Collins Speaking for IELTS course is one of the best IELTS materials that will help you to improve your IELTS speaking skills. At the end of this course, you will be able to communicate effectively in English.Â
Collins Speaking for IELTS (PDF+CD)
Collins Speaking for IELTS is a complete course for you to learn, practice, and develop the skills required to succeed in the IELTS with Collins. It offers an ideal balance of language learning and preparation for all four modules of this challenging exam: Listening, Reading, Writing, and Speaking.
The accompanying website contains downloadable writing and speaking tasks to help you practice your exam techniques and get more confident in your exam performance.
Collins Speaking for IELTS Karen Kovacs
If your speaking is preventing you from getting the score you need in IELTS, Collins Speaking for IELTS can help.
Don’t let one skill hold you back.
Collins Speaking for IELTS has been specially created for learners of English who plan to take the IELTS exam to demonstrate that they have the required ability to communicate effectively in English, either at work or at university.
What is IELTS?
The International English Language Testing System (IELTS) is sat by over 1.4 million candidates around the world every year.
It is the most common test used by universities for foreign students to prove their language level. IELTS is also increasingly used for immigration purposes, with Australia, New Zealand, and Canada all requiring visa applicants whose first language is not English to submit an IELTS grade.
The system tests candidates’ Reading, Writing, Listening, and Speaking in four separate papers. Usually, students must gain a good mark in all four skills in order to gain entry to the course, job, or country of their choice. For this reason, candidates will often sit the exam numerous times to secure the score that they need.
Powered by COBUILD The 4-billion-word Collins corpus is the world’s largest database of the English language. It is updated every month and has been at the heart of Collins COBUILD for over 20 years.
Who is this book for?
Speaking for fELTS will prepare you for the IELTS Speaking test whether you are taking the test for the first time, or re-sitting.
It has been written for learners with band scores 5-5.5 who are trying to achieve band score 6 or higher. The structured approach, comprehensive answer key, and sample answers have been designed so that you can use the materials to study on your own.
However, the book can also be used as a supplementary speaking skills course for IELTS preparation classes. The book provides enough material for approximately 50 hours of classroom activity.
Content
Speaking for fELTS is divided into 12 units. Each unit focuses on a topic area that you are likely to meet in the IELTS exam. This helps you to build up a bank of vocabulary and ideas related to a variety of topics.
Units 1-11 cover vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation, and exam techniques to prepare you for the IELTS Speaking test. Every exercise is relevant to the test. The aims listed at the start of each unit specify the key skills, techniques, and language covered in the unit. You work towards Unit 12, which provides a final practice IELTS Speaking test.
Additionally, the book provides examination strategies telling you what to expect and how best to succeed in the test. The exam information is presented in clear, easy-to-read chunks. ‘Exam tips’ in each unit highlight essential exam techniques and can be rapidly reviewed at a glance.
Unit structure
Each of the first 11 units is divided into 2 parts.
The first part of each unit introduces vocabulary related to the topic, as well as phrases and language that can be applied to any topic. The vocabulary exercises give you the opportunity to express complex ideas and opinions so that you are able to do so in the IELTS Speaking test. The vocabulary is presented using Collins COBUILD dictionary definitions. In addition, each unit covers one or more pronunciation points, and one or more grammar points. The pronunciation and grammar exercises help you to develop accurate pronunciation, and grammatical range and accuracy to enable you to succeed in the IELTS test.
In every unit, you are given the opportunity to practise the new language you have learnt by attempting questions from Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3 of the IELTS Speaking test. These test questions increase your familiarity with the exam format and help to build your confidence.
The second part of each unit teaches you exam techniques. The information and exercises raise your awareness of what constitutes an effective IELTS response and also provide you with strategies on how to achieve this. Techniques include making notes for Part 2 of the IELTS Speaking test, developing your fluency, and enhancing the length and quality of your answers to Part 3 of the test by using news articles.
Answer key
A comprehensive answer key is provided for all sections of the book including recommended answers and explanations. You will also find full audio scripts of all speaking exercises at the back of the book. There are sample answers for all the IELTS Speaking test questions recorded on the CDs. The audio scripts for these sample answers are also at the back of the book. Listening to and learning from these will help you to achieve the best scores.
Using the book for self-study
If you are new to IELTS, we recommend that you work systematically through the 12 units in order to benefit from the book’s progressive structure. If you are a more experienced learner, you can use the aims listed at the start of each unit to select the most useful exercises.
Each unit contains between three and four hours of study material. Having access to someone who can provide informed feedback on the speaking practice exercises is an advantage. However, you can still learn a lot working alone or with a study partner willing to give and receive peer feedback.
Avoid writing the answers to vocabulary exercises directly into the book so that you can try the exercises again once you have completed the unit. As you attempt the exercises in each unit, write down in a separate notebook any language that you find particularly useful or relevant. Review this language often.
Try to revise what you have learnt before attempting the practice IELTS questions in each unit. This will improve the quality of your answers, and using the new language will help you to remember it.
Record your answers if you can. It will develop your self-awareness: you will be able to hear where your strengths lie and which aspects of your speaking you need to improve. In addition, hearing how your speaking has improved over time will increase your confidence and motivation. Remember that there are no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ answers to the exam questions: the exam iner is interested in your English, not in testing the validity of your opinions.
Once you have answered the practice IELTS questions, listen to the sample answers. You can also read the sample answers in the audio scripts section at the back of the book. Write down any useful vocabulary and grammatical structures. Be aware that ‘vocabulary’ consists of more than just single words : also pay attention to bigger chunks of language, such as phrases and collocations.
It is recommended that you play the sample answers a second time. This time, read the words as you listen, imitating as closely as possible the native speakers’ pronunciation.
It is very important that you do not memorise entire sentences or answers. IELTS examiners are trained to spot this and will change the topic if they think you are repeating memorised answers. With its structured approach, wide range of relevant exercises, and exam tips and techniques, Speaking for IELTS should equip you with the skills and language, as well as the confidence, necessary to tackle unfamiliar questions on the day of the exam.
Unit 12 is a complete practice speaking test. This unit should be done under exam conditions including setting yourself the time limits that are suggested. There is also a sample answer for this complete practice test so you can listen to the audio and read the audio script to further learn from the experience of sitting this practice test.
