You may have noticed that there’s a new series on the block … IELTS Speaking Practice! Let’s go over what IELTS is and how this series helps students prepare for the test.

Why Our Students Take The IELTS

Like TOEFL, TOEIC, and OPIc, the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) is a major English language proficiency test. It is managed jointly by English language authorities in the UK and Australia, such as the British Council, IDP Australia, and Cambridge Assessment English.

There are two versions of the test: IELTS General Training, which is for people who wish to immigrate to Commonwealth countries, and IELTS Academic, designed mainly for people applying to study abroad programs.

Most of our students interested in IELTS take the academic version. Although the test focuses on non-American English, it is widely accepted by universities in the United States as well. As one of our students who now studies in the US says, “IELTS is cheaper than TOEFL, plus you get to speak to a real person!”

And it’s exactly the speaking portion of the test that our IELTS Speaking Practice series prepares students for! Let’s now go behind-the-scenes to see what it’s like and who made it!

The Mind Behind IELTS Speaking Practice

We are very lucky to have many talented members on the Materials Team, not least of whom is Kate Absolum!

Kate has nearly two decades of English-teaching experience under her belt, not to mention a master’s degree in Applied Linguistics. She has taught in Hong Kong, South Korea, and Australia and currently teaches at the Auckland University of Technology in her home country of New Zealand.

Now, Let’s Hear Directly From Kate!

“Having taught IELTS classes in several different countries for more than 15 years, I know the IELTS test inside-out. So, when I was designing these lessons, I knew there were three main factors that were essential to incorporate.

1. The lessons need to ensure that students get to practice the skills that the IELTS examiners assess.

“IELTS candidates are rated from 1-9 on four different criteria: pronunciation, fluency, vocabulary, and grammar. Therefore, each exercise is designed to address these skills. For example, each warm-up exercise goes over a common pronunciation mistake:

“To enhance students’ fluency and grammar skills, we’ve included sections called ‘Useful Language’ that highlight more complex grammar structures and sentence starters that students can use to develop, connect and extend their ideas.

“The final exercise, in which the students practice the IELTS answer themselves, further develops their fluency. Model answers are also provided to help students see what level of language they should aim to achieve.

2. It’s important that the lessons are fun and easy for tutors to teach!

"The lessons are designed to ensure that the students are the ones who are actively thinking, responding, and participating in conversations on a variety of topics rather than the tutors having to do all of the work and creating the energy.

“For example, the vocabulary exercises don’t just have tutors reading and students repeating. They also incorporate interactive exercises to get students thinking and talking about the vocabulary.

3. Finally, I wanted to make sure the lessons are interesting, relevant and enjoyable for our students.

Because it’s always more interesting to read about places you’ve been to and which resonate with you, most of the characters in the lessons come from the same countries our students come from.

“Successful language learning is ultimately not just about being able to pass a test but about being equipped with the strategies and the skills to communicate and share your ideas. These IELTS lessons are therefore designed to help our students to achieve both goals in an authentic and personalized way!”

👋 That’s it for now!

We hope you enjoyed this inside look at this new series, which you can check out here. For more information on the IELTS, see the official website. Happy tutoring!