Hi friends,

 

I am teaching at a summer school. On Tuesday, I have to present a one hour session �Beginning IELTs reading� to a class of 14 -17 year olds at level B2+ . I haven�t got a clue. Any ideas? Any suitable stuff on here, or links?

 

Lynne  

https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/reading/upper-intermediate-b2-reading

Hi Lynne!

I think I have some past exam paper books in a folder somewhere at B2 - C1 level. There is also this: Cambridge website.

If you register, you can request digital versions of their books, which they normally grant. However, there are samples on there that you can download without registering. 

Good luck!

Dale 

Honestly, it�s not the exam aimed at 14-year-olds. The content of the readings (especially at academic level) is too mature for them to be able to achieve the grade they deserve. B2+ would technically translate into 6-7, but there is also the technique of test-taking. From my experience, the reading part is very challenging for candidates from the point of view of time, some don�t manage to finish their work within the 60 minutes they have. This is an exam used as a recruitment tool by universities (academic) or for immigration purposes (general) so why should such young students even bother?

If they insist, among others, focus on exam techniques, circling/underlining things in the text, eliminating distractors to find the right answer etc. Still, in my view, First for Schools would perhaps be a much better alternative.

 

I�m speaking here as a very experienced examiner. 

Thanks all for your help and suggestions. Since it was a one-off for me and I have so much else to do, I basically wanted someone on here to do it for me! Cheeky, but it worked;-) 

I did a kinaesthetic True or false as a starter, with definitions of things like scanning/skimming/paraphrase, looking for key words to indicate contrast -on the other hand - etc etc, a short youtube link on how to improve speed reading skills and then a RC sent by Monique. There were 8 students between 14 and 17 and they enjoyed it and made some very mature comments about the RC, which was a version of a short story.

@ joannajs, thanks for that information. I have looked at First for Schools and I will refer it to the organisers here.  

 

Thanks again, friends.

 

Lynne