Some teaching strategies for

meeting IELTS learners’

needs
IATEFL Harrogate
April 2014
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 Talk content
• Exploring some IELTS teaching
strategies
through
• Looking at Mission IELTS 2
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 Mission IELTS

IELTS 5-6.5 IELTS 7 and above 3

Success at IELTS = language proficiency + ideas
and knowledge of the world + exam familiarity

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Strategy 1(language proficiency)

Customise
language work to
each IELTS paper

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 IELTS learners’ language needs
Listening Writing
•Range of genres, accents, speed, • Range and accuracy of grammar
text lengths, interaction patterns and vocab.
•Accuracy of language • Register
•Register • Coherence and cohesion
•Coherence and cohesion
Speaking
Reading • Fluency
•Grammar • Accuracy
•Vocabulary • Range of language
•Coherence and cohesion • Intelligible pronunciation
Strategy 2 (language proficiency)

Work on developing or

revising strategies for

- Listening - Reading
- Writing - Speaking
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 IELTS learners’ skills needs
Listening
•Using correct strategy: specific
info., detail, prediction etc.
•Understanding paraphrasing
Reading
•Using the correct strategy:
reading for detail, inference
etc .
•Understanding paraphrasing
Writing
•Process writing strategies
Speaking
•Confidence, assertiveness
•Intelligible pronunciation
•Physical expressiveness
•Fluency
•Discourse management
•Accuracy
Strategy 3 (ideas and knowledge of
the world)

Develop learners’ ideas and

knowledge of the world

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IELTS learners’ needs for ideas and
knowledge of the world
Speaking Part 3 - discussion
test
Listening Section 3
paper Section 4
Reading All passages
paper
Writing Both texts
paper
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 The Cognitive Process Dimension
Lower-order processing
Remembering e.g.
recognizing, recalling
Understanding e.g.
interpreting, exemplifying,
classifying, summarising,
inferring, comparing
Applying e.g.
executing, implementing

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 Higher-order processing
Analysing e.g.
differentiating, organising,
attributing
Evaluating e.g.
checking, critiquing
Creating e.g.
generating, planning, producing

(Bloom’s taxonomy, revised by Anderson and Krathwohl, 2000)

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 Some tasks from Mission IELTS that develop higher-order thinking skills

1. Look at the diagram. Discuss with another

student what you think the data shows about
social wellbeing in New Zealand. Tell one
another what you think happened to make …..
2. Using the information in Ex. 1, list what you
think are the top five priorities for the
environment in your county. Justify your list to
another student.
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 Some tasks from Mission IELTS that develop higher-order
thinking skills
3. Discuss with another student the similarities
and differences between each pair of things
below.
4. . Look at these different images highlighting
environmental concerns….. Discuss with
another student how they relate to the global
environmental debate.

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Strategy 4 (exam familiarity)

Familiarise students
with exam task types
and answer formats

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IELTS learners’ exam needs
Listening and Reading
• Familiarity with task types
• Following instructions
• Dealing with misleading
word spots
• Hearing texts only once (L)
• Completing the answer
sheet correctly (R)
Writing
• Dealing with timing
• Answering relevantly
• Following instructions
• Meeting min. word limits
Speaking
• Understanding the 3 parts
• Understanding the
examiner’s role
• Part 2- using preparation
time effectively
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Strategy 5 (exam familiarity)

Raise students’ awareness

of speaking and writing
assessment criteria and
how to achieve them

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 Learners’ self-monitoring needs
• Knowing the speaking and writing assessment
criteria
• Understanding what they mean in practice
• Being able to apply them to their own speaking and
writing output

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In Task 2 of the Writing Paper remember you will be assessed on :
- Response to the task
- Coherence and cohesion
- Lexical resource
- Grammatical range and accuracy
- Think about these things in every essay you write between
now and the exam

- Look at the opening and closing paragraphs of the student

answer to the above question. In what ways could they be
improved? Discuss this with another student.
- Think about the IELTS writing assessment criteria when
discussing.

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In the IELTS Speaking test you will be assessed on

Fluency and coherence:

so speak at a natural speed and 8)……………………… your
ideas well.
Lexical resource:
so use a range of relevant vocabulary to talk abut topics
Grammatical range and accuracy
so develop answers in different ways to show a range of
language
Pronunciation:
so practise being accurate with intonation, word stress,
sentence stress and individual 9) ……………………… 20
Ex. 3
Listen again to each candidate and note down
everything you notice
about their
Fluency- flow of language, naturalness of
delivery
Coherence – relevance and development of
ideas
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IELTS learners’ needs common to all papers
Ideas Language
-Ideas and world - Grammar
knowledge
- Spelling
Exam - Vocabulary
- Familiarity with task
types, answer formats, - Discourse
timing - Skills + subskills
- Reading and following - - Genres
instructions
- Self-monitoring 22
5 IELTS teaching strategies 2. Work on
developing or
1. Customise revising
language work strategies for
to each IELTS the four skills
paper
3. Develop
learners’
ideas and
knowledge of
the world 23
5 IELTS teaching strategies
4. Familiarise 5. Raise students’
students with awareness of
exam task speaking and
types and writing assessment
answer criteria and how to
formats achieve them

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 Mission IELTS

IELTS 5-6.5 IELTS 7 and above 25

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Components of Mission IELTS

Mission IELTS 1 Mission IELTS 2
• Student’s Book • Student’s Book
Academic + CD Academic + CD
• General Training •
Teacher’s Book
Supplement
• Teacher’s Book • Practice Tests
+CD
• Workbook + CD
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Shape of units in Mission IELTS
Vocabulary focus

Skills focus

Grammar focus

Exam focus
(Tips → exam practice → debriefing)
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 Mission IELTS Teacher’s Book
- Info. on exam
- Info. on assessment criteria and marking
- For each activity in each unit
- aims
- classroom tips
- answer keys/ sample answers
- List of useful websites for teachers
- Tapescripts
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Thanks!!

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