Paul Ryan

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• Paul Ryan

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Test Overview

• All Candidates are tested in listening, reading,
  writing and speaking.
• Listening 30 mins
• Reading 60 mins
• Writing 60 mins
• Speaking 11 14 mins
• Total test time 2 hours 45 minutes excluding
  breaks.

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IELTS Overview Continued

• Exam of choice in UK Australia
• Widely recognised in USA
• Scored 0-9
• Most schools want 6.5 7.0
• Writing is often emphasised by universities

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IELTS Part One
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Listening
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Test Format and Tasks Listening Activities

• Section 1 A conversation between two speakers in
  a social and semi-official context
• Section 2 A talk by a single speaker based on a
  non-academic situation
• Section 3 A conversation with up to 4 speakers
  based on academic topics or course-related
  situations
• Section 4 A university-style lecture or talk

Listening
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Listening Section 1

• Section 1 A conversation between two speakers in
  a social and semi-official context
• Usually involves booking something or getting
  personal details.
• Addresses, phone numbers, abbreviations, prices,
  dates, times etc.
• Vocabulary check
• , lbs, km, /, -, paul_at_ukeas.co.uk
• 07-223 8800 Dr Phillips
• Listen out for corrections
• Speaker A Can I just confirm your name, Ms
  Wiliams
• Speaker B No thats double L

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Tips for Listening

• ???
• ??/?/??
• ???/?????
• ???????
• ???

• Read instructions
• Look at pictures / diagrams / headings
• Read questions / underline keywords
• Understand context of questions
• Listen to recording

Listening
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(No Transcript)
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Preparing for listening

• Try and listen to as many accents as possible
  especially British and Australian
• The BBC website www.bbc.co.uk is a great resource
  for listening. In particular Learning English
  section of the site. http//www.bbc.co.uk/worldser
  vice/learningenglish/
• Podcasts www.podcast.net
• Audiobooks

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IELTS Part Two
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• Reading

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• Hidden history The Beetles secret life cycle
• The deathwatch beetle is thought of as the
  devil's pest in churches and old houses, but in
  natural habitats it infests a wide range of
  decaying hardwoods.  It has been found in
  hornbeam, sweet chestnut, hawthorn, beech, ash,
  black poplar, elm, larch, spruce and yew but the
  two most commonly infested species in Britain are
  oak and willow.  In buildings, oak timbers are
  usually the focus of attack by the beetle, but
  alder, walnut, elm, larch and Scots pine can be
  affected too.  Deathwatch beetles attack wood
  that has been decayed by fungi, so it is the
  damp-prone parts of timbers, the ends and near
  leaking gutters and enclosed spaces, that are
  normally attacked first. Adult beetles emerge
  from holes in the timber in spring, or
  occasionally in autumn.  They breed once and a
  week later the females lay eggs, usually about
  fifty, in small cracks on the surface of the
  wood.  Adults depend on stored reserves  they do
  not feed so the adult lifespan is largely
  determined by body size and metabolic demands.
   Emergent females rarely live for more than ten
  weeks, and males eight or nine weeks, at a
  temperature of about 20o C. The eggs hatch after
  two to five weeks and the larvae then wander
  across the wood to find suitable entry points
  through which to bore into the timber.  They then
  take between two and ten years to complete their
  development.  The larvae pupate in late summer to
  early autumn, each individual having constructed
  a pupal cell just below the surface of the wood.
   After two or three weeks, the immature beetle
  emerges from the pupal skin, but then remains
  torpid inside the chamber until the following
  spring or early summer.  The mature beetle then
  cuts a perfectly round hole, three to five
  millimetres in diameter, and emerges covered in a
  fine wood powder.
• The deathwatch beetle is found most often
  in______and _______. They infest damp-prone
  timber, which has been affected_________. Adults
  do not feed, so they survive on _______And live
  for only two to three months. The larvae, on the
  other hand, live for up to_________Feeding on the
  timbers during that time. They pupate in________,
  but the adult does not emerge until the following
  spring

