SELF-ASSESSMENT FOR STUDENTS

Developing learner autonomy enables students to study more effectively by showing them how to ‘help themselves’, and self-assessment is an important part of this. We need to think about the variety of ways in which we can incorporate this into the learning cycle, and the teacher’s role in guiding the students through this process.

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Understanding Lexical Cohesion

Have you ever wondered: what is lexical cohesion? Knowing how to use related words to present ideas and also create unity within a text can be quite a challenge for students. Traditional ways of learning grammar and vocabulary do not always focus on lexical cohesion, so it is important to look at the definition and explore a number of ways it can be taught to students.

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“Some of my students find the IELTS materials too difficult. How can they make progress in a short time if they don’t really understand the texts or listening materials?”

The most important point to reiterate is that IELTS is a proficiency test – it is based on a person’s language ability and skill. Therefore, the first point to look at is the student’s language ability. If materials are too hard for them, then they are not going to learn or progress at all. They need to be working on general English skills at a level that is more suitable and comfortable for them (think about CEFR levels). IELTS test practice materials should only be used periodically to either test progress or to help familiarise students to the format of the test. Another point to remember is students cannot progress quickly by just learning about the test, their progress can only be really linked to building up their overall language ability.

“In Task 2, if the question says ‘discuss both views and give your own opinion’, what structure should students ideally use?”

The simple answer is, it depends on the individual writing capability of the students. Most average level students are comfortable at writing: one introduction, two main paragraphs and one conclusion. Therefore, it makes sense to separate the two views into the two main paragraphs (remembering to stick to one theme per paragraph) and include their personal view in the conclusion. However, if the student is very capable and can comfortably write a lot within the given 40 minutes, then it is fine for them to write: one introduction, two views in two separate paragraphs, their view in a third paragraph, followed by a final brief conclusion.