Before you go to the IELTS speaking test it helps to know how the test works. If you know what to expect, then you have a better chance of doing better. For me, the best place to start to see how the test works is Australia Network – Passport to English. These videoclips are not exactly in exam format as parts 1 and 3 would last longer in the real… Continue reading
This is the first in a series of posts about how to write an IELTS essay. In this one I sit in front of my webcam and tell you a story. For me, this can be a great form of teaching and understanding ideas. It’s a story I tell all my “real” students in my “real” classroom and I try to tell the story in exactly the same way I… Continue reading
Vocabulary is an extremely important factor in the IELTS speaking module and a large part of this is Range of Vocabulary. This means that you have enough words to speak about different topics accurately and that you do not repeat the same words all the time. However, the vocabulary you need for the exam is not just topic vocabulary but also functional vocabulary: words and phrases for explaining, giving examples and… Continue reading
In part 2 of the IELTS speaking module you need to give a short talk of between one and half and two minutes. There are two major problems here: speaking for long enough and staying coherent. In this video post I am going to look briefly at one way to organise your talk and improve you fluency and coherence band score.
Pronunciation is 25% of your overall speaking band score and so it is obviously important that you work on it. This can be hard to do though if you are living in a country where English is not spoken and you do not have much chance to practise speaking. In this post I am going to suggest a cool website that may help you out if you are a computer… Continue reading
This is another of my little but often series. If you are new to this site, the idea is that one of the best ways to learn English can be to do short focussed activities for a short period of time rather than sitting in front of a computer screen or a book for hours. Google News Timeline is another site that could be of real help to… Continue reading
In academic task 1 it is important to learn how to read a chart and a graph. This is because the instructions always tell you to summarise and select and report on the main features of the graphic. Many candidates make the mistake here of including as much detail as possible in their report. This brief tutorial gives you a sample task 1 report and some tips on how to… Continue reading
This posting looks at what is special about IELTS speaking. Many candidates feel uncomfortable in the speaking exam because the examiner seems very unfriendly and the chances are that the more uncomfortable you feel, the less well you speak.
The first step is always to know the problem, then you can find a solution. Here the problem is the speaking exam is more by way of a monologue than… Continue reading
This post contains a long training video on how to analyse a pie chart for IELTS writing part 1. In it, I look at and suggest how to approach a part 1 question. In brief, my tips are:
This is the first in a series of postings about how to approach academic task 1 in the writing paper. The starting point is to be aware of the different types of charts and graphs you may see. The key point is that each chart and graph will require a different form of language.
There are 4 different chart type you may see in the exam:
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