General Advice

Our posts & podcasts

• All Posts, 
• Writing, 
• Speaking, 
• Listening, 
• Reading, 
• Grammar, 
• General Advice, 
• Podcast

• 

  Is the IELTS exam format changing in 2023?

  07 February 2023

  Please do NOT panic! I want to make it clear right at the start of this blog post that there are no major changes happening to the IELTS exam (that I am aware of) in 2023. Cambridge is not adding a new section to the speaking exam, or changing the amount of time that you have for writing, or making the reading passages more difficult. However, some of our students have reported over the last few weeks that some of the exams that they have sat at the start of 2023 have deviated slightly from the current Cambridge book format. Today, Nick and I explain what those changes are and how the IELTS exam format changing in 2023 could affect your[…]

• 

  What is the new IELTS One Skill Retake?

  01 November 2022

  Last week, IELTS IDP announced that they are planning to introduce a new test called the IELTS One Skill Retake. This will give students the opportunity to retake only one section of the four skills (Listening, Reading, Writing or Speaking) in the IELTS test if they did not achieve the score they aimed for the first time around. 

• 

  IELTS Success Story: Yiqi, China

  26 July 2022

  Hey! It has been a long time since we featured one of our student success stories. Why? Good question! I think that I have been so busy teaching lessons, making YouTube videos, and running the school that I just forgot! That’s what I am delighted today to introduce you to Yiqi – one of our IELTS success stories from China. Yiqi was accepted onto a PhD course in the UK, but needed a 7.5 overall, with no less than 7.0 in writing. She found that the overall score was easy to achieve as she was able to hit a 9.0 in Reading and Listening, but after 4 attempts, she was still no closer to a 7.0 in Writing. Want to[…]

• 

  IELTS test format change 2022!

  28 June 2022

  Hey! One complaint that IELTS test-takers have been making for decades is the order that the exams are taken on test-day. Starting with listening and ending with writing often means that students are tired when the attempt the most difficult (and often most important) section of the test.This week IDP and the British Council announced that there will be an IELTS test format change 2022.

• 

  How to get your lost IELTS confidence back!

  07 June 2022

  At My IELTS Classroom, we take the emotional welfare of our students very seriously. In the past we have spoken to a trained psychologist about how test-takers can remain calm before and during their exam (and if you haven’t watched that episode, I strongly recommend that you do as even I learned a lot!), and have written a lot of about motivation and how to get it back if you have lost it. Today, though, we are going to look at what to do if you have lost IELTS confidence.

• 

  Are you ready for IELTS Motivation May?

  10 May 2022

  Hey! We all know that it can be hard to find the motivation to start studying for IELTS, which is why Nick and I have recorded so many episodes in the past about finding motivation. First, we did our 30-day motivation challenge, then we spoke about how to avoid procrastination in by eating those frogs, and last year we discovered a new way of self-studying by using metacognition.

• 

  Plan your IELTS preparation perfectly!

  08 April 2022

  Preparing for IELTS can feel daunting with four modules to prepare for and seemingly endless amounts of information available online to “help” you do so. But, how long do you really need to prepare for IELTS? And what should you cover if you only have one month or two months to prepare? That is what Nick and I will discuss in this episode – by the end, you should know how to plan your IELTS preparation perfectly!

• 

  IELTS Reading Matching Sentence Endings

  15 March 2022

  Hey! In IELTS reading matching sentence endings is a strange question type. At first glance, they can seem simple. After all, your only task is to match the start of a sentence with its correct end. And, as all of the possible endings are given to you, the challenge seems minimal.

• 

  The My IELTS Classroom YouTube channel is (finally) here!

  08 March 2022

  Finally! After 3 years of promises, the My IELTS Classroom YouTube channel is finally launching at 7am GMT on March 11th 2022!!!!

• 

  Should you make an IELTS complaint?

  02 February 2022

  Hey! There are always times in life when things don’t go as planned. You buy a wardrobe and think it will take an hour to put together, but it takes 10. Or you have a lovely week planned and then you unexpectedly have your wisdom tooth removed! But what happens if things do not go as planned in the IELTS exam? When should you complain? And, more importantly, how can you make an IELTS complaint? That is what Nick and I discuss today.

Posts navigation

• All Posts, 
• Writing, 
• Speaking, 
• Listening, 
• Reading, 
• Grammar, 
• General Advice, 
• Podcast