Learn
An IELTS course with 12 topic units. Each one teaches reading, listening, writing, speaking and the language for its topic.
I'm Elita. I run every lesson here with you. Start with the starter unit, then take the units in order, or go to the topic you need first.
Starter
Getting started
What the test is, how it is marked, and how to use this course.
Unit 1
Education
Schools, courses and the way people learn, in all four papers.
- Words for education, and giving reasonsLanguage: Education words; reasons and results, 22 min
- Matching headings: a report on school start timesReading: Matching headings, 12 min
- Part 1 forms: signing up for an evening classListening: Part 1 form completion, 14 min
- Part 1 answers: talking about your studies or workSpeaking: Part 1 answers, 12 min
- Opinion essays: should university be free?Writing: Task 2 opinion essay, 28 min
- Bar charts: how students get to schoolWriting: Task 1 bar chart, 23 min
Unit 2
Work
Jobs, workplaces and careers.
- Words for work, and the present perfectLanguage: Work words; the present perfect, 14 min
- True, False, Not Given: two people, one jobReading: True, False, Not Given, 15 min
- Section 2 work texts: a job advert and a training noticeReading: General Training Section 2, 14 min
- Part 3 multiple choice: planning a work placementListening: Part 3 multiple choice, 16 min
- Part 2: describing a person who helped youSpeaking: Part 2 describing a person, 17 min
- Advantages and disadvantages: working from homeWriting: Task 2 advantages and disadvantages, 29 min
- Formal letters: asking Human Resources to change your hoursWriting: Task 1 formal letter, 27 min
Unit 3
Technology
Devices, the internet and how technology changes daily life.
- Words for technology, and describing changeLanguage: Comparatives, trend words, 24 min
- Matching information: libraries in the digital ageReading: Matching information, 18 min
- Part 3 matching: choosing tools for a group projectListening: Part 3 matching, 15 min
- Part 3 opinions: technology in daily lifeSpeaking: Part 3 opinions, 15 min
- Discussion essays: has technology made people less sociable?Writing: Task 2 discussion essay, 29 min
- Line graphs: broadcast TV and streamed videoWriting: Task 1 line graph, 24 min
Unit 4
Environment
Nature, pollution, waste and recycling.
- Words for the environment, and the passiveLanguage: Environment words; the passive, 25 min
- Summary completion: a passage on mangrove forestsReading: Summary completion with a word box, 12 min
- Part 4 notes: a lecture on how seed banks workListening: Part 4 note completion, 17 min
- Part 2: describing a natural place you enjoySpeaking: Part 2 describing a place, 17 min
- Problem and solution essays: plastic in rivers and on beachesWriting: Task 2 problem and solution, 29 min
- Process diagrams: how a building reuses rainwaterWriting: Task 1 process diagram, 24 min
Unit 5
Health
Exercise, food, sleep and health care.
- Words for health, and talking about amountsLanguage: Countable and uncountable, quantities, 24 min
- Yes, No, Not Given: an opinion piece on counting stepsReading: Yes, No, Not Given, 14 min
- Part 1 notes: joining a sports centreListening: Part 1 notes: numbers, times, prices, 17 min
- Fluency in Parts 1 and 2: talking about sleep and exerciseSpeaking: Fluency in Parts 1 and 2, 18 min
- Causes and solutions: why adults exercise too littleWriting: Task 2 causes and solutions, 29 min
- Pie charts: how adults divided their exercise timeWriting: Task 1 pie charts, 23 min
Unit 6
Cities
Towns, housing, transport and how cities change.
- Words for cities, and describing places and changeLanguage: City words; places and change, 23 min
- Sentence completion and short answers: pocket parksReading: Sentence completion and short answers, 16 min
- General Training Section 1: a community centre and local advertsReading: General Training Section 1, 18 min
- Part 2 maps: a tour of a redesigned town squareListening: Part 2 map labelling, 15 min
- Part 3: talking about how cities will changeSpeaking: Part 3 change and the future, 16 min
- Positive or negative essays: more people living aloneWriting: Task 2 positive or negative development, 28 min
- Maps: a harbour district then and nowWriting: Task 1 maps, 24 min
Unit 7
Travel
Trips, tourism and the stories people bring home.
