IELTS SPEAKING LESSON IELTS Speaking Topic Goals TEACHERS GUIDE SOSO TRAINING TEAM 2013
Table of Contents Objectives 3 51 Talk Leveling System 4 Beginner 5 Elementary 5 Intermediate 6 Upper Intermediate 6 Advanced 7 Expert 7 General Flow of the Free Trial Lesson 8 Important Reminders 8 Warm-up 9 Textbook Teaching Scenario 1: Student is not planning to take IELTS 10 Scenario 2: Student is planning to take IELTS 11 Lesson Material: IELTS 12 Sample Dialogue 15 Wrap-up Wrap-up: Scenario 1 17 Wrap-up: Scenario 2 18 Recommended Textbooks according to Levels 19 51Talk TRAINING TEAM 2013
Objectives 1. Learn and understand the 51Talk Leveling System; 2. Know how to give an IELTS Speaking free trial lesson properly; 3. Correctly level the student based on the IELTS Speaking Band Score and the 51Talk Leveling System; and 4. Convince the student to enroll at 51Talk.
Leveling System 6 main levels or stages 16 levels IELTS - <3 4-5 5-6 6-7 7-9 TOEFL - - 57-86 87-109 110-120 - TOEIC 120-220 255-245 550-780 785-940 945-990 - The 51Talk Leveling System is comparable to the scoring system of popular English exams. For example, this diagram illustrates that a student in our Intermediate stage is comparable to an IELTS examinee who can get a band 4-5 score.
Leveling System BEGINNER English beginners with little or no experience. CAN make simple statements on personal details and very familiar topics; manage very short, isolated, mainly pre-packaged utterances; and search for expressions and articulate less familiar words independently, albeit with much pausing. CAN USE: Be verbs Simple Present Present Continuous Tense Yes-No Questions with Do ELEMENTARY English users who have basic knowledge of grammar, structure, and know some situational conversations. CAN relate basic information on familiar matters using simple terms; make himself understood in very short utterances use some simple structures correctly, but may systematically make basic mistakes. CAN USE: Regular Verbs Simple Past Tense Irregular Verbs Simple Past Tense Simple Future Tense Comparatives
Leveling System INTERMEDIATE English users who have limited expression patterns but can conduct daily conversations with ease. CAN relate comprehensibly the main points he/she wants to make; link simple elements into a connected sequence to discuss familiar subjects within his/her field of interest; and use a general repertoire associated with more predictable situations. CAN USE: Present Perfect Tense Past Continuous Tense Should/ have to/ ought to Verbal Gerund Verbal Infinitive Verbal Participle UPPER INTERMEDIATE English users who can use English expressions and conduct conversation fluently using good grammar. CAN express points of view at length without noticeable strain; interact on a wide range of subjects related to his/her field of interest; and correct his/her communication errors independently. CAN USE: Future Continuous Tense Present Perfect Tense Modals of Obligation Used to Conditionals Conjunctions
Leveling System ADVANCED English users who can communicate in English confidently and have mastered professional and business English. CAN show fluent, spontaneous expression in clear, well-structured speech; and give clear, detailed descriptions of complex subjects with high degree of accuracy and minimal errors. CAN USE: Past Perfect Tense Present perfect Continuous Tense Subjunctive Mood Causatives Mixed Conditionals Adjective + Preposition Pairs EXPERT English users whose skills are the same as those of native speakers skills. CAN convey finer shades of meaning precisely and naturally; interact spontaneously and fluently; and produce clear, smoothly-flowing, well-structured descriptions. CAN USE: Future Perfect Tense Future Perfect Continuous Tense Past Perfect Tense Registers Mixed Conditionals Discourse Markers Subjunctive Mood
Free Trial Lesson Flow 3-minute Warm-up 19-minute Textbook Teaching 3-minute Wrap-up 25-minute Lesson IMPRESS the student! Be responsive to the student - the experience of the student must be pleasant/good otherwise they won't enroll; and if they don t enroll, you won t have lessons to give in the future. BEFORE THE LESSON MAKE SURE THAT: your internet connection is STABLE enough for QQ and Skype. your background is a SOLID-COLORED WALL (preferably WHITE). your teaching space is BRIGHT and well-lit. your attire is PRESENTABLE (preferably business casual). DURING THE LESSON Video Call is a must. Speak slowly and clearly. Give corrections using the chat box for ALL lessons (including FREE TRIAL IELTS LESSON). DURING THE WRAP-UP Evaluate the student based on his/her PRONUNCIATION; GRAMMAR AND SENTENCE CONSTRUCTION; VOCABULARY; and FLUENCY. Estimate the student s level based on his/her performance during the lesson. Explain how more lessons will help the student become better in English. AFTER THE LESSON Send the lesson memo right after the lesson (especially if you have no succeeding lesson).
