2. •About IELTS
•Vietnamese candidates’ strengths & weaknesses
•Challenges with IELTS
•Difficulties in each skill
•Studying IELTS @ RMIT
•Road to IELTS
3. •Began testing English language 25 years ago
•Accepted by over 8,000 organisations worldwide, including RMIT University Vietnam
•Last year, over 2 million tests were taken
4. •Tests your ability to communicate in English
•Not just how many grammar mistakes you make
•Four skills, each worth 25%
•Overall band score from 1 (non-user)
to 9 (expert user)
•Can get 0.5 bands overall but
not in each skill
Figure 1. Adapted from IELTS 2009.
7. •IELTS is a language test – to do well you need good language
•But good language is not enough
•There are many tricks / traps in each skill which can affect your score
–Many candidates are not aware of these traps
Figure 2. Adapted from Global Trader 2012.
8. •Particular things you must do for a high score
–Good English but limited strategies may not result in a high score
Source: IELTS 2013.
9. WRITING
•Many Vietnamese candidates have difficulty because they do not know some important requirements
10. Writing – Task 1
•Different types of writing for different tasks
•Ex.: “describe a process” & “changes in maps”
Figure 3: Reproduced from: ADMC n.d.
Figure 4: Reproduced from: Wang 2013.
12. Writing – Task 2 Task Response
•Different task types different essay types
•Must address all parts of the task equally with a clear position throughout
14. Writing – Task 2 Coherence & Cohesion
•Clear topic sentences – Required for 7 or above
•Referencing & substitution – Required for 6 or above – Very few students know how to use these
16. SPEAKING
•Many Vietnamese candidates have difficulty because
they misunderstand some task requirements
17. Speaking
•Many candidates are not familiar with:
–Procedures of the speaking test
–What kinds of questions are asked in each part
–How long responses should be in each part
–How to give logical answers
Figure 8. Reproduced from: English 2012.
18. Speaking
•Almost every single Task 2 topic will fall under one of these categories:
•Many candidates have problems organising their Part 2 response
Describe
Person
Place
Object
Past Event
19. Speaking
•Pronunciation & grammar take a long time to improve
•But there are things you can improve in a
short time:
•Fluency & Coherence
•Lexical Resource (vocabulary)
Figure 9. Reproduced from: Harrow 2009.
Figure 10. Reproduced from: Cole 2008.
22. Listening
•Different question types – some are unusual
–Multiple choice
–Short-answer
–Sentence completion
–Complete the notes/table/summary/flow-chart
–Labelling a diagram
–Classification
•There are tricks for maximizing your score in Parts 1 & 2
–Common tricks by IELTS test writers
–Letters / postcodes / credit card numbers
–How to not get lost on a map
24. •Dealing with time pressure
•Reading too much
–You do not have time to read every word
•Difficult question types
–T / F / NG & Y / N / NG
•Reading skills
–Skimming & scanning
–Annotating & highlighting
–Guessing unknown vocabulary
Figure 12. Reproduced from: McDermott 2014.
25. BENEFITS
•Taught exclusively by IELTS experts
–Years of experience teaching IELTS
–Aware of Vietnamese candidates’ difficulties
–Experienced in teaching Academic English
26. BENEFITS
•Practice tests with detailed feedback
–Advice on how to improve in all four skills
–Detailed feedback on your writing
•Individual support
–Teachers are available for questions and advice
•Intensive
–Be ready for the
IELTS test in
just two weeks
27. •For candidates with good general English who want to gain insider tips and strategies
•40 classroom hours – 2 weeks
•All four skills
–Flexible: the specific skills YOU need to work on
–Feedback: from teachers & peers
•Authentic practice tests
–Official IELTS practice materials – real tests!
•Road to IELTS
28. •Comprehensive online IELTS course
•Videos, advice, practice tests & feedback
Figure 13. Reproduced from: British Council / Clarity 2013.
29. Features
•e-books and videos
•Practice activities to improve your language
•Sample videos with tips from previous candidates
•Teacher tutorials highlighting what to do, and what not to do, in your test
•Timed practice tests
•Compare your performance with other students worldwide
32. How will Road to IELTS help me? What to do in speaking
•Instant feedback on your performance
•Monitor your personal progress
•Correct answers for practice exercises so you can understand your mistakes
•Hints and tips to help you improve
•Exercises based on real IELTS test tasks to help you develop confidence before your test
