Anthony Cosgrove
Anthony Cosgrove is an author and consultant in the field of English Language Teaching. He works as a consultant for the British Council.
Location Bath, UK
Activity
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Thank you @AmirAli, that's really good to read.
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Anthony Cosgrove replied to Amir Ali
That's really appreciated @AmirAli. Thank you so much for taking part, and for your positive feedback.
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Anthony Cosgrove replied to ipsita swain
Thank you @ipsitaswain for your feedback and for taking part.
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Thanks @DeboraLeiteCaputo for your feedback. And best of luck with your test!
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Really, you can read anything you want @PetrosSiphoMajola. I suggest you read on a wide variety of subjects, as many different topics will be covered in the IELTS test. Newspapers, novels etc are useful ways to practise your reading. Similarly, for listening, things like TED Talks are ideal because they will cover a wide range of subjects.
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Anthony Cosgrove replied to Amir Ali
There's lots of good advice here @AmirAli, thank you for sharing.
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Thank you @GalinaRyabova, I'm glad you're felling more knowledgeable and confident about the test.
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Anthony Cosgrove replied to Vaidas M
Thanks for your question @VaidasM, you have about one minute to read the question in each section before the recording starts playing.
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In the exam, you have a question paper. As soon as you hear an answer, you write it down. So don't worry, because you don't actually need to remember any answers at all!
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Please see my answer to a similar question @ProtaisNsabimana https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/cambridge-english-ielts/4/steps/261794/comments?page=1#comment_25873702
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You're absolutely right @IyaSaidouConde!
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@AndronicusMongo You would have 20 minutes for each of the three sections. In 20 minutes, you would need to read the text and answer the 13-14 questions. For the questions in this step, you have one whole text and then about half of the questions. So completing this step should take you about 13 minutes.
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You need to read all the notes very carefully @MohammadrezaHarirsaz
You'll see that after gap 9, it says WERE. This shows that you need a plural answer for this question, GUIDELINES. -
Have you checked your answers against the key @StanleySilungwe?
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That's a very interesting example @EkwutosiChelsyTheresaEmezina-Iyoke
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I agree with you @PolinaKhramchikhina that managing your time well is essential. But I'm not sure how pronunciation could be important in a reading test - could you please explain?
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You make some interesting points here @ROSEEs. However, you need to be careful if you want to buy time while you're thinking of what to say. If you wait for too long before you start speaking, this turns into an awkward long pause, and this can affect your fluency.
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@StanleySilungwe, probably the best thing you can do is have lots of practice. Speak in front of a mirror, record yourself on your phone and then listen.
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@StanleySilungwe everyone is under time pressure in the exam. As for how to deal with this, you need to be strict with yourself. Give yourself time to plan your answer and write some notes before you begin writing your actual answer, but limit yourself to 5 minutes.
Also, make sure you don't write too much. The rubric gives you a minimum number of words, but... -
This sounds like a sensible outline @BrendaLissettLópezZúñiga
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Hello @FRANKEHIS, yes an overview could be around 3-4 sentences. But your whole answer would need to be at least 150 words.
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@CarolineMarcondes you have come to the right place to find out more about the IELTS test. I suggest you also look at the official IELTS website https://www.ielts.org. You can also see some practice questions here https://www.ielts.org/about-the-test/sample-test-questions
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Anthony Cosgrove replied to Nancy P
Thank you for joining us @NancyP and I hope you find the course useful.
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Anthony Cosgrove replied to Bene G
Yes that's right, all answers must be correctly spelled.
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Anthony Cosgrove replied to Amel Rahuma
I think you mean 4 out of 4? If so, well done!
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Lots of good examples here @HelinaY., thank you for sharing.
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That sounds like a very sensible outline @BecoMohd
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I am sure that once you've done this course @MasakoOzaki you will feel much more prayed. Good luck!
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Anthony Cosgrove replied to Nancy Kago
You can do it whenever you like @NancyKago
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Anthony Cosgrove replied to enkeleda hoxha
Welcome to the course @enkeledahoxha. I hope it will be useful for you and for your students.
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Actually @EstebanMarroquín both spellings are used in British English. PRACTICE is the noun in British, and PRACTISE is the verb.
In American, PRACTICE is used for both. -
@TassosStylianou remember that even if you do skip an question in the reading, it's worth just guessing the answer, as you may manage to pick up an extra point.
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Thanks for your feedback @EstebanMarroquín
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Anthony Cosgrove replied to Hrisi T
Thanks @HrisiT. I'm glad you have enjoyed it, and I hope you enjoy your next course too with Cambridge English.
