How to Prepare Students for the IELTS Exam

The International English Language Testing System (IELTS) is a standardized English language test. It assesses the English proficiency of non-native speakers.

As a tutor, you must equip your students with the skills and strategies necessary to achieve the highest possible score.

And to do that, a well-structured and comprehensive approach is essential. It needs to make sure that your students master all four sections: Listening, Reading, Writing, and Speaking.

This article will cover everything from understanding the exam structure to specific teaching techniques and preparation strategies.

Understanding the IELTS Exam

There are two versions of the IELTS exam.

Academic IELTS is designed for students who plan to enter a university.

And General Training IELTS for those aiming to migrate or work in English-speaking countries.

Each version of the exam is divided into four sections:

• Listening section. In this section, the recordings feature native English speakers having various accents.
• Reading section. For Academic IELTS it is usually three reading passages. For General Training it is a mixture of texts.
  
• Writing section. It includes two tasks. The first task is a report for Academic, or a letter for General Training IELTS. And task two is an essay that is valid for both.
  
• Speaking section. Speaking includes three parts. The first part is an introduction or interview. Usually, you will find questions about yourself and your family. Part two will be a topic an examiner will choose. Part three is a deep dive into the topic from part two.
  

Initial Assessment and Goal Setting

Before you start any preparation, assess your student’s current English level in each of the four skills. This can help you identify the areas that need the most attention.

You can also use a practice IELTS test to identify their strengths and weaknesses in each section. Next, based on the initial assessment, set realistic and achievable goals.

To do this you may want to ask a set of questions that will help both you and your student.

Begin with why they need to take the IELTS exam and what score they target. Whether it is for university admission, work, or immigration.

What is their timeframe? How much time do you have to prepare them and how many times can they come to the lessons?

How familiar they are with the exam and what parts do they find most and least challenging? Also, you will need to know how much time they can devote for preparation outside lessons.

Preparing Your Student For Each Section

Listening Preparation

The listening section consists of four parts:

• A conversation between two people in a social context.
• A monologue about an everyday social context.
  
• A conversation among around four people in an educational or training content.
• A monologue on an academic subject.
  

Also, there are 40 questions that students must answer while listening. They include multiple-choice, matching, diagram labeling, and sentence completion.

How can you prepare your students in the best way?

To begin with, expose your students to different accents. The listening section, as I already mentioned, includes speakers with British, Australian, American, and other accents.

Therefore, use resources like BBC Radio, TED Talks, international news channels, and podcasts to get them used to these accents. Additionally, there are plethora of official IELTS practice materials.

Besides, do not insist on understanding every word. Rather, encourage your students to focus on keywords, ideas, and specific details.

Teach them to anticipate what kind of information they need to listen for, based on the questions.

Also, train them a shorthand and quick note-taking techniques. Though it is quite easy to take quick notes and shorten words in your native language, it is a skill to master in a foreign language.

These quick notes should include key information like dates, times, and names, especially during conversations.

Now, important is to train them as well to check for synonyms of that key information.

As the exam often paraphrases words and vocabulary in the questions might differ from the audio. Therefore, they will need to practice recognizing synonyms.

And I like to simulate exam conditions. As in the actual test, I play recordings only once and try to include a variety of question types.

Also, I make students practice filling in answers quickly and avoid blank answers. As the biggest challenge in listening is time management.

Reading Preparation

The reading section is different for the Academic and General Training tests.

For Academic IELTS, students will read three long texts, which could be analytical, descriptive, journals, newspapers, or books.

For General Training IELTS, students will read a variety of texts, such as advertisements, manuals, and educational and social content.

There are 40 questions to answer and include multiple-choice, matching headings, True/False/Not Given, and more.

Now, how can you prepare your students?

Normally, the texts are quite long for the given time. Therefore, teach your students to skim the text, or in other words quickly read through a text to get the gist. And scan for specific information and identify keywords. These skills will be crucial.

Also, train your students to allocate time smart. In general, they should spend no more than 20 minutes per passage. I also set a timer for them to practice, so they also build speed and learn to stay calm under pressure.

The very crucial aspect is vocabulary. Especially for the Academic test, you should help your students expand their set of words.

There are a lot of materials for Academic IELTS vocabulary. Plus, you can encourage them to read newspapers, academic journals, and books.

Some ideas for the resources are the Guardian, National Geographic, BBC News.

Furthermore, familiarize your students with different question types and teach strategies specific to each.

For example, in True/False/Not Given questions, they need to distinguish between information that is explicitly stated and information that is implied.

Writing preparation

The writing section contains two tasks.

For Academic IELTS, task 1 is to summarize information from a graph, chart, table, diagram, or map.

For General Training IELTS the task is to write a letter, formal, semi-formal, or informal.

When it comes to task 2, it is the same for both exam types. Your students will need to write an essay in response to a point of view, problem, or argument.

