IELTS Over a Cup of Tea

IELTS Over a Cup of Tea: Reading

 

*****

Reading is to Mind as exercise is to Body.

 

I would like to suggest anyone who plans to take the IELTS test to visit its official website. On the web, you will find a great deal of information, just almost anything you need to know about this test. For example, you will know what the meaning of the test results is if you look at this page http://www.ielts.org/format.htm#results .

 

About two weeks or so after you have taken the test, you will receive a report from the IELTS office, informing you the results. The scores are on a scale from 1 to 9, and the higher the score the better for you. Based on the website, “ Each Band corresponds to a descriptive statement giving a summary of the English of a candidate classified at that level. Overall Band Scores can be reported in either whole or half Bands.” For example, for your first degree, you may need at least 6.5 to get into most universities in Australia.

 

Let us, first of all, carefully consider all nine bands and their meanings. If you read what’s on the website quoted above, you should know that:

 

If your score is 9, you are considered an expert user of English. They say that you have “ fully operational command of the language: appropriate, accurate and fluent with complete understanding.” This is the highest score anyone can get. I took the IELTS once, and could only manage to get only 7.5.

A very good user is someone who has a score of 8. If an 8 is your score, you are considered as someone who “has fully operational command of the language with only occasional unsystematic inaccuracies and inappropriacies. Misunderstandings may occur in unfamiliar situations.” They expect you to be able to “handle complex detailed argumentation well.”

 

If you get a 7, you are considered a good user. You are said to have “operational command of the language, though with occasional inaccuracies, inappropriacies and misunderstandings in some situations.” Generally, you can “handle complex language well and understands detailed reasoning.”

 

You are a competent user if you get 6. You have generally effective command of the language despite some inaccuracies, inappropriacies and misunderstandings. You can use and understand fairly complex language, particularly in familiar situations.

You are considered a modest user if your score is 5. A modest user id someone who “has partial command of the language, coping with overall meaning in most situations, though is likely to make many mistakes. He or she should be able to “handle basic communication in own field.”

If you are a 4, you are a limited user of English. Your so-called “basic competence is limited to familiar situations.” Also, you have “frequent problems in understanding and expression.” You are “not able to use complex language.”

If your score is as low as 3, you are said to be an extremely limited user of English. They say that you can “convey and understand only general meaning in very familiar situations.” For that reason, your communication is often breakdown.

A score of 2 means you are an intermittent user. Basically, no real communication is possible for you, “except for the most basic information using isolated words or short formulae in familiar situations and to meet immediate needs.” Indeed, you have great difficulty understanding spoken and written English.

A score as low as 1 means you are a non-user. You, essentially, have no ability to use the language beyond possibly a few isolated words e.g. yes, no, OK, and thank you. A core of 0 means you did attempt the test.

 

Reading

That should be enough for the introduction. Better get back to our topic of the day: reading.

When I got to the Iguana, a café of the university, I found that Ming and Ting were already there at table number 16, waiting for me.

 

I gave them a big smile as a signal that I was going to join them as soon as possible. I walked slowly to the counter to order my tea. Indeed, this morning we planned to talk about the IELTS reading module. I expected to have a fruitful conversation with the two of them. In fact, I expect to learn from them. Together we lean.

 

“ Good morning,” I greeted them with a smile. They greeted me with smiles of their faces.

 

“ I’m sorry I’m a bit late,” I said.

“No, no, we came too early, you’re just in time,” Ming told me as I sat down.

Ting showed me a few pages of photocopied paper. She had written something on it. She had certainly done her homework.

 

The article she has just handed me titled 4 essential aspects of reading. For the next 30 minutes or so our conversation went something like this:

 

“ Learning and reading are almost inseparable. And reading can be an exciting experience, ” Ting told us.

“Yes, I think so,” I agreed.

 

“What are the four aspects of reading?” asked Ming.

 

“Why don’t we scan for it?” I suggested.

