This past spring I was able to teach a very short course on speaking. This was not any speaking class, it was for those wanting to pass the IELTS exam, or International English Language Testing System. Scary sounding isn’t it?

Deep in conversation

It was a small class but I was happy to have a chance to teach some English. They really wanted to focus on speaking since that is the hardest to practice or study for and is really best done with a native English speaker.

Sorting phrasal verbs

We did simple activities such as sorting phrasal verbs and collocations. We looked at common idioms and used them in speech. We put an end to dead, dumb, and boring words such as “good,” “like,” and “fine” to exchange them for more exciting words.

Can you answer these questions in a concise manner in 2-4 min?

There were basically lots of discussion times, all they really wanted was a place to practice speaking English. We went through a lot of practice test questions and just general chitchat. Overall, it was a great class and time well spent for all.