Pre IELTS

Lesson 1
Speaking
• Pronunciation drill ( sounds, word stress and sentence stress)
• Read + Listen before you practice speaking
• Re-tell people's stories
• Describing words
• Review
• Grammar games
Pronunciation
Band 4 Band 5 Band 6

uses a limited range of shows all the positive features of uses a range of pronunciation
pronunciation features Band 4 and some, but not features with mixed control
• attempts to control features but all, of the positive features of Band • shows some effective use of
lapses are frequent 6 features but this is not
• mispronunciations are frequent sustained
and cause some difficulty for the • can generally be understood
listener throughout, though
mispronunciation of individual
words or sounds reduces
clarity at times
Pronunciation features 1:
Long vowels vs short-vowels
leave live guess gas Full Fool Fear Feel Want Won’t

feel fill slept slapped Look Luke Fell Fair Walk woke

Least list head had Pull Pool Fell Fail Not note

sleep slip set sat Foot Food Tour Tool Clause close
Feature 2: Individual sounds: The t and d Sounds

• Words for practice

• To Do Debt Dead
• Tuck Duck Set Said
• Ten Den Cart Card
• Tell Dell Hit Hid
• Tug Dug Feet Feed
“Sh” sound:

• Words for practice

• She Should Shall Sure

• Show Shoe Wish Push

• Ash English Harsh Cash

Tongue twister:

• She sells sea shells by the sea shore.

• The shells she sells are surely seashells.

• So if she sells shells on the seashore,

• I’m sure she sells seashore shells.

The Th sound
• /t/ /θ/ /t/ /θ/
• bat bath tank thank
• boat both team theme
• mat math
Short vowels + /l/
• although cold film myself
• call difficult little people
• children felt milk Will
Long Vowels + /l/
  /i/ + ɘl /eɪ/ + ɘl /aɪ/ + ɘl /ɔɪ/ + ɘl /u/ + ɘl

1 Feel sale mile oil tool

2 Steal mail while toil school

3 Deal whale style spoil rule

4 Real pale smile foil fool

5 Wheel fail file boil cool

6 Heal exhale trial soil pool

Words for practice /ʧ/ (CH+ree)

• Church matchchess

• charming kitchen Rich

• Teacher tree trick stream

Words for practice /dʒ/

• Jokes Jackfruit Japan January

• Jam Fridge Advantage Language

• Age Cage Dream Drive

• Drain children Dry

Pronunciation feature 3 – ending sounds
• Bô  bố  bổ  bộ  bồ  bỗ (are they the same?)

• What about this?

• Why  white  wine  wise  wife  wives  while  Wild  Wide

• Are they the same?

• Your wine is delicious  your wife is delicious?

Pronunciation feature 3: Word stress

• Common mistakes:
• Necessary, necessity, unnecessary, unnecessarily
• Desert, dessert
• present, present
• Education, hospital, presentation
• photograph; photography; photographer; photographic
Pronunciation features 4 - sentence stress

• I didn’t say he stole that money

• I DIDN’T say he stole that money
• I didn’t SAY he stole that money
• I didn’t say HE stole that money
• I didn’t say he STOLE that money
• I didn’t say he stole THAT money
• I didn’t say he stole that MONEY
Pronunciation features 5: e/es
• /s/ /iz/ /iz/
• Every morning he gets up early, brushes his teeth, washes his face,
/s/
and eats breakfast.
• /iz/ /z/ /s/ /iz/
• He kisses his wife and kids goodbye. He takes two buses to work.
/iz/ /z/ /z/
He usually manages to get to work before his coworkers. He reads his

• /s/ /iz/ /z/ /z/

• email, checks messages and returnes phone calls.
/s/ /z/ /s/ /s/ /z/
He speaks with his colleagues and clients and conducts meetings.

