And the Reading test (2)

One of the things I usually do before or at the beginning of the lesson is to talk to my students. It’s not just to pass the time while waiting for everybody to come and settle down, I use these five – ten minutes to answer their questions and ask some of my own.

One day I was trying to find out why my IELTS students got the scores they got in their previous test. This is useful research for the teacher to see where the students struggle. So here is another story to put under the ‘how your studies can get you into trouble’ file.
While doing the Reading section of the Academic module test, my student (a graduate of Medical School) came across a text which he found very interesting, as it somehow connected with his studies and his future career as a medical doctor. He read the text, got the gist then read the text again, got the details and answered the questions. But by the time he finished he realised he didn’t have enough time to read the last text properly and answer the questions. So, after a quick skim he answered some questions and then he started choosing the answers randomly.

He got good score, but not the one he needed, so he had to re-take the test.

That was the first time I heard that someone was so wrapped up in the information that they forgot about the exam completely. Usually, the students complain about the texts being boring, as they are on unfamiliar topics, and containing unknown words.

So, please be careful and always keep an eye on the clock, no matter how (un)interesting your text is.

Until next time, Good luck!