Just like speaking practice, reading lessons can be communicative and rewarding. The tips below suggest ways to encourage better test performance while giving students opportunities to work in groups.
Note: These tips assume that students are being prepared for the Academic IELTS reading module in small groups, but most are adaptable to one-on-one teaching situations.
1. Teach anything important BEFORE students see the text!
Once you allow students to look at a reading text and/or questions you may find it a struggle to maintain their undivided attention. Their natural inclination is always to dive into the text on the assumption that this will make it easier for them to answer the questions later. (Hint: it doesn’t.) If there’s anything important you need to do in the early stages of a lesson – activate knowledge of the topic, brainstorm relevant vocabulary, teach or review reading strategies – make sure this is done before the text appears.
2. Use analogies to teach skimming and scanning
Students may have trouble understanding the difference between these two reading techniques. One solution is to avoid teaching them together. Another is to use analogies from real life. My favourite are skimming a stone and catching a flight. In the former, get students to close their eyes and imagine they are at the beach. Use the analogy of a stone skimming the water to illustrate that they must keep their eyes moving across the text when skim-reading. To demonstrate scanning, talk students through a scenario in which they arrive at an airport fifteen minutes before their flight is due to depart. Here, they have to block out all other sensory data and search quickly for information about their own flight, just like scanning a text for the answer to a question in IELTS. These visualising techniques also create powerful emotional connections to the techniques being taught. Try them!
3. Use flash-reading and predicting before skimming
Flash-reading can be used as a precursor to skimming and involves trying to get as much information as possible from a text in a very short time, e.g. 30 seconds. The main purpose of flash-reading is to identify the topic by looking at titles, subtitles and headings, and trying to locate the thesis statement. Once the text is covered again and the topic elicited from the class, this can also be a useful jumping-off point to get students to predict in small groups what the writer will say, keeping the reading task communicative. Then the students can be given 3-5 minutes to skim the text and confirm their predictions.
Have you been asked to teach IELTS for the first time? Not sure your knowledge of the test is up to the task? Follow these five simple steps to become an instant IELTS teacher.
1. Which IELTS test do your students intend to take?
There are two versions of the IELTS test: Academic and General Training. Most students take Academic IELTS to enter an English-speaking university. They will need to display competence in academic uses of English, such as written and spoken argument. General Training IELTS is for immigration purposes only, and the reading and writing tasks are less challenging.
2. Familiarise yourself with the structure of the test
Both versions of the IELTS test consist of four modules: Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking. IELTS is a paper-based test, except for the Speaking module which is a face-to-face interview. The test takes around three hours in total, though the Speaking module is usually held separately. The Introduction to IELTS category on this website provides more detailed breakdowns of the four modules and question types. Read these articles carefully first, as you will need to draw on this information in the classroom.
3. Have the students taken IELTS before?
If so, ask for their scores in advance. Or get the students to fill out a profile form including their test history at the beginning of the first class. If they have yet to take IELTS, get them to sit a diagnostic practice test. Any IELTS test practice book will provide these.
Most students will be aiming for a Band 6 or 7 score. The individual module scores are especially important as they will suggest what the focus of your lessons should be. One extreme generalisation that can be made is that IELTS students may fall into one of two broad categories. Those with higher scores in Listening and Speaking may have spent some time in an English-speaking environment and now need familiarisation with written academic discourse. Conversely, those with higher scores in Reading and Writing may have spent years studying from books and would benefit most from communicative-style teaching methods.
4. Select appropriate materials
You don’t need IELTS test materials to start preparing students. You can begin by selecting materials or designing activities that correspond roughly to the tasks students will be set in the test:
- Listen for information
- Read and comprehend lengthy magazine-type articles (Academic only)
- Read and comprehend simple written texts (General Training only)
- Write a short description of a diagram (Academic only)
- Write a short informal letter (General Training only)
- Write a short essay
- Answer personal questions in an interview
- Speak about a personal topic for 1-2 minutes
- State opinions on a variety of discussion topics
5. Choose a coursebook
If you’ll be teaching the students on a regular basis, you’ll probably want to recommend a coursebook. The advantages of coursebooks are obvious: they provide authentic test practice, remove much of the burden of lesson-planning, and give students something to do outside class. See our Top 5 IELTS Textbooks for Classroom Use for some recommendations.
