What is IELTS?

Why To Appear For The IELTS Exam?

IELTS which stands for International English Language Testing System, is an assessment test to assess the English proficiency of an individual. It is trusted by 12,000 organisations from 140 different countries of the world. It has a history of 30 years and approximately 3.5 Million people appear for this exam every year in order to work or study abroad.The British Council is the authorised body running the IELTS test in partnership with IDP Education and Cambridge Assessment English.

Course Pattern In Short :

The IELTS exam has four parts in total, the four parts thus include Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking.

Listening: This task has 4 sections and the allocated time is 30 minutes where four different recordings are given to hear. For each section, candidates need to hear the recording carefully to answer the asked questions. This test is taken to analyse the candidate’s capability to comprehend concepts, identify viewpoints, and track the progression of an argument.

Reading: With this section of IELTS, the examiner gets to know the understanding capability of the candidate. It has 3 further sections where candidates need to understand the passage and answer the questions accordingly in 60 minutes.

Writing: It has two sections asking you to explain visual representation in 150 words and write an essay in 250 words. The time limit for this task is 1 hour. This section assesses your proficiency in organising ideas, writing coherent responses, and employing a diverse range of vocabulary and grammar with precision and accuracy.

Speaking: This part of the test is to evaluate the communication skills of individuals and how they can convey their opinions and information to others regarding the topic. This section contains 3 tasks where individuals are given 11-14 minutes to complete.

When and Why to Appear for the IELTS Exam?

Study: Many of the esteemed universities of English-speaking countries ask for IELTS results. They take this as a basic eligibility for candidates who want to study in their universities along with other required eligibility for admission.

Work: If an individual wants to work in a reputed sector; medicine, engineering, education, or the like, they have to pass the IELTS exam. The English-speaking countries made it mandatory to pass IELTS to obtain professional accreditation.

Migrate: Many governments prioritise IELTS scores over other English language assessments for permanent residency applications. The IELTS General Training test is the only non-academic examination accepted for migration to English-speaking countries like Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the UK, and the USA.

Different Types of IELTS Exam :

There are two types of IELTS on the basis of their purposes and these are IELTS Academic and IELTS General Training. The pattern of both tests remains the same to some extent.

IELTS Academic: IELTS Academic tests are taken by those candidates looking to pursue higher studies in native English-speaking countries.

IELTS General Training: This type of IELTS exam solves the purpose for those who are keen to take PR in foreign countries. If you want to work in reputed sectors abroad then also passing an IELTS GT test is the fundamental need.

Mode of IELTS Exam :

Pen paper: This is the traditional way of conducting an IELTS exam. Here the candidate is given a test booklet and answer sheet, moreover, it is taken by the examiner in person. The candidate is required to complete the test in an allocated time.

Computer-based: It is now the most widely used way of conducting an IELTS exam for candidates. Here candidates are required to go through the different parts of the IELTS exam virtually. The advantages of computer based IELTS test is that it includes faster results, flexible test dates, and a user-friendly interface.

Most Important Countries Where IELTS is Valid :

Candidates who like to move abroad for study purposes do need to take the IELTS exam as a preliminary requirement. The countries that are worldwide famous for studying and accepting IELTS are Canada, USA, UK, Australia, New Zealand, and Ireland. For some of these countries, a 6 or higher score is required however few of these also accept a 5.5 score. For instance, if you are appearing in IELTS for Australia, you are required to score 5.5 in each skill. Unlike if you are taking IELTS for Canada where a 6 or higher band score is accepted. Do visit the official websites of the universities and the country to get more specific information about the same.