A cry for help (from Aswan)

aswan said earlier this afternoon...

Good afternoon everybody, my name is Aswan, a student in Mr Tony's class. I'm not doing well so far, but that it is not (just) me. I (know) I have to work hard to succeed and pass this course and exam. So I am asking for some tips and a lot of advice in writiing and reading.

Thanks a lot

OK IELTS veterans and current class, what do we say to Aswan to put her mind at rest?

• Yes, IELTS is a challenge, especially after years (?) of not studying English language formally.
• This course and IELTS itself are not "pass / fail" situations - you have to perform to the best of your ability and talent on that particular IELTS exam day.
• It is a matter of preparation, practice and self-belief.
• By the end of these three weeks will have a battery of exam tips and 'real time' exam practice that are enough to enable you to perform to a high standard in the IELTS.
• Have you looked through the OLD weblogs?
• Have you checked any of the websites (writefix & Hong Kong Polyu are truly excellent (and free!).
• Work through the notes / exercises in INSIGHT into IELTS - I try to summarise and condense further the essential message that this coursebook preaches.
• Listen to 90.3FM - I love it!
• The Learning Zone will save your life - it is a brilliant resource that cannot be emphasized enough.
• Read as much as you can - the bbc website has over 1,000,000 web pages that are full of fascinating information.
• Keep a vocabulary log - use that sheet I gave you or one of those A - Z address books/notebooks that you can keep in your pocket and refer to constantly - in other words, develop a SYSTEM for improving/extending your English.
• Get a 'study/buddy' to work with over the Wed - Sat period that we don't have classes (I can think of a few ladies in the class that you could team up with).
• Use the two weeks (?) after the course before you take the IELTS to digest what you have studied.
• POST writing work, no matter how imperfect, on the weblog for me or Dr rashid to help you with - this is what Souad from I-guide blog did.
• Don't lose heart and be pessimistic - we need realistic optimists!
• Eat chocolate (it helped Mais Albassam to 7 7 7 7!).

You are not alone, Aswan. Many others on the course have similar doubts and worries.

One week down, two to go!

Hey! It's even stopped raining!

As you can all gather, I'm stuck at home resting my knee and so it is a golden opportunity for I-learn students to contact me.

What about Chelsea, Jamal! Will lightning strike twice against Barcelona (as it did last year?)

As you can see, there are more important things than IELTS IELTS IELTS IELTS IELTS IELTS IELTS IELTS IELTS IELTS IELTS IELTS IELTS IELTS IELTS ...

Over to you and ALL the silent readers

Tony