How to Choose an IELTS, PTE, or MET Teacher: Questions I Encourage You to Ask

When you attend an IELTS, PTE, or MET class, it is easy to be impressed by someone who speaks English very well. The teacher sounds confident, the explanations seem convincing, and the sample answers look excellent. But after the class, when you sit down to answer a question on your own, do you know how to begin?

That is something I pay close attention to as a teacher. A lecture can be enjoyable and inspiring, but there has to be something you can take from it and use. You should understand a task more clearly, recognize a problem in your own work, or know how to approach your next attempt.

I have taught English exam preparation since 2010, and I encourage students to look for both relevant exam experience and the ability to teach. Ask about qualifications, but also ask how the teacher explains a difficult skill, identifies your priorities, and helps you prepare within the time you have. Those questions tell you much more about the preparation you are going to receive.

The experience I bring to my teaching

I have taken both IELTS Academic and IELTS General Training. I have achieved Band 9 in Listening, Reading, Writing, and Speaking, as well as an overall Band 9. I have also achieved PTE 90/90 and MET C1.

My background in teaching is equally important to me. I am a licensed professional teacher in the Philippines, ranked sixth nationally in the Licensure Examination for Teachers, and hold a TESOL certification. I have undertaken training with IDP, the British Council, and Pearson. Across my teaching career, I have coached candidates who achieved IELTS Writing scores of 8, 8.5, and 9, and hundreds who achieved PTE 90/90.

Taking the exams has helped me understand what it takes to perform as a candidate. Teaching has required me to understand how someone else learns. These are two different abilities, and a student benefits when a teacher can bring them together.

Here are six questions I would encourage you to ask when choosing your teacher.

1. Has your teacher experienced the exam?

One of the things taking an English exam taught me was how differently you can perform under pressure. You may know what a good answer looks like. You may have practiced it many times. But at the test center, you also have to manage your time, maintain your concentration, and keep going when a question is difficult.

There are small details you become aware of when you are there. In my own test experiences, I have noticed people typing, coughing, or looking nervous, and rooms that felt cold. None of those things changes what you know about English, but they can affect how comfortable you feel while using it.

That experience gives me something practical to share with students. I can explain what I noticed and help them prepare for it, so the environment feels more familiar when they take their own examination. For PTE, for example, Pearson's equipment guidance explains that other candidates may be speaking at the same time and advises keeping your headset on. Practicing how to stay focused on your own response makes that information useful.

If a teacher has taken the exam, ask what they learned from the experience. If they have not, ask about their training and how they familiarize themselves with the tasks and test conditions. I would be interested in how that knowledge finds its way into the lesson.

2. Can your teacher explain how to produce a good answer?

Showing a student an excellent essay is useful, but the student still needs to understand how it was written. Why does the introduction work? How does the paragraph develop the argument? What makes the example relevant to the question?

For example, an essay can contain several sensible ideas and still leave them insufficiently explained. Simply telling the student to add more vocabulary will not address that problem. I would first look at how the ideas are developed, because the student may already have enough to say and need help explaining it.

That is where teaching becomes important. We can take one of those ideas, work through the reasoning, and show how an example helps the reader understand the point. Once the student sees the decisions involved, there is a process they can try with another question.

For IELTS Writing, I connect that work to the published assessment criteria: task achievement or task response, coherence and cohesion, lexical resource, and grammatical range and accuracy. The explanation should help you understand what the exam assesses and how your response addresses it.

I discuss some of those decisions in how I review IELTS Writing Task 2 essays. When you can explain why an answer works, you are in a much better position to produce your own.

3. Can your teacher tell you what to work on first?

When I review a response, I try to establish where the difficulty began. Did the student misunderstand the question? Did they understand it but struggle to organize an answer? Or did they know what to say and run out of time?

These problems may produce similar disappointing results, but they require different work. Recommending the same exercise to everyone would overlook the reason each person is struggling.

There is also a question of priority. A grammar mistake that leaves the meaning clear deserves attention. But if the response has missed what the question asks, that is something I would address early, because improving individual sentences will still leave the larger problem unresolved.

