Prepare for the IELTS exam

Octorial^™

Academic Experience

Key Points

Students train to gain experience and acquire the skills necessary to achieve their desired score in the IELTS exam. Teachers challenge students to achieve to the maximum of their potential, and set milestones and goals for each student, with constant evaluation. This sets the pace for each learner to surpass their academic expectations.

Students sit rehearsal tests under exam conditions. These are repeated as required to build confidence and familiarity with the exam.

Each student keeps a Learner Portfolio to encourage learning skills, self-assessment, and reflection. Individual coaching sessions allow students to monitor and improve their performance.

Small class sizes also allow for close tutor attention which provides students with confidence and familiarity in the exam format.

All students who successfully complete this course are eligible for a course certificate. Completion consists of submitting the final course assignment.

Homework tasks are set daily to allow learners to reflect on and consolidate what they have learned in the day, as well as prepare for the next day.

Objectives of the study

Objectives of the stay

To spend a school vacation stay in England preparing for the IELTS exam.

IELTS exam preparation

The tutor coaches the learner in the content of the exam and guides them with strategies for understanding and navigating the test questions.

Assignments are set for homework and during lesson time there is repeated work on essay writing, vocabulary, comprehension and speaking practice.

Course Content

Note Taking Skills
- Practice in taking notes and using notes to summarise listenings.
Skimming and scanning skills
- Search for a main topic, topic sentences, supporting details and concluding thoughts.
- Scanning for pertinent data such as names, dates, numbers etc.
Summarising and paraphrasing
- The student writes 3 or 4 sentence summaries of a short passage.
- The student must paraphrase a set of sentences in their own words.
- The student practises identifying information and data from charts and graphs.
Mind mapping
- The use of the mind map to plan a piece of writing.
- Use of mind maps to plan the introduction to an essay.
- Developing the body of the essay.
- Understanding the importance of the controlling idea.
Polishing skills for the writing task and the speaking tasks
- Essay writing skills - checklist.
- Speaking test - final practice.
Cultural awareness & educational field trip

Students, through an inquiry approach, develop skills for understanding aspects of culture. Students will research a place to visit and, after doing so, they will present their findings and contrast them with their own culture.

Expectations

Expected outcomes

By the end of this course, the student is expected to be able to:

Take notes on a piece of listening.
Summarise and paraphrase an unfamiliar passage of text.
Plan, structure and write an essay of 500 words.
Report verbally and in writing the data/information shown in diagrams and graphs.
Speak in an interview situation for 5 minutes.

Accommodation

In the school residence

Secure, fully-supervised residential accommodation. All meals included.

Arrival and departure

Transfer

On arrival days, a shuttle is scheduled to leave for the school at the following times:

- Gatwick airport: 18.00

- Heathrow airport: 18.00

- St. Pancras: 18.00

Students should choose a flight/ train that lands / arrives 90 minutes before the shuttle departure. They should also be aware that the earlier they arrive the longer their wait at the airport/station. A representative will be at the airport or station 5 hours before the departure of the shuttle to welcome the students and provide assistance.

On departure days, a shuttle will drop the students at the following time:

- Gatwick: 11.30

- Heathrow: 11.30

- St. Pancras: 11.30

Students should choose a flight or train that departs at least 2 hours after the above drop off times. They should also be aware that the later the flight the longer the wait.

A representative will stay at the airport or the station 5 hours after the arrival of the shuttle to provide assistance while waiting to go through the departures gate.

Culture