To further enhance classroom teaching quality and optimize instructional design, the Language Center of the International College conducted a teaching and research activity titled "Classroom Teaching Management and Instructional Design" for its grassroots teaching organization on the 1st of April 2025 in Room 107 of the Lixue Building. The event, themed "Discussion on IELTS Speaking Teaching Strategies and Interactive Teaching Demonstration," was led by international faculty members Nicky and Jeanine from the International College. The two foreign teachers shared their valuable experiences in IELTS speaking instruction, offering a substantive and enriching exchange for all participants. The International College's IELTS teaching team and foreign teacher Kowo also participated in the activity.

Part 1: Techniques for IELTS Speaking Classroom Design.

Foreign teacher Nicky focused on IELTS speaking instruction, providing an in-depth analysis based on the four assessment criteria—Fluency, Vocabulary, Grammar, and Pronunciation—and offering practical classroom design methods for IELTS Speaking.

Part 2. Examples included: IDEA Organization and Output: Helping students quickly structure their thoughts to avoid pauses and improve fluency. Vocabulary Enhancement Techniques: Avoiding repetitive use of common words and replacing them with more advanced, idiomatic expressions. Sentence Expansion Strategies: Transforming simple sentences into more layered content through grammatical structures and logical connectors. Language Organization Training: Using mind maps and topic categorization to help students express ideas clearly and coherently. Nicky’s presentation was theoretically sound and incorporated numerous classroom examples, providing teachers with immediately actionable teaching strategies.

Part 3: The Integration of IELTS Listening, Speaking, Reading, and Writing

Foreign teacher Jeanine’s presentation was divided into three parts: identifying obstacles to high scores in IELTS speaking, utilizing practical tools to overcome these challenges, and emphasizing the interconnectedness of the four IELTS skills. She engaged the participating teachers using the interactive tool Menti to explore two key questions: What is the biggest challenge Chinese students face in learning English speaking? and Which IELTS speaking assessment criterion do students find most difficult to master? She then proposed practical solutions.

From a macro perspective, Jeanine highlighted the importance of integrating the four skills—listening, speaking, reading, and writing—in IELTS instruction. Listening and reading are input processes while speaking and writing are output processes. Teachers should focus on cultivating students’ input and output abilities, enabling them to accumulate language knowledge through listening and reading while applying it through speaking and writing. She shared teaching methods that combine these skills and emphasized the need to foster comprehensive language proficiency. Only by breaking down the barriers between individual skills can students truly improve their overall English competence and excel in the IELTS exam.

This teaching and research activity not only provided educators with valuable instructional insights but also facilitated experience-sharing between Chinese and foreign teachers. Participants unanimously agreed that the presentations by the two foreign teachers were both theoretically profound and highly practical, injecting new inspiration into future classroom teaching. The International College will continue to organize such teaching and research activities to drive pedagogical innovation and support student growth!