IELTS Teacher Training Success Story, Alisa!

Hey! Students take the IELTS exam for a range of reasons, but most are either migrating to an English-speaking country or planning to study in one. However, occasionally, we get to work with a student who has a totally different and much simpler goal – to improve their own teaching. Alisa is such a student. Having achieved a very respectable 7.5 in the academic exam in her first attempt, Alisa decided to try to better herself and managed to climb from a 6.5 to a 7.5 in writing, and from a 7.5 to an 8.5 in speaking after preparing with us at My IELTS Classroom. Today, you can listen to her full story to learn how the course not only improved Alisa’s skills, but also allowed her to grow in confidence. Plus, if you are interested in IELTS teacher training, drop me a line as I am planning to start live courses from the spring.

Below, you can find a summary of the episode, which includes all of the links to useful materials and the times of each part of the discussion (so you can go directly to the part you want to listen to) 🚀

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IELTS Teacher Training Success Story, Alisa!

00:00 – 07:52 Introduction (Nick and I are both tired – listen to find out why!).  

07:53  – END IELTS student success – Alisa!

I know that many teachers complete my IELTS writing course in order to improve their own understanding of the test. It might sound strange, but I encourage this – as far as I am concerned, the more well-informed teachers there are out there in the world, the less chance there is that a student will waste time, effort, and money because of bad advice.

Alisa is one such teacher. Having studied linguists at university, she obviously has very strong language skills, but, unlike many students, she realised that this was probably not enough on its own for her to teach IELTS well. So, what was her solution? To take the test herself!

I think that this is a great idea – I mean, what better way to get to grips with what a test actually requires than to do it yourself? And, after taking a brief introduction to IELTS course (not with us), Alisa walked away with a great set of scores for a first attempt. In fact, a 7.5 in the academic module would be more than enough for 99% of test-takers. However, Alisa felt that she could do better, which is when she entered the world of My IELTS Classroom.

I’m going to be honest, it was uncomfortable for me to listen to Alisa talking about the course and how it helped her at times, as she was so complimentary and I struggle to take compliments. However, there is no higher praise than somebody in your own profession telling you that you have made their working life easier.

More importantly, it is absolutely wonderful to know that completing the course has given Alisa confidence in her own teaching and that she now successfully prepares Russian students for the IELTS exam. I know that if I was a learner, I would love to be in a classroom with a teacher with such a positive outlook as Alisa!

So, if you want to find out how Alisa managed to jump a full band in speaking and writing, and the importance that we both place on creating classrooms that centre on encouragement, listen to our full conversation now!

I am considering running live IELTS teacher training workshops for all modules this year, so if you are interested in learning how to help your students maximise their scores in all areas of the test, email me at hello@myieltsclassroom.com so that I can add you to the list.