Practising IELTS Speaking Part 1

Contents

A. TEACHERS NOTES ...........................................................................................................2 A1. Lesson Plan ...............................................................................................................2

A2. Classroom Handout 1 ................................................................................................5 B. GUIDANCE FOR FOLLOW UP ACTIVITIES ...................................................................6

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Practising IELTS Speaking Part 1 A. TEACHERS NOTES

Description Time required: Materials required: Aims: 5060 minutes Classroom Handout 1 To prepare students for Part 1 of the IELTS Speaking test by: practising giving extended answers developing their awareness of how to analyse and assess their performance

A1.

Lesson Plan

1. Elicit from the students some information about IELTS Speaking test Part 1, e.g.: how long it lasts (45 minutes) what sort of topics they could be asked to speak about (e.g. home, family, work, studies, interests) how many topics they will probably asked to speak about (usually 2).

Timing: 5 minutes 2. Students work individually and write down five questions which they think the examiner could ask them during Part 1 of the IELTS Speaking test. Elicit some of their suggested questions and write them on the board. Timing: 5 minutes 3. Choose one of the questions from Step 2 (e.g. What do you like best about your town/city?). Offer a short response, e.g. the people. Elicit what is wrong with this answer (its too short). Dictate or write on the board three alternative answers, e.g.: a) I like the people who live there because they are friendly and hardworking. b) I like the people who live there because they are friendly, for example its not like in other cities where if you get lost, people dont help you. People are always willing to help others. They also tend to be hardworking and work long hours, but they know how to enjoy themselves; in fact the citys nightlife really is fantastic.

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Practising IELTS Speaking Part 1

c) I like the people who live there because they are friendly and hardworking, for example, its not like in other cities where if you get lost, people dont help you, and people stay at work all day. Elicit that a) is a minimal answer, c) is adequate and b) is good. Discuss the reasons why b) is a good answer (Answer: it extends the answer, it gives reasons and it gives examples). Timing: 5 minutes 4. Elicit some ways in which we can extend answers. Make a record of these on the board using these examples and any others that students give: Explanations and reasons This is because The reason for this is I think/believe this is because I say this because Words/phrases to introduce or add more information (And) another thing is As well as this Firstly/ Secondly, etc Words/phrases to give examples A good/perfect example of this is For instance One time this happened was

Encourage students to record these expressions and any others they have thought of in their notebooks. Timing: 10 minutes 5. Choose 3 or 4 students to give extended answers to the questions they wrote in Step 2, to demonstrate the type/length of answer required. Assist as appropriate, particularly regarding any difficulties in giving an extended answer. Timing: 5 minutes 6. Students work in pairs. One student is the examiner and the other is the candidate. The examiner asks the candidate the questions s/he wrote in Step 2. The examiner should make sure that each response is at least 2530 seconds long. If it isnt, the candidate needs to answer the question it again. The candidate should try to use words/expressions from Step 4 in their answers. The examiner should tick off the ones which are used. After all five questions have been asked and answered, the examiner gives the candidate feedback on the length of the answers and how effectively they extended their answers, and the use of the words/expressions from Step 4. Students swap roles and repeat the process. Teacher monitors and notes the range of expressions used, examples of good answers or language use or any difficulties learners have with extending their
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Practising IELTS Speaking Part 1

answers. You may also make a note of any problems, e.g. pronunciation, intonation, range of language, etc. to use in your forward planning. Timing: 10-15 minutes 7. Give out A2 Classroom Handout 1. Students walk around the class, asking a different question to every person in the class, if possible. Explain that students have to give 30 second answers and that they must speak until you clap your hands at the end thirty seconds. If the student succeeds in speaking for the whole 30 seconds, the student asking the question should write their name down on the worksheet. If the student cant extend their answer, the question should be asked to another student. As well as this, encourage students to use the phrases from Step 4 of the lesson to help them extend and structure their answers. Monitor and make a note of good answers and any immediate issues that need to be discussed, e.g. misuse of the phrases from Step 4 or misunderstanding of extended answers, e.g. by repeating the same information. Timing: 10 minutes

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Practising IELTS Speaking Part 1

A2. Classroom Handout 1

Ask a question from the left-hand column to another person in the class. If the person manages to give a 30 second answer to this question, write their name in the column on the right. Ask as many different people in the class as you can. Answer other peoples questions as well! Use as many different expressions from the lesson as you can. Question Do you like eating healthy food? What kinds of activities do you enjoy doing on holiday? What do you like best about using the internet? Do you often buy books? How often do you wear a watch? Is it important for you to enjoy your work/studies? Did you like going to school when you were a child? Do you often travel by train? Do you like visiting other cities and towns in your country? How important is it for you to be punctual? Do you often send text messages? Are weekends important to you? Name

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Practising IELTS Speaking Part 1 B. GUIDANCE FOR FOLLOW UP ACTIVITIES

1. In this lesson, the students were practising giving extended answers in IELTS Speaking test Part 1. You could adapt this lesson to practise answering certain types of questions in extended answers. For example, you could work on talking about likes and dislikes, or about the positive and negative sides of an experience or issue. You can make similar tables to the one used in A1 Lesson Plan Step 4 to help students with useful phrases and expressions, for example: Expressions to express likes Im very keen on etc Expressions to express dislikes I cant stand etc Expressions to explain why you like/dislike something This is because etc

2. In all parts of the IELTS Speaking test, candidates are encouraged to explain why they have a particular opinion, so other ways of giving reasons, gathered from other IELTS materials or EFL materials, could be beneficial. 3. On A2 Classroom Handout 1, students were asking each other questions. You could adapt the practice questions to cover specific areas, e.g. the positive and negative sides of an experience or issue: What are/were the good things and bad things about: your school? your last holiday? mobile phones? the internet? transport in your town?

Other questions could be generated by students (on their own or in pairs) brainstorming questions on a given topic, or by students writing questions on cards/slips of paper for other pairs to answer. You could also get some further ideas from other IELTS Speaking questions on the Teacher Support website teachers.cambridgeesol.org/ts// or from practice materials.

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