/iz/ /s/ /s/ /s/

• He focuses on his daily tasks and likes to take only 30 minutes for lunch.
Pronunciation features 6: ed- irregular
verbs
• “My mother came to New York from Alabama at the age of nineteen. She
had nothing but a high school diploma. She almost didn’t make it. There
was so much pressure because she was all alone. Later in life she came
clean. She told me that she’d gotten so depressed that she turned on the
gas one night. But my brother and I started crying in the crib. And she was
so touched that she decided to keep going. She became a nurse at Lenox
Hill hospital. She was married three times. Three sets of children. Each time
her husband claimed she wouldn’t make it without him. Each time she said
‘Go on ahead.’ She taught us all the proverbs. She taught us to love
ourselves. The punishments could be harsh. Sometimes she’d go at us with
the extension cord. But I always knew there was a steak dinner waiting for
me at the end.
• She was only hard on me because she wanted me to succeed, which I never
did. Thirty years on the street. Twenty years addicted to crack. But she
never gave up on me. Even during the darkest times, whenever I showed up,
she’d open the door. She’d cook me a meal. She’d let me get warm. She’d
let me shower. But she’d never give me a dime. And I always had to leave.
But on the way out, she’d always say: ‘I love you Freddy, no matter what you
do.’ We had ten good years together after I got clean. She’d come to some
of my programs. She’d tell me how proud she was that I turned my life
around. The last time I saw her, when she was lying in the hospital, with one
hundred percent cancer, I kissed her forehead and told her I loved her. And
she said: ‘I love you Freddy.’ Those were her last words. Two days later she
passed.
 So, what is ‘Fluency and Coherence’?
Band 4 Band 5 Band 6

* Cannot respond without noticeable • usually maintains flow of speech • is willing to speak at length, though
pauses, and may speak slowly with but uses repetition, self may lose coherence at
frequent repetition and self- correction and/or slow speech to times due to occasional repetition,
correction. keep going self-correction or
• may over-use certain connectives hesitation
* Links basic sentences but with and discourse markers • uses a range of connectives and
repetitious use of simple connectives • produces simple speech fluently, discourse markers but not
and some breakdown in coherence. but more complex communication always appropriately
causes fluency problems
 Don’t give an answer like this.

Q: What do you like about your school?

A: I like my teachers.
 Extend your answer:
I like my math teacher.

explain
Because she’s very nice to me.

Give example
For example, if I don’t know something, she’ll show me how to do it.

Compare (to other people/ to different points in time)

In the future, if I become a teacher, I will treat my students as she does.
 Don’t give an answer like this.

Q: What do you do after school?

A: I go home.
 Extend your answer:
I often just go straight home.

explain - reason
Because I'm not really into sports or any outdoor activities. And I'm kinda a bookworm, you know.

Give example
For example, yesterday, after I left school, I stayed in my room and read my favorite book.

Compare (to other people/ to different points in time)

My friends usually tell me that I should get more exercise because I'm gaining weight, but it's just really hard to break a habit.
Actionable plans:  
• Extend your answers
• Use a range of connectives (and, or, but, so, because, if, although but,
when…that/ which/ who...)
 Practice:
Eating out
Do you like eating out?
How often do you eat out?
Do you prefer eating out to eating at home?
Sport
What sports did you do when you were a kid?
What’s your favorite sport? Why?
Do you watch sport matches? Why?
Are you a fan of any sport teams? Why?
 Practice:
Eating out
Do you like eating out?
How often do you eat out?
Do you prefer eating out to eating at home?
Sport
What sports did you do when you were a kid?
What’s your favorite sport? Why?
Do you watch sport matches? Why?
Are you a fan of any sport teams? Why?
Tidy
Are you a tidy person?
Are all of your family members tidy?
Do you think you are more tidy at school than at home?
Lexical Resource
Band 4 Band 5
* Is able to talk about familiar • manages to talk about familiar
topics but can only conveys basic and unfamiliar topics but
meaning on unfamiliar topics and uses vocabulary with limited
make frequent errors in word flexibility
choice. • attempts to use paraphrase but
with mixed success
* Rarely attempt paraphrase.
Describe words – make yourself
understood!
• sugar toilet restaurant holiday