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Anthony Cosgrove replied to Dr.Farhana Afroj
@Dr.FarhanaAfroj you would need to present your IELTS a certificate with your score. Attending this course wouldn't be enough. This link wil tell you more about the specific institutions that accept IELTS https://takeielts.britishcouncil.org/choose-ielts/who-accepts-ielts
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Anthony Cosgrove replied to Siriphan Chomudom
It's actually 60,000, not 6,000!
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It's been a pleasure @HamzaBenMaaoui. Thank you to you too for taking part.
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Good luck @DenizKaryaAcikbas
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Yes @TassosStylianou, you used the word appropriately.
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@SiriphanChomudom I don't think your English is hard to understand at all; far from it!
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Have you seen this one https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=wzzOowpCryw @TassosStylianou?
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It's a good question @DenizKaryaAcikbas but I don't think there's a specific answer about how long someone would usually need to get from a 5 to a 6 because it depends on so many things. For example, someone might get a lower score than they should have done simply because they weren't well prepared and didn't know what to expect in the exam, so for example...
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Anthony Cosgrove replied to [Learner left FutureLearn]
I love your curtains analogy @EgzonaFejzaj
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I agree @SiriphanChomudom that it's the reason and writing papers where you most need to manage your time and keep an eye on the clock.
I was interested to read that you say meditation helps you prepare mentally for the test. -
Good luck @kemiyondoHilda
I hope IELTS can help you on your journey! -
Thank you for joining us @ShafaqRafique and good luck!
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Actually @THERAZITAMEKE, there is more flexibility in sections 2 and 3. You don't always get exactly the same task types. There are various task types, e.g labelling a map/plan/diagram, completing a flow-chart, choosing 2 answers out of 5 (or choosing 1 out of 3), or matching. There are normally two (sometimes three) of these in a section, and they might be in...
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Thank you for the feedback @DenizKaryaAcikbas, it is really appreciated.
Yes, I agree, and online course can only teach you so much, and we always tell people that it isn't intended as a substitute for a traditional course with a classroom teacher. -
That's funny @FarahYegane, I've never thought of my accent as being amazing!
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Anthony Cosgrove replied to Farah Yegane
Yes, UK, North America and Australasia.
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@THERAZITAMEKE It is certainly good to read all the answers before you listen. But don't try to work out which of them seem like more likely answers. In the real test this won't help you, because all options will be possible answers, and you won't be able to guess.
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@JarutasAndritsch A lot of people on the course have said that they like to watch films with the English subtitles on. I can see the appeal, but I question whether this really helps you with your listening. If you can read the subtitles, there's no need to listen!
Here's what you could do:
1) watch something with English subtitles on
2) watch it... -
Which particular radio stations would you recommend @PetrosSiphoMajola? Please feel free to post any links that you think other participants might enjoy.
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Anthony Cosgrove replied to Shaima Hussaini
Thank you @ShaimaHussaini for this feedback. It's very gratifying for us to be able to read appreciative comments like this! I'm so glad it's been useful, and we wish you all the best.
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Thank you to you too @MarcoLassandro for taking part!
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@PranshuPurohit I don't think there's such a thing that a video that can help you improve your writing score on its own. You can certaInly view all the videos and articles from week 1 again. But really there is no substitute for a traditional course with a (human!) teacher, who can give you feedback on your writing and correction.
Good luck! -
Thank you to you too @MercyNettanya and to everyone else who has taken part in the course. It has been great having you with us.
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Well done @AliceFagiolo. I would suggest that, even if you have had good marks in the practice listening tests, keep doing more practice (for all papers), as each one is very different.
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@NutzPrapaipun you make a good point about accents. It's useful to get used to a range of native speaker accents from the UK, North America and Australasia. I suggest you find some webpages about a subject you're interested in from these areas, and listen to some podcasts or videos. It doesn't even have to be related to something academic. If you're into...
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Yes @MarcoLassandro, I agree that starting the writing with task 2 is a good idea. And allowing 5 minutes (at least) at the end to proofread your writing is a must.
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Anthony Cosgrove replied to Nancy Kago
@NancyKago click on STUDY GROUP at the very top of the page Nancy. But you'll find that most of the discussion now is in week 5. However, you are free to follow the course at your own pace. Good luck!
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Anthony Cosgrove replied to HENG YONG CHING
Welcome to the course @HENGYONGCHING. It's a good idea if you can try to find opportunities to use English as often as you can. This course gives you just that!
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Anthony Cosgrove replied to [Learner left FutureLearn]
@KhoukhaChaibainou Could you explain what you mean by the 5 tops?
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Anthony Cosgrove replied to Roman Bokov
Hello @RomanBokov welcome to the course. I should just let you know that we focus specifically on the IELTS exam, rather than on generally improving your English. Is this what you are looking for?
