Bye Bye Baku

My time here in Baku is nearly up, and as I write this post I have just over 24 hours left in Azerbaijan. That is of course unless the Icelandic volcano starts playing up again.

The past four weeks have taught me a lot about learning, teaching, culture and myself. I hope too that my students have learnt enough about IELTS to get them through their exam on Saturday. It hasn’t all been smiles, as you can see in my previous post, but I would say that overall I’ve had a lot of fun, met some really interesting people and made some good friends.

A lot of people here have asked me what I will miss about Baku and Azerbaijan, so here is my top five:

1. The people – very friendly, hospitable and inquisitive.
2. The city at night – all the old buildings are illuminated, making Baku one of the most beautiful places you could ever visit in the evenings.
3. Icherisheher – a fascinating glimpse into the past. You can see photos here.
4. The service in restaurants – efficient but unobtrusive.
5. The tea – the Azerbaijani people drink much more tea than us Brits, and the accompanying sweets are delicious.

So, if you ever get the chance to visit Azerbaijan and you would like some advice, let me know and I can give you a few pointers. In the meantime, I look forward to blogging again when I’m back in London. Thanks for reading.

time up to have run out of time
to play up phrasal verb meaning to cause problems
to get through to be able to complete something difficult
to not be all smiles an expression used to describe an experience which was not always positive
inquisitive showing curiosity
illuminated provided with artificial light
glimpse an indication of what something is/was like
unobtrusive not noticeable, in a positive way
pointers pieces of advice or tips, informal
in the meantime during the intervening time, or the time between two events

Come in London - Azerbaijain calling

Hello everyone from chilly Baku. If you’re not sure where Baku is, it’s the capital of Azerbaijan. If you’re not sure where that is, perhaps it’s time you bought an atlas! To be honest, before I came here, I wasn’t quite sure where Baku was either, but for the record, it’s about as far east in Europe as you can go, sharing borders with Russia, Georgia, Armenia, Turkey and Iran.

It’s a fascinating place, and I’ll write more about why in future posts, but for the time being perhaps it’s best if I explain why I’m here. As some of you may know, I’ve been teaching at the London School of English for nearly three years and in that time I’ve taught several IELTS courses. About a month ago, our courses director, Pete, asked me if I’d like to teach another IELTS course. "Of course" I said. "In Azerbaijan" said Pete. "Oh" I said, "let me think about it". After I’d slept on it (and hit the internet) I agreed to go, feeling that it was a great opportunity to visit somewhere well off the beaten track.

So here I am. I’ve been here for five days and taught for four of them. It’s been fascinating so far, and a real eye-opener. I’m teaching three IELTS groups a day for one month, in preparation for their exam on May 8th. The students are really switched on and keen to learn about the exam and Britain in general. I haven’t had much of a chance to explore the city yet, but I plan to have a good look around this weekend. I’ll let you know how I get on.

chilly quite cold, often after rainfall
for the record officially
for the time being until something happens at a later time
to sleep on something to wait a day or two before making an important decision
to hit the internet to use the internet a lot in a short period of time. You can also hit the books (revise a lot in a short time) or hit the shops (do a lot of shopping)
off the beaten track an unusual or uncommon place for tourists to visit
eye-opener a very interesting or educational experience
to be switched on to be intelligent and able to learn things quickly

to get on to make progress

Image taken from acus.org

Lost for words 2

Lost for words 2
Fillers
Learn useful words for spoken fluency and speaking examinations.

Here is the reduced text from the post on fillers. Were you able to get the basic message? Remember the text was exaggerated and no body would really use that many fillers altogether in such a short piece of speaking, but they are used regularly in everyday English conversations. See the notes below taken and adapted from the Longman Exams Dictionary (Pearson Longman 2006) for more information on the fillers.


There are lots of times in our daily conversations when we use unnecessary words. It’s like, what we say has no real meaning and sometimes we just need to keep on speaking while we’re trying to think about what we want to say and how we’re going to say it. Being able to use these unnecessary words can help with spoken fluency, which improve our speaking by filling the gaps we would leave if we didn’t use these words.

Actually - Used to add new information to what you have just said, to give an opinion or to start a new conversation. Also used to emphasize the real truth of something.

Sometimes - on some occasions not always.

