Bui Thanh Nhan – IELTS overall band 8.5

I'm a 12th grader in Trần Đại Nghĩa High School for the Gifted, English major. I live in Thủ Đức District. My parents have always wanted me to have a chance to study abroad so that I can get better education, become more open-minded and of course, become wealthy. However, their income cannot cover the tuition and living expenses if I am to attend any British School (or US, Australian...). Therefore, they told me to study hard so that I could get a scholarship. I was also told to work extra hard on my English, since it is the first thing one must know to even think about studying abroad. That's what brought me to the very first English class when I was in 4th grade. I don't know how to explain this but English seemed to come naturally to me. I had little difficulty getting to know the fundamentals in the first year, and later on I became somewhat good at English. Eventually, in the summer before my high school senior year, I decided that it was time to take the IELTS, my very first step to foreign education.

1. How did the British Council help you prepare for the exam?Before attending British Council's preparation course, I thought I had a good idea of how the test would be. However, I was surprised to realize that there were tons of important things to know about IELTS which I had never known. The teacher also gave me useful tips to maximize my possible score. He was very helpful. In addition, his sense of humor made his class really enjoyable. Also, the number of students in class is low so I was never "ignored" like I had been in other kinds of class. In short, BC gave me a perfect image of how the IELTS would be as well as useful studying strategies and tips, which helped me become absolutely confident taking the exam.

2. What else did you do outside the classroom?I bought the Cambridge's books of past IELTS exams to practice at home what I studied in BC and that was it. If I am to say about how I have been studying English in general, it is: watching movies on HBO and Star Movies, downloading latest movies from the internet and watching with English subtitles. This way I can improve both my listening and vocabulary whiling having fun :) I also take note of any interesting words or expressions that I come across then look them up in the dictionary.