HOW TO IMPROVE STUDENTS SKILLS IN IELTS READING

It is important to realise that reading is a skill which has to be practised regularly, and that therefore students should apply themselves from the very beginning to learn how to distin

"HOW TO IMPROVE STUDENTS' SKILLS IN IELTS READING"

I.

Introduction

Over the past century, English has emerged as an international language with its influence extending to almost every part of the world As it is an indispensable medium for diplomacy, aviation, transaction of international trade, scientific and technological studies, etc., English teaching and learning are becoming increasingly important

In Vietnam, IELTS is a popular test, especially for those who are preparing to study in an English speaking country such as the U.K or Australia IELTS tests are also adopted as a means of assessing students' skills in many other examinations, particularly for gifted students However, many students still find it difficult when they are required to fulfill all the tasks and questions in an IELTS reading test It is important to realise that reading is a skill which has to be practised regularly, and that therefore students should apply themselves from the very beginning to learn how to distinguish different types of IELTS questions and how to deal with them successfully

This paper is written with the aim of sharing some of my experience in teaching reading to students In the scope of the paper, I would like to focus on categorizing IELTS reading questions into different types, then offer some tips along with illustrations on how to deal with these questions successfully

II.

An overview of IELTS reading texts

In an IELTS reading test, there are three reading passages with a total of about 2,150 to 2,750 words Texts are taken from journals, magazines, books, and newspapers All the topics are of general interest and the texts have been written for a non-specialist audience The readings are intended to be about issues that are appropriate to students who will enter postgraduate or undergraduate courses At least one text will contain detailed logical argument One of the texts may contain non-verbal materials such as graphs, illustrations or diagrams If there are technical terms which students may not know in the text then a glossary is provided The texts and questions become more difficult through the paper

In terms of questions, the position of the questions varies - some of the questions may come before a passage, some may come after, depending on the question type

In terms of assessment, IELTS reading tests aim to assess the following skills:

1 Reading for gist

2 Reading for main ideas

3 Reading for detail

4 Understanding inferences and implied meaning

5 Recognising a writer's opinions

6 Attitudes and purpose

7 Following the development of an argument

III.

General tips for IELTS reading

When doing an IELTS reading text, it is necessary that students bear in mind the following tips:

- pay attention to the title, headings and any special features such as capital letters, underlining, italics, figures, graphs and tables

- make sure to understand the questions and follow instructions carefully

- pay attention to timing; do not spend too long on one passage or question

- do not try and read every word as IELTS reading means reading for a purpose

- if students do not know the answer to a question, attempt it but do not waste time; move quickly onto the next one

- do not panic if you do not know anything about the subject of the text; all the answers can be found in the text

- the word(s) used must be taken from the Reading text; do not change the form of the word(s) in the text

- do not worry if there is a word that you do not understand – you may not need to use it

- check your spelling

- be careful to use singular and plural correctly

- focus precisely on what you are asked to do in ‘completion’ type questions

- if the question asks you to complete the note ‘in the…’ and the correct answer is

‘evening’, just use ‘evening’ as your answer; note that ‘in the evening’ would e incorrect

- pay attention to the word limit; for example, if you are asked to complete a sentence using no more than two words, if the correct answer is ‘silk shirt’, the answer ‘shirt made of silk’ would e incorrect

- attempt all questions; there are no penalties for incorrect answers, so you have nothing to lose

- check your answers carefully

IV.

Classification of different types of IELTS questions

These are the types of question that are expected in an IELTS reading text

1 Multiple Choice

There are three types of multiple choice questions in the IELTS reading exam

Type 1 Where there is one possible answer.

Choose the appropriate letters A-D and write them in boxes 1-3 on your answer sheet.

1 According to information in the text, asparagine

A is poisonous

B can cause cancer

C is harmless unless heated

D should only be eaten in small amounts

2 According to information in the text, acrylamide

A has been found in lots of fried food

B has been found in snacks in Sweden

C is only found in western cooking

D is in water

3 According to information in the text, process foods

A should be avoided

B are cheaper

C are full of chemicals

D are the most tasty foods

Type 2 Where there are multiple answers for only one mark.

Write TWO letters A-F in box 4 on your answer sheet.

