Moving to W Australia

[anon990]

I want to move to Perth next year with my then year and a half old son. I've a degree in social care which I've been looking up there seems to pay roughly 38AD an hour? I know the rental market is crazy and I'll only be able to afford to rent a room out I'm assuming. I've also a friend who would come with me. My baby's dad lives over there already but we are not together. I'm on the skills list for PR but it's so costly . Anyone have advice? I'm so sick of Ireland there is nothing here bad weather and also bad pay. My only concern really would be the high prices of childcare over there and I looked at the nanny route that also looks so expensive. Any advice or anyone done this before as a SM? Tia

I got 7.5,6,6.5 and 9. I've done three times now 😣 feel like I'll never get over there

Were the 6 and 6.5 in reading and writing? Are you practising those (especially writing) before doing the exam?

I had to take the IELTS test and get a minimum of 7 across all areas when moving to the UK for uni, and believe me, I was nowhere near native speaker level. However my English teacher in school at the time emphasised the need to learn exam technique and the format of each question, rather than using lots of different vocabulary and trying to sound like a native.

There are lots of practice tests you can do online and see if you can learn stock phrases that can be used in the writing part - last time I took a language exam (not English), the issue most candidates had is not knowing how to format correctly (to whom it may concern vs Dear Sir/Madam, greetings at the end, how to open and close a statement). These you could even memorise, depending on the type of essay / letter you get asked to write on the day.

Yep! The thing is I've studied it all and was familiar with the test before going into it. I did academic the first 2 times and general the last time

PS - hope this doesn’t sound unkind OP, but just from reading your posts on this thread, I’d also encourage you to be very careful with punctuation when you write! Same with using verbs at the end of a sentence like you would when speaking face-to-face to someone (so “I’m assuming I would need XYZ” instead of “I would need XYZ I’m assuming” - at the very least the last example should include a comma). I’d also be careful with contractions (“I’ve” instead of “I have”), not because they’re not correct but rather due to how they grade those tests - they want “high” written English and for you to use very grammatically and orthographically-correct expressions.

Are you trying to get an eight for the points?

I would get a tutor. I agree with @RobinHood19 that you need to nail the technique.

Haha it's not rude I'm just typing quickly on this and not bothered about punctuation 😂 but I do know how to write professionally so it's a bummer

If money allows look into having a couple of hours with a tutor who can look over some of your texts and see if they can spot what’s costing you those marks? I remember just how annoying these tests can be though so you have my sympathy! Hopefully with a bit of help and strategy you will pass next time.

Has anyone been sponsored and brought a child along on one? Would love to hear how to go about this route