IELTS Private Tutoring in Berkeley (California)

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Are you a Berkeley-area student seeking to demonstrate your proficiency with the English language on the International English Language Testing System (IELTS)? If you are not a native English speaker and plan on attending an English-speaking college or university, you will need to obtain an impressively high score on the IELTS in order to study at the most prestigious and respected universities. While learning any new language can be challenging, those who learn English as their second, third, or fourth language know it can be especially difficult and requires far more than simply reviewing vocabulary words. Interactive conversation and dedicated study are needed to truly immerse yourself in this language, and our experienced tutors at Manhattan Review are ready to help you obtain the score you need to attend the college program of your dreams. Many students enjoy learning in the company of others and find their peers' questions and comments insightful and helpful. Other students, however, know they do not perform to their full capabilities in a classroom-style group setting, finding themselves distracted by others or frustrated when they must alter their own pace of learning to match that of their peers. If you are an ESL student seeking to prepare for the IELTS as part of attending an English-speaking college, there are many benefits to consider from working with a private tutor. Working one-on-one with a private tutor has been shown to accelerate learning, helping you master the necessary information to excel on a standardized test while also improving your confidence in your test-taking skills and reducing test-related anxiety. If you know you learn complex information best through individualized attention and a customized program of study, we invite you to contact us at Manhattan Review and learn about our world-class private tutoring options. 

If you are a motivated student seeking to obtain the highest IELTS score possible, there is no need to attempt to piece together your own study plan, worrying that you are failing to include the most relevant material or struggling to stick to a particular timeline or calendar. The dedicated and experienced private tutors at Manhattan Review have deconstructed the IELTS and used their knowledge to analyze every section and every question, creating a syllabus that is unsurpassed in the test prep industry. We are fortunate to have secured the services of the best IELTS instructors in the business, and they know just how to guide you to your own standardized test success. When you partner with Manhattan Review, your tutor will begin by identifying your unique learning style. They will then help you leverage the academic strengths you already possess while showing you how to avoid any areas of weakness that might negatively impact your test performance. When you work with a private tutor, you never have to worry about being overlooked or left behind; you also don't have to worry about mastering a concept quickly and then having to wait for the rest of the group to learn it before moving on. When you work with a private tutor, learning occurs on your schedule…you can spend more time on topics that prove challenging for you, and you can move on to new concepts as soon as you have mastered the foundational basics.

The IELTS is one of two major exams used by universities in the English-speaking world to assess English language competency (the other exam is the Test of English as a Foreign Language, or TOEFL). The IELTS is a British examination, and it is therefore favored by many universities in the United Kingdom. The TOEFL is an American test, and many U.S. colleges favor it over the IELTS. A number of postsecondary institutions in both the United States and the United Kingdom, however, will accept either the IELTS or the TOEFL, and we advise all of our test prep clients to verify the English requirements of their preferred undergraduate or graduate program. If you have a choice between the IELTS and the TOEFL, the best solution is to try practice versions of both tests, ultimately favoring whichever one is easier for you. It is important to note that there are some clear differences between the two tests…speaking skills, for example, are evaluated by audio recordings on the TOEFL and by in-person interviews on the IELTS. 

The IELTS is graded on a scale of 1 to 9, with higher scores reflecting a better understanding of the English language and a stronger ability to communicate effectively in this language. Schools such as Harvard, Stanford, MIT, and Caltech require a minimum IELTS score of 7 in order to obtain admission to undergrade programs, although incoming students routinely have scores higher than this. Most colleges and universities in the United Kingdom and the United States suggest an IELTS score of 6 to 7 in order to be considered competitive for admission. 

If you want to obtain the highest IELTS score possible, consider working with one of our knowledgeable and experienced private tutors. Manhattan Review has been provided unparalleled test prep services and materials since 1999, and we are happy to use our experience to help you achieve your own personal and professional success. We take great pride in pairing students with just the right private tutor, and our tutoring options are carefully and thoughtfully designed with your specific learning needs taken into account. Regardless of where you are in your IELTS preparation, our tutors can assist you in making the most of your study time, ensuring you cover all the necessary content and material. Set yourself up for the success you deserve by working with a private tutor who knows the most current and effective test-taking strategies certain to help you improve your score while also reducing any test-related anxiety you might feel prior to this important exam. Those students who work with Manhattan Review's private tutors consistently gain admission into the top English-speaking colleges and universities in the United States and around the world, including Princeton University, Yale University, Harvard University, New York University, Columbia University, the University of Cambridge, Cornell University, Georgetown University, Oxford University, the University of Chicago, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the University of Southern California, the University of Texas at Austin, the University of California at Berkeley, Stanford University, Northwestern University, American University, Rice University, the University of Pennsylvania, and elsewhere. 

