IELTS Energy 1460: How Adelino Got an 8... Twice!
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This is an IELTS Energy Podcast, Episode 1460, How Adelino Got an 8 Twice.

Welcome to the IELTS Energy Podcast from All Ears English, downloaded more than 22 million times with former IELTS examiner Jessica Beck and Aubrey Carter, the IELTS whiz. If you are stuck with a low score, our insider method will help you get the score you need to unlock your dreams. Get your estimated band score now with our two-minute quiz. Go to allearsenglish.com

Today you'll find out how Adelino prepared for IELTS in only 25 days and managed to get an 8. And you'll learn what life dream he now gets to pursue because he's done with IELTS.

I love podcasting here on IELTS Energy, but do you know where else I podcast sometimes? Over on All Ears English. That is the place to get four new fun fluency episodes every single week. We give you tons of vocabulary to ace your speaking or writing, plus amazing role plays, and it's all with a focus on connection, not perfection. Come join me, Lindsay, and Michelle every single Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. All Ears English.

Open your search bar and type All Ears English and then hit the follow button. Hello, IELTS Energy listeners. We have an honorable guest today. And actually, he's here for the second time. Adelino, welcome to IELTS Energy. Yeah, thank you so much. Thank you so much for having me. So, you know what, guys? I'll be honest with all of you listening.

I had forgotten that Adelino was on here, but it was like years ago. So let's get into this. Adelino, you have taken IELTS twice, correct? Twice. Yeah, that's correct. Okay. That's correct. The first time you took IELTS. That was the second time. All right. So when did you take IELTS? Well, that happened, I guess in 2021, 2021, if I'm not wrong.

because I had to go through the registration process to become a teacher in New Zealand. And one of the first steps that I had to take was to get myself an English certification in order for them to process my documents. So that was the first thing that I did. Well, I got my papers reviewed by the Immigration New Zealand, so they assessed my documents. And after that, they asked me to get a

the English certificate, which is the IELTS that is required by them. Okay. Okay. And tell me about the first time you prepared for IELTS. Like, did you prepare for a long time or what?

Yeah, I started the process to become a teacher in New Zealand back in 2019. So that was five years ago. And I started it at the end of the year, at the end of 2019, and we were struck by the pandemic right away.

So all the exams were put on hold and I didn't have the chance to go through an exam up to 2021, I guess. That's when I was able to take the exam. So I was preparing myself for quite a substantial amount of time.

So it was a lengthy process, but I was really stressed with everything that was happening with the pandemic. I didn't know if I would have the chance to go to New Zealand because we were not assured of anything back then. There were a lot of doubts, a lot of questions. People were stressed like I've never seen before.

So I kind of held this opportunity, but it was almost a shattered dream, you know. I didn't know if I would get the chance to go to New Zealand. And then everything started to open again and I went back and started studying. And the first time I took it, I did the six-day plans, I guess, 60 days plan.

Yeah. Okay. Yeah. And this time I only had like 25 days to prepare for everything. Okay. So I took the first time I got an eight. Yeah.

Okay. So yeah, just a review for our listeners. So this was a while ago, right? Like three or four years ago. And Adelino took our Three Keys IELTS course, allearsenglish.com slash K-E-Y-S, prepared for 60 days. So you prepared for a long time. You got that eight on your first try. All

Awesome. So you're in, you're into the life that you want, right? To be a teacher in New Zealand. So fast forward to now, right? Well, 2024 was when you took the exam again. Why did you have to take the exam again? Yeah, because the first time I took it, because I needed to get the teacher's registration process started.

So after that, I had to go to New Zealand, I had to spend almost a year going through a lengthy course there. So I spent two months there teaching. Then I came back to Brazil, I went through all the paperwork that I had to do, all the reports and everything else, you know, because it was a lengthy course. Then I finished and I realized that my IELTS had just expired in March 2024.

