Collins Practice Tests For IELTS 1 General Training Listening Test 2 (Online Test)

Tutor: OK, so here we are on the first floor. The self-access centre is just along here on the left. This room's very popular with students and can get quite busy. When it's quiet you can come here as often as you want but if there's a lot of demand, such as coming up to exam time, we have to limit sessions to make sure everyone gets a chance to use the resources.

If you'd like to follow me in. So, here we are. As you can see, it's a lovely bright room with lots of resources to help you with your English studies. Over there against the wall we have a row of Internet-connected computers. As you can imagine these get taken very quickly with students wanting to check their email, Facebook, that kind of thing. Because of the demand we ask students to try and stick to about 30 minutes maximum.

You'll need to log in with your username and password. You should have created these already during your induction. Please do not share your details with anyone else and please make sure you read our policy on using the Internet.

I mentioned the help desk earlier and that's it over there just past the computers in the corner. There are usually two members of staff available to help you and these will often be teachers so if you have any language questions that's where you can go.

Now, over there you can see the reference section. You'll find dictionaries, exam practice tests, vocabulary and grammar books. I should point out that these books are for reference only and we don't offer a loan service. We are allowed to make photocopies of one or two pages so if there's an exercise you need a copy of ask the staff to help.

Now these computers on the oval table here, they're our high-spec PCs. You'll find programmes to help you with your English but also opportunities to practise other languages such as Spanish, Chinese, German; several languages in fact. Some of them require a CD-ROM ... You can collect them from the help desk. By the way, there's no Internet connection on these computers nor any office software for the time being. If you want to do any word processing you'll need to use one of the laptops we keep for this purpose. Again, see the staff if you need one of these.

Some of you were asking earlier about extra listening practice and these small rooms here are dedicated language labs. If you want to use this resource see a member of staff to buy a set of headphones. And finally here on the left we have two stands with our large collection of readers. These are simplified novels by well-known British authors like Charlotte Brontë, Charles Dickens and Shakespeare. The books are graded and you'll find lots that will be appropriate to your level. Unlike the reference books you can take these readers home and keep them for up to 14 days.

I think that's everything. The centre is open from 8.30 till 5.30 during the week so, as your classes start at 9.00, those of you who get here early can use the resource before your lesson. Although it's open all day long, it's booked by a tutor for their class now and again so you might not be able to gain access if you have any free time during the day. It's best to ask the tutor concerned if it's okay to pop in. Oh, and it's open on Saturday as well, just for a few hours, from 10.00 till 1.00.

Tutor: Hello Jacob. Come in and take a seat. How are you finding the course?

Jacob: Very good. I'm really enjoying myself.

Tutor: Good. Well, I've had a look at the first draft of your assignment and it shows a great deal of promise. How well do you think you answered the question?

Jacob: I think I dealt with the task okay. I spent hours in the library reading up on the subject so I feel confident I answered the question. I'm not sure about my Spanish though.

Tutor: Well, for a first draft I was very happy with the content ... You've included all the important points and you've given a very balanced argument so I'm pleased with that. I think one area you need to work on is organisation.

Jacob: Yes, my other tutor said the same thing about another piece of writing. My ideas weren't organised logically, she said.

Tutor: Well, to be fair, I think the order of your ideas here is fine. It's your paragraphing that's the problem. If you look at this page it's difficult to actually see your organisation. Your ideas are in the right order ... but I can't make the organisation out very well because there aren't any paragraphs.

Jacob: Yes, I see what you mean. Perhaps if I left a line between paragraphs it would make it clearer.

Tutor: Yes, that's an excellent idea. Have a look at paragraphs in books, magazines, newspapers ... that kind of thing. There's no need to read everything ... Just pay attention to how paragraphs are presented.

Jacob: Okay. I'll have a look at some of my friends' work as well. They don't seem to have this problem. What about the style of the writing? Is that okay? I've never really learnt how to write formally so I'm always a bit worried about this when I write an essay.

