IELTS English Vocabulary 13: School | IELTS Listening | IELTS Speaking | IELTS Reading | IELTS Test Prep

In this episode of the Magoosh IELTS podcast, your teacher Eliot Friesen explains how to use four words all related to school:  Institute, Tutorial, Office Hours, and Course.

This is the kind of language you’re going to hear in the listening passages on your IELTS exam.

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Download the complete list of IELTS Vocabulary words.

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Episode Transcript

(Translations: Tiếng Việt, فارسی, عربى)

Welcome to the Magoosh IELTS Vocabulary Podcast. This is Lesson 13. In this episode, we will cover 4 words all related to school:  Institute, Tutorial, Office Hours, and Course.

Don’t forget to check out our show notes for a link to your free IELTS vocabulary list containing these words and others, and visit us at IELTS.Magoosh.com for more great resources to improve your IELTS band score.  Use coupon code “ieltspodcast” to save 20% off your IELTS test prep!

Okay! Let’s get started.

I’d like to introduce you to your teacher, Eliot. He is the Magoosh IELTS expert and, here’s a fun fact about Eliot: he went to a tiny high school with only 200 students.

Eliot

Hello Magoosh IELTS podcast listeners, welcome to today’s show. I’m Eliot, the IELTS expert from Magoosh, and it’s true, there were only about fifty kids in my graduating class. So today, we’re going to look at four words that are going to help you to understand the kind of language you’re going to hear in the listening passages on your IELTS exam.

Make sure to go to the link in the show notes to get the full list of vocabulary words.

The theme for the words in today’s episode is school life, and words we might use to describe different places and events that are related to school.

Institute

Let’s begin. Institute is the first word on the list. So let’s start with that one, okay?

Institute, what does it mean?

Well, an institute is an organization with a particular purpose, especially one that is involved with science, education, or a specific profession.

But when you hear or read the word "institute" on the IELTS, it will almost always refer to a university. So “Institute” is another word for university or campus on the exam.

Many universities that are involved with private research are called institutes. For example the full name of MIT is the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. However, small liberal arts schools or local community colleges are not typically talked about using the word institute. When taking the IELTS, just try to remember that the word institute is talking about a university or its campus.

So that’s institute.

Tutorial

The next word is tutorial.

A tutorial is a period of instruction given by a university or college tutor to an individual or very small group. So on the IELTS, the word “tutorial” refers to a single teaching session between a teacher and one or more students.

A tutorial could be a single lesson on the use of symbolism in a famous novel. Or a tutorial could teach students on how to use a certain computer program. You get the idea.

A tutorial could also be one session in a semester course, a one-on-one meeting with a tutor, or a learning activity that is directed by a student club or university support centre.

Here again, we see an IELTS vocabulary word that is different in British and North American English. In American contexts, “tutorial” is more likely to mean an instructional video or booklet. Of course, the IELTS is a U.K.-based exam, so chances are that when you run into the word “tutorial” on the IELTS it will be the British definition.

Okay? So that’s tutorial.

Midroll

We have even more words for you coming up, but let’s pause for a word from Magoosh.

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Now back to the story!

Office Hours

The next word is office hours. Technically office hours is a phrase, but it’s an important phrase to know!

So what  are office hours? Well, “office hours” is the name for the time that professors and teaching assistants schedule outside of class to meet with students. Office hours are set periods of time during the week which a teacher makes themself available for students to come by their office and ask questions.

For example, a professor might keep office hours on Tuesdays and Thursdays from noon to 2pm. During those scheduled two-hour time periods, students can come see the professor, even if they don’t have an appointment.

Students are encouraged to attend office hours to ask questions about assignments or anything they didn’t understand during class. Office hours are also a great way to get to know your professor, and get a little extra help with your schoolwork.

So that’s office hours.

Course

The final word today is course.

Course is one of the most common words on the IELTS. This may seem like a very simple vocabulary word, but many IELTS test-takers get confused. It’s easy to forget that this word can have two meanings.

The word “course” can be used to mean a single class that a student enrolls in, such as a one-semester history course.

However, on the IELTS, a course can sometimes also refer to an entire degree. A bachelor’s degree can be called a four-year course, and a master’s or doctorate may be described as a postgraduate course.

Note that in North American English, a course is almost always just one class. But again, the IELTS is a U.K.-based exam. Test-takers who are less familiar with British English should be careful when they see this vocabulary word on the IELTS.

So that’s course.

Great! In this episode you learned 4 words related to school life--for more vocabulary, download the full list of vocabulary in the show notes and tune in to the next episode.

Outro

So how did you do? Are you comfortable with all of these vocabulary words? If you need more practice, check out the show notes for a transcript of this episode so that you can follow along and listen again.

Oh and by the way! We’re looking for volunteers to help us translate the show transcripts from English to your first language. If you are interested, please email me at [email protected] with the subject line “translation,” and let me know what language you can translate into!  

Thanks for listening! If you like our show, help us out by leaving a rating and review in Apple Podcasts, it helps people find us! And don’t forget to hit the subscribe button. Until next time! This is Naomi at Magoosh, wishing you happy studying!