- Words for travel, and telling a story in the pastLanguage: Past simple and continuous, 25 min
- Multiple choice: a passage on slow travelReading: Multiple choice, 19 min
- Part 2 multiple choice: a briefing before a coastal walkListening: Part 2 multiple choice, 16 min
- Part 2 stories: a trip that did not go to planSpeaking: Part 2 telling a story, 17 min
- Two-question essays: why people take holidays abroadWriting: Task 2 two-question essay, 28 min
- Informal letters: a friend coming to stayWriting: Task 1 informal letter, 25 min
Unit 8
Culture
Museums, festivals, traditions and the arts.
- Words for culture, and adding detailLanguage: Relative clauses, 25 min
- Matching features: museum collections onlineReading: Matching features, 19 min
- Part 2 matching: a town festival programmeListening: Part 2 matching, 13 min
- Part 3: how celebrations and free time have changedSpeaking: Part 3 comparing past and present, 17 min
- Partly agree essays: should museums be free?Writing: Task 2 partly agree, 29 min
- Tables: visitors to five attractionsWriting: Task 1 table, 25 min
Unit 9
Media
News, advertising and where people get information.
- Words for the media, and formal EnglishLanguage: Register, polite forms, 24 min
- Matching sentence endings: why podcasts caught onReading: Matching sentence endings, 15 min
- Part 4 signposts: a lecture on newspapers going onlineListening: Part 4 signposts, 17 min
- Pronunciation: Part 1 answers about the news you followSpeaking: Pronunciation, 16 min
- Introductions and conclusions: advertising aimed at childrenWriting: Task 2 introductions and conclusions, 27 min
- Complaint letters: a subscription charged twiceWriting: Task 1 complaint letter, 26 min
Unit 10
Science
Research, inventions and how science explains the world.
- Words for science, and first and second conditionalsLanguage: Science words; first and second conditionals, 16 min
- Diagram labels and flow charts: how a solar still worksReading: Diagram labels and flow charts, 14 min
- Part 4 summaries: a lecture on tracking migrating animalsListening: Part 4 summary completion, 18 min
- Part 2 objects: describing something you find usefulSpeaking: Part 2 describing an object, 17 min
- Body paragraphs: should governments spend more on research?Writing: Task 2 body paragraphs, 27 min
- Two charts together: solar power and a country's electricityWriting: Task 1 two charts, 24 min
Unit 11
Food
What people eat, how food is kept and bought, and what is thrown away.
- Words for food, and choosing a, an or theLanguage: a, an, the, 22 min
- Table and note completion: keeping food before fridgesReading: Table and note completion, 14 min
- Part 1 tables: ordering food for a club dinnerListening: Part 1 table completion, 14 min
- Vocabulary range: food questions in Parts 1 and 3Speaking: Vocabulary range, 17 min
- Cohesion: an essay on who wastes more foodWriting: Task 2 cohesion, 29 min
- Numbers in Task 1: what households spend on foodWriting: Task 1 writing about numbers, 24 min
Unit 12
Society
Families, ageing, communities and volunteering.
- Words for society, and linking back to an ideaLanguage: this, these, such, 24 min
- Choosing from a list: three generations under one roofReading: Choosing from a list, 13 min
- Part 3 two-answer questions: a survey on volunteeringListening: Part 3 choosing two answers, 16 min
- Part 3 longer answers: family and communitySpeaking: Part 3 longer answers, 18 min
- Checking your essay: an ageing populationWriting: Task 2 checking your essay, 17 min
- Semi-formal letters: asking a neighbour to help with a street partyWriting: Task 1 semi-formal letter, 27 min
Test week
The last week
The seven days before the test, and the day itself.
- The last seven days: a plan for the week before your testGetting started: The last seven days, 12 min
- The test day: what happens at the centre, from arrival to SpeakingGetting started: The test day, 13 min
- Rules that cost marks: checking an answer the way it is markedGetting started: Rules that cost marks, 14 min