Classroom Strategies

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