How to prepare your students?

Ok, let’s begin with task 1.

For Academic IELTS, teach your students how to analyze graphs, charts, tables, and diagrams. Then, focus on training how to describe visual data clearly. They will need to identify trends and compare data.

Also, your students will need to use a variety of sentence structures to describe decreases, trends, and static data.

For the General Training, cover with your students those three types of letters. Make sure they can distinguish between formal, semi-formal, and informal letters. And that they know the appropriate language for each.

Focus on appropriate tone, structure, and content. Your students should practice writing letters. Also respond to a variety of scenarios like complaints, invitations, and requests.

Now, let’s cover task 2.

Whether for Academic or General Training, the task is the same, to write an essay. So, here you will need to teach your students how to structure them.

Encourage them to spend 5-7 minutes planning it.

Focus on the introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion. Develop clear and concise arguments and use examples as support points.

Regularly review grammar with your students and focus on common mistakes and complex structures. Also expand their vocabulary, especially synonyms to avoid repetitions.

I especially notice that students struggle to connect their ideas smoothly with linking words. Make sure they get used to using the words like “however”, “moreover”, and “on the other hand” when writing.

Sometimes include writing tasks during the lesson and set a timer. As I noticed, my students write beautiful essays after some time and training.

But they keep not minding their time at all for the beauty of the essays. And as we both know, timing in IELTS is everything.

Make sure to get them used to proofreading their essay before submitting it.

Speaking preparation

The speaking section is conducted face-to-face with an examiner. This section is divided into three parts.

The first part is the introduction and interview. It covers the basic questions about the student’s background, hobbies, interests, etc. Here you can prepare your students to answer questions about familiar topics.

Focus on training them to provide fluent and coherent answers. Also, make sure they use a range of tenses and vocabulary.

The second part is the Long turn part. There your students will be required to speak about a topic for 1-2 minutes.

As for the essay, teach them to structure their speech for introduction, details, and conclusion. Also, how to manage their time effectively.

I have noticed that some students say everything in one minute and stop. Make sure to train them to continue speaking, connect topics, provide examples etc., but speak for full the time allocated for the answer.

Also, encourage them to use “discourse markers” like firstly, moreover, in conclusion, etc., to improve fluency.

The third part is the discussion. It involves elaboration on the questions related to the topic from Part 2. This section requires more abstract thinking as well as opinion-based answers.

Therefore, train your students to give well-reasoned answers and examples.

Moreover, you can simulate the test environment. I like to mock speaking exams and record the sessions so students can hear their progress.

Additionally, develop their vocabulary on common topics like environment, education, health, and technology. And help them build vocabulary and phrases that they can use across multiple topics.

Now a bit about pronunciation and intonation. I like to focus on pronunciation and natural intonations.

One of the very effective techniques I practice is by making my students repeat after native speakers. It greatly improves their accent and rhythm.

Additional Preparation and Practice Strategies

Regular mock tests

I like to make my students take full-length practice tests as their homework. But they need to replicate the actual exam conditions to build resistance and time management.

During our lessons, we normally analyze each test and review the results in detail. Identify the areas where your student lost marks.

It should cover every aspect like incorrect answers, question misunderstanding, or time management. And work on improving those specific skills.

Improve skills

Focus on weak areas of your students and practice them with increasing complexity. Let’s say, your student has difficulties with multiple-choice questions in the listening section.

Practice them with different tasks and make sure they get more and more difficult over time.

Also, you can combine skills. Include tasks like listening to a passage and then summarizing it in writing. It will help your student prepare for both writing and listening sections and make it diverse.

Time management

So many students fail in time management rather than knowledge or exam familiarity.

Teach them how to pace themselves through the exam. For example, train them to spend no more than a minute per question in the reading section.

In the writing section advise to tackle an easier task first. And leave a few minutes at the end of each section to review answers. This time is crucial to catch mistakes they otherwise did not notice and correct grammar.

If in a reading section, they think the question is difficult, train them to skip it and return later if they have time.

A lot of examples happen when they spend a lot of time on a difficult question. Then, several easier ones they do not answer because time finished.

Psychological and Emotional Preparation

As a tutor, you should also prepare your students emotionally. First, build their confidence through regular practice and a positive mindset.

Help them manage their test anxiety through mock exams and discuss strategies to stay calm under pressure.

In the last weeks of preparation, ease and simplify the workload to avoid burnout. Focus on areas that need improvement.

And a few days before the exam, make a full-length test simulation to increase confidence. Also, it is good to see if your student is fully prepared.

Finally, make sure to tell them to rest before the exam day. A lot of students study more and more beforehand which works the other way around. Encourage them to get a good night’s sleep and avoid last-minute memorization.

Preparing students for the IELTS exam is a structured approach. It should focus on building language skills, developing strategies for the test, and building confidence.

By following these strategies, you can help them maximize their potential and achieve the highest score.