Kuralay Duysekova Achieves an IELTS Score of 8.5

Kuralay Duysekova, a fourth-year student in the Department of Foreign Language Education at the Faculty of Philology of Khoja Akhmet Yassawi International Kazakh-Turkish University, has achieved remarkable success by scoring 8.5 on the internationally recognized IELTS examination. Duysekova shared the experiences she gained on her journey to this achievement, along with her advice for students preparing for the exam.

Nowadays, proficiency in English opens up significant opportunities for education and professional development. The internationally recognized IELTS examination is particularly important for those who wish to study abroad, participate in academic mobility programs, and improve their professional qualifications.

Kuralay Duysekova first took the IELTS examination during her second year at university. At that time, her main goal was to study in Europe through an academic mobility program and eventually work as an IELTS instructor. With this goal in mind, Duysekova prepared for the examination for more than four months and achieved a score of 8.0 on her first attempt. When she entered her fourth year at university, she decided to take the examination again to enhance her professional knowledge and skills and prepare for master's degree studies. As a result, she increased her score to 8.5.

Duysekova began focusing intensively on learning English during her final year of high school while preparing for Kazakhstan's Unified National Testing (UNT). After entering university, she continued developing her language skills. She improved her English proficiency independently by watching English-language videos and listening to podcasts. Later, she attended a private language course and reached the B2 level. During her IELTS preparation, she placed considerable emphasis on independent study alongside online courses.

In her first IELTS examination, Duysekova scored 9.0 in Listening, 8.0 in Reading, 6.5 in Writing, and 8.0 in Speaking. She stated that the Writing section was the most challenging for her. Therefore, while preparing for her second attempt, she focused particularly on essay-writing techniques, text structure, grammar rules, and analyzing her mistakes. She also continued improving her language skills by studying examples of high-scoring essays, listening to English-language podcasts, and reading various articles. As a result of these efforts, she successfully increased her Writing score from 6.5 to 8.0.

In her second examination, Duysekova scored 9.0 in both Listening and Reading, 8.0 in Writing, and 7.5 in Speaking. By raising her overall band score to 8.5, she achieved an impressive result.

Emphasizing that consistent study and effective time management were the foundations of her success, Duysekova explained that she also used her free time to improve her English. She noted that listening to podcasts, watching English-language videos, and practicing speaking had become regular habits in her daily life.

Duysekova also offered advice to students preparing for the IELTS examination. First and foremost, she emphasized that everyone should set a clear and achievable goal. She recommended that students who have sufficient time to prepare should focus on improving their general English proficiency before concentrating directly on examination techniques. She stressed that a strong foundation in the language makes it easier to adapt to the examination format and plays an important role in achieving high scores.

Kuralay Duysekova's success story once again demonstrates the importance of working determinedly toward a specific goal, practicing regularly, and learning from mistakes. Her experience also shows that English is an essential skill that should be developed not only to pass an examination but also to access new opportunities in education and professional life.

Shugyla SIRLIBAY

Second-Year Student
Department of Foreign Language Education
Faculty of Philology