Of late, Australia has become one of the easy destinations not only for educated but also for uneducated one. Therefore, the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) has become a lifeline for aspiring individual.
However, to me I never dreamt beyond this nation –I would like to be honest and work for this nation that has given me so much peace and happiness, including free education and medicare. Likewise, I would like to serve His Majesty and this nation with utmost dedication and integrity. For the longest time, my mind was never beyond the call of national interest.
However, recently I was motivated to take this test along with hundreds others who are wishing for foreign dream. Initially, it came just that I really wanted to challenge myself and check my English status because it is required for every small task and all. I just wanted to try and raise my bar in this area because English is required in all spheres of life.
Like any other fellow aspiring youth, I gave it a try after my brother insisted on me a number of times because he has seen teachers getting through so easily not only in test scores but also visa offers. It may be because they are nation builders and God must be merciful to this profession and individual. Therefore, to simply fulfill my brother's wish, I prepared for a few weeks in between my work and home and gave a test.
On the test day, coming across a huge number mostly composed of young and energetic youth deeply worried me, who has all the power and ability to build this nation greater than anyone else in the world.
Having lost in a pools of thoughts and some uneasiness within, it was a nice experience altogether, but on the other hand, we are steadily losing the young, talented, energetic and educated section of people to abroad for very genuine reasons, which for a small nation like ours is a big worry and a concern that matters so profoundly because active and productive citizen matter in the development process of the nation. I strongly feel that it is equally important for us to reflect upon our past and accordingly set system and policies of what went wrong and what can be done in such a critical moment. It is also time to really give a second thought on what lies with His Majesty's beautiful quote "what we lack in numbers, we must make up for in talent".
With all kinds of feelings, unknown in the centre, with all faces hidden behind the mask, I gave my attempt that opened the window of foreign opportunity. The dazzling hall with around 300 people is making their way to the Australian dream. The supervising examiner made a brief announcement for the whole exam process and schedule. What amazed me more was the total number of test takers (672), which is a huge number for the population size of our country. I had my test after a hard and nerve wrecking 3 hours intense session. On the other hand, there was a moment where I just wanted to give up and run away for different reasons.
Having sweat for 3 long hours, or so, the dream of foreign land and minting dollars isn’t easy and forgiving. This could be one reason why most of our fellow Bhutanese become greedy and selfish for the fact that the process isn't easy and worth someone's selfishness.
Let me share a few other thoughts that came to me while preparing and taking the test. Altogether, this test requires a different level of preparation and mentality since different approaches are being administered. At one point, I felt IELTS is more of a comprehension test and a time management skill.
One needs to be differently smart with a high tolerance level. Test takers must not only have the general idea and pattern of the test but also need to prepare a high level technique. Therefore, one's passion, practice and mindfulness are key to a good band score.
In addition, those wishing to sit for a test can simply refer to a few authentic sources like Cambridge Test which are available online and some online tutorials. As one prepares for the exam, one must always adhere to a time bound setting test, need to be exceptionally good in listening skills, fast in comprehension, therefore, one must develop an english mind and eye for taking this test. I was suggested to have an Eagle eye and Dog ear! Nevertheless, someone comforted that it mostly depends upon sheer luck and indivisible force. Therefore, even at the scariest time, I learn to develop my English mind which comes at the cost of practice and passion. Nevertheless, scanning and skimming are the two important skills one need to possess for the test. The other important lesson I had was that one must not only develop a quick mindset in coordinating ideas and writing skills but also one needs to be relevant and clear to impress appraisers. Therefore, one must remember there is no room for a mistake –as one score can undo the whole result process and it costs you madly.
With experience, I did not find much relevance in daily affairs and the testing mandates. For which listening test is only to check someone's listening power. Similarly, reading takes a very different approach as I felt more like a time management test and nothing more. On the other hand, writing and speaking tests are two different skill testing exams, first is organizing ideas and the latter is more of a confidence and expression test.
However, there are things that I like very much about this testing system –some questions and conversations are too good to miss. Many different sections of comprehension like looking for heading, flowchart, synonyms, etc really gripped my attention that require a high level of focus and determination. I hope a few of our exams will be like such testing systems in the near future. And even more interesting was the quality of the answer paper. I wish such a quality of academic plan and process would be part of other academic affairs.
This is one of the craziest tests I have appeared so far and would be remembered for many reasons hereafter.
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