Best sites to find an IELTS teacher
IELTS is one of the most widely accepted English language tests. Because of the popularity of IELTS, there is a huge teaching community to support the millions of students taking the exam annually.
Before sitting the IELTS test, it is important to be well prepared, as you need to pay a fee of hundreds of dollars every time you attempt the exam. Therefore, passing the test with a great score the first time not only looks good but can save you significant time, effort and money.
Having a teacher is one of the most effective ways to learn, practice and feel prepared for an exam. However, depending on where you live, finding a qualified teacher to help you develop your English language skills and prepare for an upcoming IELTS exam can be hard. Luckily, numerous websites and platforms can help you find English teachers specialising in preparing you for the IELTS exam.
If you are looking to take the IELTS test, this guide will give you some great tips on how to find an IELTS teacher and sharpen your English skills.
Hire an IELTS English teacher online
One of the best ways to prepare for the IELTS exam is to find an English teacher online who understands the test format and can coach you through practice questions and how to pass each part.
Many websites can connect IELTS students with English teachers, such as Preply, italki and Verbling, and freelancing sites such as Fiverr and Upwork. These sites allow you to find a teacher matching your budget and requirements by filtering the search options, meaning that you can find the right teacher for you.
PrePly
One of the most popular sites for seeking IELTS tuition is Preply; it’s a language learning site where you can learn different languages, including English. Preply has over 49,000 tutors from 185 countries and is used by hundreds of thousands of students.
You can choose between private lessons and group classes with a tutor. We recommend private lessons as these are more effective in preparing for the IELTS test, but it all depends on your budget. The tutor’s cost will depend on their rates, which can be anywhere from a couple of dollars per hour up to $90 per hour. Most tutors charge between $15 to $30 per hour.
The site offers handy search filters to help you find a tutor that meets your specifications, such as price range, availability and other characteristics, such as whether your tutor should be a native English speaker, whether they should speak any other languages, such as your native language or if they should teach British or American-style English.
Once you complete a search, you will be presented with numerous tutors that match your criteria. By clicking on their profile, you can watch a video where your teacher introduces themself, review information about their qualifications and read reviews written by current and former students. There is the option to message the tutor to ask any questions you may have and book a trial lesson to see if you like their teaching style and think it will help you prepare effectively for the test.
italki
Italki is an online platform that pairs you up with language teachers. The platform hosts tutors that teach over 150 different languages, including over 7,000 English teachers, almost 1,000 of whom can help with IELTS preparation.
Like Preply, italki also has great search tools to find a teacher to match your preferences, budget and schedule. italki supports professional teachers and community tutors, who typically charge less but may not have specific IELTS experience. Lessons with native speakers range between $10 and $80 per hour, but there is the ability to book a 30-minute trial lesson for a lower price to try out the teacher before you commit.
Each English teacher on the site has introductory information and a calendar to see their availability, a rating from previous students and details on how many lessons they have delivered. This information will allow you to choose the right English teacher for you. Italki has over 11,000 reviews on Trustpilot – with over 95% of users rating the service as excellent or great.
Verbling
Another popular online platform connecting students and language teachers is Verbling. The site hosts over 10,000 tutors teaching over 70 languages, many specialising in teaching English and preparing for the IELTS exam.
English lessons for IELTS on the site currently range between $7 and $100, with the average price for a lesson sitting around $25 per hour. Some teachers even allow you to book a free trial lesson.
The company is used by many major brands requiring language training for their employees, including DHL, Uber, Adidas and Puma. It not only gets a good name with companies but also with its users, who rate it as a 4.3/5 on Trustpilot after over 400 reviews.
Superprof
Superprof is a website that matches students with teachers. However, it differs from the platforms mentioned so far because it does not just focus on language learning but allows teachers to offer lessons teaching many different skills and subjects, from accounting to computer programming.
Don’t worry; there are still many English teachers on the site who can help you work towards taking your IELTS test. Because of the greater range of subjects on Superprof, you may need to be more specific with your searches. Instead of simply typing ‘English’ in the search bar, narrow your search further by searching ‘IELTS’. Here, you will find many English teachers online and ready to go, with information about their qualifications in their bio, their fees per hour and reviews from other students who have used their services.
Superprof has over 20 million tutors enrolled on the platform and over 7,000 IELTS tutors. Many tutors on this site offer a free first lesson, and you can filter your search only to include teachers offering the initial lesson for free. The average price of an IELTS tutor on Superprof is $17. The website has a good Trustpilot score of 4.1/5, with over 1,500 reviews.
Fiverr and Upwork
An alternative to the purpose-built tutoring platforms mentioned above is to look at freelancing websites such as Fiverr or Upwork. These platforms have thousands of freelancers experienced in many different fields, such as copywriting and logo design. Numerous tutors on the site can help improve your IELTS score through lessons, study plans and feedback sessions.
Simply search IETLS in the site’s search bar and find the right tutor for you. Again, like many other recommended websites, the seller sets fees that vary depending on who you select. One thing to note about freelancing sites is that they lack useful scheduling tools and many relevant search tools.
Ace the IELTS exam
It is recommended that you prepare well for your IELTS test to try and get the best score the first time around. The IELTS test consists of a few sections – reading, writing, listening and speaking and it is important to be proficient in each area for a good overall score. There are many ways to prepare for the IELTS exam, but one of the best methods is to hire an online English teacher who is aware of the demands of the test and how to pass it.
While there is no replacement for a teacher when preparing for an exam, one of the areas where teachers struggle is marking mock exams and providing detailed feedback. If you want cost-effective and instant feedback for your IELTS to practise essays, you should use IELTS Navigator. For the same price as one hour of teaching, you can take unlimited practice tests and see faster improvements from detailed feedback.
Start practising writing essays for the IELTS exam and get instant feedback from the most accurate AI-powered IELTS essay scoring solution.