Ask your teacher: Based on my work, what should I improve first, and why? A useful answer gives you a starting point you can understand. I explain this process further in why your IELTS, PTE, or MET score may not be improving.

4. Does your teacher understand your target and deadline?

Many of the candidates I teach have jobs, families, application requirements, and a test date approaching. They may have weeks or months to prepare. The advice I give has to take those circumstances into account.

Some students need substantial work on their English. Others already have much of the language ability they need, but struggle with a particular task or cannot use their skills consistently under timed conditions. Before recommending a course of preparation, I need to understand which situation applies.

This matters because preparation can become overwhelming when every weakness is treated as something that must be completely resolved before you take the test. I start with the level you are at and the requirements you need to meet. From there, we can identify the work that will help you move toward your target.

You do not have to become perfect in English to make progress. A teacher should help you recognize the skills you already have, explain the gaps that need attention, and give you realistic expectations about the work ahead. That understanding gives you a reason to feel more confident.

5. Will your teacher listen when something is still unclear?

As a teacher, it is easy to forget how difficult something felt before you understood it. An explanation may seem obvious to me because I have taught the topic many times. For a student encountering it for the first time, there may be a step I have passed over too quickly.

That is why feedback matters. If a student cannot apply a method after I explain it, I have to find out where the confusion is. Perhaps the example was too complicated. Perhaps we need to break the task into smaller steps or work through another response together.

I appreciate students telling me that they enjoyed a class, but I also need to know what they learned from it. Could they follow the explanation? Can they identify the problem we discussed in their own work? Their answers help me decide what to do next.

You should feel comfortable asking for clarification. Empathy in teaching includes taking that question seriously and being willing to explain something in a way the student can understand.

6. What can students do after the lesson?

A lecture is not a show. It can be lively, and a teacher's skill can certainly be inspiring. But for me, the most meaningful part is what happens when the student tries the task again.

Can they develop an idea they previously left unexplained? Can they manage their time more effectively? Can they recognize a mistake and make a better decision without waiting for me to correct it?

When you read feedback about a teacher, look for those details. A student explaining what became clearer or how their preparation changed gives you a better understanding of the teaching they received.

I am proud of the exam results achieved by candidates I have coached. The work leading to those results matters to me as well: the moment something makes sense, the improvement in a response, and the growing ability to apply a skill independently. That is what I am trying to help a student achieve in class.

How I bring this approach into Lexis Test

I built Lexis Test because students need that direction beyond the hours they spend in a class. When you study on your own, you should still be able to understand where you are, what needs attention, and which resource will help you work on it.

That is the approach behind the Lexis Success Package. I have brought together a readiness check and personal study plan, self-paced masterclasses, Practice Studio, sample Writing and Speaking responses, and mock exams with feedback. You can work around your schedule while using the plan and feedback to guide what you practice.

The important thing is to use each resource with a purpose. If an explanation helps you recognize a problem, try applying it. If feedback identifies a gap, return to that skill and review how your next response changes. Preparation becomes more useful when you understand why you are doing the work.

If that is the kind of preparation you are looking for, explore the Lexis Success Package for IELTS, PTE, or MET. These are the teaching principles I bring to the platform.

Questions I often hear about choosing an English exam teacher

Is a high IELTS or PTE score enough to make someone a good teacher?

I value a strong score as evidence of someone's performance in the exam. Teaching also requires the ability to explain, assess a student's work, and help that person apply a skill. I look for that combination when considering what makes instruction effective.

What qualifications should I ask an English exam teacher about?

I encourage you to ask about teaching qualifications, relevant training, exam experience, and the students they have taught. Then ask how that background shapes their lessons. In my own work, professional teaching qualifications and experience as a test taker have each helped me in different ways.

What should I understand after an initial lesson or assessment?

I would aim to leave you with a clearer understanding of your strengths, an important area to work on, and a next step that makes sense for your target. You should also understand why that step will help.

Do I need perfect English before preparing for IELTS, PTE, or MET?

I begin with your current level and the requirements you need to meet. Your preparation should address the language and test skills those requirements call for. A realistic assessment helps us decide what work you need and how to approach it.

Cover photo: Pexels.