I started this website about five years ago because there wasn’t much good advice about IELTS online. At the time, I was teaching in a university in China and whenever I needed to direct my students to online resources, I struggled to find anything reliable. The only thing to do was start my own website! Five years later, there are lots of IELTS resources online, but sadly most of them are rubbish. However, I want to share with you some of the good ones.
In this article, I’m going to provide a few links to IELTS websites, courses, and social media pages that I think offer a lot of value. If you want a more in-depth analysis of both good and bad websites, you can click here. For a discussion of IELTS Instagram profiles, click here.
My IELTS Classroom
I have mentioned this website a few times before because I really admire what they do. Shelly is an ex-IELTS examiner and her blog contains some fantastic, realistic advice. There is no clickbait, no false promises, and no pointless lessons. It’s all just good material that can really help you to make progress in your IELTS preparations.
They’ve recently redesigned the website and although it can be a bit overwhelming with all the options, you will be rewarded if you dig through them. It’s hard to find, but I highly recommend the blog section, which has deep dives on different IELTS topics. You should also sign up for her e-mail list because she occasionally sends useful e-mails filled with practical advice on what to do (and what not to do) when preparing for IELTS.
Shelly also has a podcast that she does with another ex-examiner. You can listen to those here.
IELTS with Fiona
You might know this website better as IELTSetc because that’s the domain name and her social media username, but either way it is a website run by a woman called Fiona. She is a highly experienced and qualified tutor who has some good advice about each section of the IELTS exam on a very easy-to-navigate website that I highly recommend. However, perhaps the best part is signing up for her Members Academy. Here, you will find one of the best IELTS courses around. It certainly gives you more “face time” with an expert than most. This entails Zoom lessons where she interacts with the members of her course and discusses, for example, feedback on IELTS essays.
Fiona also has one of the few IELTS Instagram pages worth following. You can find her @ieltsetc. She mostly posts short videos explaining issues related to pronunciation or IELTS advice.
Udemy
The previous two resources include premium course subscriptions that I do strongly recommend, but I understand that – even though they are of great value – unfortunately not everyone can afford these. Thus, I recommend checking out Udemy for courses that are a bit more affordable.
You can just search for “IELTS” on Udemy.com, then just filter by the highest-rated courses. However, remember that, whilst some courses offer dozens of hours of video for the same price as others charge for just a few hours, the quality may differ greatly. Thus, you should think carefully about your needs and what the courses offer. Also, be sure to check out the course creator’s credentials rather than just the reviews, which can be easily faked.
Keith O’Hare, who is an excellent teacher of spoken English, with a great YouTube channel, has several courses that you should consider. The most popular is a guide to getting band 7 in the speaking test.
Charles Cornelius, who runs the IELTS Charlie website (also a decent resource), has several courses. I like the structure of his IELTS masterclass, though it seems more of an overview that touches upon each idea rather than go into great detail. Still, I think for people looking for general IELTS advice and guidance, this would be a great option.
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