4 Which TWO examples of food is asparagine found in?

A peanuts

B rice

C French fries

D asparagus

E chocolate

F bananas

Type 3 Where there are multiple answers and one mark for each.

The list below gives some of the problems for dieters raised by Dr Jones Which

THREE of these problems are mentioned by the writer of text?

A Accessible junk food

B Coffee bars and after-work drinks

C Partners

D Stress & emotional situations

E Saboteurs and false friends

F Weakened resolve

For these questions you may be given the start of a sentence which you have to complete with one out of four choices Or you may be presented with a question and asked to find two, three or four items in a list of answers You could be asked to identify facts or opinions in the texts

Multiple choice questions can test both your global understanding of the text or ask you for specific information This means you will have to make the decision yourself whether to skim or scan the text

How to do the multiple choice questions:

- Read the instructions carefully and check how many letters you need to circle

- Skim all the questions and the answer choices quickly As you do this, underline the key words (the words that give you the most information) Try to get an idea of the topic you will be reading about from the vocabulary of the questions Look at any illustrations or diagrams that go with the text

- Go back to the first question Decide if you are looking for specific information or whether the question requires you to understand the whole text Then either scan or skim the text, as appropriate, to find the answer

- Read the relevant part of the text very carefully.

- Don’t leave any questions unanswered

2.

Short answer questions

There are two types of short answer questions in the IELTS reading exam

Type 1 Questions

Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS, answering the following questions.

1 How old was Spencer when he did his first degree?

2 Which teacher was instrumental in Spencer’s success?

Type 2 Lists

List FOUR reasons for Spencer being a child prodigy Write NO MORE THAN

THREE WORDS for each answer.

3 ………

4 ………

5 ………

These questions will usually tell you to write your answers in NO MORE THAN

THREE WORDS So you can answer with one word, two words or three words but no

more For these questions, like the multiple choice questions, you have to apply both skimming and scanning techniques Also note that the answers should not require a

hyphenated word (e.g non-smoker ) or a contraction (e.g They’ve) If the answer requires a number, you can write it as a numeral (e.g 6) or a word (e.g six) or a combination of a numeral and a word(e.g 6 million).

How to do short answer questions:

- Read the instructions carefully

- Skim all the questions quickly As you do this:

+ underline the key words

+ decide what information you need to find in the text

+ look out for question words like ‘where’ and ‘who’ which indicate you should listen for specific things like places and people

- Go back to the first question and decide what part of the text you need to read

- Read the part carefully to find the answer

- You may use your own words You don’t have to write a complete sentence but it does have to be grammatically correct

Sentence completion questions

There are two types of sentence completion questions in the reading exam

Type 1 With a selection of possible answers.

Complete each of the following statements (Questions 1-3) with the best ending A-F from the box below Write the appropriate letters A-F on our answer sheet.

1 Incorporating organic and inorganic

matter

2 Spent mushroom compost

3 Adding potassium regularly

A makes the soil more alkaline

B will help to encourage flowering and fruiting

C makes roots stronger

D encourages vigorous growth

E will help hold moisture in the soil

F will improve aeration

Type 2 Without a choice of possible answers.

Complete the sentences below with words taken from the passage Use NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each answer Write your answers in boxes 4-6 on your answer sheet.

4 Bul s should e stored ………

5 Seeds may deteriorate if exposed to ………

6 Summer flowering annuals should not e planted until after ………

These questions require you to complete the end of a sentence The questions appear

in the same order as the information in the text Type 2 questions are similar to the

short answer questions in that they will always tell you to write your answers in NO

MORE THAN THREE WORDS So you can answer with one word, two words or three

words but not more They will also tell you to use words from the reading passage

How to do sentence completion questions:

- Read the instructions carefully

- Quickly read through all the sentences halves As you do this:

+ underline the key words

+ try to work out what information you need

+ think about the grammatical form as well as the vocabulary that should follow

immediately from the stem

- Go back to the first sentence and decide what information you need to complete it

- Find the place where the information should be in the text and read it carefully.

- Look out for synonyms and parallel expressions because the questions are not likely

to use the same words as those in the text

- Make sure your sentences make sense both logically and grammatically

4.

