IELTS Briefing Session 2010

IELTSIELTSInternational English Language Testing SystemInternational English Language Testing System

IELTS - The Essential InformationIELTS - The Essential Information

Number of Parts

• Listening

• Speaking

• Reading

• Writing

4

IELTS ListeningIELTS Listening Time:

• Questions:

• Sections: • The Listening Module is recorded on a CD.

• Each conversation is played ONCE only.

• Accents: A range of English accents and dialects are used.

40 questions.

4 sections.

Around 30 minutes.

IELTS ListeningIELTS Listening A variety of questions are used, chosen from the following:

multiple choice

short-answer questions

sentence completion

notes/summary/diagram/flow-chart/ table completion

labelling a diagram which has numbered parts

matching

IELTS ListeningIELTS Listening Marking and AssessmentMarking and Assessment

One mark for each correct answer in the 40 question test.

Scores are translated out of 40 into the IELTS 9-band scale.

Scores are reported as a whole band or a half band.

Be careful ! Poor spelling and grammar are penalised !

6 = 23 points6.5 = 26 points7 = 29 points

IELTS ListeningIELTS Listening

“Where shall we go this evening?”

A) cafe

B) karaoke

C) cinema

D) The British Council

Useful hints

IELTS ListeningUseful hints

• Predict key words

• Predict likely answerse.g., Manchester United 2 Arsenal ____

• Your answer must be grammatically correct

e.g., To improve your reading, buy a good ______ .

A) photo

e.g., His hobby was taking ___________ .B) photography C) photoes D) photos

IELTS Listening

Don’t Panic !!!!!Don’t Panic !!!!!

Question 1 C

Question 2 C

Question 3 C

Question 4 ?

IELTS Listening

£ 90 / ninety pounds NOT ‘90’ or ‘90 £’

Avoiding common mistakes

• (in) 2 weeks’ (time) NOT ‘2 week’

• Useful information NOT ‘informations’• TRUE / T NOT ‘’

IELTS Reading

Time:

Questions:

Number of passages:

Number of words:

60 minutes60 minutes

40 questions40 questions

33

2,000 to 2,750 2,000 to 2,750 wordswords

IELTS ReadingIELTS ReadingTask Types multiple choice

fill the gap in sentence / table

choosing from a ‘heading bank’ for identified

paragraphs/sections of the text

identification of writer’s views/claims

- yes, no or not given

identification of information in the text

- yes, no or not given/ - true, false or not given

IELTS Reading: YES, NO, NOT GIVEN

YES questions agree with the writer; good knowledge of synonyms is very helpful.

NO questions state the opposite of what is stated in the passage.

In NOT GIVEN questions, you cannot find any information in the passage that is related to the question.

IELTS Reading

Useful hints

• Read the question first.

• Read the question carefully.

• Look for specific evidence.

• Look for synonyms of ‘key’ words.

• Don’t worry about unknown words.

Yes, No, Not Given...

Computers are becoming more popular, despite their cost.

Yes, No, Not Given...

Computers are becoming more popular, despite their cost.

A Computers are getting cheaper

B Computers are expensive

C Computers used to be more popular

than they are now

NOT GIVEN

YES

NO

IELTS WritingIELTS Writing

Time:Time:

Number of Tasks:Number of Tasks:

Time for each task:Time for each task:

Word Limit:Word Limit:

60 minutes.

2.

Task 1 20 mins.

Task 2 40 mins.

Task 1 at least 150 words.

Task 2 at least 250 words.

IELTS Writing Task 1IELTS Writing Task 1

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

1st Qtr 2nd Qtr 3rd Qtr 4th Qtr

Company ACompany BCompany C

In $1,000’s

The graph shows profits for three companies in 2002.

Write a report for a university lecturer describing the information below.

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

1st Qtr 2nd Qtr 3rd Qtr 4th Qtr

Company ACompany BCompany C

IELTS Writing Task 1IELTS Writing Task 1

In $1,000’s

The graph shows profits for three companies in 2002.

