Teaching IELTS Assignment

Your name: Date of submission:

Analyse the information in the class summary. What are your learners’ strengths and weaknesses?
(max. 100 words)

The class strengths are reading and writing, particularly reading, where many students have a band 7 grade. Their listening
and speaking skills, on the other hand, are lower, with both averaging 5.75 on a class level.

Which two skills have you chosen to teach in this lesson? Why? (minimum 150 words)
In this lesson, I've chosen to focus on teaching speaking and listening skills. After reviewing the class summary, it appears
that these are the two areas that most students need to improve on. The class averaged 5.75 for both skills, which was
lower than their reading and speaking scores Because the IELTS final grade is weighted equally among the four skills, It is
critical for students to practice their weak areas in order to achieve a higher overall band. Additionally, these two abilities
are essential for discourse, and for students to participate effectively in discussions on any subject, they must be able to
articulate themselves clearly, succinctly, and with assurance. Additionally, combining speaking with listening skills should
result in a successful and efficient topic-based lesson because it is uncommon to teach an entire session in speaking
alone, unless it is close to a test day, which this class is not.

1
Teaching IELTS Assignment

Which lesson topic have you chosen? Why? (minimum 100 words)
For this class, I've selected fitness and health. I chose this issue above others like job, education, and the environment
mostly because I think practically everyone has some interest in, views about, or knowledge about it.
Furthermore, having the essential communication skills is crucial because health, and particularly bad health, is something
we all deal with at some point in our lives.Even in your L1, speaking with a healthcare expert can be intimidating, so it's
crucial to give students the confidence to discuss this in English as well. A lot of information, both true and false, has been
exchanged online and in the media over the past few months due to the current epidemic, which has also made health and
fitness a hot topic. Giving students the vocabulary and skills to discuss this is crucial so that they can engage in debates
about concepts and theories as well as analyze and comprehend facts. The sole student, Ana, who wrote about her
professional goals, said that she wanted to study nursing in the UK, which makes the topic of health even more pertinent.

Lesson Aims: Lesson Outcomes:

By the end of the lesson, students will be better able to… By the end of the lesson, students will have…

 Understand and use health vocabulary
 Listen for specific information in the realm of health
and diet
 Discuss their own experiences relating to health and
fitness.
 Reviewed and practised idioms regarding health
 Practised listening for specific information in the
context of watching and listening to a TedTalk
 Practised discussing how they can improve their own
health

2
Teaching IELTS Assignment
Anticipated difficulties:
(include at least three points covering: students’ L1, the
tasks, classroom management, any other relevant points)
1. Students' ages range from 19 to 37, implying that
they will have diverse backgrounds, learning
motivations, and interests.
2. Each student has a unique L1, implying that will be
areas that are easier or more difficult for each in
terms of pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary.
3. Students have varying levels of ability, which means
that every task will be equally beneficial to every
student.
Stage Name Stage Aim Length of
Stage
(minutes)
Suggested solutions:
1. It is important to choose topics and activities that are
interesting, and to vary the activities used.
2. As it is a small class, it will be easier to work with
individual students during the lesson on these topics.
Someone who is stronger, for example, in writing can
also be paired with someone for whom this is a
weakness.
3. Topic-based classes mean that multiple skills will be
practiced in one lesson, encouraging all to learn and
take part.
Interaction Procedure
Pattern
3
Teaching IELTS Assignment
Warmer To get students thinking
about the lesson topic. To
see what students already
know about health and
fitness.
Pre-listening To introduce the sub-topic.
task (speaking) To give students the
meaning, form and
pronunciation of key
vocabulary that could be
used in the context of
health.
8 minutes S-S S-T Teacher asks students to discuss in pairs, ‘What
does health and fitness mean to you?’
Teacher then asks students for answers and writes
down key vocabulary on the board.
10 minutes T-S Teacher to ask if students know any words relating
to diet and health. A focus on academic words if
students have the prior knowledge.
Teacher to then pre-teach vocabulary by writing on
the board, explaining meaning and pronunciation
(e.g.
prevalence).
1. Spread students out around the classroom.
2. Teacher says one of the words on the board.
Teacher then throws a ball to a student,
asking for it’s meaning.
3. Student then names another student and
choses a word, who repeats the activity.
4. Repeat for two rounds (include the teacher
to introduce more words)
Following this, the teacher hands out the Health
Idioms Table to students, asking a student, in turn,
to read out the phrase, meaning and example. Ask
some CCQs during this activity to check
understanding.
4
Teaching IELTS Assignment
Listening Task To listen for specific
information from an audio
clip. To review the answers
from the listening task.
Post-listening To check students'
Task/Pre- understanding of
speaki ng task vocabulary and have them
start thinking for the next
task.
Speaking Task To practice speaking
around the topic of health
and fitness by mimicking
the second part of a
speaking IELT exam.
10 minutes S 1. Students asked to listen to the following
TedTalk whilst answering the questions on
Worksheet 1.
https://www.ted.com/talks/dean_ornish_the_
S-S killer_
american_diet_that_s_sweeping_the_planet
T-S 2. Students then discuss their answers in pairs.
Teacher to put the correct answers on the board so
students can then self-mark.
7 minutes Ss-Ss Students asked, in two groups, to match the words
with their definitions on Worksheet 2.
15 minutes S 1. Students given one minute to write down
notes on the topic: Describe a change you
have made to improve your health and that
you would recommend to others.
a. What it is
b. Why you decided to do it
c. How you have benefitted from it
d. and explain why you would
recommend it to others
S-S 2. Students encouraged to use idioms.
3. Students then present to the class their
ideas, speaking for a maximum of 2 minutes.
Teacher will take notes on each student, and
provide feedback on common errors.
5
Teaching IELTS Assignment

