IELTS Private Tutoring in Durban (South Africa)

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Are you a Durban-based student seeking to obtain the highest score possible on the International English Language Testing System (IELTS)? If you are searching for the most effective and comprehensive IELTS preparation resources, look no further than the standardized test prep experts at Manhattan Review. If English is not your first, or native, language, and you plan on attending an English-speaking college or university, you will need to obtain an impressive score on the IELTS to demonstrate your readiness to learn in the English language. While learning any new language can be challenging, those who learn English as their second, third, or fourth language know true mastery requires far more effort than simply reviewing vocabulary words. Interactive conversation and dedicated study are needed to effectively immerse yourself in the English language, and our experienced tutors at Manhattan Review are ready to help you obtain the IELTS score you need to attend the college program of your dreams. When it comes to preparing for an important test like the IELTS, 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, and find 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 looking to prepare for the IELTS as part of attending an English-speaking college, consider working with one of our world-class private tutors. 

If you are a motivated student seeking to take your IELTS preparation to the next level, research consistently demonstrates numerous benefits from working with a private tutor. In fact, working one-on-one with an experienced professional educator is one of the fastest and most dependable ways to improve your grasp of necessary information. Working with a private tutor has been shown to accelerate learning, helping you master the concepts 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. When it comes to preparing for the IELTS, there is no need to attempt to piece together your own study program, hoping you are covering the most relevant information or wondering if you are sticking to the most useful study schedule. The dedicated and respected private tutors at Manhattan Review have deconstructed the IELTS and used their knowledge to analyze every section and every question, creating a syllabus that remains 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 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 undergraduate 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. 

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 IELTS 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. In order to obtain the highest possible IELTS score, set yourself up for the success you deserve and give yourself every possible advantage by partnering with experienced test prep professionals with a proven track record of test-taking success. 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, Duke 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. 

Since 1999, Manhattan Review has been providing leading standardized test prep resources and materials, and we are proud 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 designed with your specific learning needs taken into account. Whether you have been preparing for the IELTS for a while or have only just started thinking about how you will prepare, our tutors can assist you in making the most of your study time. Our private tutors are eager to teach you 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. 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 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 quality education, we invite you to contact us today to learn more about preparing for the IELTS with a private tutor. At Manhattan Review, we specialize in turning collegiate dreams and goals into an exciting reality, and we look forward to partnering with you on your journey to academic success.

Meet a Durban IELTS Tutor: Ling H.

Ever since she was a child, Ling H. has loved to act. She was born in Beijing, China, and from an early age, she became fascinated by Chinese opera, a sweeping mixture of several traditional Chinese artforms, including literature, dance, music, fine arts, acrobatics, and performing art. When Ling's mother accepted a new job in Southern California, Ling was devastated at the idea of moving. "I was so sad to leave everything and everyone I knew, especially the friends I'd made as part of performance training." While it wasn't the same, Ling's mother immediately signed her up for acting classes when the family had settled into their new home in Los Angeles. To her surprise, Ling enjoyed the different style of performing and quickly established a new home for herself at a community theater where she began to make new friends who also helped her perfect her English. "I'd been fortunate to know some English before moving to America," explains Ling, "but everyone still seemed to speak so fast and so effortlessly, I wondered if I'd ever fully catch on."

Ling worked with a private tutor to help her feel more confident in her English reading, writing, and speaking abilities, and by the time Ling started high school, she felt as if she'd always lived in the United States. In addition to competing in Math Club, holding officer positions in student government, and being active in the drama department, she also helped tutor other ESL students like herself through her diverse high school's peer learning program. "That's when I knew I wanted to find a way to combine my love of being on stage with helping others learn English, because I saw how it changed people's lives, especially in school, to be able to learn and interact in such an important language," Ling explains. Ling proudly attended the University of California at Los Angeles, where she double majored in drama and English, completing student teaching projects and spending four semesters working in the college's learning lab as a tutor.

After graduating from UCLA, Ling accepted a position as a drama teacher at a public school in San Diego, and while teaching underserved high school students, she realized how many of her 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 to help them become more familiar with the English language too," she shares. "They learned about grammar and punctuation and how words have more than one meaning, and I just kept thinking, ‘I love that I can help with something so important!'" Ling 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), she was recruited by a non-profit organization to teach English and acting overseas. Ling spent more than ten years living and teaching in Japan, Thailand, Bali, Vietnam, and China, and while she loved meeting new people, after a while she began to like the idea of putting down roots and staying in one place for more than a year or two. When her husband was offered an exciting position in Durban, Ling was thrilled to join the team at Manhattan Review, helping ESL students prepare for their own future academic successes. There is routinely a wait list to work with Ling and while she occasionally offers a group prep course, private tutoring and working directly with one student at a time remain her true passion. When she isn't helping the next generation of English-speakers prepare for the IELTS, Ling can be found teaching theater workshops for children, supporting local artists in community theater productions, and running on the beach with her adopted rescue dog.