IELTS Life Skills A1 for an absolute beginner!!

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adil8

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Hello friends!! I have a female cousin who's required to pass IELTS Life Skills A1 (Speaking & Listening only), to apply for a spouse visa! She has recently made an unsuccessful attempt so I have been assigned the task to help her!! I am not a professional teacher so please help me create a study plan that specifically meets her requirements of passing the IELTS Life Skills... Thank you!!
 

Tdol

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What was the problem the first time? Why don't you get her a professional teacher?
 

adil8

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Well, it's difficult for me to explain her tricky situation so for better or worse, I'm her only hope! I am teaching her verb tenses so hopefully she's getting better with every passing day!! I appreciate the candid response but I'm still looking forward to receive a few valuable tips from you guys!! Thank you!!
 

NinjaTurtle

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Adil,

Can she read and write the ABC's or does her language use a foreign language script? What language does she speak? Can you also speak that language?
 

adil8

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Adil,

Can she read and write the ABC's or does her language use a foreign language script? What language does she speak? Can you also speak that language?

Thanks for replying!! Yes she can read and write on a basic level.. I think our language, Urdu, uses an Arabic Script so it's different from English which I believe follows the Latin script!! Yes, I am a native Urdu language speaker like her!! I have taught her Present Simple & Continuous tenses so far and I only hope that she will gradually improve by learning all the verb tenses! I appreciate valuable input from you kind souls! Thanks again!!
 

NinjaTurtle

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Adil,

I am a teacher of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) and I have found the best way to teach EFL is though meaningful, translated dialogs. Write meaningful dialogs in English on the left side of the page, then write the Urdu on the right side of the page. Start with greetings. Here is an example of what I do with Chinese students.

Start with greetings.

Hello. 你好。 Ní hăo.
How are you? 你好吗? Ní hăo ma?
I’m fine. 我很好。 Wǒ hěn hăo.
Thank you. 谢谢。 Xìe xie.
And you? 你呢? Ní ne?
I’m fine too. 我也很好。 Wǒ yě hěn hăo.

Then start with the verb to be.

Is this a pen? 这是笔吗? Zhè shì bǐ ma?
Yes, it is. 是的。 Shì de.
Is this a pen? 这是笔吗? Zhè shì bǐ ma?
No, it isn’t. 不是。 Bú shì.
What’s this? 这是什么? Zhè shì shénme?
It’s an eraser. 是橡皮。 Shì xiàngpí.

Then start with verbs.

Do you study? 你学习吗? Ní xuéxí ma?
Yes, I do. 是的,我学习。 Shì de, wǒ xuéxí.
No, I don’t 不,我不学习。 Bù, wǒ bù xuéxí.
Do you walk? 你走路吗? Ní zǒulù ma?
Yes, I do. 是的,我走路。 Shì de, wǒ zǒulù.
No, I don’t 不,我不走路。 Bù, wǒ bù zǒulù.
Do you run? 你跑步吗? Nǐ pǎobù ma?
Yes, I do. 是的,我跑步。 Shì de, wǒ pǎobù.
No, I don’t 不,我不跑步。 Bù, wǒ bù pǎobù.
Do you teach? 你教吗? Nǐ jiào ma?
Do you cook? 你烹饪吗? Nǐ pēngrèn ma?
Do you smoke? 你抽烟吗? Nǐ chōuyān ma?

Add direct objects.

Do you eat vegetables? 你吃蔬菜吗? Nǐ chī shūcài ma?
Yes, I do. 是的,我吃蔬菜 。 Shì de, wǒ chī shūcài.
Do you eat cabbage? 你吃卷心菜吗? Nǐ chī juǎnxīncài ma?
Yes, I do. 是的,我吃卷心菜。 Shì de, wǒ chī juǎnxīncài.
Do you eat spinach? 你吃菠菜吗? Nǐ chī bōcài ma?
No, I don’t. 不,我不吃菠菜。 Bù, wǒ bù chī bōcài.
What kind of vegetables do you eat? 你吃什么种类的蔬菜? Nǐ chī shénme zhǒnglèi de shūcài?
I eat lettuce, cabbage, and celery. 我吃卷心菜,卷心菜和芹菜。
Wǒ chī juǎnxīncài, juǎnxīncài hé qíncài.

Slowly add dialogs with indirect objects, prepositional phrases, multiple prepositional phrases, it-for-to sentences, present perfect, subjunctive mood, on and on, until ending up with very complicated questions and answers.

At the lower intermediate level, the student can also start doing short, two-minute speeches. Start with the topic Self-Introduction. All 'speeches' are followed with a question-and-answer period which hopefully can be expanded into a discussion. The teacher can also make such speeches, which makes for good listening practice for the student.

Google Translate is a huge help in preparing these dialogs.

https://translate.google.com/

-----

Methodology

Both of you take turns reading a dialogue while both of you look at the written-out dialogue. Then, both of you do the dialogue again, but this time you (the teacher) look at the page while she (the student) does not look at the page.

Each time, you ask her the question, she answers, then she asks you back the same question. The pattern is, ask a question she will answer with a yes, then ask her a question she will answer with a no, then ask her a question she will answer with a wh- word (who, what, why, etc.)

The goal is for her to be able to ask and answer the questions without looking at them written on paper.

Having the Urdu written out on the right side of the page eliminates a lot of problems. No need for her to go fumbling through a dictionary. This also guarantees you will never ask her a question she doesn't understand, nor is able to conceptualize the answer.

In the beginning, go heavy on the grammar. As she advances to the intermediate level, switch from a grammar-based approach to a situation approach (shopping, cooking, sports, music, etc.)

I would add that, for an absolute beginner, even reading individual words in English may be difficult. In this case, use flash cards, with English on one side and Urdu on the other. If even individual-word flash cards are too difficult, start with single-letter flash cards.
 
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adil8

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NinjaTurtle,

You seem more like a Master Splinter than a NinjaTurtle... LOL!! Your idea of getting more relevant & meaningful is an impressive one and I will surely follow it... Here, I would like to give a shout out to Jutfrank for sharing a useful link, Thanks dude!! Internet indeed is a fantastic tool to educate yourself and people like you & all others who share their precious knowledge & experience so generously, deserve all the respect!! Thanks again!! :cheers:
 
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