Our private tutors have experienced their own hard-won and noteworthy successes, scoring in the highest percentiles on standardized tests and gaining first-hand experience with tests such as the IELTS. Our tutors are not only exceptional test-takers, though…they are exceptional educators, with strong backgrounds in teaching and learning theory. Our tutors are sought-after professionals who specialize in helping students just like you obtain the standardized test scores they need to advance towards their collegiate goals. Whether you prefer to learn in-person or virtually, our tutors are available during daytime, evening, and weekend hours to ensure there is always a time to study that is convenient for you and your busy schedule. Being accepted into leading English-speaking colleges and universities is becoming more competitive every day and having a stellar IELTS score is one of the best ways to make your college application stand out. If you want to take control of your future and ensure yourself a world-class education, we invite you to contact us today to learn more about preparing for the IELTS with a private tutor. Together, we can turn collegiate goals into reality, and there is always a place for you with Manhattan Review.

Meet a Berkeley IELTS Tutor: Caden L.

From the time he was a child, Caden loved to act, staging plays with homemade sets in his living room and charging his family members a dollar each to attend. "The admission price was always used to fund costumes for my next production," he laughs. He fondly remembers making his younger siblings sit and listen to him practice acceptance speeches for awards he was certain he would win someday, "although in order to get them to really pay attention, I usually had to volunteer to do their chores for them…but it was always worth it!" Caden's parents quickly found him a home in their local community theater, and he was fortunate to make strong friendships while learning the craft of creating believable characters as he worked his way up from stagehand duties to earning the starring role in numerous productions. When his mother's job relocated the family from Maine to Paris, France, Caden experienced a significant culture shock, but thankfully one thing remained the same: "There was a community theater close by our new house," he recalls, "and that really helped me make new friends and feel like there was at least one place I belonged." 

As Caden began learning about the respected French cinema, he also found lessons at his French immersion school quite challenging, and his mother quickly found a tutor for him to work with outside of classes. "Working one-on-one with a private tutor really accelerated my learning," he recalls. "It helped me feel so much more confident, I didn't worry about making mistakes, and that helped me use French more in everyday conversations until before I knew it, it was second nature to me." When his mother's company offered to extend her contract, Caden and his siblings enthusiastically endorsed remaining in Paris for a few more years, and he soon came to view the City of Lights as his new home. 

When it was time to apply to college, Caden knew exactly where he wanted to go. "My parents met at Dartmouth, and it somehow always felt like a family school to me," he recalls. Due to his impressive high school grades and stellar score on the ACT, plus his acting credits and other extracurricular involvement, Caden was accepted to his first-choice college and while at Dartmouth, he double majored in education and drama, completing student teaching projects and sending four semesters working in the college's learning lab as a tutor. After graduating from Dartmouth, Caden moved across the country to Los Angeles, known around the world for its films and movie stars. He obtained a master's degree in education from the University of California at Los Angeles, and while teaching underserved high school students, Caden realized how many of his students struggled with the English language, particularly when it came to writing. "I started having students write out lines to learn them for a play, but it became a great way of helping them become more familiar with the English language, too," he shares. "They learned about grammar and punctuation and how many words have more than one meaning, and I just kept thinking, 'I love that I can help with something so important!'"

Caden obtained a TESOL certificate from the University of California at San Diego and after a few more years of teaching drama (and unofficially teaching English), he was recruited by a non-profit organization to teach English and acting overseas. Caden spent more than ten years living and teaching in Japan, Thailand, Bali, Vietnam, and South Korea, and while he loved meeting new people, he also began to like the idea of living in one place for an extended period of time. His husband was offered a promotion that gave the family a chance to live in Berkeley, and Caden almost immediately found a home with Manhattan Review, helping ESL students prepare for their own future academic successes. There is regularly a wait list to work with Caden and while he occasionally offers a group prep course, private tutoring and working directly with one student at a time remain his true passion. When he isn't helping the next generation of English-speakers prepare for the IELTS and college, he can be found teaching numerous theater workshops for children, attending community and traveling theater shows across the Bay Area, and running with his adopted rescue dog, Oscar.