Well - Used to emphasize what you are saying or used to pause to give yourself time to think.

In a manner of speaking - in some ways but not exactly.

If you catch my drift - used to check if someone understands the general meaning of what you have said or if they are following the conversation.

At the end of the day - used to give your final opinion after considering everything.

The bottom line is - used to tell someone what the most important part of a situation is or what the most important thing to consider is.

A bit - slightly, to a small degree.

Whatchamacallit - a word used when you can't remember the name of something.

In some way - used to say there is a fact or feature of something that makes a statement true.

In fact - used to add something or to emphasize what you just said.

From time to time - sometimes but not very often.

To be honest - used to say what you really think.

Maybe - not certain, possible

I hope these are helpful, try to notice native English speakers using fillers to develop your knowledge of how they are used. Being able to use fillers in you speaking will help you to become fluent and as i said in the previous post they are useful and positive in all English speaking exams.

Lost For Words -
Fillers
Learn useful words for spoken fluency and speaking examinations.

I'm currently teaching the IELTS course at The London School of English at our Westcroft Square school and I have been talking to my class about how to use fillers. These are spoken words we use to fill the gaps that we leave when we are thinking about what to say. They are helpful for all speaking exams because they help to give you some time to develop your ideas, while keeping the conversation going. They can make you sound fluent and more natural, as well as help you to avoid long pauses when you are speaking.

Have a look at the following text which uses a large number of fillers. Can you reduce the text to it's most basic meaning?

Basically, like, there are lots of times, kind of, in our daily conversations, when we, sort of use, a lot of unnecessary words, if you know what I mean, and, y’know it’s a bit like, what we say has no real meaning, and, um, actually, sometimes, well, it’s like we just need to keep on speaking, while, we’re trying to, kind of, think about, what we want to say, and, in a manner of speaking, how we’re going to say it, if you catch my drift? At the end of the day, the bottom line is, being able to use these unnecessary words, a bit, can, kind of help a bit, with whachamacallit, spoken fluency, which, in some way, can, in fact, improve our speaking, from time to time, and, to be honest, by, sort of, filling the gaps, we would, sort of leave, if we, maybe, didn’t use these words.

I'll post up the reduced text next week. In the meantime,how many of the fillers do you know and use when you are speaking?

Ten Tips for Success in the IELTS Exam

1. Don’t try to read the texts in the reading paper in depth. Even if you are a native speaker, it would be extremely difficult to read 3 texts in detail and then answer the questions in an hour. You should start with the questions and then go to the relevant part of the text and read only that part in detail. Then move on to the next question and do the same.
2. Don’t forget to transfer your answers in the reading paper. You will not be given extra time to do this and if you forget then your score for the reading paper will be 0.
3. Be careful when you transfer your answers that you transfer them to the right place. It is easy to transfer them incorrectly if you miss a question and you could lose a lot of points by doing this.
4. Read the instructions carefully! If the question requires a YES, NO or NOT GIVEN answer, make sure that you write the answer fully. Y, N or NG is not acceptable.
5. In the writing paper, make sure you plan your answer before you begin to write it. This will help you organise your thoughts and will give you a better chance of getting a high score.
6. You should divide your time carefully in the writing paper. Part 1 should take 20 minutes and part 2 should take 40 minutes. If you spend too long on either part then you are risking losing marks over all.
7. Remember that part 1 writing could be either describing statistics OR describing a process, so make sure that you have practised both types of exercise and that you know how to structure your answer well.
8. In part 2 of the speaking test, you will be given a minute to prepare your short speech. Make sure that you use this time well and plan the order of the points you want to talk about. Think about it as a short essay and make sure you have a logical starting point, middle part and a finish.
9. You will only hear the listening ONCE so if you miss an answer, take a guess and move on. Always take a guess and don’t leave any blanks on your answer sheet. Remember, you will be given extra time to transfer your answers after the listening test is over so don’t worry about transferring them in the middle of the test.
10. The best way to ensure success in the IELTS exam is to practice the papers in advance and make sure you know how it works. If you can, do a preparation course but if that’s not possible, buy a self-study practice book that gives you the answers AND tells you why the answers are correct.

Have you got any questions about preparing for IELTS? If you have, write a comment and we will get back to you.