IELTS

IELTSĀ (INTERNATIONAL ENGLISH LANGUAGE TESTING SYSTEM)

Introduction to IELTS

The International English Language Testing System (IELTS) is an international standardized test designed to measure the language proficiency of people (non-native speakers) who want to study or work where English is the language of communication. The test is taken by millions of students India every year who are seeking higher studies in foreign countries.

The test uses a 9-band scale to clearly identify levels of proficiency, where a band-score of 1 signifies a non-user of English language while a score of 9 signifies an expert in the language.

IELTS is one of the major English-language tests in the world, others being the TOEFL, PTE, etc. It is jointly managed by the British Council, IDP: IELTS Australia and Cambridge English Language Assessment, and was established in 1989.

TEST OVERVIEW of IELTS

There are two modules of the IELTS:

  1. Academic Module ā€“measures the English language proficiency needed to be an academic in a higher learning environment .The tasks and tests are designed for everyone irrespective of their field of study.

“People applying for higher education or for professional registration take this test.”

  1. General Training Module-measures the English language proficiency of the test-taker in real-world, as well as in everyday setting. The tasks and tests mirror both workplace and social situations.

“People migrating to other English speaking countries take this test.”

  • The test is divided into 4 sections-listening, reading, writing and speaking The time for each section is as follows:

Listening: 40 minutes

Reading: 60 minutes

Writing: 60 minutes

Speaking : 11ā€“14 minutes.

Total Time : 2 hours and 55 minutes.

  • You will take the first three parts of the test all on one day in the following order: Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking. There are no breaks between the first three tests.
  • You will take the Speaking test either on the same day, or 7 days before or after that, depending on local arrangements.
  • A range of native-speaker accents (North American, Australian, New Zealand and British) is used in the Listening test, and all standard varieties of English are recognized in responses in all parts of the test.

TEST FORMAT of IELTS

1.Listening description of IELTS

  • There are four sections with ten questions each. The questions are designed so that the answers appear in the order they are heard in the audio.
  • Also, the test time is 30 minutes approximately.
  • And, 40 questions in total come under the Listening section.
  • Not to mention that, a variety of question types are asked: multiple choice, matching, plan/map/diagram labelling, form/note/table/flow-chart/summary completion, sentence completion.

Ā 2.Ā Reading description of IELTS

  • In like manner, the Reading section is designed to test a wide range of reading skills. These include reading for gist, reading for main ideas, reading for detail, skimming, understanding logical argument and recognizing writers’ opinions, attitudes and purpose.
  • Also, the test time is 60 minutes
  • And, this component consists of 40 questions in total.

3.Writing description of IELTS(Only for Academic module suited for students)

  • As a matter of fact, topics are of general interest and suitable for the test takers entering into undergraduate and postgraduate studies or seeking professional registration.
  • Furthermore, the time is 60 minutes for this section.
  • Also ,You will get 2 tasks under this section.
  • You are given a graph ,table, chart or diagram in Task 1 ā€“ Ā .You are asked to describe ,explain or summarize the information .
  • You are asked to write an essay under Task 2 .

Ā 4.Speaking description of IELTS

  • As a matter of fact, the speaking component assesses your use of spoken English.
  • Every test is recorded.
  • 11-14 minutes Ā is the time for this section.
  • In the first place,Ā  the examiner will ask general questions about yourself
  • Then, you have to speak on a particular topic.
  • And lastly, you will be asked further questions about the topic-2.Ā 
  • Also, IELTS is accepted by over 10,000 organizations worldwide ,including educational institutions ,governments, immigration authorities and professional bodies .
  • Moreover, IELTS is the only English language test that is accepted by all of the core immigration authorities in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom, for visa applications and migration purposes.
  • Over 3,200 institutions in in the USA accept IELTS.

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