The IELTS Habit

The IELTS Habit is a group for Toronto immigrants and foreign students who plan to take an English proficiency test to extend their periods of work, study or residency in Canada. Our goal is to open up IELTS preparation for serious students of English, online and in-person. Are you aware that on any given IELTS test, 80% of IELTS candidates fail to make the standard minimum university entrance score?  Many have started lessons only weeks before the test date. In contrast, we promote good IELTS Habits over time, for those determined to succeed.

Checking us out costs nothing! Join this Meetup and wait for notices of these classes. There will be six per month.

IELTS for Lunch - Regularly scheduled IELTS strategy class given during a weekday lunch hour. Speaking and writing strategies are covered; see “About Strategy Lesson Topics” below.

IELTS Pop-Up - Occasional IELTS class given in the evening or on the weekend for topics in speaking, writing, reading or listening skills, and grammar practice advisories. Students may make a request for a small group.

IELTS Essay Demo - Occasional IELTS class for co-operative building of an IELTS essay with the instructor; topics are Task 2 or Task 1 Academic writing. Essays are drawn from all IELTS themes: home, art, school, work, media, technology, family life, sports, health, food, travel, transportation, environment, psychology, habits, money, crime and more.

ABOUT STRATEGY LESSON TOPICS
Classes range from 45 to 60 minutes. They prepare you for the intensive practice phase where you put your knowledge into action, and practice, practice, practice!
1.        IELTS Myths  What you may have been told and should not believe about the test
2.        The Writing Test – How It Is Scored  You need to know how both the writing tests are scored in order to avoid behaviours that will earn you an ‘automatic 5’ in your Grammar and Task Response subscores.
3.        Analyzing a Task 2 Essay Question This lesson teaches you strategies to boost your Task Response and Cohesion & Coherence subscores, determine how many paragraphs should be in your Task 2 essay and decide what should be in each.
4.        Observing & Imaging - Content Gathering for Essays  This fun class exercises your ability to generate content by exploring traditional and modern paintings. You know more than you think you know!
5.        Paraphrasing - Four Methods Paraphrasing is essential for all parts of the IELTS test: speaking, writing, listening, reading. There are more options than just finding words that mean the same thing.
6.        Sentence Variety - More is More!  Many IELTS candidates make the mistake of thinking that the more fancy complex sentences you use, the better your score. Wrong. The greater the variety of your sentences, the higher your Grammar score.
7.        The Speaking Test - How Each Part Is Scored There are reasons for having three parts. The focus is different for each, which will help you develop control of the test.
8.        Nature of the Question - Decode Oral Questions to Power Up Your Score  Get the advantage of knowing the four major question types that repeat throughout Parts 1 and 3 of the speaking test.
9.        Verb Tenses for the IELTS The proper use of Perfect Tenses and Passive Voice is what moves your score above a 6.
10.   Task 1 General  A prescription for formal and informal letter-writing
11.   Task 1 Academic – Do The Math  We address winning tactics vs whatever you are doing now. Learn to tell a story from numbers and pictures. This lesson teaches you how to avoid “mechanical” Task 1 responses on any task using statistics. Avoid a disappointing score of 5 for the Task Response subscore.
12.   Task 1 Academic – Tables How to read a table, summarize the contents, highlight the points of interest and make comparisons. Prerequisite: Do the Math.
13.    Task 1 Academic – Pie Charts & Bar Graphs How to read a pie and bar chart, summarize the contents, highlight the points of interest and make comparisons. Prerequisite: Do the Math.
14.    Task 1 Academic – Line Graphs How to approach describing the story over time that a line graph tells, for a maximum score. Prerequisite: Do the Math.
15.    Task 1 Academic – Maps & Plans How to get the most out of describing a map or plan, where your high score opportunities will be verb tenses. 
16.    Task 1 Academic – Flow Charts and Processes How to get the most out of describing a natural or manmade process where the focus will be sequencing, and verb tenses. And the flowchart where the structure adds a choice of routes to the conclusion.

“We” are an affiliation of three entities : Ontario Steam Foundation, dedicated to creating opportunities in STEM education for financially-challenged students, and now looking at how to do the same for English test proficiency; Lolart, a local prep school dedicated to foreign students bound for university; and Make Sense! Learning Games, a Toronto-based English language game company.

ABOUT US
When you decide you want personal feedback and attention, we have very competitive options online or live through the sponsor of these classes, Lolart Academy near Bloor and Yonge.