• museum story birthday shower

• milk kitchen grandfather glasses

• university dictionary jacket dinner

• nervous silent ghost garden

• funny scare vegetable newspaper

• plane picnic bathroom homework

• television pencil teacher apple

Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Band 4 Band 5

*produces basic sentences • produces basic sentence forms

forms and some correct simple with reasonable accuracy
sentences, but subordinate • uses a limited range of more
structures are rare. complex structures, but these
usually contain errors and may
cause some comprehension
* Errors are frequent and may problems
lead to misunderstanding.
Actionable plans:
• Pay attention to tenses (present simple, future, past simple, present
perfect)
• Use subordinate structures ( if, although, because, when, that, who,
which)
• Receive feedback and work on mistakes (ed, s/es)
• Deliberate practice (Grammar games)
Grammar drill 1: Past events (used to/ was V-
ing/ -ed)
• the last time you were in a crowded place
• the presents you received for your last birthday
• something you bought but didnt use
• where you went on holiday last year
• Describe a product you bought that is difficult to use at first
• the last time you went to the cinema
• The last time you cried
• someone you met for the first time last month
• The last time you were late for an event
• the last time you went to a park
• something interesting you did last week
• the last time you woke up late
• The last time you helped someone
• The last time you watched a romantic movie
• the last time you were bored
• the last time you spent over $100 in one day
• the last time you felt very tired
• what you had for breakfast this morning
• The last time you read a book
• Describe a person you saw on the news
• what you studied in English class last week
• Describe a trip that was canceled
• An interesting old person
• a place you went to last year
• the last time you went to the library
• what you did last weekend
• what you did last night
• the last time you went to the bank
• the last time you came home late
Speaking – Grammar drill 2 – present perfect
• Have you ever drastically changed your hair style or clothing style in a short
time?
• Have you ever shot a gun?
• Have you ever ridden an animal?
• Where have you traveled to?
• What sports have you played?
• Where is the best place you have ever been?
• What’s the craziest thing you have ever done?
• What interesting foods have you eaten?
• What are some unique accomplishments you have done?
• Have you ever screamed at someone in public?
•
Present perfect
• Who is the greatest person you have ever met?
• How long have you studied English?
• What is the best and worst restaurant you have eaten
at?
• What have you done a lot this week?
• What is the most exciting thing you have ever done?
• What have you done too many times?
• What is the longest you have been awake for?
• Have you ever:
• been on TV?
• driven or rode in a sports car?
• eaten anything really strange?
• fallen down stairs?
• fallen asleep and when you woke up you didn’t know where
you were?
• forgotten an important birthday?
• walked into something when you were texting?
• Have you ever:
• dialed your country’s emergency number?
• given a public speech?
• built a snowman?
• fallen asleep while talking on the phone?
• tried riding a skateboard?
• started laughing when no one else is laughing because you
thought of something funny?
• been swimming where you couldn’t touch the bottom?
• Have you ever:
• woken up and not been able to move?
• gone skiing?
• gotten a horrible haircut?
• received a gift you hated?
• played a joke on a friend?
• fallen in front of a large group of
people?
• ad a déjà vu experience?
• slept someplace strange?
• Have you ever:
• worked a job you hated?
• shop lifted something from a store?
• injured yourself while trying to impress
someone?
• surfed?
• dyed your hair?
• been slapped?
• hunted and killed an animal?
• worked at in a customer service job?
Grammar drill – conditional - First
conditional
• 1) What will you do if your neighbours annoy you?
• 2) What will you do if someone phones you during the English lesson?
• 3) What will you do if you don't enjoy life in VN?
• 4) What will you do if your friend invites you to the cinema tonight?
• 5) What will you do if your purse or wallet is stolen?
• 6) What will you do if you get a headache?
• 7) What will you do if you split up with your partner?
• 9) What will you do if it rains at the weekend?
• 10) What will you do if you run out of food in your house?
Second conditional
• If you had enough money to giveaway, who would you help?
• If you had $1000 dollars to spend within an hour, how would you
spend it?
• If you had only 24 hours to live, what would you do?
• If you had excellent fighting skills, What would you do with them?
• If you had the chance to interview a celebrity, what questions would
you make?
• If you had to run away from the police, where would you hide?
• If you had to watch a TV show for 24 hours, what would that show be?
Second conditional
• If you could be an animal, what animal would you be?
• If you could change one thing in the world, what would it be?
• If you could travel anywhere in the worlds, where would you go?
• If you could commit any crime and get away with it, what would you do?
• If you could be famous, what would you like to be famous for?
• If you could be a Marvel Comics super hero, who would you like to be?
• If you could be a DC Comics super hero, who would you like to be?
• If you could be an athlete, what sport would you like to be good at?
• If you could pick to do any other job for a living, what would that job be?
• If you could travel back in time, what  year would you go to?