Tutor: The register is very good Jacob, no problem at all. You've used lots of nice set expressions we'd expect to find in a piece of writing like this and used them very naturally.

Jacob: That's good. What about my Spanish?

Tutor: Your basic grammar is okay; you haven't made many mistakes so that's good. What I would suggest is trying to experiment more with advanced sentence structures. Yours tend to be on the short side. That's okay when short sentences are required but sometimes combining two sentences into one can make the essay flow more naturally.

Jacob: Have you got anything I can use to practise that? Any books or websites I could visit?

Tutor: Yes, no problem. I'll give you one of our worksheets in a minute. You can take it away and work on it before you write your second draft. Finally, another thing you could think about is using more advanced vocabulary. Again, the words you've used are fine but there are more advanced synonyms that would fit more appropriately in an essay like this.

Jacob: Well I've bought a thesaurus.

Tutor: Yes, that's just what you need. As you can see, I've underlined where I think you could make changes but I haven't suggested any synonyms. Use your thesaurus to try and find some alternatives ...

Good morning. I'm here today to talk about the placement that's offered to all Psychology students. As you all know this takes place in the third year of the Psychology BSc. I'm here to explain a little about the placement and how the process works. A lot of preparation's involved in getting these placements right so you need to be thinking about this now.

Students taking up a placement year benefit immensely from the experience. To find decent employment in the field of psychology the chances are you'll need to undertake some form of postgraduate training such as one of our Master's courses. These courses invariably demand experience in the field you intend to study so being able to gain this experience during your undergraduate degree is a great advantage.

There's a lot to be gained from joining the scheme. Of course it will help you identify the areas of psychology you may or may not be interested in. And you'll develop transferable skills such as problem solving, team working, communication skills – skills that employers demand and that graduates often lack. Also remember that the placement will offer you networking opportunities to become acquainted with key players in your field.

Many of our students who've completed a placement year take up a position with the same employer after graduation or after successfully completing postgraduate training. In fact many of our students from previous years now hold influential positions in the police, the health service and the private sector as a direct result of their placements.

The placement you choose will depend very much on your own area of interest. Those of you who have a particular interest in research can opt for a placement in a hospital unit here or abroad, working in areas of forensic and clinical psychology. A post here can be very rewarding and allows you to contribute to qualitative and quantitative research data and learn practical research skills you can use in your coursework.

For those who prefer hands-on experience of working with patients there are a wide range of options available. We have links with several charitable and public-sector organisations that support stroke patients and people recovering from serious physical trauma, for example due to motoring or industrial accidents. You will have the opportunity to help them deal with long-term clinical treatment and pain management.

There are several opportunities to work with addiction and rehabilitation units. The kind of experience you'll gain here can be very wide-ranging, for example offering you the chance to observe group therapy and one-to-one counselling sessions for anxiety and anger management classes. Students are encouraged to give their reaction to sessions during regular team meetings, which can often be of benefit to both the student and the organisation.

For those of you interested in the application of psychology in education, we have a number of students who take placements working with children with special educational needs. Students in the past have worked as teaching assistants and contributed to teacher-training workshops.

There's a lot more information about this on the website including case studies written by some of our previous students. These will give you a much wider and richer picture of our placements.

As I said earlier, you should already be giving this some serious thought. Our placement tutor, Greg Smith, will be able to advise you about the organisations we have contacts with and we've worked with in the past. Once you've discussed the opportunities available we ask you to contact the organisation concerned to investigate potential positions and to arrange an interview. Your personal tutor will be able to help you with updating your CV and interview skills.

During the enrolment process you'll have been notified of the need to obtain a CRB check. In cases where you're working with vulnerable people it's a legal requirement that you've had a Criminal Records Bureau check carried out. Without this we won't be able to approve the placement. If you haven't yet arranged this you must notify the placement officer of this during your first meeting. He'll give you the necessary paperwork to make your application. Once you have the certificate, please supply a photocopy to the placement officer.