Preparing students for the IELTS Exam

1. Preparing students forthe IELTS Exam Conducted by: THAIS TARANTINO

2. Major in English & Portuguese language and literature; • ESL teacher for 16 years; • IELTS Examiner for 3 years; • Cambridge Main Suite Examiner for 2 years; • Owner of Connections AssessoriaemIdiomas. THAIS TARANTINO

3. Introducing the IELTS; • Knowing the exam; • Sample tasks; • Hints and tips for teachers and students. WORSHOP PROGRAM

4. What does IELTS stand for? • Which institution applies the IELTS in Brazil? • Which countries mostly require the IELTS? • How many versions are there? • Which abilities does the IELTS test? • How is it scored? QUIZ

5. International English Language Testing System • The British Council • Australia, Canada, New Zealand, England and USA • Two. Academic and General Training • Speaking, Listening, Reading and Writing • On a scale from 0-9 with half bands QUIZ ANSWERS

6. RECOGNITION IN BRAZIL • CAPES • FAPESP • CNPq • OAB • Universities & Colleges including: FAAP, USP, UNICAMP, UNIP, UFPE, UFAL, UERJ, FGV

7. IELTS IS USED FOR: • Exemption from English classes • Post-graduate course entry  • Study abroad courses, Internship and scholarship programmes • “Exit” exam for courses delivered in English (ELT,  International Relations, Tourism and Hospitality, etc)

8. IELTS OVERVIEW There are two different IELTS Exams: • The General Training exam: For candidates who wish to immigrate and work abroad. • The Academic Exam: For candidates who need to do the exam to study in an English speaking environment.

9. THE 4 SKILLS: • Speaking: 11-14 minutes, 1-2-1 • Listening: 30’ + 10’ transfer time • Reading: 60’ • Writing: 60’ for two tasks. Task 1: 20’ Task 2: 40’ Total time: 2 hours 55 minutes

10. SCORES • Bands 0-9, with half bands. Band 0 – Did not attempt the test. Band 1 – NON-USER. Few isolated words. Band 2 – INTERMITTENT USER. No real communication is possible. Great difficulty understanding. Band 3 – EXTREMELY LIMITED. Understands only very familiar situations.

11. SCORES Band 4 – LIMITED. Basic competence,problems in understanding, unable to use complex language. Band 5 – MODEST. Partial command, many mistakes, basic communication in own field. Band 6– COMPETENT. Effective command with innacuracies.

12. SCORES Band 7 – GOOD. Operational command,occasional inacuracies, handles complex language well. Band 8 – VERY GOOD. Full operational command,occasional inacuracies, handles detailed communication. Band 9 – EXPERT. Full command, appropriate, inaccurate and fluent.

13. LISTENING OVERVIEW • 30’ + 10’ transfer time; • 4 Sections; • 40 questions (10 each section); • Variety of accents; • Once only; • Progressive difficulty; • Same for AC/GT.

14. LISTENING • Section 1 Topic: Social needs Input: Dialogue Focus: Listening for and noting specific factual information

15. LISTENING • Section 2 Topic: Social needs Input: Monologue Focus: Listening for and noting specific factual information

16. LISTENING • Section 3 Topic: Academic Input: Dialogue 2 – 4 people Focus: Listening for specific information and opinions.

17. LISTENING • Section 4 Topic: Academic Input: Monologue Focus: Listening for main ideas, specific information and opinion

18. READING OVERVIEW • 60’, NO transfer time; • 3-5 texts; • 40 questions; • Variety of topics; • Authentic texts.

19. ACADEMIC READING • Module format:3 passages and 40 questions. Each one is worth one mark. • Texts:The passages used in the test are based on authentic texts, from sources such as magazines, journals, books and newspapers.

20. GT READING • Module format:3-5 passages and 40 questions. Each one is worth one mark. • Texts:The passages used in the test are based on authentic texts, from sources such as magazines, journals, books and newspapers.

21. TASK TYPES • 1  - Multiple Choice • 2  - Short-answer Questions • 3  - Completion • 4  - Labelling • 5  - Choosing Headings • 6  - Matching • 7  - Classification • 8 – Yes/No/Not Given • 9 - True/False/Not Given

22. WRITING OVERVIEW • 60’; • 2 texts; • General Training: letter + essay • Academic: analysis + essay • Pen or pencil.

23. WRITING REGULATIONS • Candidates must write their answers on the Answer Sheet provided. • If they write less than the minimum word limit they will be penalised. • They will be penalised for irrelevance if the response is off-topic. • They will be severely penalised if their writing is plagiarised (i.e. copied from another source). • They will be penalised if their answer is not written as full, connected text (e.g. using bullet points in any part of the response, or note form etc.)

