How do you prepare your ESL students for high-stakes tests like TOEFL or IELTS?

We spend so much time getting to know the exam format inside and out. When you know what is expected of you, it’s easier to know how to answer. The writing exam is the second thing I like to focus on since it doesn’t come as naturally to students; they know how to fill gaps with expected words or phrases, but original thought is more challenging.

I use a variety of strategies to help my students prepare for the IELTS exam. These strategies involve: -Introducing students to the test format and content. -Assisting them in developing effective test-taking strategies. -Providing practice with authentic materials to help them get used to test conditions. -Improving their reading skills. -Expanding their vocabulary and knowledge of idiomatic expressions.

When preparing my students for the IELTS exam, we start with, and usually spend most energy on, the writing exam, as this the area where test takers almost always obtain the lowest marks. This is because it's usually people's least practiced skill and the demands of the tasks may be the least intuitive. I know plenty of people who have good general English and who did minimal test prep but have failed the exam because they have no idea how to write reports or essays. I've also worked with many less strong students who are able to pass the other three sections of the exam after some exam prep, but they need huge amounts of writing practice and feedback to get them over the line.

I'd be interested in hearing recommendations for specific test guides and resources that have been helpful for 1:1 tutoring for TOEFL.

Dyslexics and non-dyslexic students may benefit from reading techniques such as using a finger or paper to push the eye across the words rapidly. Prevent “eye skip,” where the reader accidentally visually jumps a line of text, by blocking the text below the targeted text. Each second counts, and the less time wasted trying to find one’s place, the better.

TOEFL iBT reading section is often challenging, even for advanced students. Those who do not have a background in academia might be tempted to read the full text instead of skimming and extracting the main ideas. This takes away much of the valuable time. Practicing suggested reading strategies by ETS and understanding how questions are asked and what is their goal can drastically improve scores.

There are a number of industry-specific tests such as the TOLES for legal English, the OET for healthcare professionals or one of the Marlins tests for seafarers. They vary in format but all test some quite specific language. As a teacher, it can be interesting to learn about a particular industry and specialise in one of these tests.

Indeed, creating a bank of words students are likely to encounter on a test question is useful. Decoding positive and negative verbal cues is a skill indirectly tested on standardized exams. Prepare students by having them practice rapid paraphrasing of sample questions.

Academic language can often be complex and full of jargon. It is useless to learn all the vocabulary related to the numerous topics that TOEFL covers. Instead, focus on: - general academic language (words like synthesize, the aim, ...) - especially if you are not familiar with it - review most common prefixes, suffixes and greek and latin roots - they will help you understand many unknown words - practice reading authentic academic texts from variety of topics and focus on the main idea only - the rest will fall in place soon

Research shows learners retain more information when they study in a variety of physical locations. The same is true for buttressing test-taking skills. Don’t always practice test taking in a quiet library. Introduce distractions, such as noise, and simulate testing conditions like time pressure by using an egg timer or phone countdown. But do so with full transparency, so the student doesn’t think you’re just torturing them. Let them know that you’re preparing them to deal with pressure and distraction by introducing it while they practice. Emotional fortitude during test taking comes from familiarity and exposure.

I always emphasise how important it is that students get into the habit of reading in their free time. If students read every day this will have a profound effect on almost every area of their exam performance.

The first thing I do is to introduce the exam structure to them. However, if necessary and most of the times it is, I take some time building their general English because no matter how well they know the test, if they lack comprehension or speaking, etc skills they cannot do a good job. As soon as they have improved, I teach them how to deal with writing and idea generation because it usually takes them longer to learn this task and they would need more time to get skilled at it. As for other tasks, my approach would be different based on each student's strong and weak points but I spend time doing tests and teaching them time management. if they need more work, for example on certain tasks or grammar, I would focus more on those areas.

At the moment, all of my students are preparing for the IELTS, that’s what I do every day. I use actual past-date IELTS test questions, put them in a 3-part exam, just like the IELTS, then do mock exams using Q&A, followed by evaluation and instruction. Using this method, the students get to experience some of the real-world jitters they will likely encounter when practicing with questions they’re not yet familiar with. It helps them to prepare for the unexpected while building their self-confidence with their English language abilities.

TOEFL iBT test prep centre offers valuable practice questions, where students can get assessed by AI specifically trained for this purpose. This might give them additional feedback and motivate them to practice in their free time in an environment that closely simulates that of a real-life test.

When I was studying for the GRE, I learned from the University of California Berkeley website that mindfulness meditation helps. Students get better test scores. So I tried it. It’s important to equip your students with the tools they need to deal with an anxiety or panic attack during a test. Taking a deep breath in for four seconds, holding it for four seconds, and then exhaling for four seconds — all with the lips almost closed, as if you are sipping the air through a straw — is a good way to get receptors that line the longs to communicate with the brain, the message being: “I do not need any more cortisol or adrenaline right now.” Thinking alone will not shut off the adrenal response, which shuts down higher-order cognition. Breathe.

For tests that have a written component, think about your handwriting or typing speed. If you are someone who uses a computer all day taking a paper test, you will need to get back into the practice of writing by hand. Conversely, if you are taking a computer-based test and can't touch type, it will be helpful to learn.

Learning new vocabularies every day will enrich the knowledge in language when it comes to writing and speaking. Besides Learning new vocabularies they must be used in appropriate sentences in day to day life. Reading books helps in learn different writing techniques: cohesion and coherence of sentences, logical narrative style etc. All the four basic skills are interlinked.

Apart from the obvious test prep stuff mentioned in this article, I try to get students to focus more on natural language and less on how to answer, even though it's important to know what the examiners expect. I get too many students who try to memorize answers for Speaking, or who can't understand Writing in a logical & holistic way. So, I try to get them to relax and focus on having a normal, natural, enjoyable conversation with some nice person they are meeting for the first time because that's really what the Speaking section is. Writing takes more practice, but once they understand a logical flow they start to get it. I also encourage them to read broadly and develop a variety of interests that might help them on the exam.

I used to teach IELTS but not anymore. I specialise in teaching medical English with health professionals. I find the OET exam much more motivating and beneficial for this niche. I know this isn't the topic of this article but could be an interesting perspective to include.