16SPEAK FOUNDATIONS TRAINING

HOW TO TEACH
IELTS SPEAKING F

A COMPLETE GUIDE FOR TEACHERS

PART 1
Introduction
With the test centers in 150 countries and over 2.5
million annual test takers, International English
Language Testing System (IELTS) is the world’s
most popular English language test for higher
education and immigration. Over 9,000
educational and government institutions, and
employers worldwide accept the IELTS grades.

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How To Teach IELTS
● While there are no real preliminary requirements for IELTS
teachers, often an English degree and teaching experience
at some level are recommended. You may require a CELTA or
DELTA degree in some countries – both of these are
credentialing courses for those who teach English as a second
language.
CELTA - (Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults)
DELTA - (Diploma in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages)

Note:
1. Both are provided by Cambridge.
2. Pre-requisites are TESOL & TEFL

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About IELTS
● Aimed at non-native English speakers, IELTS is offered in two versions:
● 1. Academic IELTS – geared for those who wish to study in English
speaking countries at the undergraduate or postgraduate level or work
in capacities where academic knowledge of English, such as reading
and writing is required.
● 2. IELTS General Training – suitable for those wishing to migrate to the
English speaking countries for schooling or below degree level
education. The focus is more on assessing survival skills than the
proficiency in the English language.
● Most people take Academic IELTS to support the overseas study or
work application. IELTS is conducted worldwide 48 times in a year,
and there’s no limit to the number of times one can appear for IELTS.
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Test Components
IELTS is conducted in four stages:
1. IELTS Listening – a 30-minute test where students are required to hear recordings of native
English speakers and answer the questions.
2. IELTS Reading – an hour-long test that includes a reading of long texts and answering
questions based on understanding.
3. IELTS Writing – a 60-minute test with two writing assignments where students demonstrate
their thoughts and opinions.
4. IELTS Speaking – a 14-minute, in-person test where examiner may ask anything about work,
family or activities students enjoy.
When you dive into the full test format, you’ll find that IELTS is not a pass-or-fail test. Each
section is scored individually on a scale of 0 to 9, suggesting the test taker’s proficiency at
different levels. A ‘0’ would mean that the student is a beginner. A ‘9’ would indicate that
the student is fluent. The composite score evaluates the student’s overall
performance.
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Preparing to teach IELTS Speaking

● To best prepare to teach the material, you should first familiarize

yourself with the test, which includes taking the test yourself and
practicing different sections to make certain you’re fully up to speed
with the type of knowledge your students will need to master.
● Also, this guide is for those who have taken IELTS at some point in time
and taught English in a real capacity – because you need to learn the
IELTS before you start to work with the students and promise them to
help achieve a high score.

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Your class might have students with different
English language proficiency levels
● You might have students with different ability levels. Some of them
would be beginners while some would have already tested the
waters but need to inch up their band. So, before you begin to work
with your students, it makes sense to receive their test scores and
break them into groups.
● For students who have never tested, you’ll want to administer a
practice test, which will allow you to assess where each student is and
what work needs to be done to get them to the level they have
selected as their goal. Depending on what they plan to do with their
test results, different visa programs have score criteria that need to be
met.
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How to Teach IELTS Speaking
Part 1
What’s on the test?
- Administered in person by an examiner, IELTS speaking is a three-
part series test, each part lasting between four-five minutes.
- The first portion includes some fundamental questions about home,
family, education, interests.
- The second part tests the English speaking abilities of the test takers.
They are asked to speak on a given topic for two minutes. A question
and answer round on the same subject then follows in the third part.

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How to Teach IELTS Speaking
What’s on the test?
- Administered in person by an examiner, IELTS speaking is a three-part
series test, each part lasting between four-five minutes.
- The first portion includes some fundamental questions about home,
family, education, interests.
- The second part tests the English speaking abilities of the test takers.
They are asked to speak on a given topic for two minutes. A question and
answer round on the same subject then follows in the third part.
- Students will often need a good deal of practice with the speaking
portion of the test because it’s difficult to form the words without
prompting, which is what a good part of the test asks students to do.

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How to Teach IELTS Speaking
What’s on the test?
- Administered in person by an examiner, IELTS speaking is a three-part
series test, each part lasting between four-five minutes.
- The first portion includes some fundamental questions about home,
family, education, interests.
- The second part tests the English speaking abilities of the test takers.
They are asked to speak on a given topic for two minutes. A question and
answer round on the same subject then follows in the third part.
- Students will often need a good deal of practice with the speaking
portion of the test because it’s difficult to form the words without
prompting, which is what a good part of the test asks students to do.

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Here are some key
things you can do
to help students
excel:
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1. Have them practice talking about themselves
● The first question in the speaking portion is often difficult.
Students don’t know what information is directly relevant to the
question and may answer too little or not enough. It’s important
to be descriptive, but your students don’t need to be overly
academic or use a lot of advanced vocabularies. One-word
answers aren’t advised either. Students are expected to
respond to the question and then add a few details.
● Help them develop answers to questions so that they’re more
comfortable with the detailed response.

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EXAMPLE:
● Examiner: Do you live with any family members?
Test taker: No.
This is not a good way to answer the question. Examiner expects a
detailed reply.

● One of the possible answers could be:

Examiner: Do you live with any family members?
Test taker: No. My mother and father live about a mile from my home,
but I visit them often. My brother and his wife live in the United States
and only come home occasionally.

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2. Help eliminate empty words
● Speakers often use filler words to help them grab onto the next idea.
Work with your students to remove such words to help them speak more
coherently.
● Point out when they add “umm” or extra words that they don’t need in a
sentence.
● Include mock tests to help them get more comfortable speaking in
English and remove the extraneous words.
● This primarily works in the second portion of the test where students are
asked to talk about a given topic.

extraneous - irrelevant or unrelated

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 3. Routine discussion
● To master speaking, it’s important that students practice often. Have set
discussions using English only to help them better develop their
vocabulary and pronunciation. Test their ability on a set schedule and
record the results so that they can see their achievements and have a
good grasp of how much further they need to go before the test date.

● With these tips, your students will achieve optimal proficiency with lots of
practice. As a teacher, you’ll be able to put them on the path that allows
them to reach their goals of studying and living in the country of their
choosing.

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Credits:
● https://blog.wiziq.com/how-to-teach-ielts/
● Shivani Sharma

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