But I didn't expect them to ask for another IELTS because I was pretty safe that, okay, I have already gotten my registration. So, yeah. Yeah. That is surprising. When I got the job offer from a New Zealand school,

they and i decided to apply for the for the residency visa yeah then they asked for for an iot exam of course again okay but i was like come on i'm registered as a teacher there why would you ask me another eye so yeah you need one uh and and and you also need uh one for one english certification for your for your wife my wife went through um dofo because she was already preparing for that

She got the grade that she needed and I had like 25 days to prepare everything again because it's not only about your English skills. It's also about the skills you have to take that exam.

Because you have to be prepared for the exam. It's not only about, you can have all the qualifications that you need, but you're not ready to go to that exam. And you can mess everything up. No, totally. So Adelino, yeah. I had to relearn how to take the exam. It's perfectly brown. It's melty. It's sweet. It's the s'more you just cooked over the fire at AutoCamp. That's right. Hilton brings you new ways to stay, but you don't just get nightly s'mores.

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Well, I took it for the first time and it was great. I remember the first time I went to check for my grade and I was like, oh my God, I don't know if I'm going to get that 7 because I needed at least 7 at every single aspect of it. Yeah.

And when I opened and I saw Nate, I was like crying. I was so happy because, you know, I'm the kind of person that I never trust myself enough and I'm constantly doubting my skills.

And I don't know if that is positive or negative. There are positive and negative aspects to it because you push yourself a mile further. Let me interrupt you just for a second because I think a lot of listeners also experience that. And I think it's a positive thing.

There are downsides because we have more anxiety because we're worried. But here's the positive thing, guys. If you also experience this, like you take an exam or you go to a job interview or you do anything where the result is uncertain, afterwards you're anxious. You're like, oh my gosh, I did not do that well. I don't know. I think that's because we do prepare so much and

And it's really hard to work so hard and then be unsure. And I think it's a feature of being like a hard worker, really, and wanting to succeed so much. We're going to have that doubt. And that's what motivates us. So guys, if you're doubting yourself right now, I use it as motivation. I think it could be a positive thing. Okay, so continue, Adelina.

So yeah, but this time, because of the timeline that I had, I had a very short frame for me to fit myself. Because I was going to apply for a visa, I needed an answer from New Zealand immigration.

in a period of not more than 45 days because the year is going to start right now so if i if it took me too long to go through the process i could lose the opportunity to secure that position right so i only had like 25 days to go through everything and i and i delve myself into it uh i

push myself as much as possible. And yeah, the results were pretty positive because I managed to secure that same grade that I had like two years ago. I know that I could do much better if I had, you know, but I didn't have much because I'm still working. I'm still doing all the things that I'm

I used to do, I have my house, I have the chores, my wife, I have my, you know, so life continues and you have to keep your activities and your studying plan

within the time that you have. - So let me ask you about some strategies here, because I think a lot of listeners also are busy adults, right? Houses, families, work, all of it. So how did you manage to prepare in only 25 days? What are some secret tips you have for us? - I think that the most important here is not about only the days that you put yourself there and commit yourself to do.

Because, you know, when you're studying a second language, it's something that you do for your life, for the rest of your life. If you're not living in a place where people are constantly using that, you have to be committed to practice daily. So English is part of my life because I've chosen to. English is in my movies, the books that I read, the apps on my cell phone. I love it. English is part of my daily life. That's such great advice. Podcasts, movies.

And yeah, it

there's no way and i i like to say this because i also i'm also a spanish student an italian student i like to say if you're trying to learn a second or a third or fourth language you have to understand that you were not born in that society that speaks so you have to commit yourself it's if you don't put yourself you don't immerse yourself in that situation yeah yeah you're going to lose it so of course

