Prepare for the IELTS exam
Prepare for the IELTS exam
Key points
Students train to gain experience and acquire the skills necessary to achieve their desired score in the IELTS exam- teachers push 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 and achieve more than they thought possible.
Students sit rehearsal tests under exam conditions. These are repeated as required to build confidence and familiarity with the exam.
Small class sizes also allow for a large amount of individual coaching, which provides students with the security of the knowledge that they are as prepared as possible for their exam, and 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.
Objective of the stay
To make the student familiar with the exam and to give the student the confidence and skills required to achieve the required score in the test.
The Octorial Programme: IELTS Preparation
25 hours per week.
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
- Students write 3 or 4 sentence summaries of a short passage.
- Students must paraphrase a set of sentences in their own words.
- Students practise 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.
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.
Staying in a homestay gives participants the chance to be fully immersed into the local culture of the destination, whilst also being able to practice the language in a relaxed and natural setting. No two students of the same mother tongue are placed with the same host, which enables students to broaden their scope in their use of the language and become familiar with expressing themselves. Homestay arrivals the Sunday before the course begins, and departures the Saturday after the course ends.
The Experience of Living in Cambridge
Cambridge is home not only to one of the world’s great universities, its iconic buildings and colleges peppering the old town, but also to the dynamic high-tech hub sometimes known as ‘Silicon Fen’ (Microsoft Research, Amazon, Apple, ARM, CSR, Autonomy and several thousand more), and the largest biomedical campus in Europe.
The result is a rich mix of students and professionals, and an ambience of tradition, scholarship and innovation. The town is host to a myriad of cafes, restaurants and pubs (including The Eagle, in the front room of which Crick and Watson demonstrated the first model of the double-helix structure of DNA in 1953), and to innumerable buildings of great historical and architectural significance, such as King’s College Chapel, the Wren Library, the Mathematical Bridge and Trinity Great Court.
Compact, green and beautiful, the city is dominated by the historic university buildings and bound by the lovely River Cam. It offers a unique ambiance, where the charm of tradition blends with the conveniences of modern urban life. Cambridge is a prime location for committed English language study.
Cultural programme
A variety of social and cultural activities are available to students throughout the week, helping them to get to know Cambridge. Popular activities include walking tours, visits to galleries and museums and discovering highlights of the city, including pub The Eagle, where in 1953, scientists Crick and Watson celebrated the discovery of DNA. Tours of the medieval city and the university can also be organised.
.
.
.
Price Includes
The price includes 25 hours of tuition per week, half-board accommodation in a homestay and a cultural programme.
(Note: course fees do not include examination fees which will vary depending on the chosen exam and examination centre.)
Operational Entity
Courses are organised by OISE at Cambridge which is accredited by the British Council for the teaching of English and is a member of English UK. OISE at Cambridge is owned by Instill Education Ltd.