Thread: Best IELTS Books

what are the best IELTS books from a thai self-study and a teacher perspective?

i got the barrons version.

was happy about its TOEFL book...so i got the accompanying ielts version.

ha-sip / ha-sip

a decent book. id recommend it for self study...but with barrons, you need to be methodical and step by step. it will take time, but you'll be prepared.

The free ones....

Cambridge IELTS 5 with Answers : Books > Audio books - Mininova

Originally Posted by samsara

what are the best IELTS books from a thai self-study and a teacher perspective?

From a teacher's perspective you can't go wrong with Insight to IELTS. It is more organised that the others in so much as it deals with each skill in isolation. However, there isn't a teacher's book so you have to know what you are doing. I've used it for the last 9 years or so and have had great results from it

i really think that a self study IELTS course is very difficult for 99.9% of thai learners.

i was approached the other day by a friend who's daughter wants to study TOEFL and IELTS. although she has some confidence in speaking, her grammar was not that good at all, and academically she is very weak.

the nam jai and everybody will pass attitude hits a brick wall and shatters when many thais see their scores from these tests.

i dont know if this is relevant to the OP's friend in question, but its worth considering when thinking about how to study for the IELTS. i have barrons, and its difficult to follow. but my point essentially is that IELTS is an academic skills test, and to be blunt- if you cant follow a barrons book, however hard it may be, then youre really not ready for such an academic challenge.

and thats not to say that people shouldnt try. its just that when you get "whats the easiest way to study this- or the easiest to learn book" it reeks of the same mentality that wants easy street, for what happens to be a very difficult test.

...as it was with my friends daughter, i told her to read read and read. going over past tense grammar and even a bit more advanced stuff is just a complete waste of time when their vocabulary cant even handle sentences like, "When people grow up in isolation, does that affect their personality?"

think about that sentence- its surely not a difficult question gramatically for a native speaker. could your student take a crack at it? or will they and want to to you to help them?

if the answer is the latter, then pass and just tell them to read and read. they need more input before they take on the beast.

I like Sue O'Connell's Focus on IELTS books. To be honest, I like just about everything published by Longman. I heard her speak at the British Council last year. Smart lady.