Notes/table/form/summary/flow chart/diagram completion questions

These questions ask for specific information There are two types of these completion questions in the IELTS reading exam

Type 1 With a selection of possible answers.

Type 2 Without a choice of possible answers.

These questions require you to:

- insert a word or phrase in the middle of a sentence

- insert a word in the middle and another word at the end of a sentence

- write words or phrases that are not in sentences

- write a letter that represents a word or phrase

For Type 1 questions the words or phrases provided will be different from the words

in the text There will be more words than gaps

Type 2 questions are similar to the short answer questions in that they will tell you to

write your answers in NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS So you can answer with

one word, two words or three words but no more

How to do these completion questions

- Read the instructions carefully

- Look at the table or form etc carefully:

+ examine any headings or subheadings

+ try to get an idea of the topic

+ decide what section of the passage the exercise covers

+ anticipate grammatical form as well as vocabulary

+ if a box of answers is given, see if you can guess any of the matches & eliminate unlikely answers

+ if the question is in the form of a table, work out which way it is best to read it – horizontally or vertically

+ If the question is in the form of a summary, read through it first and see if you can guess any of the missing words

- Take each gap one by one and search the text for the best word(s) to fill the gap

5.

Yes, no, not given or True, false, not given

These tasks either ask you to identify the writer’s views or claims in the text or identify information in the text You will be given a list of statements which are either opinions or facts and you have to decide for:

Type 1 If they are opinions, whether they are the opinions of the writer or not or not

given in the text the writers views may not be directly stated, so you may have to work out what is implied

Do the following statements reflect the situation as described by the writer in the reading passage?

YES if the statement reflects the situation as described by the writer

NO if the statement contradicts the writer

NOT GIVEN if it is impossible to know what the situation is from the passage

1 Increasing the tunnel toll of the new tunnel will result in more people using the other tunnels

2 The congestion at peak hours was worse before the new tunnel was built

3 The cost of running a car does not deter purchasing

Type 2 If they are facts, whether they are true, false or not given in the text

The questions will be in the same order as the text

Do the following statements agree with the information given in the reading passage?

TRUE if the statement is true according to the passage

FALSE if the statement is false according to the passage

NOT GIVEN if the information is not given in the

passage

4 Most people spend about two hours a day traveling to and from work

5 The problems of road rage have doubled in the last 10 years

6 More road accidents happen where drivers are familiar with the roads

How to do Yes, no, not given or True, false, not given questions

- Read the instructions carefully

- Quickly read through all the statements to get an idea about the topic

- Read the first statement more carefully Underline the key words so you understand the main point

- Search for the section of the text which deals with the idea or fact

- Once you have found the relevant section, read it carefully For type 1, if the statement disagrees with the writer’s opinion, then select ‘no’ and if the author doesn’t give an opinion, select ‘not given’ For type , if the statement is the opposite to the information in the text, then select ‘false’ and if there is no mention of it, select ‘not given’

- Continue with the rest of the statements

6 Classification questions

These questions ask you to classify information given in the reading text.

Classifications are often according to the writer’s opinion or according to a period of time or place

You will be asked to identify a letter which represents one of the classifications for each item in a list of statements

Classify the following statements as referring to

US - the United States

J - Japan

G - Germany

or UK - the United Kingdom

Write the appropriate letters in boxes 1-4 on your answer sheet.

NB You may use any answer more than once.

1 The biggest spenders on personal travel

2 Had the greatest number of international travellers in 2002

3 Take the majority of their holidays in Western Europe

4 Employ the most people in the tourist industry

How to do these classification questions

- Read the instructions carefully

- Make sure you know how many classifications there are and what letters you have to

use (E.g US, J, G & UK in the exercise above.)

- Read the classifications carefully and make sure you don’t confuse the letters which represent each one

- Read the statements/phrases or words beside the question numbers and underline key words

- Start with the first statement and work your way through them one by one, searching the text to find where the information is mentioned

- The questions will not necessarily be in the same order as the text and the wording will probably be different in the text so look out for synonyms and parallel expressions

- When you’ve located the reference in the text, read it carefully and select your answer

- Don’t leave any statements without a letter