h

iamkunski:
When I saw Teecan’s 60% of POF is 25% of Pension Fund. My jaw just dropped. Congrats bro!

for a family of 5, brother... ( abi na sis)...don't forget that part.

anytime i wan give up for this journey, i go just remember say people like this the on the matter too, then i go just give myself two knocks for head and concentrate.

wetin these guys see wey dem dey run comot from this country so, me i never see am.

na only poor man the think say money fit solve all him problem. those wey get the money know otherwise.

TEECANN:
I WOKE UP TO THE GOLDEN MAIL TODAY (20th NOVEMBER, 2018)!!! GOD BE PRAISSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSED!!!!

TO NOTE FROM OUR GCMS NOTE:[/b]

1.


All that end well is that that end in praise!

waow!....it has ended in praise to the author of the most famous catch phrase on EE thread, "it will end in praise".


CONGRATULATIONS sir, your catch phrase has been a source of solace for many of us.

God bless you in your new country.

indeed it'll end in praise for all of us....Amen

DBJay:
A not so silent reader here (Had to get a new moniker to avoid the village people in my office)

MY PPR STORY



Je m'appelle PPR!!!

lolz...then u had to ruin the masked identity by signing off like dat?? only one person and one alone signs off his post like that.


CONGRATS ooo....the hustle finally paid off for u.

deesmama:
...............................ITS PPR ............... …………………………………………………………………………...........................
I get.tainkyu.i kent biliv it

ahh!...had to come out of submarine mood.
congratulations ma. all the best in your real country

einsteino:
Here is my story so far, decided to make it detailed in case there is a thing or two someone else may benefit from.
am thankful for the uncertainties that made this worth celebrating.

waow!...congratulations brother! it finaly came through for you.

I remenber you from the sister thread, Living in Canada... very interesting dude you are

all the best man.

alwayspositive8:
Thanks for this.

First attempt:LRWS- 7.5,8.5,6.5,7.0. BC 18/8
Second attempt : LRWS - 8.0,6.5,7.0,5.5. MOD 29/9

What actually amazed me was that my strength has always been reading I felt I did very well even to level that am currently thinking of a remark cos I kept wondering how I could I miss close to like 14 questions in that test to warrant a 6.5 in reading but when I read that getting an improvement in reading is difficult I just weak.

And for that speaking,am also having issues being that I did so well in fact i probably did better in the second attempt than in my first attempt when I got a 7.0 ...imagine 5.5 telling me am an average user of English.

Though still thinking of paying the 46k for EOR for both reading and speaking(which I doubting whether is a good option considering the cost)

Since I got that result am just in a dilemma of what next to do cos this last result really damned my confidence.

I just weak. even if am to write again should I just go back to BC or stick with MOD cos the score I had in speaking for MOD has started making me to have some negative feelings about them.

I understand how you feel dear. exams are often like that. especially that Reading section. even during practice, one will think they are acing it only to get the shock of their lives when they get to the answers page.
i don't have much experience to guide u with, as I'm still trying to taste the IELTS waters myself, but one thing i know for sure is that nothing beats good practice... practice always!

i think you should take like two months break before registering for the next test to enable you practice some more.

i doubt if a remark in Reading will come out positive, as it is highly objective, and if it won't come out positive, even an upgraded Speaking scores will do you no good.

as for whether to write with BC or MOD, i don't think it really matters. people who switched from one body to another and got positive outcomes may have practiced harder or worked on their weaknesses from the previous test.
still, if i were you, I'd go back to BC...for sentimental reasons only, since you had better scores with them. Sentiments have a way of boosting one's confidence, and confidence can make the difference between success and failure.

Lastly, like your monica clearly says, you shoukd always be positive.
Giving up is not an option at all.
Nah....not after you have come this far.

Surely as the Lord liveth, your next IELTS will be your last attempt...but you must practice hard and well.

all the best dear.

FaskRolce:
you sound like a colleague...that's the spirit. As men of honor...

....we join hands sister, to get that PPR!!!

deesmama:
Naturally ahead!

yes ooo.

i trust you doing great ma'am.


Regards

Really I'm quite surprised that some people are even considering "giving up" after a failed IELTS attempt. give up and do what exactly??
when will y'all understand that in this journey "giving up" is NOT an option...you CAN'T give up.

if you failed an attempt, register for the next!
if you don't have the money yet, save up!
if you're scared of rewriting, chill, give yourself more time to practice and go write it!
but whatever you do, you just CANNOT give up!

For to "give up" is to die, and we aint dying.
Nah!...not today.
we goan live a long fulfilled life IN CANADA!

We live to fight another day guys....keep hope alive.

like seriously

why the hell would i wana do that?

Newmum0615:
Can everyone take a seat please? It’s going to be quite a read.

It’s my turn.

rights and entitlements as a PR, T&Cs of certain services and all. Why not start now and imbibe that behavior?

…Off to continue dancing! See you guys lerra.

waow!!!...the MOTHER of all PPR has landed!

to say this is great news will be an understatement.
somehow the long wait made the news much greater.

CONGRATULATIONS to you and family ma, may the Lord cause the light of his countenance to shine brightly on you, and be gracious to you and family.



for keeping us in painful suspense for 3 whole pages, your penalty is providing POF for 20 singles

next time when @glitteringstar is dishing out bad advice on delaying PPR announcement, don't listen.


Once again, congratulations ma'am.....

Nyolah:
Thanks Favoured.

Please how do I get the logic for the map because i went through the site you gave us and I don't understand. I don't mind if you can help with this.

You are a darling. Listening has been treating my Bleep up since Adam.

in addition to what @Favoured said, i think one strategy that helped me was this:
All maps have a STARTING point.
first locate that point.

most times, the first location mentioned in the tape is not far from the starting point. so your attention should be on that starting point area.
from there it becomes easier to follow since Map questions come in order.


we do the mistake of searching the whole map in panic trying to find the first location mentioned on the tape instead of concentrating on the areas very close to the starting point, and once you miss the first location, it'll be hard catching up.

Favoured2505:
Yes they do. I wrote 30th June with headphones and they were extremely clear.

waow!...that's a huge relief.

thanks

Vancouver4:
Nah

thnks dear. seems it's now available

Room112:
yes and its very clear no issues

Thanks a bunch for the info dear.
grateful.