Teaching IELTS: Final Assignment
Develop a 60 to 120-minute lesson plan for a group or a one-on-one class. The lesson plan can be taught as one lesson (120 minutes) or two consecutive lessons (60 minutes each).
Requirements for completing the final assignment
Choose one or two exam tasks from any of the skills. (It could be the second or third part of the speaking exam; the general writing task 1, the letter; substitution or paraphrasing techniques, vocabulary and synonyms to improve the academic multiple-choice task; or, any topic that you feel you want to do with a class).
Write a full lesson plan following the approach that is more appropriate for the material and the needs of the learner(s). (Avoid using PPP in this type of lesson plan as it will not suit the type of tasks and needs of the IELTS learners. Task-based Learning (TBL), Engage-Study-Activate (ESA), or Test-Teach-Test (TTT) could work better. You can find sample lesson plans in IELTS Extra.
Include the following points as a cover page for each period:
Level: (What IELTS band are your students preparing for?)
Lesson Aims: The aims must not be about practicing exam questions only, but teaching examination strategies. Example: Present and practice the concept of topic sentences and supporting ideas for (General Writing task 1: a letter; or, Academic Writing Task 1: describing a graph, or, develop paraphrasing techniques for speaking part 2). The aims for the above examples may have sub-aims such as scan reading comprehension activities to analyze sample letters, identify the topic sentences and paragraphs in the sample letter, in which case, they will be integrating reading as well as speaking (doing pair work and discussing their findings) and writing.
You can have different lesson aims for each period if you choose to create two separate lesson plans
Outcome: identify what you expect the students to achieve by the end of the lesson/s. (By the end of the lesson, the learners will be able to identify the key words in the exam question and predict the answers; or, they will be able to write an introduction that paraphrases the question).
Assumptions: this section may include previous knowledge of specific skills, but also learners’ needs. (They have just started an IELTS course, and are at an intermediate level; they are about to take the exam and they are advanced learners).
Anticipated problems and solutions: this section will vary depending on the different lesson aims.
Time: include the timing in each step.
Techniques: identify the techniques or strategies used in each step (brainstorming,
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Teaching IELTS Course
A Specialist Course for the English Teacher
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prediction, word building, paraphrasing, discussion, gap-filling, identifying key words, etc.)
Skills: identify the skills that will be developed in each step.
Interactive patterns: T-S; S; SS; group
Aids/Materials: (See below)
Criteria for choice and use of materials:
Materials used for this assignment can be published materials, authentic materials, self-created or a combination of all three. (See sample IELTS textbooks in IELTS Extra).
Note that lesson plan is not about getting the students to complete the exam in class, but about your teaching strategies to help them succeed in that particular section.
The range should be appropriate for two hours.
All published materials must be acknowledged and included in the assignment or in an appendix.
You can choose a text from the Internet, but you must create the gap-filling exercise or the set of questions for a reading comprehension activity.
The activities must relate to the level and the needs of the learner(s).
You must include all materials, activities and exercises in the assignment or in an appendix.
Assessment criteria
Apart from all the points mentioned in Requirements for completing the final assignment, your tutor will take the following into account when grading your work:
Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the course aims, objectives and syllabus through the content of the assignment.
Select, employ and evaluate an appropriate range of methods, approaches, resources and/or techniques appropriate to the materials chosen for this assignment.
Use appropriate style, grammar and lexis; accurate spelling and punctuation; use key terminology appropriately and accurately; reference bibliography appropriately.
Assignments containing plagiarized text will not be moderated and the trainee might not be permitted to make further submissions.