IELTS (International English Language Testing System)
The International English Language Testing System or IELTS is an international standardized of English language proficiency for non-native English language speakers. It is jointly managed by Cambridge English Language Assessment, the British Council. IELTS is one of the two major English-language tests in the world, the other being the TOEFL.
There are two versions of the IELTS: the Academic Version and the General Training Version:
The Academic Version is intended for those who want to enroll in universities and other institutions of higher education and for professionals such as medical doctors and nurses who want to study or practice in an English-speaking country.
The General Training Version is intended for those planning to undertake non-academic training or to gain work experience, or for immigration
IELTS is accepted by most Australian, British, Canadian, Irish, New Zealand and South African academic institutions, over 3,000 academic institutions in the United States, and various professional organizations across the world. It is also a requirement for immigration to Australia and New Zealand. In Canada, IELTS, TEF, or CELPIP are accepted by the immigration authority.No minimum score is required to pass the test. An IELTS result or Test Report Form is issued to all candidates with a score from “band 1″ (“non-user”) to “band 9″ (“expert user”) and each institution sets a different threshold. There is also a “band 0″ score for those who did not attempt the test. Institutions are advised not to consider a report older than two years to be valid unless the user proves that he has worked to maintain his level.
IELTS test structure
All candidates must complete four Modules – Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking – to obtain a band score, which is shown on the IELTS Test Report Form (TRF). All candidates take the same Listening and Speaking Modules, while the Reading and Writing Modules differ depending on whether the candidate is taking the Academic or General Training Versions of the Test. First 3 parts are given without breaks. Which makes IELTS the longest test without breaks (180 minutes)? Such test structure provokes Absent-mindedness and according to statistics results of second and third parts are gradually lower than results of the first part.
Listening
the module comprises four sections of increasing difficulty. It takes 40 minutes: 30 – for testing, plus 10 for transferring the answers to an answer sheet. Each section, which can be either a monologue or dialogue, begins with a short introduction telling the candidates about the situation and the speakers. Then they have some time to look through the questions. The first three sections have a break in the middle allowing candidates to look at the remaining questions. Each section is heard only once. At the end of this section, students are given 10 minutes to transfer their answers to an answer sheet.
Reading
In the academic module, the reading test comprises three sections, with 3 texts normally followed by 13 or 14 questions for a total of 40 questions overall. The General test also has 3 sections. However the texts are shorter, so there can be up to 5 texts to read.
Writing
In the Academic module, there are two tasks: in Task 1 candidates describe a diagram, graph, process or chart, and in Task 2 they respond to an argument. In the General Training module, there are also two tasks: in Task 1 candidates write a letter or explain a situation, and in Task 2 they write an essay.
Speaking The speaking test contains three sections. The first section takes the form of an interview during which candidates may be asked about their hobbies, interests, reasons for taking IELTS exam as well as other general topics such as clothing, free time, computers and the internet or family. In the second section, candidates are given a topic booklet and then have one minute to prepare after which they must speak about the given topic. The third section involves a discussion between the examiner and the candidate, generally on questions relating to the theme which they have already spoken about in part 2. This last section is more abstract and is usually considered the most difficult.
Duration
The total test duration is around 2 hours and 55 minutes for Listening, Reading and Writing modules.
Listening: 40 minutes, 30 minutes for which a recording is played centrally and additional 10 minutes for transferring answers onto the OMR answer sheet.
Reading: 60 minutes.
Writing: 60 minutes.
Speaking: 11–15 minutes.(Note: No additional time is given for the transfer of answers in Reading and Writing modules) The first three modules – Listening, Reading and Writing (always in that order) – are completed in one day, and in fact, are taken with no break in between. The Speaking Module may be taken, at the discretion of the test center, in the period seven days before or after the other Modules.
The tests are designed to cover the full range of ability from non-user to expert user.
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