These five steps are only intended to get you started, especially if thrust at short notice into an IELTS teaching situation. To learn how to teach IELTS well, start from the official IELTS website and try to build a store of good methods and test tips from textbooks and other sources. The Teacher Tips category on this website also gives advice on classroom methodology suited to each of the four modules.
IELTS is a fast-growing test in many parts of the world, so you should seriously consider adding it to your repertoire if teaching English is going to be your main occupation for the foreseeable future. For advice on the long-term prospects of becoming an IELTS teacher, see Teaching IELTS for a Living: The Complete Guide.
Do you have an intrepid sense of adventure but feel constrained by a somewhat bookish personality?
Do you dream of living and working in distant cities in the most exotic outposts of the globe – but with the crumbling temples replaced by air-conditioned classrooms, the hanging gardens replaced by free-standing whiteboards, and the ancient curses replaced by the past perfect tense?
Do you have a university background together with a fastidious command of the English language?
If the answer is yes to all three questions above, then teaching IELTS may be just the job for you.
But how to enter this gilded profession? And for how long will it all last? Answers to these and other questions follow in my complete guide to teaching IELTS for a living.
What are the benefits of teaching IELTS?
IELTS test-takers all have a remarkable goal – to migrate overseas for study or work – and this makes them generally well motivated and easy to teach. It may be said that IELTS preparation instructors have an easier time than their counterparts teaching young learners or busy professionals, though individual temperament will likely dictate where a teacher finds the greatest fulfillment.
Well-qualified IELTS teachers enjoy excellent mobility, and global demand for their services is forecast to grow steadily for the time being. In short, teaching IELTS is one of the better jobs to aim for in the wider TEFL industry.
What training do I need to teach IELTS?
There is no formal licence to teach IELTS, but most schools will require a minimum of a CELTA certificate. Major employers such as the British Council will often ask for a DELTA or equivalent diploma, and teachers with this or a postgraduate degree can expect to earn more than those without. If you want to go straight into IELTS without any background in teaching English, an intensive, one-month CELTA course is the best place to start. Most of us, however, will gravitate towards IELTS after a variety of teaching experiences.
Teaching IELTS often means teaching academic competencies such as argument and essay construction, so a university background is an almost universal requirement. The responsibilities of an IELTS test instructor are not the same as those of a regular English teacher, and the ‘Keep them talking’ approach may not work so well for IELTS students. The majority of these are intermediate EFL learners who have ‘plateaued’. That is, they have reached a level of competence in the language good enough for most everyday situations but not necessarily good enough for work or university-level study. IELTS teachers will therefore need to use special techniques to get students to break out of the plateau stage and begin using more advanced communication strategies.
Where can I teach IELTS?
There are IELTS test centres in more than 130 countries so, in theory, there are IELTS teaching opportunities in more than 130 countries as well. Many teaching positions are in countries such as the UK and Australia which receive a lot of international students, though demand in these countries can be very seasonal. Year-round teaching positions can be found in most major world cities, where there should also be ample private teaching opportunities. Most IELTS instructors work for private language schools. Teaching positions may also be offered at universities, often on a short-term basis.
