IELTS Life Skills is an English language test for people who need to prove their speaking and listening skills at Levels A1 or B1 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR).

The test is designed to meet the requirements of UK Visas and Immigration and is available at two levels:

IELTS Life Skills A1 Speaking and Listening – for ’family of a settled person’ visas

IELTS Life Skills B1 Speaking and Listening – for indefinite leave to remain and citizenship.

In this webinar the presenter will give an overview of the test format and assessment criteria for both levels and suggest teaching strategies and activities to help prepare students for the tests.

0:00 Chapter 1 IELTS Life Skills is an English language test for people who need to prove their speaking and listening skills at Levels A1 or B1 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). We begin with a background to the test, then a look at who the test is for, how the test is organised and what test takers will have to do.

 7:14 Chapter 2 In this chapter we develop our understanding of the CEFR with a true/false quiz and a closer look at the A1 and B1 levels.

14:55 Chapter 3 Next we look in detail at each of the Learning Outcomes for IELTS Life Skills, with definitions provided for each. We end this chapter with a closer look at the assessment process.

22:32 Chapter 4 Here we’ll look at specific examples from sample papers and learn what candidates will need to do for each Phase. We’ll note where there is a focus on a specific Learning Outcome, and identify other opportunities for candidates to be credited for evidence of Learning Outcomes throughout the test. We’ll start with the A1 test.

28:36 Chapter 5 Next, we’ll look at the B1 test and see how it differs from the A1 test.

32:34 Chapter 6 In this section we suggest teaching strategies and activities and provide tips for teachers helping to prepare students for the IELTS Life Skills test at A1 level.

37:59 Chapter 7 This chapter concludes the teaching strategies and activities section with ideas for teachers preparing candidates for the B1 level test.

44:55 Chapter 8 Q&A session from webinar. Presenters: Vincent Smidowicz & Ashleigh Bodell

The slides can be downloaded here: http://assets.cambridgeenglish.org/we…

The sample test can be downloaded here: https://www.ielts.org/what-is-ielts/i…

The IELTS Life Skills guide for teachers can be downloaded here: https://www.ielts.org/ielts-for-organ…