| Week |
General Focus |
Topics Covered |
Sub-Skill Focus |
| Week 1 |
Introduction to IELTS |
Overview of IELTS General Training (G.T.) or Academic (Aca.) Test Format & Scoring |
- Introduction to the four test sections:
- Listening
- Speaking
- Reading (G.T. vs. Aca.)
- Writing (G.T. vs. Aca.)
|
| Vocabulary Themes |
- Overview of most common lexical themes: (1) Advertisements, (2) Business, (3) Covid-19 & Health, (4) Culture, (5) Education, (6) Environment, (7) Fashion, (8) Food, (9) Personality, (10) Travel
- Parts of Speech & extension into: (1) collocations & word partnerships, (2) phrasal verbs, (3) common Idioms
|
| Week 2 |
Reading & Vocabulary Extension |
Reading various text types (notices, advertisements, timetables, job descriptions, contracts, extended prose) |
- Strategies for Skimming and Scanning
- Deducing context from text type
|
| Vocabulary Themes |
- Personality
- People: Parts of the Face
- Body language
|
| Week 3 |
Towards Writing Task 1 |
Formal & Informal Letter Writing |
Following a bullet point structure
Incorporating relevant thematic vocabulary into writing
Asking for general factual information
Expressing needs/ wants/ likes or dislikes
Expressing opinions/ complaints
Making requests or suggestions/ recommendations |
| Vocabulary Themes |
|
| Week 4 |
Towards Writing Task 2 |
Essay-Writing
Argumentation |
- Writing in a Semi-formal/neutral discursive tone
- Explaining a situation, responding to a point of view/ argument/ problem
- Outlining and/or presenting a solution, justifying an opinion, evaluating evidence and ideas
- Communicating more abstract and complex ideas
|
| Vocabulary Themes |
- Environment
- Vegetables & Plants
- Camping
|
| Week 5 |
Towards Speaking Part 1 |
- Personal Information
- Daily Life
- Hobbies/ Interests
- Home
- Family
- Work/ Studies
|
- Fluency & coherence
- Self-introduction
- Talking about daily routines and interests
- Communicating opinions & information on everyday topics/ common experiences/situations by answering a range of questions
|
| Vocabulary Themes |
- Education
- School & University
|
| Week 6 |
Towards Speaking Part 2 |
Describe a memorable trip |
- Actively listen to questions to structure responses
- Use descriptive language
- Share past experiences using appropriate tenses and time expressions
|
| Vocabulary Themes |
|
| Week 7 |
Listening Skills |
- Different contexts (e.g., social context, training context, academic subjects) & challenges (e.g., everyday monologue, technical monologue, dialogue, conversation between up to 4 people) for listening
- Note-taking
|
- Recognising context
- Following a conversation between two or more people
- Understanding main points & detailed factual information
- Listening for specific words/ phrases/ numbers & filling in with no more and no less than the number of words stipulated in the rubric
- Relating descriptions to visual representations
- Inferring meaning from extra-verbal cues
- Recording relevant points when taking notes
- Minding spelling while note-taking
|
| Vocabulary Themes |
- Fashion
- Casual vs. Formal clothes
|
| Week 8 |
Mock Test & Review |
Full Practice Test under Test Conditions |
- Test simulation
- Time management
- Tips & tricks of the trade for individual exercise types
|
| Vocabulary Themes |
|
| Week 9 |
Towards Speaking Part 3 |
Discussion on abstract topics |
- Speaking at greater depth
- Expressing & justifying opinions
- Expressing complex ideas
- Analysing & speculating about issues
|
| Vocabulary Themes |
- Crime & Punishment
- Newspapers
|
| Week 10 |
Towards Academic Reading |
Reading materials intended for non-specialist but university-level audiences |
- Read for gist, main ideas, detail, skimming, understanding logical arguments, recognising writers’ opinions/ attitudes and purposes
- Read from a range of sources (e.g., books, journals, magazines, newspapers) and types (descriptive, factual, discursive, analytical)
- Identify a variety of styles.
- Follow a detailed logical argument and help oneself by taking notes.
- Deal with non-verbal materials such as diagrams, graphs, illustrations, comparing them with discursive material about them, and use helpful keys and glossaries
|
| Vocabulary Themes |
Technology & Digital Media |
| Week 11 |
Towards Academic Writing |
Read graphs, tables, charts or diagrams
Interpret and describe/ summarise/ explain the information in one’s own words |
- Summarising
- Paraphrasing
- Describing/ Explaining Data
- Describing stages of a process/ how something works/ an object/ event
- Writing in a semi-formal/ neutral style (in either the active or the passive)
|
| Vocabulary Themes |
- Art & Paintings
- Films
- Musical instruments
|
| Week 12 |
Mock Test & Review |
Full Practice Test under Test Conditions |
- Test simulation
- Time management
- Tips & tricks of the trade for individual exercise types
|
Intakes:
Mode:
Language:
Minimum level required: