To have effective IELTS Reading strategies for beginners, you need to understand your own level and have a suitable study plan. To learn more about learning methods, let's explore with IDP in the article below!
6 IELTS Reading methods for beginners
Methods for planning, reviewing grammar topics, practice tests, and skills within the IELTS Reading category will help you significantly improve your proficiency. Specifically:
Create a study plan
Determining your current English level is the first step for learners to follow a suitable learning path for themselves. You should take proficiency tests at reputable institutions, participate in competency assessments, or take an IELTS mock test at IDP.
Along with that, learners must also set specific goals for themselves, knowing what IELTS band score they need to achieve. Setting goals is like a sail that helps build the right approach to learning IELTS Reading for beginners.
Finally, you should create an IELTS study schedule and stick to it to improve your proficiency. There's a fact that most people who are good at English all set up a daily study schedule. You can set study periods of about 30 minutes to 2 hours each day and avoid skipping days, maintaining consistency to establish a habit for your brain.
You should create a study schedule and strictly adhere to it
Review basic grammar knowledge
Review all basic grammar including the 6 most commonly used tenses, nouns, verbs, active and passive sentences, etc. Resources to help you review this knowledge include software like the IELTS by IDP app, IELTS Grammar books, IELTS Reading books, etc.
Practice reading every day
Practicing reading every day is a very effective way to learn IELTS Reading for beginners. Start by reading everything you like: blogs, stories, magazines, newspapers, etc. in English. This will help you generate interest and inspiration to learn English naturally.
On the other hand, reading daily with diverse reading styles also helps the brain absorb more easily and effectively increase vocabulary. Beginners can start by reading short paragraphs or quotes first, reading along with short videos they like, then gradually increase the difficulty with more complex articles and essays.
Reading every day is a way to improve your skills
Learn vocabulary
During the reading practice, note down new words in a notebook and study them every day. Just 5 minutes to review the vocabulary after 3 months, you will see surprising results.
Besides, choose a vocabulary learning method that suits you: Learning vocabulary through apps, sticking notes in places you can easily see, using flashcards, learning vocabulary through movies, listening to music, etc. In short, keep vocabulary learning regular and review, create ways to learn vocabulary that are not "cramming" but still help you truly remember for a long time.
If you have difficulty learning vocabulary, you can refer to our 3 tips to improve your vocabulary.
Mastering basic Reading skills
Mastering basic reading comprehension skills is an extremely effective way for beginners to learn IELTS Reading. Specifically:
Skimming: This is the skill of quickly reading through the entire text. Learners need to reach an intermediate level to keep up with the revision pace and minimize reading comprehension time. Learners can start practicing with short paragraphs/essays, and then, when familiar, increase speed by catching the main keys. Thus, through the process of practicing Skimming, you will be surprised at your level and ability to grasp ideas, improving your overall reading comprehension.
Scanning: This is the skill of quickly scanning for specific information, often used to find answers. Beginners can practice this skill at a basic level by quickly looking at proper nouns (usually capitalized), quickly cross-referencing with questions to answer quickly and correctly.
Read more: How to Skim and Scan for Keywords in IELTS
Underline keywords: Underlining the main keywords - this skill will help readers review the main information of the article or each paragraph more easily. Additionally, this skill also helps you avoid confusion and helps you focus on the key content, avoiding mistakes.
Fast reading and skimming skills support candidates in the test
Practice by exam format
Familiarize yourself with the exam through mobile apps: IELTS by IDP, Pre IELTS, IELTS Reading,... is also a way to learn IELTS Reading for beginners. Through this, learners not only practice their reading comprehension skills but also develop their ability to stick to the exam format. It also helps you get used to the time allocation for Reading.
4 IELTS Reading practice resources for beginners
Beginners need to choose books and materials suitable for their level and learning goals. Some recommended IELTS Reading materials for beginners are as follows:
Get Ready For IELTS Reading:A complete set of 4 skills books that students with a band score of 3.0+ should use to learn how to improve their level in all 4 skills. The book set is rated as "easy" and not too challenging for learners. However, the books are written 100% in English, so sometimes you may need to use a dictionary to understand the content.
Reading Strategies For The IELTS Test:Another effective IELTS Reading book for beginners is Reading Strategies For The IELTS Test. It includes good practice tests, grammar structure reviews, 7 Practice tests, and other tips and strategies. The downside of this book is that it's quite old, so the reading content may not be very current, but it's compensated by having English-Vietnamese translations, making it easier for beginners to follow.
Cambridge Vocabulary/Grammar for IELTS:This is a well-known set of materials in the IELTS preparation community that you should also approach. The book set is rated to have the structure and types of questions closest to the actual IELTS test.
Basic IELTS Reading:This IELTS Reading book for beginners has lessons with different levels: from easy basic to intermediate, upper-intermediate, and some advanced reading passages.
Reading strategies for the IELTS test provides each type of question found in the exam
5 tips to achieve a high band score in IELTS Reading
To achieve higher band scores, beginners must master the following useful and applicable exam tips:
Always paraphrase to better understand the semantics of the sentence.
Focus on the meaning of sentences rather than vocabulary.
Don't worry when encountering unknown words, rely on context to understand words in sentences.
All answers are in the passage, read carefully and try to find them there
You should check all your answers to make sure you haven't forgotten any questions.
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As you can see, there are many effective ways to learn IELTS Reading for beginners. Learners need to be flexible and understand their level to know which approach is easiest for them.