Hey! To end 2024, Shelly is going to take you on a tour of the CEFR. She will explain what the Common European Framework of Reference is and how it underpins every high-quality language test, including IELTS. More importantly, she will explain what happens when "teachers" forget that IELTS is based on the CEFR (Spoiler: It is not good). There is a YouTube video to accompany this post, which will be posted later this week. So, if you would like to see the slides and examples of the CEFR table...
Jan 6, 2025
1 hr 1 min
Hey! Nick and I are back with our final (and second!) episode of 2024 - our breakdown of the essay questions in the Cambridge IELTS General Training 18 book. As usual, we analyse the four questions in turn, offering our ideas and discussing what could make each question easy or difficult for test-takers. And, boy-oh-boy, do the questions in this book range in difficulty! We think they go all the way from a 0 to a 10, which just shows how much the difficulty of a test can vary based on the to...
Dec 23, 2024
59 min
Hello? Is anybody still out there? It has been 410 days since we last released a podcast, but Nick and I are back to spread some Christmas IELTS joy! Is this the start of a new run of My IELTS Classroom episodes, or just some festive fun? Well, you will have to listen to find out! Support the show
Dec 20, 2024
18 min
Yes, after 76 days of silence, Nick and I are back to start a new season of My IELTS classroom! Today, we consider how much IELTS actually prepares you for university life in the UK. We will consider what skills you need to succeed in a degree course and how many are covered in the exam. More importantly, we’ll think about what “gaps” a student might have in their academic skills even if they gave achieved a high-level score. Useful Links Download my free ebook "An ex-examiner's guide to th...
Nov 6, 2023
38 min
Hey! Today Nick and I tackle a reading from the new Cambridge IELTS 18 book. We choose to passage 3 from Test 2, which is titled "An Ideal City". Why? Well, it's because it contains a rather unusual summary completion question. Usually summaries are given in a single paragraph, or divided into two shorter paragraphs. This summary, however, is divided into THREE parts and is much longer than the usual summaries that appear. What difference does this make to the way that you should appr...
Aug 22, 2023
52 min
Hey! Today, Nick and I tackling the listening test from IELTS Cambridge 18 Test 4. This is the latest book of past test papers, so is a great chance for you to practice the most recent IELTS test format. Plus, Nick and I will analyse all of the questions and discuss which we think are "easy" and which are difficult. This is an interactive lesson, so you can download the listening test that we use in this lesson here:. Useful Links Download my free ebook "An ex-examiner's guide to the Band ...
Aug 1, 2023
1 hr 29 min
Hey. Last week Nick and I answered 6 of your questions about the IELTS exam. Today, we go though more of my mailbox to give you answers to enquiries such as how can you tell if a letter is semi-formal or informalwhen you should complain about speaking scoreswhether singular and plural nouns are important in the listening exam or notYou can ask me a question any time by emailing hello@myieltsclassroom,com. Useful Links Download my free ebook "An ex-examiner's guide to the Band IELTS Des...
Jul 25, 2023
46 min
Every week I get dozens of emails from our My IELTS Classroom students, podcast listeners, YouTube followers and Newsletter subscribers asking questions about the IELST exam. They range from questions are about exam procedures to questions about how the exam is marked or how the student can maximise their preparation. Today, I thought that I would share a range of the emails that I have received in the last couple of weeks. Not only will that give you an insight into the life of an IELTS tea...
Jul 18, 2023
37 min
Yes! Finally, on our third attempt, Nick and I have managed to successfully record an episode analysing the essays in the new Cambridge IELTS 18 Academic book. We offer our ideas and insights into the new questions, including how we will organise each essay and what our position would be. Plus, we rate the difficulty level of each question. This is an interactive lesson, so make sure you spend at least 5 minutes generating ideas for each essay before you listen. Useful Links Download my fr...
Jul 11, 2023
46 min
Today, Nick and I discuss one of the most important IELTS questions - why are so many students stuck at a 6.5 for IELTS writing? Is it because there is a conspiracy to trick test-takers, or are there other less sinister reasons? You can find the full episode notes and a transcript of the conversation at http://podcast.myieltsclassroom.com/ This is a re-run of an episode from 2020, so don't be surprised if Nick and I sound so youthful! Episode Notes Following on from our lesson last week, t...
Jun 27, 2023
1 hr 14 min
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