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Anthony Cosgrove replied to Nana K
@NanaK we will look at one skills each week, and you'll find our tips on Reading (including managing your time) there. I hope you find some useful tips.
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It's great to have you joining us @ShaziaNoreen and I hope the course will be useful for you and your students. I take it you're at an FE college that also provides IELTS classes?
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Anthony Cosgrove replied to Elena Kosovets
Thank you for your feedback @ElenaKosovets. It's great to read that it's been useful to you.
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Anthony Cosgrove replied to Kamala Mongar
I'm glad it's been useful @KamalaMongar
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I'm glad that this one has whetted your appetite for more!
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Thank you to you too @NataliiaDikhtiarenko for all your participation.
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Yes, it's important to identify the positives!
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Anthony Cosgrove replied to Hussam Tahir
Thank you @HussamTahir, try to keep it positive, and I think that saying you resent talking about it wasn't the best wording to use. It was a nice story and you told it well. Make sure you use the correct irregular past tense form - 'spoke' and not 'speaked'. Thank you for sharing this.
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There's some great advice here @NUTTAYATAECHAPRUT, thank you.
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Anthony Cosgrove replied to Nazish Inayat
What a lovely analysis @NazishInayat about catching a fish! Thank you.
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Anthony Cosgrove replied to Jose Izquierdo
That's really interesting to see that doing this course has been helpful for preparing for another Cambridge English exam @JoseIzquierdo. Good luck with your Proficiency test!
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Yes, doing a bit every day is definitely the way to go, @tugsTseveenravdan!
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Thank you @ShaimaHussaini for participating and for your lovely feedback.
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Thanks @HetalJoshi. Actually we on the course are working for Cambridge English; a MOOC is a Massive Open Online Course, and FutureLearn is the organisation that hosts this MOOC and many others.
I hope that explains things! -
Thank you to you too @VictóriaDias for all your contributions. It's great to have learners with us on the course who are so willing to participate.
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Could you explain what you mean by 'Dora-amom', @NUTTAYATAECHAPRUT?
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@NataliiaDikhtiarenko I agree with @EstebanMarroquín. Judging by your writing, your English is great - you write accurately and clearly. You should do well!
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Absolutely @VictóriaDias, you need to remain 100% focussed on what you are doing.
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Best of luck with your test @MarcoLassandro!
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Ah, I see! Thanks for clarifying.
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Well done @KaterynaKhokhlova
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Anthony Cosgrove replied to Olabisi Cole
Well done @OlabisiCole, that's a great result.
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It's a good question @CatherineGoldobina
In the note-completion tasks, just use a word you hear in the recording.
If you use synonyms, you are taking a risk. Some people for Q7 wrote FAMOUS WRITERS instead of FAMOUS AUTHORS. This is acceptable, as all writers are authors. However, if you decided to use a near-synonym NOVELISTS, this wouldn't be right,...
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Anthony Cosgrove replied to Olabisi Cole
Yes @OlabisiCole, you must make sure that what you write makes sense when you add it to the notes.
If you write TRIP TO SPAIN, then the notes would say this:
THE FIRST PRIZE IS A PLACE AT A WRITERS' WORKSHOP IN TRIP TO SPAIN.
As this isn't a grammatical sentence, your answer would be marked wrong. -
It seems to be working now @ANNETKYALIMPA but here are the answers if you can't access it:
Answer Key
Listening Section 1: Short Story Competition
7 famous authors
8 online
9 public
10 Spain -
Thank you @YuYang for passing on details of the course. As you know, it's the final week now, but it will be possible to access the material for a limited time afterwards.
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Thank you for the recommendation @ALELIGNTAKELE
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Anthony Cosgrove replied to Tahera ali
Thank you @Taheraali for your feedback.
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Thank you to you too for joining us @ThiliniNadeeshaniWickramasinghe and staying with us right through to the final week!
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I hope this course has helped you on your way @TatyanaNechaeva
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Thank you @BongBong for your feedback, it's great to read!
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Trying to think in English is great advice @AmmarSalmi. Do you find that you can do it?
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@ChorladdaNoogaew It sounds as though you'd like a traditional course with a teacher who can check your writing....
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@HamzaBenMaaoui makes a good point about not wasting lots of time on one question in the reading test. If you really don't know, I suggest you actually just take a guess. For a multiple choice question (A, B, C or D), you have a 25% chance of guessing correctly and scoring an additional point.
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Thanks @HamzaBenMaaoui. You can read more on how TOEFL compares with IELTS here: https://magoosh.com/toefl/2013/toefl-vs-ielts/
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Thanks @AmmarSalmi for your comments.
On the subject of native speakers taking IELTS, I'd expect reasonably articulate, literate and educated native speakers to score considerably higher than 6.5 - probably 8.5 or 9.