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Strategies for Reading

• Write your answers on answer sheet
• Time management allocate time evenly
• Do not read the passage first
• Examine questions carefully
• provide clues to meaning of text
• tell us what kind of answers we need
• Keywords to isolate area of text to read in
  detail

Reading
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Strategies for Reading

• Build up a general picture of the text
• You do not need to read every word
• You often need to read a passage more than once
• You do not need to read every part of the text
• Ask yourself questions check understanding
• Have the courage to read quickly

Reading
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Reading tips

• All reading is useful
• Read everyday as much as you can
• Make vocabulary lists incorporate them into
  your writing/speaking practice if possible
• Learn to deal with unfamiliar words
• Good resources for reading The Economist,
  Newsweek, Time, Newspapers, Studio Classroom,
• Lots of online resources

Reading
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IELTS Part Three
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Writing
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Writing Task 1 Task Types

• Bar Chart

Writing
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Writing Task 1 Task Types

• Pie Chart

Writing
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Writing Task 1

• Process
• Diagram

Writing
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Writing Task 1

• Map

Writing
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Task fulfilment

• Overall statement sum up main trends
• Isolate relevant and important information
• Support points with data
• Make comparisons
• Do not give opinions do not try to answer the
  question why

Writing
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Coherence and Cohesion

• Introduction, body, conclusion (overall trend)
• Paragraphs topic sentences points grouped
  into logical order
• Referencing
• Transition words (dont overdo it)

Writing
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Vocabulary Grammar

• What is the subject of the chart?
• Use synonyms different words same meaning
• Language of trends
• Language of comparison
• Grammatical accuracy
• Variety of structures

Writing
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Below is a chart illustrating past and present
population figures in eight of the world largest
cities together with projections for the year
2015.Write a report for a university lecturer
describing the information in the chart.
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Worlds Largest Cities

• Question is about the largest cities over 3
  periods so makes sense to pick out the largest
  city in each period. Support points with data
  from the chart.
• In the 1970s New York was the largest city
  followed by Tokyo, Shanghai and Mexico. Since
  that time, New York shows the least amount of
  change of the eight cities in the chart, dropping
  to the second largest city by 2015. In 1996,
  Tokyo replaces New York as the largest city in
  the world and is projected to maintain its
  position as the largest city in 2015. Tokyos
  population is forecast to rise by around 14
  million from 1970 to 2015.
• Pick out the city that changes the most over the
  period and use the language of trends to describe
  its change
• Bombay shows the greatest proportion of change
  across the three periods. In 1970, Bombay is the
  smallest city at approximately 6 million people,
  but it nearly trebles its population to around 16
  million in 1996. It is expected to reach around
  26 million by 2015, making it the second largest
  city.
• Must have an overall statement describing the
  main trends and changes of the char
• Every city increased in every period. However,
  the greatest proportional change occurred from
  1970 to 1996. This period saw significant
  increases in six of the eight cities.

Writing
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Task 1 Dos

• Practice analysing charts breaking it down into
  main trends and significant data
• Practice combination charts and charts with
  little information and data.
• Learn a variety of vocabulary for describing
  trends and comparing data

Writing
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Task 1 Don'ts

• Dont give your opinion
• Dont repeat the question in your introduction
• Dont waste too much time trying to rephrase the
  question to make a good introduction
• Dont write much more than 150 words
• Dont do task 1 first
• Dont overdo your preparation for Task 1

Writing
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Task 2

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• ??????
• ????/?????
• ???????

• Assesses how you answer questions
• How the answer is constructed
• Introduction of arguments / ideas and evidence
• Look at all aspects of the question

Writing
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You should try and look at positive and negative
aspects of a question
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Question Types

• Present and justify an opinione.g. Do you think
  trial by jury should be used in all criminal
  cases?
• Compare and contrast evidence, opinions and
  implicationse.g. How effective is it to reward
  good work with extra money?
• Evaluate and challenge ideas, evidence or an
  argumente.g. "Failure shows desire wasn't strong
  enough". To what extent do you agree?