With more than a million test-takers annually, more and more publishers are getting into the IELTS textbook market, with varying results. Choosing a coursebook for a group of students is a serious responsibility because, along with the teacher, the book may well be the most important influence on their test preparation over the following months. I’ve taught groups using all the most common IELTS textbooks, and these are the five I’ve found to be most reliable:
Focus on IELTS (New Edition) (Longman)
Focus on IELTS has long been a popular choice for teachers and it’s easy to see why. There’s a good balance between authentic Academic IELTS test items and meaningful group exercises, while the inclusion of a grammar reference guide and extra writing practice make this a solid friend for classroom use. The new edition corrects most of the mistakes in the first edition and adds more EAP elements such as critical thinking and reflective learning. One remaining drawback is the lack of a version with full answer key and scripts. Also available in a Foundation edition that introduces test practice more gradually. Rating 9/10
Objective IELTS Intermediate/Advanced (Cambridge)
One unique aspect of the Objective series is that test practice exercises are mostly written to focus students’ attention on a particular item type. There’s also an attractive presentation, discussion-led format, and strong grammar coverage throughout both books. The inclusion of test items from both the Academic and General Training modules in both books can be either a blessing or a curse depending on your teaching situation. A self-study student’s book with answer key and scripts is available for a slightly higher price, and there’s a teacher’s book with regular practice tests. Be warned: the level of questions in Objective IELTS Advanced is extremely challenging. Rating 8/10
Over the years I’ve been asked countless times which IELTS textbooks are best for independent study. For me, the main criteria are a full answer section, preferably one with explanations of answers, and an approach to the test that breaks down strategies into simple steps that learners can follow. Here are five textbooks I’ve recommended many times in the past:
Focus on Academic Skills for IELTS (Longman)
At first glance this seems to be a supplement to Focus on IELTS, but it’s actually a radically different kind of coursebook, one very well suited to self-study. Test strategies are broken down into easy-to-follow processes, and authentic test items are supplemented with directions in blue text. There’s also a full answer key. The new edition of the book includes both audio CDs and is therefore an even more complete package than the first edition. The only drawback is that it’s a little too process-oriented for classroom situations. Rating 9/10
Grammar for IELTS/Vocabulary for IELTS (Cambridge)
Independent learners will appreciate these self-study guides from Cambridge which focus on grammar and vocabulary with an academic dimension. Suitable for all low- to high-intermediate-level students. Both books come with an audio CD, which means that test-takers are activating more than just their reading and writing skills. Of course, it is ideal if these books can be supplemented with opportunities for spoken output such as a group lesson or study buddy. Rating 8/10
Are you new to teaching IELTS? Or perhaps you’ve been teaching a while and are frustrated that your students never seem to improve beyond their barely-adequate, high-school-level English conversation?
The following advice should add a few extra techniques to your arsenal and will hopefully make you reconsider some of the teaching practices suggested by standard coursebooks. Feel free to add your own hints and tips in the comments section below.
Note: these tips assume that students are being taught in small groups, but some apply equally to one-on-one teaching situations.
1. Stick to pair practice
Since the Speaking module of IELTS takes the form of a one-on-one interview, there is rarely any need to deviate from this pattern in practice. Avoid whole-class interactions as much as possible and maximise pair practice instead. It is a common myth in language teaching that learner pairs simply replicate each others’ mistakes, when research shows that they actually develop more advanced negotiation and explanation strategies than they would with a native speaker.
2. Close the textbook
The problem with using prepared materials for speaking practice is that students are rarely able to resist reading the question even as their partner is asking it. If you are not activating their listening skills in Parts 1 and 3, you are not adequately preparing students for IELTS Speaking. Force them out of the reading habit by making the interviewee close the textbook during Parts 1 and 3.
3. Model for different band scores
Often the reason students fail to improve is simply that the models they are offered by trainers are so far beyond their capabilities that they have no idea how to apply them when speaking. Metalinguistic advice based on the scoring criteria, meanwhile, is often difficult for lower-level students to comprehend. A more effective classroom technique may be to model different answers for Bands 4, 5, 6 and 7, making only minimal changes to each answer so students have a clear sense of which changes produced a higher score.
Confused by the language of IELTS? This glossary of key IELTS terms and their meanings should help.
Academic – The version of the IELTS test used for college and university entry. (See also: General Training)
Band descriptors – In the Writing and Speaking modules of IELTS, your scores are calculated according to which of the descriptions they match closest in the band descriptors. Public versions of these can be downloaded freely from the main IELTS website.
Band score – IELTS scores are divided into ten bands from 0 (non-user) to 9 (expert user). Half band scores are also awarded.
Candidate – A person taking an exam such as IELTS.
Coherence – How well you stick to the question in the Writing module of IELTS. This means each paragraph should include one main idea and you should not go off topic by introducing details unrelated to that idea. Your argument or opinion should also be coherent, i.e, clearly and consistently presented.
Cohesion – How well you link ideas within a sentence, paragraph or essay. This includes articles (the), pronouns (this), determiners (such) and logical links (on the other hand).
Criteria – The band descriptors each consider four criteria. These are important things the examiner is reading or listening for in order to determine your score.
Examiner – The person marking the IELTS test or asking the questions in the Speaking module.
Fluency – In IELTS speaking, how well you can string your ideas together and use filler expressions to avoid silence.
General Training – The version of the IELTS test used for immigration and employment purposes. (See also: Academic)