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Andrea of Super Best IELTS is now available to give you online lessons!

Conversation lessons, practice speaking tests, and personalised tips and tricks can all be yours.

Click the link below the picture to view Andrea's italki.com profile and to view rates and lesson times. 

Speaking Lessons With Andrea

How Do They Judge My Speaking Score?

Your IELTS Speaking Score is evaluated based on 4 different categories. These categories are: Fluency and Coherence, Lexical Resource, Grammatical Range and Accuracy, and Pronunciation.

Each category is evaluated on a scale of 0 to 9. The results are then averaged into your total speaking score. This score is often called a “Band.” So a student who performs all categories perfectly will receive Band 9.

But teacher, what do those categories mean??

Let’s take a look at them one by one.

Fluency and Coherence is an evaluation of the flow and speed of your speech. This means that you speak continuously, avoiding too many stops for “Ah…” or “Um…” Behaviours like waiting a very long time to begin, giving a one word answer, or repeating the same words many times will probably cause your Fluency and Coherence score to go down.

To the right you can see a sample of the criteria used by IELTS examiners. Note: This is not exactly what examiners use, but it is very similar.

How can I improve my Fluency and Coherence?

• Relax! Fluency problems are often caused by nervousness and poor preparation. Make sure that you practice speaking whenever possible so that you feel comfortable during the exam.

• Avoid Repetition! Make sure you learn useful vocabulary words that are related to common IELTS topics. This way, you can speak for a long time without repeating yourself.

Lexical Resource means vocabulary. You must use words accurately to answer the question you are asked. Don’t just stick to easy words! Many examiners prefer for you to attempt to use high level words instead of sticking to the easy words that you know.

How can I improve my Lexical Resource?

• Keep a list of new words! Of course, it’s good to learn new words in the dictionary. However, it’s more important for you to USE new words whenever possible. Write sentences using new words and read them out loud. Make sure you can pronounce them correctly.

• Be brave! Many people feel uncomfortable using new words during an exam, but you must give it a try. Using simple, familiar words is not likely to raise your speaking score above Band 5.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy is of course, your grammar. It means using grammar well, but it also means using complex grammar forms. It’s not enough to say, “Exercise makes us healthy.” We must try to make longer, more academic sentences such as, “Exercise is beneficial because it improves circulation and releases endorphins in the brain.”

How can I improve my Grammatical Range?

• Nail the basics! Make sure your basic grammar is perfect. The examiner will notice if you make common mistakes such as “She do her homework” rather than “She does her homework.”

• Practice saying longer sentences! It’s a good idea to find articles with academic grammar and practice reading them aloud. Say them many times until you can read them fluently and automatically.

Finally, there is Pronunciation. The Pronunciation category includes things like basic pronunciation, word stress, sentence stress, and overall expression. To put it simply, Pronunciation is an evaluation of how well the examiner can understand you. Even if you have wonderful vocabulary and perfect grammar, your score will be negatively affected by bad pronunciation.

How can I improve my pronunciation?

• Listen to others and Repeat! Listen to native speakers whenever you can and say words and phrases just like they do. This website provides many resources to help with this!

• Record yourself! Use a smart phone or computer to record yourself saying sentences in English. Do you sound like a native speaker?

What *is* IELTS??

What is the IELTS Exam?

  

The IELTS Exam is an exam designed to assess your abilities in listening, reading, writing and speaking in English. IELTS is available in two test formats, General and Academic. Both exams share the same listening and speaking portions, but are slightly different with regards to reading and writing.

The score is given on a scale of 0 to 9, where 9 is only achievable by those who are virtually native speakers. (To be honest, I know some native speakers who could not score a 9!)

The IELTS exam is required to live and study in many different English-speaking countries. In New Zealand, where Super Best IELTS !? is based, you must have a score of 6.5 to apply for Permanent Residency. In Australia, you need to have a 6. Many Universities also require IELTS, with score requirements generally ranging from 5.5 to 7. (Some Literature and Linguistics courses require 8 or even 9!)