SMILE! Start with an enthusiastic, lively voice. Make sure you make a video call. Project a light and positive impression. Sit down properly. Type down your name as you say it. Give an overview on how the lesson will proceed. Establish rapport with the student as you do so. If the student mentions apprehension regarding the lesson, reassure him that you will guide and help him during the lesson. Don t worry. I will help you. 3-minute Warm-up Hi! Good morning, Summer! Welcome to 51Talk English Online School. We are number 1 in China. I am Teacher Bianca and I will be your teacher for today. How are you? Let me explain what we will do today. First, I will be asking you some questions to help me assess your English skills. Then, we will work on the IELTS Speaking Topic you chose. Finally, I will give feedback on your strengths and weaknesses in English and how we can help you improve. Make sure that your rate of speech is adjusted to the student s. Give enough time for the student to respond. Choose words appropriate to the student s level. In general, the simpler the language, the better. Ensure that your connection is stable enough for QQ and Skype by asking the student. Adjust your video and audio settings accordingly. M a k e the student feels that you are credible enough to teach. Don t mention any other information that s not needed. Is my English okay? Is it too fast for you? Can you hear me well? Can you see me clearly? Okay, Summer, I've been teaching English for two years. I've taught students from different countries including China... Ask the following questions one at a time. Pay attention to the student s answer. Tell me, why do you want to improve your English here? Do you want to improve your speaking? Listening? Vocabulary? Pronunciation? Grammar? * Please make sure you give the student enough time to respond. Paraphrase the student s answer to verify your understanding. Tell the student that you will give corrections during the lesson. Before we start our lesson, I would like you to know that I will give corrections when needed. Is it okay with you?
19-minute Textbook Teaching IMPORTANT: There are two possible scenarios for IELTS lessons. Either the student has no plans of taking the IELTS and has no idea what IELTS is about or the student had taken it previously or plans to take the IELTS in the future. This means the student might expect a mock IELTS-Speaking test lesson. If the first scenario is applicable, follow the script below. If the second scenario is applicable, follow the script on the next page. SCENARIO 1: Student is not planning to take the IELTS. Know the student s purpose in taking this lesson. There are things you have to know form the student: Does the student know what the IELTS exam is? Has he taken the exam before? You reserved IELTS Speaking Practice -Goals, am I right? Have you taken the IELTS test before? Are you planning to take the exam? NO, Teacher. THE STUDENT HAS NO KNOWLEDGE OF THE IELTS SPEAKING EXAM. Give an overview of the IELTS Exam. Emphasize that 51Talk specializes ONLY in the speaking part. I see. Actually, IELTS stands for International English Language Test System. This is a test to evaluate how well a person reads, writes, listens to and speaks in English. To people who want to study or work abroad, they need to score high in this exam. The exam has four general parts, namely, Reading, Writing, Listening, and Speaking. 51Talk specializes ONLY in the speaking test, which has three parts. We offer a course to help those who plan to take the exam improve their speaking skills. Proceed with the lesson. Tell the student that you will talk about Goals since this is the topic he/she chose. Oh, it s okay. We can still proceed with the lesson you reserved. The questions in this lesson are related to goals, your dreams in life, what you want to do in the future. So this is also a good lesson for you...
19-minute Textbook Teaching Scenario 2: The student is planning to take the IELTS exam. Know the student s purpose in taking this lesson. There are things you have to know form the student: Does the student know what the IELTS exam is? Has he taken the exam before? You reserved IELTS Speaking Practice-Goals, am I right? Have you taken the IELTS test before? Are you planning to take the exam? YES, Teacher. I m taking it next month. Ask: When will he take the exam? What is the student s target score? Oh, that s great! So you re taking the exam in June we still have one month to prepare! Now, since you are about to take the exam, what s your target score in the speaking test? Teacher, last time I got 6. I want to get a band score of 7 this time. Type the Band Score description on the chat box and tell the student that he/she should be able to show proficiency in all the areas specified in the IELTS descriptors. Band 7 is a high score so if your student wants to get this score, he needs to be fluent enough to talk about a variety of topics. Take the time to study the descriptors per band so you have an idea what to work on with your student. Good, you have a goal! If your target score is 7, here is the description of your target. Please look at the chat box for the description. These will be our target characteristics. Through a series of IELTS speaking exercises and coaching, 51Talk will help you hit this target! So, let s begin? First, I will be asking you questions on familiar topics; these are questions in part 1 of the speaking test. Tell your student that you will not use the chat box unless really necessary so he/she can practice speaking & listening. By the way, since we are practicing for IELTS speaking, I will try not to write anything on the chat box, okay? We have to work on your listening comprehension, as well as your speaking skills, so no writing, okay?
