There is a good tool in your pocket for studying IELTS

I always advise my students to download the ABC app onto their phones and use it as an IELTS studying tool. Why?

REASON 1: Practise reading 

This is so obvious. You can read the news using the app. There are local news, world news, sports news, education news, technology news... We all know reading the news in a foreign language is good for building your vocabulary. Your high school English teachers told you that, didn't they? They are right, and the app makes it convenient. You can always highlight a word and "web search" it for the meaning.

If you have read the news about the riots in Hong Kong over the last week, you probably would have learnt the words "melee" (n.) meaning disorder, disturbance, and "scuffle" (n.) (v.) meaning a short, confused fight.

Having said that, the Prime Minister of Aussieland also said a pretty unusual English word last week which sent many people (ESL and non-ESL backgrounds alike) to run for their dictionaries. Tony Abbott said he would "shirtfront" the Russian President Vladimir Putin. Don't you want to know what "shirtfront" means? Luckily, since the PM's choice of word is so special, even the news on the app includes a link to tell you the meaning. It's a movement, so it is easier to grasp with a video.

According to Wikitionary, "shirtfront" is a head-on charge aimed at bumping an opponent to the ground. In AFL, it is supposed to be against the rule, and the term is considered outdated already. Voila!

Actually, you can use the ABC website on your computer instead, but for reading the news, I do recommend using the phone, because it has a smaller screen. We are supposed to be reading faster from a narrower column, so you can train up your reading speed by reading from your phone. In IELTS reading tests, they always arrange a passage in two columns, so they are actually helping us to read faster. Aren't we grateful?

REASON 2: Practise listening

Well, apart from reading, you can listen to the radio and watch TV through the app. I personally don't enjoy watching videos on my phone, but the radio function is good. You can live stream radio or select programs in their archive. Just explore! Many students find IELTS listening challenging because they are not reacting fast enough when the keywords come up. By listening to the radio more, you will eventually get used to the way native English speakers talk, their tones and sentence patterns, which allow you to predict when the main points will come up. So, you won't be surprised when a piece of information pops up.

REASON 3: Collect materials for speaking

I've observed something interesting from tutoring IELTS speaking. Many students find it hard to answer questions regarding aspects of our lives, such as, sports, mass media, the internet and arts. Here are some of the typical questions:

Part I:
What's your favourite TV/ radio program?
Which types of news do you read most often?
Which types of music do you listen to?

Part II:
Describe a useful website.
Describe a movie you dislike.
Describe a piece of electronic equipment.
Describe a kind of sports that you want to try.
Describe an artwork.

Part III:
How do newspapers attract readers?
Which one do you prefer: reading magazines or newspapers?
Should there be more educational TV programs?
What do you think about advertisements?
Should arts be made part of school curriculum?

Perhaps some students are not interested in some of the subjects, that's why they don't think about them much, and so it is natural that they don't have an idea when they are asked those questions. Or, they are actually familiar with some of the subjects, but they just don't have the words to describe, which is really sad :( Whichever the reason is, I think listening to the radio and watching TV more often can widen your scope of knowledge and vocabulary, and give you more ideas for your speeches.

Since I have mentioned music, I want to say I do listen to old Mandarin pops. Here is one of my favourites. P.S. It is a KTV video, so we can sing along =)