The IELTS Study Trap — When Studying More Stops Helping

When your IELTS score isn't where you want it to be, it’s only natural to think, “I need to study more.” So you do more practice tests, more reading exercises, more vocabulary, more, more, more…

Sure, it feels productive because you're working hard, aren’t you?

The problem may not be the amount of time you study but what happens during those study hours. If find yourself repeating the same mistakes, more practice can simply give you more chances to feel frustrated and down on yourself.

More Practice Is Not Always More Progress

What It Means:

Practice is important for IELTS, but doing more and more exercises does not promise improvement.

For example, you may finish a test, check your score, feel unhappy, and then start another test. If you never look carefully at the wrong answers, you may not understand what went wrong, and you’re working harder without actually fixing anything.

What to Do:

After an IELTS exercise, don't immediately move on to another one; instead, spend a few minutes looking at what went wrong (and what went right, see Pro Tip below).

If you got a Reading question wrong, find out why. Did you not understand the question? Did you choose an answer because you saw the same word in the passage? Were you reading too quickly?

You don't need to study every error for a long time; the important thing is to notice your patterns and work on them; this is where a friend, family member or coach (yes, like me!) may be able to help with a second pair of eyes.

The Example:

Rolf feels good when he completes a three-hour test but when he checks his answers, he is frustrated by the same Reading problems. Instead of looking closely at them, he closes the test and tells himself, “I'll do better tomorrow.” Three weeks and fifteen tests later, he is working just as hard, but his score has barely moved.

One evening, Svetlana she gets several questions wrong and notices that she keeps choosing answers because they contain words she has seen in the passage. She realises that she has been looking for familiar words instead of understanding what the passage actually means.

Rolf is measuring how much he practises. Svetlana is using her practice to discover what she needs to change.

Rule of Thumb:

Rather than ask yourself, “How much did I practise?” ask, “What did I learn from my practice?”  You want quality more than quantity.

PRO TIP> Be sure to take note of what you’re doing well in the tests; this will boost your confidence and strength to tackle the more difficult parts.

Bonus Points:

As mentioned in our last Immigration blog (https://www.fluentandfabulous.com/post/the-6-month-meltdown-what-happened-to-my-shiny-new-life), your everyday life will get a boost when you remind yourself of your progress and take some time to problem-solve what you want to improve!

Don't Try to Fix Everything at Once

What It Means:

Each IELTS skill has different challenges and it’s easy to feel that they all need your attention at the same time.

If you have no clear idea where to focus, you can’t give yourself enough time to understand one problem properly - basically, you’re spinning your wheels!

What to Do:

Choose ONE main problem to work on for a while.

This does not mean to stop practising the other skills, just to give most of your attention to that ONE.

For example, if Reading is your weakest skill, devote a study session or two to looking at what went wrong in your Reading test. This gives your brain a clear job to do, and then you can move to the next biggest challenge

The Example:

Harjeet studies for three hours every Saturday. He starts with a vocabulary list because he knows his vocabulary needs work. Then he begins the outline of an essay, listens to 5 minutes of a Speaking lesson, gets bored and opens a Reading exercise, then drifts back to the vocabulary.

When it’s time to do his full practice test, watching TV is looking like a really good idea! He has worked hard, but he couldn’t tell you exactly what he improved, and he hasn’t focused on vocabulary long enough to change it. 

Parmla knows that she gets fewer Reading questions right than in the other sections, so one afternoon she focuses on her test errors and notices that she often tries to answer the questions without knowing what to look for.

She works on that problem while still doing some Writing and Speaking practice. Her study sessions feel more organised, and she knows what she is trying to improve.  

Rule of Thumb:

You don't need to fix all four study areas in one day or even a week; instead, choose ONE important problem and let your brain work on that first.

Bonus Points:

PRO TIP > If you are feeling like life’s little challenges are coming at you faster than you can handle, you can use this focusing trick there as well! Just pick ONE (like feeding your child or paying a bill), get that out of the way and move on to the next ONE thing.

The Bottom Line

More IELTS study does not always mean more progress. If you're repeating the same mistakes or trying to fix every IELTS skill at once, spending more hours can simply create more stress without helping you to move forward.

Stop and take some time to finding out what needs to change, then give that problem your full attention. You don't need to do everything at once, but you do want to make your hard work count - try it and let me know how you do!

I help impatient learners to get further and faster on their English journey than they ever thought possible!

 If you’re ready to work on your English in a focused and structured way (or to begin your French journey), start here: —https://www.fluentandfabulous.com/home