Cooler To review vocabulary 5 minutes Ss-Ss Vocabulary Race

learnt in the lesson and to
leave the class energised. 1. Write up the word HEALTH at the top of two
columns on the board and line two teams of
three up a little distance away.
2. Teacher to shout “go”, and the first person in
each team runs to the board and writes a
word beginning with the last letter of the first
word, on the topic of health.
3. Students continue to add words for 2
minutes.
4. At the end of the game, check the amount of
words for each team and give one point for
each word. In addition, check spelling for
both teams discount points for wrongly spelt
words.
The team with the least amount of points will have
to read out their homework first next lesson.

Homework To further practice S Students asked to choose another TED Talk on

speaking and listening health and watch it. Provide a summary to be read
skills in the next class.

Lesson Rationale: Answer the following two questions.

Why have you structured your lesson in this way? Why are your stages in this order? (minimum 200 words)
6
Teaching IELTS Assignment

The basic format I chose was to sandwich the exam style content between pre-teaching and engaging the students. I
have used a variety of different activities to keep the class lively and exciting.
I have started with a warmer to introduce the topic and to begin the students practicing their speaking and listening
skills. This is also a way for the teacher to assess their existing knowledge of the topic. Following this I chose to pre-
teach vocabulary so that students are able to understand the content of the lesson. Then, using the language learned,
they are then asked to listen to a TED Talk, where the language taught will be used. After this, students are once again
exposed to the words, in a different format. Repetition of the language, but using different activities, assists the student
to acquire the knowledge. All of the language learnt and the skills practiced in the earlier parts of the lesson can then be
used for the final speaking activity, which is in the form of part two of a speaking test. Finally, the cooler allows for some
fun after a heavy lesson, whilst still reinforcing the target language. The addition of homework allows the students to
practice their listening skills further, and their speaking skills in the next lesson.

How will your lesson help your students to develop their skills? What will your students gain from this lesson?
(minimum 200 words)

For the main listening part of the lesson, I decided to play the TED Talk ‘The killer American diet that’s sweeping the
planet’, as, whilst this TED Talk is short, it features key health trends and words for students to listen to and learn. I
chose for students to listen to a TED Talk whilst completing a worksheet as this listening task mimics part four of the
listening exam. The worksheet contains five of the six question types that students can expect to see on an IELTS
Listening Test; multiple choice, matching, completion of a form, note, table, flow-chart or summary, completing the
sentence, and giving a shortanswer. By completing the worksheet whilst listening, they are practicing and developing
their listening for specific information skills. As some students aren’t used to listening to long texts, I chose a TED Talk
that was just over 3 minutes long. As for their homework, I requested they listen to a longer text, to increase their
concentration skills. When it came to marking the listening exercise, I chose to first have the students discuss in pairs,
as this encourages students to analyse the language, phrases and vocabulary used in the answers to listening tasks.
7
Teaching IELTS Assignment

Following this, I asked the students to self mark, so they can see and analyse their own mistakes.

The second part of the main teaching involved the creation of an IELTS speaking part 2 style question. After pre-
teaching them necessary vocabulary, including idioms, and increasing the lexical resources, they should be able to use
a wide range of vocabulary appropriately and easier express ideas. I chose to include idioms as one of the criteria for
band 7 is to use some less common and idiomatic vocabulary. Having the teacher teach the pronunciation and having
the students complete multiple tasks, including listening to a native speaker during the TED Talk, should assist the
student to use pronunciation features, such as word stress and intonation, more naturally. This task allows students to
practice speaking at length with the goal of it being without noticeable effort or loss of coherence.