24. AC WRITING TASK 1 • Line graph • Bar chart • Pie chart • Table • Process

25. GT WRITING TASK 1 • Letter

26. SAMPLE GT TASK 1 • You are planning to spend a two-week holiday in an English-speaking country where you have a friend. You need some advice about travelling there. Write a letter to your friend. In your letter: • Explain why you have decided to visit the contry and give some details of your trip; • Ask about the places you should visit; • Ask if you can stay at your friend’s place for a few days. • Write at least 150 words. • .

27. SAMPLE AC TASK 1 . The graph below shows the differences in wheat exports over three different areas.Write a report for a university lecturer describing the information shown below. .

28. SAMPLE GT TASK 2 Some countries invest a lot of money in space research. While some people believe that this money could be better used to solve other problems on Earth, others argue that speace research brings many benefits for life on Earth. Discuss both these views and give your own opinion. Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge and experience.

29. SAMPLE AC TASK 2 You should spend about 40 minutes on this task. Present a written argument or case to an educated reader with no specialist knowledge of the following topic. In order to reduce the environmental problems caused by our reliance on cars, governments should encourage alternative forms of transport and laws should be passed to control car ownership and use. To what extent do you agree with this statement? You should use your own ideas, knowledge and experience and support your arguments with examples and relevant evidence. You should write at least 250 words.

30. ASSESSMENT AC/GTTask Achievement - how effectively the candidate has identified, illustrated and reported the key features of the information in the task.Coherence and Cohesion - how well the information and ideas are organised, and how well the information is linked.Lexical Resource - the range of vocabulary used, how accurately it is used and how appropriate it is for the task.Grammatical Range and Accuracy - the range of structures used, how accurately they are used and how appropriate they are for the task.

31. POINTS TO REMEMBER • Stick to the correct level of formality. • Always give examples to back up your ideas. • Give your opinion if asked. • Remember to use paragraphs. Miss a line/indent to make them clear. • Make sure to use adequate punctuation.

32. SPEAKING OVERVIEW • Part 1: 4-5 min. • Introduction and interview • After introductions and identity check, the examiner asks the candidate questions about familiar topics. • Part 2: 3-4 min. • Long turn • The candidate receives a task card with a topic. S/He then has 1 minute to prepare and make notes before speaking about the topic for 1 to 2 minutes. • Part 3: 4-5min. • Discussion • The examiner discusses with the candidate more abstract aspects of the topic in Part 2.

33. CANDIDATE SHOULD NOT: • Give a pre-prepared and memorised answer. • Give short yes/no answers to the questions. • Ask the examiner questions.

34. Speaking Part 1 “In this first part I would like to ask you a few questions about yourself. Let’s talk about what you do.” • Do you work or are you a student? • What kind of work do you do? • Do you meet many interesting people in your job? • What are your future professional plans?

35. Speaking Part 1 (2 sets) Let’s move on to talk about shopping. • Who does the weekly or daily shopping in your household? • What other shopping do you enjoy doing? • Is there anything you don’t like about shopping? • What future developments in shopping can you predict?

36. Speaking Part 2 For this you have some paper and a pencil, and here is your topic. I would like you to: Describe an interest or hobby you enjoy. You should say: • what the job or course was • what you had expected before you started • -hat happened on your first day

37. TIPS FOR THE SPEAKING • Use your one minute preparation time; • Answer all parts of the question. It is ok to deviate once this is done; • You don’t have to tell the truth. You can make up something if this is easier; • It is ok to self-correct yourself during the exam; • Make it easy for yourself. Don’t try to speak about a difficult and complex subject unless you have the vocabulary for it. • Be friendly, look the examiner in the eye.

38. Speaking Part 3 Leisure time • In your country, how much time do people spend on work and how much time on leisure? • Would you say the amount of free time has changed much in the last fifty years? • Do you think people will have more or less free time in the future?

39. MORE TIPS • Remember that the examiner is interested in your language NOT your opinion. • Use delaying tactics, if necessary, to give yourself time to think. • Don’t try to give your real opinion if it is too complex and you don’t have the language for it.

40. THANKS FOR COMING! THAIS TARANTINO WWW.PASSENOIELTS.COM.BR THAIS@PASSENOIELTS.COM.BR FACEBOOK: IELTS EXAMINER THAIS TARANTINO