Write a report for a university lecturer describing the information below.

IELTS Writing Task 1IELTS Writing Task 1

Arrange the information, from general to specific e.g

paragraph 1: general trends

paragraph 2: striking features Think of synonyms for the introduction Think of a conclusion

Planning Task 1 essaysPlanning Task 1 essays

IELTS - WritingIELTS - WritingUseful hintsUseful hints

• PlanningPlanning

• Linking & signpostingLinking & signposting

• TimingTiming

• CheckingChecking

Don’t start writing immediately !

Firstly, I will discuss …..

Allow enough time for Part 2.

Look for common errors (e.g., articles)

There are many reasons why ………

• Firstly, and perhaps most importantly,….

• In addition, we mustn’t forget that ……

• However, it is also true to say that …………

• All in all, it is my firm belief that …………

Scaffolding (Giàn giáo)Scaffolding (Giàn giáo)

IELTS - Task 1- Describing GraphsIELTS - Task 1- Describing GraphsWe can’t just say…..

‘It went up !’

• Expand your vocabulary.

• Remember to use the correct form. e.g., verb = improve.

noun = ?

• Remember the past form fall ?

rise ?

‘It went down !’

IELTS Writing Task 1IELTS Writing Task 1

Intro: The bar chart illustrates how much profit three firms made over the four quarters of 2002.

Examples of the information descriptions Examples of the information descriptions

Para 1: Generally company A made the lowest profits, slightly above $20,000 in quarters 1 and 2. Firm C always made profits of around $45,000, and usually had the highest profits of the three companies. Firm B was always between the other two firms, with profits of almost always just over $30,000.

IELTS Writing Task 2IELTS Writing Task 2

Private cars are a huge source of pollution and are involved in many accidents. How can people be encouraged to use their cars less frequently? What can governments do to improve and promote public transport ?

IELTS Writing Task 2IELTS Writing Task 2

Private cars are a huge source of pollution and are involved in many accidents. How can people be encouraged to use their cars less frequently? What can governments do to improve and promote public transport ?

IELTS Writing Task 2IELTS Writing Task 2A possible paragraphA possible paragraph

Topic sentenceSupporting ideaSupporting evidenceConcluding sentence

Firstly, governments could construct new services.

Monorails are one possibility.

An example of this is the monorail that was opened in Bangkok recently. It has been very successful in helping people to get around the city much faster. It is also more environmentally friendly, as electricity is cleaner than petrol.

Clearly, good government planning can have great benefits for commuters and people living in cities.

IELTS Writing Task 2IELTS Writing Task 2

The Marking Criteria

Task 1: Task FulfilmentCoherence & CohesionVocabulary & Sentence Structure

Task 2: Arguments, Ideas & EvidenceCommunicative QualityVocabulary & Sentence Structure

IELTS Writing Task 2IELTS Writing Task 2

Things to remember:

Highlight the key words in the question

Decide what you think - your opinion

Plan carefully - ideas, examples and organisation

Remember the structure of the essay

Write enough and check for simple mistakes

IELTS WritingIELTS Writing To score a 5To score a 5

Writing is relevant, appropriate & accurate.Message can generally be followed with ease.Only occasional, non-intrusive errors.

irrelevant / inaccurate in KEY areas.Message can generally be followed.Errors are quite intrusive.

• To score a 6To score a 6 irrelevant / inaccurate in MINOR details.Message can be followed throughout.Errors are only slightly intrusive.

• To score a 7To score a 7

IELTS SpeakingIELTS Speaking Interview length:

• Number of sections:

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

11 - 14 minutes.

3

- Introduction / Familiar Topics (4 - 5 mins)

- Your Talk (4 mins)

- Extended Discussion (3 - 5 mins)

IELTS SpeakingIELTS Speaking

What does the interviewer want to hear?

