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My IELTS Blog!

Here you’ll find our posts and podcasts on a wide range of subjects to help you on your IELTS journey! Join us at My IELTS Classroom today for our video courses, marking service, 1-2-1 lessons and so much more…

Our posts & podcasts

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

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  IELTS Listening Part 4

  11 May 2021

  IELTS Listening Part 4 When I was a young teacher (sadly a long time ago), I used to think that IELTS Listening Part 4 was the most difficult part of the test. I mean, it seemed obvious – this was the only part of the test that asked the students to listen to a lecture and we all know that those are “difficult”. However, with time, I have realised that this actually Listening Part 3 that causes the most trouble as this requires the test-takers to listen for agreement and emotion as well as information.

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  One Year Birthday Episode!

  04 May 2021

  Hey! If you are reading this, Nick and I would like to start by saying a massive THANK YOU. We started the My IELTS Classroom on May 1st 2020 for no other reason than the fact that we were bored in lockdown and wanted something positive to focus on. Nick already had the recording equipment and the editing skills, and I can talk the hind legs off a donkey (i.e. I can talk and talk for hours), so we were hopefully that it could work. Well, one year later, I think that we can confidently say that it did.

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  IELTS Punctuation

  27 April 2021

  IELTS Punctuation OK, I am going to be honest, punctuation isn’t the sexiest topic. But, if you are trying to achieve a 7.0 or higher in your IELTS writing test, then you have to make sure that you are able to use commas, capital letters, and full stops accurately. Sadly, this is not always the case, and nothing makes me sadder than having to award a candidate a 6.0 for GRA because their punctuation was totally uncontrolled. So, join Nick and I today for a whistle-stop tour of the most important IELTS punctuation rules. Trust me, it’s not as boring as it sounds!

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  Studying in the UK

  20 April 2021

  Studying in the UK Education is one of the UK’s biggest industries, but is it really worth paying for a higher education in the UK? And how can you choose the university and the degree course that is right for you? Well, in today’s episode, Nick will look at both of these questions in detail, before discussing what you need to apply for a UK Student visa. This is a great opportunity to hear two native speakers, each with personal experience of studying in the UK, giving advice on how to make the most of your experience studying abroad. Plus, you will get the chance to hear what our previous students feel about their time studying in the UK.

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  Analysing Difficult IELTS Essay Questions!

  13 April 2021

  Analysing Difficult IELTS Essay Questions! Every 3 or 4 months Nick and I sit down to review 6 recently reported IELTS essay questions that we think are interesting. Usually, this means choosing questions that focus on topics that we have never seen before, or questions that are in a new format (for example, new types of 2-part questions). However, this week we are doing something different. We are looking at 6 difficult IELTS essay questions. And by difficult, I mean so difficult that even after 30+ years experience teaching IELTS between us, Nick and I struggled to come up with ideas. So, we challenge you to join us in planning these IELTS questions from hell!

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  IELTS Listening Skills: Recognising Agreement and Attitude

  06 April 2021

  IELTS Listening Skills: Recognising Agreement and Attitude Hey! Did you know that in Part 3 of the IELTS Listening test, you are often asked to listen for the speakers’ attitudes to the topic that they are discussing? In fact, I think that this is what makes this part of the exam so tricky. You are no longer being asked to just match facts. Instead, you will have to identify if the speakers agree or disagree, or if they are surprised by, concerned about, or simply are interested in the information that they are discussing. Today, Nick and I will look at two types of Part 3 questions to show you how to recognise this “language of attitude” and to prove[…]

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  IELTS Speaking: Vocabulary for Part One

  30 March 2021

  IELTS Speaking Vocabulary for Part One Hey! Nick and I talk a lot on the podcast about the importance of “topic-specific vocabulary” in speaking and writing. However, it can be difficult to give clear examples of what this “magical” lexis is, as it changes for each topic. So, today, we thought that would try something different. We have invited 3 native speakers to attempt 6 of the current reported IELTS Speaking Part One topics. We gave them zero preparation or advice – all we asked is that they answer the questions naturally. The result? Lots of natural IELTS speaking vocabulary, plus a chance to hear fantastic intonation and use of filler words.

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  5 ways to use podcasts to study for IELTS

  23 March 2021

  If you are a regular listener to the My IELTS Classroom Podcast, then I am sure that you are already convinced about the benefits of using podcasts in your IELTS preparation. However, although listening to a dedicated IELTS podcast like ours is a great way to train, there are thousands of other podcasts on topic like economics, science and social trends that you can use to improve your exam-day performance.

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  IELTS Reading Multiple Choice Questions

  16 March 2021

  IELTS Reading Multiple Choice Questions Hey! It’s time for another interactive lesson! Yes, after the popularity of our Headings Match, and True / False / Not Given episodes, we are back with another immersive podcast. Today, Nick and I look at IELTS reading multiple choice questions to show you the two best ways to approach this type of question, and four “examiner tricks” that you may not be aware of!

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  IELTS Dentist Success Story, Zina!

  09 March 2021

  Hey! If you are a dentist who would like to register with NHS England, you will need to provide proof of your level of English. One way that you can do this is to provide an IELTS certificate showing an overall score of 7.0, with a minimum of 6.5 in each category. Although this score is slightly lower than the one needed by doctors who want to resister for PLAB, it is still a very high score for test-takers, even those who have a very high level of English.

Posts navigation

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