Understanding IELTS
Offered By: British Council via FutureLearn
Course Description
Overview
IELTS is the world’s most popular English language test for higher education and global migration. If you want to study in another country or to move abroad for work, you may need IELTS to prove your English language ability.
IELTS is a task-based test covering the four language skills (listening, reading, writing and speaking). The test is developed to provide a fair, accurate and reliable assessment of your English language proficiency.
This program of four courses explains each section of the test, what is being tested and what you have to do to demonstrate your language proficiency to the examiner.
Syllabus
Courses under this program:
Course 1: Understanding IELTS: Speaking
-Find out what you need to know about the IELTS Speaking test and learn how to improve your test performance.
Course 2: Understanding IELTS: Listening
-Find out what you need to know about the IELTS Listening test and learn techniques to improve your test performance.
Course 3: Understanding IELTS: Reading
-Find out what you need to know about the IELTS Reading test and learn techniques and strategies to improve your test performance.
Course 4: Understanding IELTS: Writing
-Find out what you need to know about the IELTS Writing test and learn techniques and strategies to improve your test performance.
Courses
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Prepare for success in your IELTS Speaking test
The four courses in the British Council’s Understanding IELTS ExpertTrack give you a complete guide to everything you need to know as you prepare for the IELTS test.
This 3-week course focuses on the speaking test. You’ll look in detail at the three parts of the test and learn about the four criteria that will be used to assess your spoken English.
Build your confidence in English speaking
The course will begin with an introduction to the team, where you can find out how they can help you succeed in the IELTS speaking test. We’ll take a look at some examples of questions in part 1 of the test and think about how best to answer them.
In order to build your confidence, we’ll look at ways of improving the fluency and coherence of your answers and come up with effective strategies.
Understand each part of the IELTS speaking exam
In the second part of the test, you’ll get the chance to shine and give a successful talk. We’ll discuss the characteristics of an effective talk and explore how to prepare.
We’ll evaluate the band descriptors and see what you need to do to impress regarding English grammar and pronunciation. Finally, we’ll delve into part 3 of the speaking test and you’ll get to do a practice interview.
Through our tips, techniques and practice activities, you’ll build confidence and feel fully prepared on test day.
This IELTS preparation course is aimed at anyone who wants to improve their English speaking skills in preparation for the IELTS Speaking test. It might also be useful for IELTS teachers. There are no formal entry requirements.
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Prepare for success in your IELTS Reading test
The four courses in the British Council’s Understanding IELTS ExpertTrack will give you a complete guide to everything you need to know as you prepare for the IELTS test.
This course focuses on the reading test. You’ll explore the format of the test and the kinds of text you need to read, and develop learning strategies to help you tackle the different task types, from multiple choice to true, false, and not given.
You’ll also look at general reading strategies that will help you cope with the kind of complex texts on unfamiliar topics that you’ll meet in your IELTS studies.
This IELTS preparation course is aimed at anyone who wants to improve their English reading skills in preparation for the IELTS Reading test. It might also be useful for IELTS teachers. There are no formal entry requirements.
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Prepare for success in your IELTS Listening test
The four courses in the British Council’s Understanding IELTS ExpertTrack will give you a complete guide to everything you need to know as you prepare for the IELTS test.
This course focuses on the Listening test. You’ll explore the format of the test and develop learning strategies to help you tackle the different types of tasks you’ll meet.
You’ll also look at general English listening strategies that will help you cope with the kind of complex texts on unfamiliar topics that you’ll meet in your IELTS studies.
This IELTS preparation course is aimed at anyone who wants to improve their English listening skills in preparation for the IELTS Listening test. It will also be useful for anyone preparing for another English proficiency listening test.
It might also be useful for IELTS teachers. There are no formal entry requirements.
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Prepare for success in your IELTS Writing test
The four courses in the British Council’s Understanding IELTS ExpertTracks give you a complete guide to everything you need to know as you prepare for the IELTS test.
This 3-week course focuses on the Academic Writing test. You’ll explore the test format and develop strategies for each type of task.
Understanding the IELTS writing tasks
We will begin with an introduction to the IELTS Academic Writing test format, where you’ll receive tips on how to get the most out of this course. You’ll then discover how the assessments work.
You’ll gain an introduction to charts and data, where you’ll learn how to write about numbers and compare numerical data. This part of the course will also involve you learning the proper language to describe dynamic graphs and tables.
Improve your essay writing skills
Next, you’ll be tackling essay writing, which is an important part of task 2 of the writing exam. In order to answer the question at hand, you’ll learn to generate, develop and organise your ideas into a clear plan.
Using your plan, you’ll discover how to create an effective and organised essay, with a strong introduction and conclusion. Finally, we’ll discuss how to write in a more formal style, and go over how grammatical range and accuracy is assessed.
This IELTS preparation course is aimed at anyone who wants to improve their English writing skills in preparation for the IELTS Academic Writing test. It will also be helpful if you’re preparing for the General Training test or the writing section of other English proficiency test.
The course might also be useful for IELTS teachers. There are no formal entry requirements.
Taught by
suzanne mordue, Chris Cavey and David Lewis
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