IELTS-Ready for the New Year: A 6-Week Plan for Busy Learners

Boost your IELTS confidence with our 6-week preparation plan for busy test takers. Learn how to manage your study time and stay motivated. Whether you’re new to IELTS or have taken the test before, our plan offers a range of options to help you reach your IELTS goals.

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Reading Writing Academic General Training

The countdown to the New Year has begun! If you're a busy English learner aiming to take the IELTS test in 2024, we're here to help! In this 6-week plan, we'll show you how to build good study habits in your English learning journey so that you can confidently say you're on your way to being IELTS ready on January 1st. Best of all, each weekly focus comes with three easy-to-achieve options, each taking no more than one hour of your precious time.

Week 1: Create Effective Study Habits

Before you start your preparation journey, it’s important to familiarise yourself with the IELTS test format. Once you know what the test looks like, follow these steps to build successful study habits.

Write down your target score and what English language skills you need to improve.
Take a look at the next five weeks of our study plan and choose the preparation materials that will help you most.
Review your plan each week. Add extra options or change what you’re studying if necessary.
Create a study schedule that suits your daily routine. Treat your study time like an important appointment you wouldn’t want to miss.
Choose a quiet place to study where you won’t be disturbed. Consider switching your phone to silent mode.
Stay motivated by using some of these effective study strategies to make sure you keep on track:

Share your study plans with a friend or family member for accountability.
Ask a teacher to give you feedback on your writing or speaking.
Reward yourself after each study session to celebrate your progress.

Type of Study

Time Needed

Create Effective Study Habits

Lift Your Listening

Boost Your Writing

Advance Your Speaking

Revision and Confidence

Week 2: Lift Your Listening

If you're taking the IELTS on computer test, the first section you do is Listening – which is why we’ve put it first on the study plan. Choose from three different options to fill your IELTS study hour this week.

Option 1: Free Practice Questions

Want to get an idea of what kind of questions you’ll see in the Listening test? Listen to conversations and monologues while completing multiple-choice, form completion and other common IELTS Listening questions with these free practice sample questions.

Option 2: Tips to Improve IELTS Listening Scores

If you’re looking for ways to improve your IELTS Listening score, don’t miss this free one-hour masterclass where IELTS expert Rocco Nigro shares his best tips and plenty of examples. As a bonus, the video also covers strategies you can use in the Reading section on the IELTS test.

Option 3: Practise with Podcasts

Looking for a less formal way to prepare for IELTS Listening this week? Listening to podcasts can help you get used to the different accents you might hear in your test. We’ve put together a list of our Top 10 podcasts to help you improve your English.

Week 3: Get Reading-ready

Preparing for this section of the test involves more than just reading. This week’s options will help you develop reading skills and strategies and build up your vocabulary.

Option 1: Free Sample Questions

Trying test preparation questions can help you find out what reading skills you need to improve. Explore these free IELTS Academic and General Training sample questions to learn about the type of questions that you can expect to see in the IELTS Reading test.

Option 2: Learn Reading Skills

What’s the best way to manage your time in the IELTS Reading test? This article offers lots of tips for improving your reading speed and finding information quickly.

Option 3: Read the News in English

When you’re preparing for IELTS, it’s important to expand your vocabulary so you can understand different types of texts. Breaking News English provides current news stories in seven different English levels with free vocabulary exercises to go with them.

Week 4: Boost Your Writing

Improving your writing skills for IELTS takes time, but finding the right resources doesn’t have to. This week’s options cover a mixture of writing skills as well as ways to include English writing practice into your daily routine.

Option 1: Practice Writing Topics

Familiarise yourself with the writing questions you might get on test day by downloading our free IELTS Academic and General Training Writing questions. We’ve also included sample answers to help you get the IELTS score you need.

Option 2: Improve Your Writing Band Score

Are you aiming for a band 7 or 8 in Writing? The two videos below take you through a step-by-step study plan to help you reach your desired score

Option 3: Keep a Daily Journal

Regular practice improves both your writing skills and self-confidence. Start a journal in English and write about your thoughts and experiences for ten minutes every day. Not sure what to write? Read these journaling tips for ideas.

Week 5: Advance Your Speaking

Improving your IELTS Speaking skills requires a clear study plan with regular practice. This week’s options offer three different study strategies to help you boost your confidence and speaking abilities.

Option 1: IELTS Speaking Practice Topics

Improve your IELTS Speaking skills by taking a closer look at the types of questions you might get on test day. Add these common IELTS speaking questions to your study plan and practise with friends to stay motivated.

Option 2: Improve Your Speaking Score

This one-hour video class takes you through the Speaking test format and assessment criteria. Watch examples of two-way discussions from IELTS Speaking tests that received bands 6, 7 and 8.

Option 3: Record Yourself

Talk about a different topic for five minutes every day. Record yourself on your phone and listen to the recording afterwards. This allows you to identify areas for improvement in pronunciation, fluency, vocabulary and grammar.

Week 6: Revision and Confidence

Congratulations on making it to Week 6! This week is all about building up your IELTS confidence by identifying any gaps you might have in your skills and knowledge.

Option 1: Free Mock Tests

Practise managing your time effectively by taking an online mock test under exam conditions. Analyse your results to identify your weaknesses so you know what to focus on for the rest of the IELTS study time.

Option 2: Understanding IELTS Scores

Read about how IELTS is scored. Look at the band descriptors for Writing and Speaking and find your desired band score. Identify the areas you need to improve and set aside time to work on these.

Option 3: What to Expect on Test Day

What does an IELTS test centre look like? And what do you need to bring on test day?

Take a virtual tour of an IELTS test centre to get a better idea of what to expect on test day.

Remember, consistency is the key to success. By starting with just one option a week, you'll be well on your way to achieving your IELTS goals. Stay connected with our social media channels, explore the additional preparation materials on our website, download our app and get involved with our community of learners for support and motivation.

You've got this! Start your journey to IELTS readiness today.