Lesson Material
Lesson Material
IELTS-Goals IELTS SPEAKING TEST PRACTICE GOALS IELTS SPEAKING PART 1 1. What do you do? Do you study? Elaborate. Do you work? Say something about your work. Sample Dialogue 2. Do you wish to study or pursue your career abroad? If yes, INTRODUCTION Acknowledge the question by using useful phrases to convey how you feel about the question. Wow, that s a very timely question since... Thank you for the question... Oh, this must be the perfect time for me to share about my plans of... Actually... CONTENT Yes, I do... I have been dreaming of/planning to/thinking about... Start talking about your plans... Why abroad? Which country? Why there? What do you wish to do there? Study what? (If you wish to work, what kind of work?) Steps taken to pursue the plan... further steps... (mention that one of which is taking the IELTS exam) CONCLUSION Emphasize your main point in answering the question. If no, INTRODUCTION Acknowledge the question by using useful phrases to convey how you feel about the question. Start talking about your plans... Why not abroad? Study what? (If you wish to work, what kind of work?) Steps taken to pursue the plan... further steps... CONCLUSION Emphasize your main point in answering the question. 3. What are your personal goals? IELTS SPEAKING PART 2 You have 1 minute to prepare. Use this me to organize your points. Arrange your ideas according to their importance (from the most important to the least or vice versa.) Speak in 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. Describe the way you see yourself 10 years from now. You should say: What you want to achieve in 10 years time (only one main point) How you think you will be able to achieve it Some specific steps you have taken which you consider related to achieving it
IELTS-Goals Sample Dialogue IELTS SPEAKING PART 3 Are goals necessary to achieve success? How are plans and goals related? It is important to set goals? Teacher: In this lesson, you will answer questions on familiar topics. These are questions in Part1. In each question, you have the guide how to answer. So, let s begin. Student, what do you do? IELTS SPEAKING PART 1 1. What do you do? - Do you study? Elaborate. - Do you work? Say something about your work. (Guide the student according to the hints provided below the question.) INTRODUCTION Know the student s purpose in taking this lesson. There are things you have to know form the student: Does the student know what the IELTS exam is? (Has he taken the exam before?) Scenario 1: THE STUDENT HAS NO KNOWLEDGE OF THE IELTS SPEAKING EXAM Give the overview of the IELTS Exam. Emphasize that this lesson will ONLY focus on the speaking part of the test. Example: Student: No, I don t know IELTS exam. Teacher: I see. Actually, IELTS stands for International English Language Test System. This is a test to evaluate how well a person reads, writes, listens to and speaks in English. To people who want to study or work abroad, they need to score high in this exam. The exam has four general parts, namely, Reading, Writing, Listening, and Speaking. 51Talk specializes ONLY in the speaking test, which has three parts. We offer a course to help those who plan to take the exam improve their speaking skills. Student: I see. So this is to prepare for the exam... I am not taking the exam. Teacher: Oh, it s okay. We can still proceed with the lesson you reserved. The questions in this lesson are related to goals, your dreams in life, what you want to do in the future. So this is also a good lesson for you. Student: Okay. Teacher: In this lesson, you will answer questions on familiar topics. These are questions in part 1. In each question, you have a guide for how to answer. So, let s begin. Student, what do you do? INTRODUCTION Does the student know what the IELTS exam is? (Has he taken the exam before?) Scenario 2: THE STUDENT KNOWS THE IELTS SPEAKING EXAM; HE IS TAKING THE EXAM SOON. Ask: When will he take the exam? What is the student s target score? With these, you will estimate how much you can do to help the student. Also, knowing his target band score will guide you in employing effective teaching techniques tailored to the needs of your student. As the student mentions his target score, copy-paste the description of his target score from the IELTS speaking band descriptors PDF. Tell the student that in 51Talk, we help students by giving them effective techniques to attain their target band score, or even better. Your goal as a teacher is to assess the student s speaking skills and see how you can help him/her improve so as to reach his target band score. Please take the time to read the descriptors of IELTS Speaking to guide you.