Having the opportunity to go through a strategy like the three EIs, which is great. And it's great because it cuts a lot of the difficulties that you might encounter. So it's a shortcut that helps you to get to exactly what you have to do. The tips are there. You just have to follow those. First time I sent you an essay

it came back with such a low grade and what is wrong I asked myself what was wrong was that I was trying to do things my way yeah and I was too I don't know proud of myself of the way I write or the things I have in my mind but no it's not about your ability to process information it's about

the way you like and new girls know how to do it. People just have to follow your tips. It's just that. It's simple as baking a cake. If you follow the recipe, there's no way you're going to mess it up. Of course, there's also a cake that can go wrong.

but do your best by following the recipe because the recipe is already there and it's guaranteed success. Thank you for saying that. Yeah, that's such a great metaphor for our essay templates. It's just a recipe and you just follow it. I love that. Not only the essay, the listening, the reading, everything. Besides immersing yourself in English as much as possible,

As we've talked about, that's not enough. You also need the essay templates. You need to know what IELTS wants from you, right? Being confident about your great English is not enough. You have to know what kind of English, what ways to think that IELTS wants. Confidence can be very detrimental to you. So how did you manage to fit in the extra, like,

test practice, the extra time and three keys IELTS, like besides watching movies, besides doing the fun stuff in English, you also have to like dig into the course and the test practice and strategies. So how did you manage to fit that into your schedule?

My schedule was like coming back from work and only study. Okay. Weekends, only study. And I know that for some people can be stressful. I understand that. But if that's your only option, there's no way you can... Like, what are you going to do? You're going to fight with reality? Like, do whatever you... Yeah. What can you do? You only have your free hours to...

default yourself to study that's it i didn't have weekends i didn't have uh three hours throughout the month of uh october and and that was it that's

And keep in mind that like, this is a finite period, right? It's not like you have to devote all of your extra time for the next five years. You know, if it's like 25 days like Adelino, or maybe you follow our 60 day plan, it's like one or two months of your entire life, right? This is like, just... Yeah, and the outcome is so nice. Like we have yet to resolve this period.

you're expecting or even more. Like you feel so good and you feel proud of yourself. And that is, there's no, there's nothing that can give you more satisfaction than feeling proud of yourself. - Yeah. - That is the most satisfaction that you can feel about you because you feel that your effort was worth it. - Yeah, completely, completely, Adelino. Okay, Adelino, if you can choose just one test tip or one test strategy,

from the Three Keys IELTS course that really helped you. Just as like our final takeaway today, what is like one test strategy you think everyone needs to know? - So for me, it's like pay attention to all types of test they said. - Okay. - The essay that I encountered was the rarest. That essay that is said, oh, this is so rare that that was the one. - What was it?

Yeah, the one with the map and everything. Oh, the task one maps. Those are the worst. And it was like, yeah, it's the worst. But at least I took the time to write one essay with that characteristic. Yeah.

And that was very important because I did all the core, I took all the core steps and I put them into practice. So I was prepared somehow. Nice. And that helped. So never, never, never say, oh, this is rare. It's not going to be there. Oh, lucky me. That was the essay that I found. Funny. But yeah.

Thankfully everything works out. Yeah, that's awesome. Yeah, we do include everything in Three Keys IELTS, even the questions like maps or the mixed task two essay questions that are rare but do happen. You have to be prepared for everything.

All right, guys. So if you want to be prepared for everything, just like Adelino, whether you have 25 days or two months, check out Three Keys IELTS, allearsenglish.com slash K-E-Y-S. All right, Adelino, it was so nice to have you back on the show. Yeah, I hope this is the last one.

You won't have to take IELTS again, dude. Definitely not. No, no, no. I have a residency. I have a managed security residency visa. So I'm moving to New Zealand on January 18th. New life. That's two days after my birthday. How exciting. Oh, that's nice. All right, Adelino. Well, good luck with your move. It's coming up super soon and I'm really excited for you. And thank you so much for taking the time to talk to us today.

Thank you so much for having me again. See ya. Good luck with the move. Bye. See ya. Bye-bye. Thanks for listening to IELTS Energy. Hit subscribe now and don't forget to find your estimated band score at allearsenglish.com slash myscore.