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Teaching the test
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mark1234567890



Joined: 25 Sep 2015
Posts: 4
PostPosted: Sun Feb 07, 2016 3:57 pm    Post subject: Teaching the test Reply with quote
Hi,

I have been assigned to teach a series of test preparation classes for the IELTS test to about 20 adult learners. The in-class teaching material consists of a series of practice tests for the reading section with no other supplementary materials provided.

I’m at a bit of a loss about how to approach these classes. Another teacher at the same school just gets the students to write the tests section by section during the class and then they talk about the answers (basically he tells the students why A is the correct answer etc.) This doesn’t seem like a very effective use of class time in my opinion. The students could write the tests by themselves at home. However, it is the easy option for him and requires little planning or preparation.

I really want to give my students the best possible chance of achieving the band scores that they require, therefore I’m open to other ideas. If you had been assigned this class, how would you approach it? If this was a listening class I’m sure that there are lots of things I could do with the listening script, however reading leaves me scratching my head.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Mark
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spiral78



Joined: 05 Apr 2004
Posts: 11534
Location: On a Short Leash
PostPosted: Sun Feb 07, 2016 4:45 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
It will help us to know who your students are (nationality, current level/s, age range).
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mark1234567890



Joined: 25 Sep 2015
Posts: 4
PostPosted: Mon Feb 08, 2016 3:12 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
spiral78 wrote:
It will help us to know who your students are (nationality, current level/s, age range).


Thanks for the reply.

The students are all young Taiwanese adults with varying levels of ability. Most of them are either college students or have just started their careers. Some of the students can only look for key words in a text, whereas others can paraphrase to quite an advanced level.
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bograt



Joined: 12 Nov 2014
Posts: 331
PostPosted: Mon Feb 08, 2016 10:51 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
It's not clear whether you are only required to teach reading or all the components. Assuming it's just the reading..

Quote:
Another teacher at the same school just gets the students to write the tests section by section during the class and then they talk about the answers (basically he tells the students why A is the correct answer etc.)


This sounds like a really dull class for the students and as you say they're not getting their money's worth.

My advice if you're just teaching for the reading test would be as follows. The students need to get familiar with the test format so you should expose them to all the different question types. However, they also need to develop their general reading and vocabulary skills so you can try and do that in a more interesting way than just doing past papers.

You can try and teach texts in a communicative way by generating interest in the topic, getting them to make predictions, order pictures etc. in pairs/groups, then read the text for gist to check their answers. You can get them to discuss the topics in the readings, then do vocabulary activities with the new words. You can choose your own texts that are the right length for the IELTS tests but are directly relevant to the students.

In short just because they're trying to pass a test doesn't mean their lessons should all be formulaic and dull. All this will involve a lot of prep but I think they'll appreciate it.
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BadBeagleBad



Joined: 23 Aug 2010
Posts: 1186
Location: 24.18105,-103.25185
PostPosted: Mon Feb 08, 2016 6:46 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
While that might be a boring class, it is pretty effective. Part of learning to take a test is knowing the types of questions, how to analyze the questions, and how to look for answers that are partly right and weed them out. I took a GRE Prep class that did just that, and it really helped my score. Add teaching some strategies on how to approach questions and you will help them boost their scores, IF they have enough English to understand the questions.
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bograt



Joined: 12 Nov 2014
Posts: 331
PostPosted: Mon Feb 08, 2016 10:33 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
BadBeagleBad wrote:
While that might be a boring class, it is pretty effective. Part of learning to take a test is knowing the types of questions, how to analyze the questions, and how to look for answers that are partly right and weed them out. I took a GRE Prep class that did just that, and it really helped my score. Add teaching some strategies on how to approach questions and you will help them boost their scores, IF they have enough English to understand the questions.


Yes, I did mention getting to know question types was part of the process.

He said the teacher gives them past test papers and tells them why A is the right answer and the others are wrong. Decent books of test papers actually give this information in the back so all he would actually have to do would be to give them test papers from the book then read out why A is the correct answer and the others are wrong. Would you pay someone to do that week after week?

Also, at the of the day, strategies will only take you so far if you don't have the vocab.
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scot47



Joined: 10 Jan 2003
Posts: 15343
PostPosted: Tue Feb 09, 2016 8:53 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
"Boring" ? The idea that foreign language learning should be "fun" is at the root of many of our problems. Learning a foreign language to any level of competence requires self-discipline and countless hours of study. Do not encourage the misconception that we should encourage "fun".
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bograt



Joined: 12 Nov 2014
Posts: 331
PostPosted: Tue Feb 09, 2016 9:17 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
scot47 wrote:
"Boring" ? The idea that foreign language learning should be "fun" is at the root of many of our problems. Learning a foreign language to any level of competence requires self-discipline and countless hours of study. Do not encourage the misconception that we should encourage "fun".


You're the only one who mentioned 'fun.' I was just talking about not making the classes boring or dull. Are you not in favor of that either?
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scot47



Joined: 10 Jan 2003
Posts: 15343
PostPosted: Tue Feb 09, 2016 10:25 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
"Boring" and "dull" commented others. My riposte was to dismiss the idea that learning should be "fun". Horsenuts.
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grahamb



Joined: 30 Apr 2003
Posts: 1945
PostPosted: Tue Feb 09, 2016 12:45 pm    Post subject: Be happy in your work! Reply with quote
Here I must disagree with my esteemed compatriot. As both a teacher and student I've used pedagogical activities which are stimulating, challenging and, on occasion, fun. A laugh and a smile can go a long way.
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johnslat



Joined: 21 Jan 2003
Posts: 13859
Location: Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA
PostPosted: Tue Feb 09, 2016 1:25 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Dear grahamb,

Scot47 eschews smiles and laughter - bah, humbug. Life is real; life is earnest.

“Looking for fun? Go to a party,” and went on to explain that teachers should not attempt to make every lesson “fun.” Engaging, yes, but not fun. This was also a relief–having seen a half-dozen movies where teachers seemed to be a cross between rock stars and stand-up comedians, I was happy to discover that I wasn’t expected to constantly make my students laugh and smile with joyful abandon."