- Fluency & Coherence

- Lexical Resource- Grammatical range and accuracy- Pronunciation

IELTS SpeakingIELTS Speaking To score a 5

• To score a 6

• To score a 7

Relies on repetition, self-correction and / or slow speech.Limited flexibility.Basic sentences accurate. Complex sentences have errors.

Willing to produce long turns.Vocabulary may be inappropriate but meaning is clear.Can be understood with occasional strain.

Produces long turns without noticeable effort.Uses less common and idiomatic terms.Uses a range of stress / intonation to convey meaning.

IELTS SpeakingIELTS Speaking Part 1 3-4 minutes

What is your job?

What do you study and why?

Tell me about your family

General Topics

What is your hometown like?

Keep talking!Keep talking! Not rehearsed!Not rehearsed!

IELTS SpeakingIELTS Speaking

Part 2 3-4 minutes Short presentation

1minute to read the card and make notes

2 minutes to talk about the topic • Use the note taking time to think of vocabulary, grammar, organise your thoughts• Use your notes in the presentation to help remember vocabulary, grammar, content

IELTS SpeakingIELTS Speaking

Part 2 3-4 minutes

Describe a memorable event in your life

You should say:when the event took placewhere the event took placewhat happened exactly

and explain why this event was memorable for you

Short Presentation

Keep talking!Keep talking! Show what you know!Show what you know!

IELTS SpeakingIELTS Speaking

Part 2 3-4 minutes Short Presentation

Demonstration

IELTS SpeakingIELTS Speaking You are now going to practise part 2 of the

speaking:

1. Find one partner, the person next to you.

2. One person is ‘A’, one person is ‘B’. ‘A’ is speaking first.

3. Planning/preparation practice, ‘A’ and ‘B’ do this.

4. ‘B’ listen to ‘A’ speak for two minutes.

5. ‘B’ give ‘A’ some feedback on fluency, vocabulary, any silence.

IELTS SpeakingIELTS Speaking

Part 2 3-4 minutes

Describe a book which has made a strong impression on you

You should say:

what kind of book it was

when you read it

what the book was about

and explain why this book made such an impression on you

Short Presentation

Show what you Show what you know! know!

IELTS SpeakingIELTS Speaking Now ‘B’ is going to practise part 2 of the

speaking:

1. Planning/preparation practice, ‘A’ and ‘B’ do this.

2. ‘A’ listen to ‘B’ speak for two minutes

3. ‘A’ give ‘B’ some feedback on fluency, vocabulary, any silence.

IELTS SpeakingIELTS SpeakingPart 2 3-4 minutes Describe a very important period in your life so far

You should say:

when this was

what happened in that period

what other people were involved

and explain why you think it was so important for you

Short Presentation

Show what you know!Show what you know!

IELTS SpeakingIELTS Speaking

Part 3 3-4 minutes

What is an important festival in your country?

Extended Discussion

What type of national events do Vietnamese papers report on?

How do you think festivals will change in the future?

Keep calm!Keep calm! Keep going! Keep going!

How to prepare for IELTSHow to prepare for IELTS

- Take a course at the British Council

- Take an IELTS Pre-test with the British Council, reading and listening (not writing or speaking).

- Check useful websites:

http://www.ielts.org/

- Listen to English everyday (a short piece of news, a reader plus cassette/CD)

How to prepare for IELTSHow to prepare for IELTS

- Read English everyday (a short newspaper article, a story)

- Speak English everyday (at an English class 100% English – think in English!)

- Write English everyday (a diary, describe a graph in a newspaper, your opinion on a current topic - health, war, technology)

Why the British Council?Why the British Council?Take the IELTS test with the British Council:

- Professional organisation with years of IELTS experience

- Free access to our resources and facilities

- Free tips and techniques for IELTS

- Free loan of IELTS specimens

- Free issue of 5 TRFs and registered mailing

IELTSIELTS