 

After a few minutes of silence, I asked Ming to tell me the four aspects of reading.

 

“ They are,” Ming answered with confidence, “ perception, comprehension, that’s aspect number 2, Reaction is number 3, and number 4 is application.”

Well done, I said and meant it.

 

“Now Ting,” I turned to Ting and said “ I believe you have already read it.”  She did. I could easily tell from her reaction. I was relaxed and her tension was dropped. This would help her a lot to pronounce the words correctly and appropriately.

 

“Could you explain each aspect to us?” I sat back and sipped my tea. The sun was shining brighter. Some magpies are swooping around the tall gum tree. A few black crows began singing their noisy songs. I must admit that loved listen to their songs. Canberra is a city in the middle of the bush, a place where the humans and animals can happily coexist. 

 

Ting sipped her tea and began her explanation with great confidence. Her pronunciation was good. Her voice was clear and her ending sounds were much better than the first they we met. It was about three months ago.

 

Casually, she read from her note: “ Perception, or, the recognition of the meaning and pronunciation of printed symbols, is the first step in reading.” Then she paused.

 

“No doubt about it. If you have poor recognition ability, you cannot read correctly,” said Ming. I looked at him as soon as he finished his sentence. I nodded my head in approval of his comment. I could feel from his voice how proud he was.

 

“ The next aspect is comprehension or your understanding, “ said Ting.

 

“Comprehension involves two things: recognizing and understanding main ideas and related details. Also, a good reader is often aware that many ideas are not explicitly stated. They are implied. To get the full meaning, the good reader has to read between the lines, ” she explained.

 

Ting went on to the third aspect: reaction. She told us as follows:

 

“ You react to almost everything, including stories. Your reactions may be positive or negative. You may agree or disagree with the story. You may reject what you read as being impractical or untrue. When you read a novel or a short story, you may find it amusing or enjoyable, or boring.”

 

“ If you are a good reader, you react to a story as you read. In short, you react to the writer’s ideas. When you comprehend something, you often react to it by asking questions, voicing your opinions, or offering some comments.”

 

Without delay, Ting went on to the last aspect.

 

“ The last aspect is application. Application occurs as the information you read connects with your previous experiences. New understanding may correct your previous perception or understanding of something. You may have new insights. Your interest may be broadened. You may be able to initiate new things or solve old problems with new means.”

 

Ming and I thanked her for her insightful explanation.

“ I agree, “ I said, “ sometime the reading of a good book can change our philosophy of life.”

 

As for the IELTS reading module, many candidates often complain about the time allowed. You have only 60 minutes but you have tons to read and a lot to answer.

That’s why speed-reading is an essential skill for every candidate. In fact, effective reading is essential for everybody.

 

Ming asked as I was about to go and get some more cake, “ What’s the right balance between comprehension and speed?”

 

I told them that I would come back and share my opinion. But I told them to critically ponder upon it. I walked to the counter again. This time I had to queue. There were more customers.

 

“ To be efficient, how would you read?” I asked both of them as I placed a big plate of cakes on the table.

 

“ You can’t have this cake unless you say something,” I jokingly announced.

 

“ I guess it depends on your purposes of reading,” Ting said as she put a small portion of the carrot cake into her mouth. “ Umm, yummy,” she said.

 

“Now, it’s your turn Ming, “ I said. Ming looked at me and smiled. “ No problem,” he said.

 

“ Well, ur, well, “ he seemed hesitated. “ You must be …er…er…”

 

“Flexible?” I filled in his missing word.

 

“ Yes, that’s the word I am looking for,” he thanked me.

 

Many books you read will tell you that your reading needs to be flexible. The way you read a novel, for example, should be different from the way you read a science text. Your reading rate (speed of reading) should be varied according to your purposes and the material you have. Your ability to read rapidly for meaning can help you learn better. You will get a lot of HDs.

 

I told them that the English philosopher Francis Bacon used to suggest us that:

“ Some books are to be tasted, other to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested.”