IELTS 6.0/6.5 Preparation Course

Course Description

Most universities in English-speaking countries require students to have a minimum of 6 or 6.5 in the IELTS examination to gain entry. This may vary according to the university and the specific course.

Here at IBAT College Dublin, we aim to ensure that all students who undertake our IELTS programmes achieve the exact grade they require. An advanced level of English is required to join this programme (CEFR B2/C1 or equivalent).

IBAT offers English language tuition in two campuses (16-19 Wellington Quay, Temple Bar, Dublin 2 and 24-27 North Frederick Street, Dublin 1). The campus and level of class is decided by our English language academic team upon completion of the entrance test on a student's first day of classes.

Both campuses are fitted with state of the art learning facilities to enhance your English language journey with us. Please note that there is no option to select your campus. 

Our programmes focus on all four skills:

• Reading
• Writing
• Listening
• Speaking

The courses begin with a general introduction to the overall structure of the examination, followed by a gradual development of the sub-skills:

Reading

• Reading for detailed and specific information
• Deducing unknown vocabulary from context
• Justifying an answer
• Interpreting an author's overall opinion of a given topic

Writing

• Exam task 1: Description of visual information - interpreting and comparing data in the form of graphs, bar charts, pie charts, tables, process diagrams, maps, cycles e.g. water cycle, carbon cycle etc.
• Exam task 2: Essay writing - structuring an argument while providing evidence, presenting and supporting points, comparing and contrasting, showing cause and effect, outlining advantages and disadvantages, justifying an opinion.
• Text organisation (introduction and conclusion)
• General coherence – linking ideas and sentences appropriately

Listening

• Listening for gist and specific information - dates, times, prices etc.
• Repeated exposure to exam-style recordings e.g. monologues, two-way conversations, group discussions, lecture-style tutorials etc.
• Emphasis is placed on the different native English-speaking accents
• Recording scripts are subsequently analysed for vocabulary content

Speaking

• Examination of academic vocabulary and expressions for recurring discussion topics
• Particular focus is placed on language accuracy and fluency
• Regular simulations of the complete speaking exam in student pairs
• Students will be carefully trained to complete each exam task in the specific allotted time and will practice transferring answers from exam booklets to the official exam answer sheet.

All our exam programmes are structured in a way that builds students' confidence through continual practice of exam-specific tasks, combined with regular designated exam practice days followed by detailed feedback provided to each student.

Individual logs are kept of each student's scores to highlight stronger skills and pinpoint weaker areas for further development. The aim of this is to show progression and to form the basis for assigning supplementary work to improve on these areas.