Job Discussion Forums

[cormac]

Ok. I've started teaching Oral english at University, and for the most part, its been working out well enough, but I get the odd request to help students with the Speaking/Listening parts of various exam papers. I've no problem doing so, but I'm at a bit of a loss to know what to focus on since many of the students language skills need a lot of work.

Is there a particular focus by examiners for the IELTS versus the University exams? Actually are university/college exams standardised or different depending on the university in question?

I did two quick sessions with a student going for the IELTS exam just to boost her pronounciation, and I came away thinking she would do quite well. She made some mistakes but mostly she was quite accurate in the vocab she used when speaking. She scored the lowest possible in the exam particularly in the oral section. So.... I'm feeling a wee bit confused.

How do you guys/gals help students for the exams from an oral perspective?
Thanks

[Teatime of Soul]

You definitely want to Google some of the free resources regarding the IELTS exam.

The oral portion is something like 11-15 minutes in three increasingly difficult phases. The final phase asks them to discuss future events so appropriate vocabulary is necessary, (e.g., I'd imagine that...").

There are lists of common topics, (your hometown, holidays in your country, etc.)

I'm sure we have some IELTS examiners on the forum who can much better provide details, so I'll let them have at it.

[randyj]

Like Cormac, I would welcome insight from anyone with experience on the other side of the table in the IELTS oral test. For a lot of middle-school students who have little life experience other than continuous study, speaking extemporaneously poses a challenge. For my students who ask for guidance, I have encouraged them to concentrate on a structure for responding, like 1) overall significance of the subject, 2) personal likes or dislikes, 3) examples, 4) situation in China or the world. I think silence is death in such tests.

[nickpellatt]

This link might have some useful information

http://www.ielts.org/researchers/score_processing_and_reporting.aspx

I think one thing you have to remember is, despite knowing the student outside of the exam, you really dont know what was done inside the exam. A question could have been misinterpreted, and an instruction may not have been followed. A great student can do a bad job, and also vice versa ... a bad student can surprise you.

I also found that with students I know, I start to forget their grammatical mistakes as I understand their meaning very easily. An examiner may not be so forgiving. Typical things with Chinese students (IMO) is articles and mixing noun/adjective forms, rarely affects understanding but might be punished hard in an oral exam.

[MisterButtkins]

[lionheartuk]

I teach a class of students who want to go abroad and who are taking the IELTS exam. I use a book by Mat Clark, who was an IELTS examiner - Ielts speaking- cost 35 rmb. Very good book which goes through all the structures and linking words/phrases, idioms, verbs, adjectives and so on, needed to do well in an oral exam. It also has plenty of exercises for the students. Also covers each stage of the exam and gives plenty of hints and tips. If you can't get the book in a bookstore you can always download a copy

I tell my students to treat the examiner like a friend. You are talking to a friend so relax and speak as you would to your friend. And remember to use the structures. There are so many topics so it is a matter of remembering the basic structures and these can be used for many of the topics.

I have one student who is very good at speaking and clear with her pronunciation but she only got a 5 on the first exam and a 5.5 on the second. Her answers are just basic and her intonation working on. If she used the structures given in the book she would probably have got a better score.