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The International English Language Testing System (IELTS) is issued by the British Council and it is one of the most recognized language qualifications required for entry into British, Australian (and many American) universities and colleges of higher education. If you are planning to study at a University overseas or work permanently in a country where English is the first language, you may need to provide the IELTS qualification to demonstrate your level of English.
During our intensive IELTS Preparation Course UK you’ll have plenty of opportunities to do focused practice and gain the confidence you need to achieve your IELTS goals.
What you will get:
Our maximum class size of 12 is smaller
than the UK Average – 14 or even 16 students.
Our courses are more intensive (22.5 hours per week)
than most UK schools.
One of our Director of Studies, Lewis Richards, has written and co-written not one, but two IELTS textbooks! IELTS Advantage and Build Up to IELTS and are used by teachers and in schools internationally. Not only is Lewis a published IELTS author, but he is a highly demanded public speaker who attends many events throughout the year to give presentations on a variety of English language teaching related topics, from how to improve your IELTS score to teaching IELTS exam preparation skills to different levels.
We have a very experienced team of IELTS specialists at LSI/IH Portsmouth. Teachers who join LSI/IH Portsmouth must be highly qualified and experienced to earn a position here. In addition:
LSI/IH Portsmouth was recently ranked the joint number one English Language school in the UK. This ranking was given to us in part due to the excellent standard of our IELTS course and the dedication of our IELTS specialist teaching team.
The IELTS module consists of 4 sections. Each one related to the essential English language skills: listening, reading, writing and speaking. Both IELTS General English and IELTS Academic English share the same speaking and listening tests, but the Reading and writing sections for the General and Academic English exams are different.
Through dynamic lessons, we’ll focus on all the skills tested in the exam but also on those specific areas necessary for IELTS. You will have the opportunity to practice with a wide range of activities to improve your performance.
It lasts 11-14 minutes and it includes an individual interview with the IELTS examiner, divided into 3 parts:
Part one: You’ll have to talk about yourself and your life in general. For example: Where are you from? Do you do any sport?
Part two: You’ll have some time to prepare (about a minute) to talk about a specific topic the examiner will give you. You’ll need to talk for about 2 minutes on this topic. Example topic: Talk about a place of natural beauty in your country
Part three: Finally, you will have to answer questions related to the previous topic. Example question: What problems can tourism create?
IELTS Speaking tip!
In order to get better at IELTS speaking, first you need to identify the type of questions you’ll be asked and then practice specifically answering them. At the same time, try recording yourself doing it. Then, listen back to the audio taking into account aspects such as fluency, grammar, pronunciation, vocabulary. While you listen to your own recording, try to identify your weak points so that you can work on them to improve your speaking.
It lasts approximately 40 minutes and it includes 40 questions which can be multiple choice, matching, note completion, etc. Most candidates will tell you that the difficulty of the listening test increases from start to end. This is probably because of the four parts it is separated into:
Part one: Typically, you’ll listen to a conversation about a typically ‘everyday english topic’. For example: A customer booking a hotel.
Part two: Typically, you’ll listen to a monologue about a general English topic. Example topic: A tour of a campsite.
Part three: This is when the listening becomes more academic. Usually, part three is a conversation on an academic topic which usually means that you’ll listen to students or students and a teacher discussing an academic issue. For example: Which modules a student wants to study next year at University.
Part four: Finally, there is a monologue on an academic topic. Probably given by a lecturer or someone similar. For example: A brief history of cave art.
The real challenge of this section of the test lies in the fact that you’ll have to listen for specific details and the recording will be played only once.
IELTS Listening tip!
Something that is really useful in your IELTS preparation is to focus on listening for specific content and connect it with a specific activity, such as identifying vocabulary. To keep you engaged and motivated in this process, we recommend choosing topics that you enjoy or are interested in.
The IELTS writing section takes 60 minutes and has 2 parts. For the first part, you’ll have to write at least 150 words. For the second part, you’ll be asked to write at least 250 words.
Academic Part 1 You’ll have to write 150 words in approximately 20 minutes describing some data. For example: Two pie charts comparing data.
Academic Part 2 This is a 250 word essay which needs to be written in approximately 40 minutes answering an essay question. For example: What are the advantages and disadvantages of shopping online?
The Academic paper includes topics that you might find in university studies.
General English Part 1 For this, you’ll need to write 150 words in about 20 minutes about a general ‘everyday English topic’. For example: A letter to a friend inviting her to come and visit you.
General English Part 2 This is almost exactly the same as the Academic essay, a 250 word essay which needs to be written in about 40 minutes answering an essay question. For example: What can be done to stop children eating so much junk food?
The General writing paper is supposed to reflect ‘real life’ English writing skills.
IELTS Writing tip!
Time management is key. Many test takers find it really challenging to be able to write 2 pieces of writing within the allocated time. The more you practice on the topics you’ll be assessed, the more familiar you’ll get with them and, as a result, you’ll become faster at writing.
Any IELTS Writing Preparation Course will also recommend that in order to get good writing, you need to do lots of reading as well, to acquire sentence structure and vocabulary.
In the IELTS Reading Comprehension test, you’ll have to answer 40 questions in 60 minutes. They can be in the form of multiple choice, matching parts of sentences or completing notes.
General English reading Consists of 3 reading texts, the first 2 are lighter / shorter texts. The third is a more detailed, longer, academic type text.
Academic English reading Is also made up of 3 reading texts. However, all 3 are detailed, academic type text.
IELTS Reading tip!
With 40 questions in 3 different texts with tricky vocabulary, chances are, your ability to focus might tend to fade. Make the intention of focusing on one question at a time and if you are having trouble with it, skip it and come back to it later.
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While studying IELTS in Portsmouth, we can help to find the best accommodation for you! Whether you want to live with a local homestay family, in one of our self-catering residences, or choose to find your own accommodation.
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Studying English doesn’t happen in a classroom! with our full, varied and exciting social programme you can have fun, meet other people with the same interests, and practise your English in a social setting! Find out more about our after-school activities and weekend trip!