Chances are, if you are visiting this site, you know what score you need!

What are the four sections of the IELTS exam?

The Listening portion of the IELTS exam lasts approximately 40 minutes. You will hear four different recordings, which increase in difficulty as the test goes on. There are 40 questions in the listening section.

• Listening Section 1 is an everyday dialogue (conversation between two or more people) which assesses your understanding of basic English situations. For example, you may hear a man making reservations or speaking to a friend about going to a movie.
• Listening Section 2 is an everyday monologue (short speech by one person) on a familiar topic. You may hear a woman giving directions or describing an object.
• Listening Section 3 is an academic dialogue. You may hear a student speaking to his or her professor about an assignment, or several students discussing a lecture.
• Listening Section 4 is an academic lecture. This section is often quite long and includes high-level vocabulary. It usually consists of a professor speaking about a common academic topic such as business, history, or the environment.

The Reading portion of the IELTS exam lasts 60 minutes and consists of either 2 or 3 texts. The texts are taken from academic journals, books, and newspapers and may be on a variety of topics. The reading section has 40 questions. Reading texts become more difficult as the exam goes on.

The Writing portion of IELTS lasts 60 minutes and has 2 parts. Part 1 is a 150 word essay on either a chart or graph (for academic IELTS) or a 150 word letter (for general IELTS.)

Writing standards for the IELTS exam are quite high, but luckily for you, Super Best IELTS has fantastic tips to help you improve! You can also submit a practice essay for detailed feedback from an IELTS instructor.

The Speaking portion of IELTS lasts approximately 15 minutes and has 3 sections.

• Speaking Section 1 includes everyday questions about you. For example, the examiner may ask how long you have been in New Zealand or what you enjoy doing in your free time. This section is also meant to help you relax and think about topics in English.
• Speaking Section 2 is called the “Long Turn” because you must prepare to speak for about two minutes on a given topic. There are many topics included in the speaking section which we will study over the course of our class.
• Speaking Section 3 is the short answer section. The examiner will ask you general questions related to your “Long Turn” question. These questions should be answered with one or two sentences.

How can I improve my IELTS score?

Of course it is important to practice all the four skills and improve your English overall. This site provides help in all areas and gives secret tips and tricks for achieving the score you need!

We also recommend watching movies, reading books, and listening to songs in English whenever you can. Make some English-speaking friends. The more you expose yourself to English, the more you will understand and the higher you will achieve.

Welcome to Super Best IELTS!?

Whether you are looking to improve your writing, listening, speaking or reading skills to pass the IELTS exam or just want to improve your academic English skills, you've come to the right place!

Here you will find up-to-date information on commonly used speaking and writing topics, along with tips and tricks for improving your reading and listening skills. We can also give one-to-one feedback on your essays and answer your questions about the IELTS exam. All materials are divided by category for easy, targeted improvement.

This site is operated by certified IELTS instructors and examiners with loads of classroom experience. We will update the content to suit your requests, so please get in touch!

Feel free to leave a comment contact or us if you have any questions at:

AndreaForIELTS@gmail.com

Meet Your Instructors!

Andrea Holland has a B.A. in Applied Linguistics from the University of Wisconsin, USA and many years of TEFL training. She has been teaching English as a second language for 6 years and has been specialising in IELTS instruction for the past 4 years. She has also received training in IELTS exam evaluation. Currently employed as an IELTS instructor in Auckland, New Zealand, Andrea is constantly developing new methods for improving English teaching. 

Contact her via email: AndreaforIELTS@gmail.com

David Brown graduated from the University of Waikato, New Zealand with a Bachelors Degree with Honours in Philosophy. He further received a CELTA certificate from The Waikato Institute of Technology. He has been teaching English as a second language for nearly 10 years and has experience in academic training. He currently works as an ESOL instructor in Auckland, New Zealand.