British Council IELTS for Teachers

Facebook Group Members share

their expertise and advice

Teaching IELTS doesn’t need to be a scary

experience, or one that you have to discover
on your own. Help IS at hand!
I’m Vanessa Ellen, owner of IELTS Prep Me. Born in Australia
but now residing in Egypt, I’ve been teaching English for 10+
years and living in the IELTS world since 2016. While it’s a
strange world sometimes, I’ve come to love teaching IELTS.

I first delved into the world of IELTS teaching back in 2016.

Although I had been teaching ESL for several years, I was a
complete IELTS beginner – I had zero knowledge of the test, why
people took it, and even who took it! I knew absolutely nothing. But after
being thrown into the lion’s den by my then boss and tasked with teaching
IELTS to a group of doctors, soon after my heart palpitations subsided, I
embarked on a mission to learn what I was supposed to teach. At first, I
thought that mission may only take a few weeks, but here I am 5 years on and
still learning!
Eager to gain as much information as possible, I did like I
guess most IELTS tutors do, and I watched videos from
IELTS Liz, read the Official Guide to IELTS book, read the and sharing our interpretation of them against a piece
band descriptors (and tried to use my common sense to of writing, was hugely beneficial. We all had something
figure them all out!), plus I did official Cambridge to contribute and it was extremely beneficial to learn the
practice questions. Nowadays, however, things are a bit different approaches we have to assessment, and to
easier for new teachers as there are courses given by bounce ideas off each other.
Cambridge Learning Assessment, IDP, the British Council
What was clearly evident after the webinar was just how
and other organisations to help figure it all out.
important having a nurturing group of tutors willing to
Now while these courses are excellent and well worth the share their knowledge and experience with each other
time to complete, they didn’t ease the doubts in my mind is. Teaching IELTS shouldn’t be a competition or a fight
about my interpretation of the marking criteria and to get the most students - yes we want to earn money
general advice to give to students. Much to my surprise from our time teaching, but it doesn’t have to be a dog
and delight, several months ago I came across the eat dog affair.
excellent resources that the British Council offer –
I believe one way that we can raise the level of IELTS
weekly/monthly webinars for students and teachers, and
teaching and gain trust from students is for teachers to
most importantly for me, the British Council IELTS
collaborate and help each other to become better. I’m a
Teachers Facebook group. I soon discovered that I
firm believer that you can never have enough
wasn’t alone in my doubts, questions and concerns.
knowledge. It doesn’t matter how well you know the
There were other teachers out there just like me who had
exam, the marking criteria, the tips and techniques to
been teaching for some time, but still had questions.
teach, there will always be something new we can learn
Hooray – I wasn’t alone!
- to either pass on to students, or just to improve our
That spurred me onto hosting a webinar with some fellow teaching skills.
IELTS teachers in order to share our views and style of
So, if you’re new to teaching IELTS or an IELTS veteran
marking, particularly Writing task 2. First and foremost,
and question your knowledge or skills, remember that
it was fantastic to meet and speak to fellow tutors who
you aren’t alone. There are many fabulous and highly
all understand the importance of our role as IELTS
experienced teachers out there who have navigated
teachers and how the guidance we give students plays a
their way through the IELTS minefield, and who are
big role in them achieving their scores. Secondly, to
happy to share their knowledge. So don’t be afraid to
spend time going through the marking criteria in detail,
ask questions and to join groups, such as the British
Council IELTS Teachers Group, who are there to support,
provide information and give us a platform to connect
with each other.
For more ideas on how to support your learners,
join our Facebook group:
British Council IELTS for teachers