Classroom Strategies

IELTS Reading is one of the hardest skills for learners to master , not because the language is always complex, but because the test is designed with highly effective distractors that look correct at first glance. Many learners understand the passage, but still lose points due to half-true statements, extreme wording, or subtle detail shifts. Traditional practice (give passage → answer questions) doesn’t always prepare students for these traps. A task-based alternative does. Below is a powerful task type you can implement in any class — online or in-person — to help learners identify and resist distractors before they even read the text. “Spot the Trap”: A Task-Based Technique for Teaching IELTS Reading One of the biggest challenges IELTS learners face in Reading, especially in Multiple Choice questions, is falling for distractors. These “almost correct” options are intentionally designed to confuse test takers. A powerful way to help students understand and defeat distractors is the Spot the Trap task: a task-based activity where students analyze answer options before reading the passage. This simple shift dramatically improves their accuracy and confidence. Why This Task Works Traditional MCQ practice focuses on choosing the correct answer after reading the text. But IELTS is […]

Introduction – The New Teaching Partner We Didn’t Expect Not long ago, the idea of using artificial intelligence to help plan lessons or explain tricky grammar points felt distant and experimental. Now it’s quietly become part of how many of us teach. ChatGPT and other AI tools are showing up in lesson prep, writing feedback, and even classroom discussions.As teachers, we’re still figuring out how to feel about that. Our role isn’t just to deliver information anymore. It’s to help students think critically, stay curious, and build the kind of understanding that no algorithm can replicate. The Old Way vs. The AI Way Before AI, planning an IELTS lesson meant a lot of quiet hours with textbooks, past papers, and sticky notes. I’d spend evenings building activities, adapting readings, and designing writing prompts from scratch. It was slow but personal — every lesson carried a teacher’s fingerprint. Now, I can ask a chatbot to generate sample essays, paraphrase reading texts, or even create vocabulary lists for specific topics in seconds. It’s incredibly efficient. But speed doesn’t always equal depth. Sometimes the ideas feel too neat, too “algorithmic,” and not tuned to how my students think and struggle. That’s where our

If you’ve ever tried to teach all the “IELTS True/False/Not Given” strategies in one go, you know what happens: Blank stares. Confused faces! And at least one student asks, “Wait… if the text doesn’t say it’s false, then it’s not given, right? Or is it true because it doesn’t contradict it?” Yeah. That moment. The Problem with Teaching IELTS True/False/Not Given Tips All at Once There are too many mental steps packed into one question type: Understand the statement Match it to the passage Decide whether it agrees, contradicts, or is not mentioned Deal with synonyms, paraphrasing, logic traps, and assumptions It’s a lot. Especially for students who are just getting comfortable with scanning and identifying main ideas. What Happens When We Overload the Strategy Teaching all the IELTS True/False/Not Given tips at once — like: “Always read the statement carefully” “Don’t use your own knowledge” “True means exact match, False means contradiction, Not Given means silence” “Beware of keywords — they’re often traps” …usually leads to one of two things: Students memorize the rules but don’t apply them correctly Or worse — they get more confused and lose confidence What I Do Instead – My Step-by-Step IELTS True/False/Not Given Teaching Strategy  Step 1: Start with TRUE only   Give students 5 statements — all of

Teaching IELTS Writing Task 2 can feel overwhelming — for both teachers and students. From understanding the question to producing a clear, well-organized essay, there are many skills to master. In this 10-step guide, I’ll share my proven classroom strategy for breaking the process down into manageable stages, so your students can build confidence, improve their writing, and aim for higher band scores. Step 1: Demystify the Task Objective: Clarify what Task 2 really expects How: Explain the 4 criteria: Task Response, Coherence & Cohesion, Lexical Resource, and Grammatical Range & Accuracy Show a Band 6 vs Band 8 answer and analyze why one scores higher Bust myths (e.g., “I need fancy vocabulary to get Band 7”) Step 2: Explore Question Types Objective: Familiarize students with the 5 main question types How: Teach how to recognize:   Opinion Discussion Problem/Solution Advantages/Disadvantages Double Question   Give sample questions and ask students to identify the type and key instruction words Step 3: Brainstorm & Plan (Before Writing) Objective: Help students think before they write How: Give timed brainstorming tasks Use frameworks like “3 ideas in 3 minutes” Teach outlining: thesis + 2 main ideas + examples Use collaborative planning (pairs or small groups) Step