IELTS Articles | IELTS Learning Tips

Practical Pronunciation Practices

Pronunciation is one of those things that always seems to be left out in the cold, so to speak, when learning English. We all want to speak fluently and accurately, have good listening and writing skills and improve our reading and vocabulary; but unless there are any real issues, pronunciation can wait. When working to […]

The 7 Glorious Virtues

Here are 7 things that you absolutely must do when taking the writing part of the IELTS. In my blogs and in my lessons, I talk a lot about planning, and I feel very strongly that this is key to good writing. Checking comes next; you don’t want to throw away marks, or make yourself […]

Over-Confident Yet Under Prepared – IELTS Case Study

This IELTS student was a doctor. Salim was from Syria. He had been living in the UK for some time and was very fluent in spoken English. He had spent some time at school in the UK so his English skills were quite polished. When I first met Salim he was about to take the […]

Learning English Requires Strength

Strength and growth come through only through continuous effort and struggle. ~Napoleon Hill Anything worth mastering takes work. We grow through applying ourselves with a ferocity of purpose that keeps us going, and going, and going no matter how hard the task before us. We have all had experiences where we had to fight to […]

The Four Ps to Achieving Your Dreams

Patience, Perseverance, Practice, and Performance. With this Posse of Ps it’s hard not to reach your English goal (and hard to keep away from P-words too!) 🙂 So, let’s expand on them and see how they can help you achieve your dream of fluency in English.

How Can I Prepare for the Speaking Section of the IELTS?

Your approach to preparation in the IELTS tells me a lot about how you will succeed. I meet students who are organised, who have a plan and who create a process for their learning and their preparation. They balance their general English practice with their IELTS test practice and know that it is impossible to […]

Reading and Writing Accelerator

I know how hard getting the score that you need in the IELTS can be. Sometimes it can feel like trudging through the freezing snow somewhere and going uphill both ways, there and back! Studying for it is hard, you wade through all of those practice tests and read essay after practice essay. You spend […]

Fact or Fiction?

There are so many rumors that run wild about the IELTS, and as a teacher and former examiner I have heard them all! Today I wanted to take the time to clear up many misconceptions so that you, as a student, can set your heart at ease, and to make clear what you really need […]

What is the Best Way to Prepare to Take Your IELTS?

There is a lot of information about taking the IELTS out there. Sometimes the hardest part of preparing to take the IELTS can be deciding where to focus your studying efforts. That is where I can help you. My name is Berni Wall, and I started to work with IELTS students about 20 years ago […]

What Does Design Have to Do with EFL?

I have been thinking back to an IATEFL conference I attended a few years ago in Glasgow. One of the sessions that struck a real chord with me was the Plenary given by Diana Laurillard. In this plenary, she explored ideas of teacher communities and also course design, but a course design that was adaptable to many […]