I have included tasks for both speaking and listening which would be found in an exam setting. I chose to do this so that
students could get a feel for the exam, without the pressure of a mock exam. It is important that they know the format for
the exam and what to expect, so that they are confident in their approach.

Bibliography: You must include links to all the resources you used in the lesson. Do not take resources from the
internet and forget to write them here.
TedTalk 6 tips for better sleep taken from:
https://www.ted.com/talks/matt_walker_6_tips_for_better_sleep TED Talk audio and transcript taken
from:
https://www.ted.com/talks/dean_ornish_the_killer_american_diet_that_s_sweeping_the_planet#t-15616

Lesson Plans examples from:

https://www.englishlessonplanner.com/

IELTS resources from:

8
Teaching IELTS Assignment

https://www.stuvia.com/

Worksheet 1

_______________________

6. In the last 10 years, how has the prevalence of diabetes changed?

_______________________

Complete the sentences below. Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS OR A NUMBER IN ONE SPACE.

7. Dean Ornish chairs the board for _____________, _____________, _____________, _____________ and soon
_____________.

8. The diet that ________________ heart disease and cancer is _________________.

9
Teaching IELTS Assignment

Listening Worksheet Answer Sheet

9. What percentage of cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and hypertension can be prevented? a.

65%
b. 75%
c. 85%
d. 95%

10.Which continent went from having one of the lowest rates of heart disease and obesity and diabetes to one
of the highest?
a. Europe
_______________________

9. In the last 10 years, how has the prevalence of diabetes changed?

_______________________

Complete the sentences below. Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS OR A NUMBER IN ONE SPACE.

10. Dean Ornish chairs the board for _____________, _____________, _____________, _____________ and soon
_____________.

11. The diet that ________________ heart disease and cancer is _________________.

10
Teaching IELTS Assignment

Listening Worksheet Answer Sheet

9. What percentage of cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and hypertension can be prevented? a.

65%
e. 75%
f. 85%
g. 95%

10.Which continent went from having one of the lowest rates of heart disease and obesity and diabetes to one
of the highest?
a. Europe

Podcast Transcript

00:03
With all the legitimate concerns about AIDS and avian flu -- and we'll hear about that from the brilliant Dr. Brilliant later
today -- I want to talk about the other pandemic, which is cardiovascular disease, diabetes, hypertension -- all of which are
completely preventable for at least 95 percent of people just by changing diet and lifestyle.

00:21
And what's happening is that there's a globalization of illness occurring, that people are starting to eat like us, and
live like us, and die like us. And in one generation, for example, Asia's gone from having one of the lowest rates of
heart disease and obesity and diabetes to one of the highest. And in Africa, cardiovascular disease equals the HIV
and AIDS deaths in most countries. So there's a critical window of opportunity we have to make an important
difference that can affect the lives

11
Teaching IELTS Assignment

of literally millions of people, and practice preventive medicine on a global scale.

00:50
Heart and blood vessel diseases still kill more people -- not only in this country, but also worldwide -- than everything else
combined, and yet it's completely preventable for almost everybody. It's not only preventable; it's actually reversible. And
for the last almost 29 years, we've been able to show that by simply changing diet and lifestyle, using these very high-tech,
expensive, state-of-the-art measures to prove how powerful these very simple and low-tech and low-cost interventions can
be like -- quantitative arteriography, before and after a year, and cardiac PET scans.

01:19
We showed a few months ago -- we published the first study showing you can actually stop or reverse the progression of
prostate cancer by making changes in diet and lifestyle, and 70 percent regression in the tumor growth, or inhibition of the
tumor growth, compared to only nine percent in the control group. And in the MRI and MR spectroscopy here, the prostate
tumor activity is shown in red -- you can see it diminishing after a year.

01:41
Now there is an epidemic of obesity: two-thirds of adults and 15 percent of kids. What's really concerning to me is that
diabetes has increased 70 percent in the past 10 years, and this may be the first generation in which our kids live a shorter
life span than we do. That's pitiful, and it's preventable. Now these are not election returns, these are the people -- the
number of the people who are obese by state, beginning in '85, '86, '87 -- these are from the CDC website -- '88, '89, '90,
'91 -- you get a new category -- '92, '93, '94, '95, '96, '97, '98, '99, 2000, 2001 -- it gets worse. We're kind of devolving.
(Laughter)

12
Teaching IELTS Assignment

13