Stop Learning IELTS Grammar the Old Way: Practice Naturally and Scientifically with Eduling

By Dr. Linh Phung

Recently, I have been supporting a number of students in practicing IELTS Speaking and Writing using the Eduling app, followed by additional guidance to help them overcome their weaknesses. I would like to share some general observations on developing the ability to use grammar accurately.

1. Current State: Good at Rules, Struggling with Authentic Language Use

Most students that I work with are well aware of their grammatical strengths and weaknesses (commonly errors in subject-verb agreement or singular and plural nouns). They have a solid grasp of grammar rules and can readily self-correct when reviewing transcripts of their speaking. This indicates that their explicit/declarative knowledge of grammar is well-developed, likely as a result of years of studying rules and completing grammar exercises.

However, this explicit knowledge has not been translated into real-time communication skills. According to cognitive science, the grammatical competence depends primarily on procedural memory/knowledge rather than declarative memory/knowledge. Therefore, traditional methods of memorizing rules and completing fill-in-the-blank exercises are not effective mechanisms for converting knowledge into grammatical accuracy in more authentic communication.

2. Solution: Practice in Authentic Communicative Conditions

When speaking under real-time conditions, students tend to make many errors because they must simultaneously handle various other communicative demands. If students wish to boost their IELTS scores quickly in 4 to 8 weeks, improving grammatical accuracy presents a significant challenge.

Therefore, my advice to students aiming for high IELTS Speaking and Writing scores is to start speaking and writing in authentic communicative conditions from the very beginning and maintain this regularly. "Authentic conditions" here mean genuinely interacting with others (or engaging in simulated interactions), rather than merely reading aloud or memorizing responses.

To prepare effectively for the IELTS exam, practice activities should also be diverse across different genres: social interaction, sharing personal experiences, storytelling, discussion, debate, and expressing opinions.

3. Leveraging AI Chatbots and the Eduling App

The advent of AI chatbots offers unprecedented opportunities for students to practice in more authentic conditions.

For instance, the Eduling app enables users to practice the full spectrum of the IELTS interview with various topics, pre-designed tasks and activities, and a smooth AI experience. The EdulingAI can negotiate meaning and offer flexible corrective during interactions, a feature specifically engineered based on second language acquisition research that standard AI applications lack. In certain tasks, EdulingAI also provides detailed linguistic analysis and offers estimated IELTS scores and CEFR level predictions.

To enhance grammatical accuracy when practicing with Eduling AI, students can:

• Observe the corrections made by the AI.

• Actively restate sentences in which they made mistakes.

• Review conversation history to self-identify recurring errors.

• Repeat tasks with EdulingAI (without memorizing answers verbatim).

4. Additional Activities to Improve Accuracy

• Plan before speaking: Briefly outline key ideas before starting.

• Enhance interaction: Engaging in dialogue helps learners pay greater attention to grammatical accuracy than speaking alone. Executing language tasks with AI on the Eduling app provides opportunities to attend to form during communication (focus on form), one of the most critical mechanisms in language development.

• Establish a clear structure: For a 2-minute speech, planning a structured outline in advance (e.g., a narrative with a clear beginning, middle, and end) supports better grammatical control.

• Repeat tasks under varying conditions:

  • Apply the 4/3/2 technique (speaking for 4 minutes -> 3 minutes -> 2 minutes).

  • Speak with AI first, then practice with a peer.

  • Brainstorm ideas with AI, then deliver a continuous 2-minute speech.

  • Talk with notes and then without notes.

In summary, developing the ability to use grammar accurately does not result from doing fill-in-the-blank exercises, conjugating verbs, or memorizing scripts. Spending too much time on these traditional activities can actually waste time that could be dedicated to developing true language proficiency. Do not wait to acquire and use language under authentic conditions.

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