IELTS: Introduction

IELTS Tutor Inc.

Overview

● Introduction to IELTS: What is IELTS?

● Types of IELTS
● What is “Band” and how is it calculated?
● Breakdown of each section
● My Experience of IELTS
● Lesson plan
● IELTS resources
A bit about the tutor (me!)

● Name: Warin Chotirosniramit

● Nickname: Inc
● Place of birth: Chiang Mai, Thailand
● Current placement: University of Western Australia
● Hobbies: Cycling, guitar, and gardening
● IELTS overall: 8.0
What is IELTS?

International English Language Testing System

● Target: non-native speakers

○ Education
○ Migration/work
● Highly respected and trusted by universities,
employers, and immigration organisations
worldwide
● Purpose:
○ To assess practical ability to use English in
real-life situations
● 4 parts: Listening, Reading, Writing, Speaking!
Types
Academic
● For university degree or professional
registration
● Reading: Long texts from books,
journals, magazines etc. Non-specialist
● Writing: a description of a table, chart,
or a diagram (150 words min.) and a
short essay (250 words min.)
Special note: Listening and speaking tests are the same
General training
● For migration or secondary education
● Reading: Shorter texts from notices,
advertisements, newspapers etc. Usually
shorter
● Writing: a letter (150 words min.) and a
short essay (250 words min.)
 Score Skill CEFR

Band 9 Expert user C2

Band
Band 8 Very good user C1

Band 7 Good user C1

● Score: 0 - 9 for each part (can be whole or
half points) Band 6 Competent user B2
● Overall score is the average of all parts Band 5 Modest user B1 - B2
○ E.g. 9 + 7.5 +7 + 7.5 = 31/4 = 7.75
Band 4 Limited user B1
○ Round up or down to the nearest 0.5
or whole score Band 3 Extremely limited user A2
○ 7.75 = 8.0 (round up) Band 2 Intermittent user A1

CEFR = Common European Framework of Band 1 Non-user A0

Reference for Languages
Band 0 Did not attempt the -
test
CEFR: A2 - B1
Predicted IELTS score: Band 3 - Band 4
Breakdown of each section
● Listening -> Reading -> Writing -> Speaking
● 40 mins -> 1 hour -> 1 hour -> 11 - 14 minutes
Special notes:
❖ 40 minutes for listening (30 minutes recording/ 10 minutes transferring answers)
❖ For the computer test, only 2 minutes after the recording to check spelling
❖ Speaking test can be taken either on the same day or seven days before or after that
Listening (40 minutes)

● 4 Recordings
○ A conversation between two people (social context)
○ A monologue (social context), e.g. a talk about local facilities
○ A conversation between up to four people (educational context),
e.g. a university tutor and students discussing an assignment.
○ A monologue on an academic subject, e.g. a small lecture
● 40 Questions
● Types of questions
○ Multiple choice
○ Matching
○ Diagram labelling
○ Fill-in-the-gaps
IELTS Listening Scores
Reading (1 hour)
● 3 passages
○ Academic:
■ Long texts that come in a wide variety: descriptive,
analytical, factual. Appropriate for non-specialists
■ Could be taken from books, journals, magazines, newspapers
○ General training:
■ Texts from everyday-life
■ Could be taken from advertisements, notices, newspapers,
handbooks, guidelines
● 40 Questions
● Types of questions
○ Multiple choice questions
○ Short answers to open questions
○ Fill-in-the-gaps
○ Match headings to paragraphs
IELTS Reading Scores (Academic) IELTS Reading Scores (General training)
PAY ATTENTION TO
WORD COUNTS
E.g. write no more than two words and/or a number
SPELLING
MATTERS!
ALL CAPS
Writing (1 hour)
● Academic:
○ Part 1: Describe/explain/summarise a Graph, table, chart, or diagram (150 words min.)
○ Part 2: A short essay (250 words min.) to respond to a point of view, argument, or problem
● General training
○ Part1: A letter to request for information or explain the situation (150 words min.)
○ Part 2: A short essay (250 words min.) to respond to a point of view, argument, or problem
● 2 Questions
○ Spend 20 minutes on Part 1 and 40 minutes on Part 2
○ Part 2 is worth twice as much as Part 1
Speaking (11- 14 minutes)
● Part 1
○ Introductions
○ General questions on familiar topics
■ E.g. home, family, hobbies, work, studies
● Part 2
○ Task card which asks you to talk about a particular topic
○ 1 minute to prepare and make notes
○ 1 - 2 minutes free-talk without interruptions about the topic
○ The examiner may ask a few questions afterwards
● Part 3
○ More questions that are related to the topic in Part 2
○ The questions will make you discuss more abstract issues and ideas
4 Things the examiner will assess…

1. Fluency and coherence

2. Lexical resource
3. Grammatical range and accuracy
4. Pronunciation
My IELTS Experience
Lesson plan for Mai

2 days a week:
● 1 day for Grammar / mock speaking test
● 1 day for Vocabulary / IELTS tutoring/ Writing feedback
IELTS resources

For IELTS Tips

● https://ieltsliz.com/

For IELTS free exam papers

● https://ieltsonlinetests.com/
● https://takeielts.britishcouncil.org/take-ielts/prepare/free-ielts-practice-tests