Sense Becomes Sense
- My IELTS Plot Twist
The IELTS (International English Language Testing System) is an English language proficiency test for non-native English speakers. It’s a common barrier for so many non-native English speakers seeking education overseas, including me. This also became the one that frustrated me the most.
Summer 2012, I was so delighted to receive a conditional offer from the University of Melbourne for a Master of Teaching, but the condition was that my IELTS score must be at least a 7 (the full mark is 9) for each band.
That is not easy, but I thought I could make it with hard work. But, I was wrong.
I attempted the test 6 or 7 times over a few months, but my highest writing score was 6, and I only got it once. Shame and embarrassment surrounded me all over. I got to the point that I felt so stressed that I couldn’t even think of that test anymore.
But at the same time, I really, really wanted to go to that university. You may be aware of the importance of ranking to a Chinese student when it comes to choosing a university. As I didn’t go to a ‘good’ university for my bachelor degree, that desire was even stronger.
What can I do now? Who can save me?
Thanks to my auntie. She witnessed all my trials and pains, so she finally said:
“Qianqian, a lot of times in life, we cannot achieve some certain things straight away. So now it’s probably the time for you to take another path and realise your dream later. Remember, life is a long journey.”
Until now, I am still so grateful for her wisdom and pleased that I listened to her advice, otherwise I might have still been living in China, preparing for my IELTS. However, at that point, it was not easy to make that decision to move on for a while.
What I learnt from that:
Life always has alternatives. Everything happens for a reason. If I work so much but still cannot attain that specific goal, that means I probably should try something different, for now. But never lose hope and forget where my heart belongs. Be flexible and open instead of focusing on one fixed goal.
BUT now you might wonder how I scored 7 for each band for my IELTS at one go at the end of my master’s degree, by only one month of preparation?
Writing English assignments for my master’s degree definitely helped. But I think the change of my mindset also counted.
Previously I was told to use complicated words and sentence structures for writing. After reading a book by Gu Jiabei and receiving feedback from my local friends and academic advisors at my university, I got to know that:
To write a correct sentence is more important. A short grammatically correct sentence is way better than a long one full of errors.
Being clear about what you are trying to express, enables you to convey your statements accurately.
Having a good structure and logic assists your reader to understand your messages. Each paragraph should always have a point, reason, example, and reiteration of a point.
What I learnt from that:
Mindset is everything. Work smart, not hard. Practice is important, but to check from time to time whether I am heading in the right direction is even more crucial :)
Please leave a comment if you have other tips to share :)
In the next serial, I will focus on my major English breakthrough recipe and unique key ingredients that I discovered in Australia. Stay tuned :)
倩学英语系列：从哑巴英语到电台主播的蜕变 （第二集）
终于明白
-我的雅思反转剧
雅思（IELTS），著名的国际性英语标准化水平测试之一。它也因而成了包括我在内的很多想到海外求学的学生必须跨越的一道坎。曾经，它还是我最无助的一道伤。
2012年夏，我激动地收到了来自墨尔本大学的有条件录取通知书，前提是我的雅思听说读写各项成绩均须达到7分以上（满分为9分），因为当初我报的专业是老师。
门槛很高。但年轻气盛的我认为只要勤奋，目标就能够实现。但没想到，这次我失算了。
接下来的几个月，我尝试了6到7次考试，可是写作项我最多只能拿到6分，而且只有一次。失落，羞愧下的我感到压力重重。以至于到最后，我只要一想到考试就会紧张，心跳加速。
但同时，我又真得很想上墨大。我们都清楚排名在中国的重要性。尤其是对于之前高考没有考好的我而言，欲望更加强烈。
现在的我究竟该怎么办？谁能救救我？
我的小姑在目睹了我所有的磨难和痛苦后，终于开口：
“倩倩，生活中有很多时候，一些目标我们可能无法立刻实现。因此，你要懂得曲线救国。不妨先尝试下换一个专业，然后在未来的某一天再去实现你的梦想。记住，人生是旅程，长着呢。”
直到现在，我依然非常感激她的良言，也庆幸自己当初听从了她的建议。否则现在的我可能仍在中国，为雅思而纠结。但是，不得不承认，做出这一决定对于当时的我而言并不容易。
我从中学到了：
生活总是有很多备选项。每件事情的发生都有它的原因。如果我做了很多，但仍然无法实现某个特定目标，那可能就意味着我需尝试一下其他的选择。但是永远要葆有希望，并记得心之所属。以一颗开放的心去面对未来，而不是被一个目标所捆绑。
读到这儿，你可能会好奇了，那最后我究竟是如何在硕士学位结束前只花了一个月时间，就神奇的一次性通过雅思考试（各项7分以上），实现了情节反转的呢？
不可否认，在研究生时期完成的英语作业肯定有所帮助。但我觉得思维方式的转变其实更为重要。
以前，我总被告知写作时要使用各种复杂的单词和句子结构。直到读完当时室友推荐的《顾家北手把手教作文》这本书，以及看到当地的朋友和老师给我的写作反馈后，我终于明白：
写出一个语法零错误的句子其实更重要。正确的短句子远比错误连篇的长句子要好的多。
内容表达尽量要做到清晰直白，这样可以更准确地传递出你的论点。
良好的结构和逻辑有助于读者理解你想表达的内容。每个段落都应有一个论点，原因，示例和对论点的重述。
在那一个月的准备中，我没有每天都写一篇完整的文章。但每天的我都会思考如果让我来写这篇文章，我的大致框架，逻辑，论点会是什么，并一一罗列出来。而且，我写出的文章也都尽量拿给当地盆友看，以得到一些反馈意见。
从整个经历中，我学到了：
思维方式至关重要。我们要聪明地工作，而不是蛮干。反复练习固然重要，但是如果方向错了，想要的结果永远也出不来。所以，要记住时不时停下脚步看看自己奋斗的方向是否正确。
在下一个系列中，我将重点介绍我的英语突破菜单，自制的四大原料。敬请关注 ：）