IELTS-Goals Sample Dialogue Example: Student: I will take the examination. Teacher: That s good to know. When do you plan to take the exam? Student: On May 28 this year. Teacher: Oh, that s going to be next month. At least we have a month to prepare. Student: Yes, one month. Teacher: Now, since you are about to take the exam, what s your target score in the speaking test? Student: Hmm... Last time I had 6. I want to have 7 this time. Teacher: Good, you have a goal! If your target score is 7, here is the description of your target. Please look at the chat box for the description. These will be our target characteristics. Through a series of IELTS speaking exercises and coaching, 51Talk will help you hit this target! So let s begin with our practice. First, I will be asking you questions on familiar topics; these are questions in part 1 of the speaking test. EVALUATION This must not be too detailed as the wrap-up focuses on your persuading the student to enrol in 51Talk. Just review the most important feedback points and tell the student that the details of your evaluation will be in the lesson memo. Example: Teacher: From the way you answered the questions in this lesson, I see that in fluency and coherence, you were able to (describe the characteristics the student displayed). In terms of pronunciation, you were able to... PERSUASION TO ENROLL I think you were able to display most of the characteristics described in band score 6.We just have to work on (give areas for improvement)... The good news is you can actually reach that or higher! In 51Talk, we have competitive IELTS speaking mentors who can give you simulations of the real IELTS exam. We did our research on possible topics for the speaking test and prepared review materials with important hints. As we guide you to give impressive answers and employ effective answering techniques, we will work together to reach your target score... Explain to the student that 51Talk teachers are trained to teach IELTS materials. Because of this, teachers will be able to help the student get a high band score. What can 51Talk do to address his identified learning needs? In 51Talk, we can help you practice speaking about a variety of topics and target your areas for improvement.
3-minute Wrap-up (Scenario 1) Go back to the lesson objectives as you evaluate your student. Mention how the objectives were met during the lesson. Give specific feedback regarding your student s performance during the lesson. Tell the student what you think his/her estimated IELTS Speaking Band Score is based on his/her performance during the lesson. Make sure to give the corresponding 51Talk Main Level/Stage also. See the pages on Leveling for this. Today, you practiced answering the Speaking part of the IELTS exam, with Goals as the main topic. You were able to express your thoughts but you paused a lot between sentences. This is because you were searching for words to express what you mean. You need to learn more words so that you can easily answer other IELTS questions. In the IELTS Speaking Test, I think you will get a band score of 3. In the 51Talk Levelling system, that means you are an Elementary-level student. Learning English is a long-term process so we really need to practice more. We can talk about another topic or textbook in our next lesson, if you want... Ask the student for feedback and respond accordingly to the student s feedback. What do you think of our lesson today? Ask the student for feedback and respond accordingly to the student s feedback. I m glad you liked our lesson. This is a free trial lesson, so enrol now if you want to have more lessons like this. Tell the student exactly how you can help him improve if he enrols for your next lesson. As I said earlier, we can discuss another textbook or topic in our next lesson. We can work on improving your skills together. If you want another IELTS Speaking lesson, you can choose another topic next time. So join 51Talk and book my next lesson. I ll be waiting for you, okay? See you! Goodbye!
3-minute Wrap-up (Scenario 2) Give specific feedback regarding your student s performance during the lesson by dividing your feedback into three parts: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3. Tell the student what you think his/her estimated IELTS Speaking Band Score is based on his/her performance during the lesson. Make sure to give the corresponding 51Talk Main Level/Stage also. You can then tell your student how he can reach his target IELTS band score by giving specific areas for improvement and telling him/her how you or other 51Talk teacher s can help. I think you did well in our lesson today, Summer. You spoke clearly and it was not difficult for me to understand your answers! In Part 1, you were able to. In Part 2, you were able to...in Part 3, you were able to... We just need to work more on your fluency and pronunciation. In the IELTS Speaking Test, I think you will get a band score of 6. In the 51Talk Levelling system, that means you are an Upper-Intermediate student. This also means that reaching your target band score of 7 is not difficult to do. We just need to practice some more... Ask the student for feedback and respond accordingly to the student s feedback. What do you think of our lesson today? Respond to the student s feedback. I m glad you liked our lesson. This is a free trial lesson, so enrol now if you want to have more lessons like this. Tell the student exactly how you can help him improve if he enrols for your next lesson. When you enrol, we can continue practicing your speaking skills by discussing one topic at a time. We have several IELTS topics for you to choose from! You will reach your target band score faster if you keep practicing. So join 51Talk and book my next lesson. I ll be waiting for you, okay? See you! Goodbye!
3-minute Wrap-up Go to http://www.51talk.com/course/level2.php to copy-paste the textbook title into the chat box for the student s reference. Include the textbook in your lesson memo.