• ???????, ?? ???????????????????
• ???????, ?????, ?? ?????????????????
• ???????, ?????, ?? ???????????????. ??????????

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Before you write

• Analyse the question main idea, what is it
  asking you to do
• Plan - brainstorm, isolate point-reason-evidence/
  example
• Dont need too many points each point must be
  well-developed.
• Discard weak points

Writing
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Essay Structure

• Decide on essay strategy argument essay (2
  sides),
• Introduction should introduce main topic and
  how you are going to answer the question
• Body 2 paragraphs which make points which
  directly answer the question
• Conclusion should sum up points

Writing
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Paragraphing

• Write in paragraphs
• Clear topic sentence which leads into the points
  to be made in the paragraph.
• Try and create flow between points and paragraphs
• Transitions e.g. moreover, in addition, however
  etc.

Writing
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Task 2 Dos

• Do have the courage to plan spend 10 mins
• Do practice under timed situations
• Do focus on point reason evidence/example

Writing
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Task 2 Donts

• Dont just write generally about the subject and
  not answer the question
• Dont use sayings or cliché language e.g.
  every coin has two sides When the going gets
  tough the tough get going
• Dont overdo one side of an argument
• Dont introduce a new point into a conclusion
• Dont give up if you dont understand the
  question take a position.

Writing
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IELTS Part Four
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Speaking
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Speaking Test Format

• Test Format
• 11 to 14minutes
• One-to-one interview
• Recorded
• Three Parts
• Part I 4 to 5 minutes (Introduction
  interview)
• Part II 1 to 2 minutes (Mini-presentation)
• Part III 3 to 5 minutes (Discussion)

Speaking
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Marking Criteria

• Fluency and Coherence
• Keep going talk at normal speed organise
  ideas logically connect with suitable
  expressions
• Lexical Resource
• Range of vocabulary needs to be appropriate
• Grammatical Range and Accuracy
• Use a wide range of structures errors should
  not affect understanding
• Pronunciation
• Clearly pronounce words use appropriate
  intonation

Speaking
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General Tips

• Fluency is important will affect everything else
  must keep going
• No one words answers expand on answers give
  opinions reasons examples
• Correct mistakes but dont overdo it
• There are no right or wrong answers it is a
  test of your ability to communicate
• Sound interested and you will be interesting to
  listen to
• If you dont understand ask examiner to repeat

Speaking
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Part One

• Section One Introduction Interview
• Basic Introduction about yourself and some
  familiar topics
• Home
• Hometown
• Family
• Job
• Studies
• Interests
• Other similar topics

Speaking
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Part I -Tips

• Part one designed to relax you
• All about you
• Your opinions and feelings practice vocabulary
• Expand on why you like/enjoy/prefer something
• Dont worry about examiner stopping you

Speaking
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Part II

• Part II Mini-presentation (3 4 mins.)
• Talk for about one minute on a subject selected
  by the examiner
• One minute to prepare the talk
• Notes allowed while preparing
• Prompts given to facilitate the content
• No interruptions while delivering the talk

Speaking
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Part II - Tips

• Use one minute to make notes
• Look at card while speaking
• Stick to the points on the card cover each
  point
• Introduce what you are going to talk about
• Link between points dont just read them off
  the card

Speaking
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Part III Discussion (3 5 minutes)

• Questions related to topic in Part II
• Giving opinions
• Extensive discussion on issues related to the
  topic
• Ability to express abstract ideas and support
  opinions appropriately

Speaking
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Part III - Tips

• Use general knowledge not expected to be an
  expert
• Prepare likely topics
• Likely questions
• Advantages / Disadvantages
• Solutions to problems use real world examples
• Comparison between past and now
• Future trends

Speaking
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Speaking Preparation

• Study partners practice
• Build up topic banks vocabulary issues
• Record yourself analyse errors focus on
  fluency and expanding answers
• Read a topical magazine preferably in English

Speaking
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Do you Have any Questions
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Thanks For Listening

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