What is IELTS?
The International English Language Testing System is an internationally acknowledged English proficiency test. It is used as a standard assessment marker to evaluate the proficiency of Non-native English speakers who want to migrate to another English speaking country for work or higher study purposes. IELTS uses a nine-band scale to identify the proficiency level of the candidates which range from band score (non-user) to band score 9 (expert). IELTS is available and accepted in more than 40+ countries throughout the world and has more than 1.200 test locations worldwide.
IELTS examinations are fair to all and avoid any kind of cultural bias by accepting all standard variations of native-speaker English including British, North American, Australian and New Zealand English.
Modules of IELTS
IELTS has two modules or sections among which you can choose depending upon your requirements. The first module is named Academic and is generally taken by candidates who wish to pursue higher studies in foreign English speaking countries. The second module is General training which is mostly opted by candidates who wish to migrate to other countries for work experience or training programs. Both modules test the skills of the candidate such as Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing. The Listening and speaking section are the same for both the modules whereas the content of the Reading and writing sections differ according to the module.
This test lasts for a total of 2 hours and 45 minutes. Sections such as Listening, Reading and writing of all IELTS are completed on the same day without breaks while Speaking section may be completed over a course of a week before or after the main examination.
Listening
The test is the same for the Listening section for both the variants. The listening section has a time limit of 30 minutes where you will need to listen to recordings of native English speakers and then write your answers accordingly. The first recording is of a conversation between two people in an everyday social context. The seconds reading presents a monologue set in everyday social context and the third recording is of a conversation between up to four people set in educational or training context. The fourth recording is again a monologue on an academic subject. This section tests your listening and comprehending skills at the same time.
Reading
Reading sections is a bit different for both the Academic and General test categories. The basic format remains the same but the content is tailored differently to assess the qualities depending upon the category selected.
- Academic Reading – This section has a time limit of 60 minutes and includes 40 different questions that are specially designed to test a wide range of reading skills. These areas include reading for gist, details, skimming, understanding main idea, understanding logical and emotional context, understanding writers opinions, etc. Each question is worth 1 mark and there is no negative marking.
- General Training reading – This section also has a time limit of 60 minutes and has questions based on extracts from books, magazines, newspapers, advertisements, company handbooks, and guidelines. Here the questions are generally based on the objects that people come across on a daily basis.
Writing
Similar to the reading section, Writing also is different for academic and general Training categories on the basis of the context.
- Academic writing – This section has two tasks which are designed specifically for people who undergraduate and postgraduate students are seeking professional registration. In the first task, you will be presented with a graph, table chart or a diagram and will be asked to describe and summarise the information present in your own words. You may also be asked to explain the stages and the overall process. The second task is related to essay writing where you need to write an essay on a point of view, argument or a problem.
- General Training Writing – In general training the topics of general interest are asked. Similar to academic writing, here also you will be presented with two tasks. The first task requires you to write a letter requesting information or explaining the situation based on the situation presented to you. In the second task, you will have to write an essay on a point of view, argument or a problem.
Speaking
The speaking test lasts for around 11-14 minutes and has three parts. In this section, your spoken English is tested and assessed.
In the first part, the examiner will ask you some general questions about yourself and your interests and hobbies. The topics will be familiar and range from such as about your home, family, work, studies, etc. This part lasts for about four to five minutes.
In the second part, you will be given a card which will have a topic on it and you will need to speak on that particular topic for about two minutes. You will be given one minute two prepare for that topic.
In the third part, futher questions will be asked based on what you spoke in the second part. These parts last for about four to five minutes.
Conclusion
IELTS is one of the most widely renowned English proficiency tests that is widely accepted all over the world as a standard parameter to check whether people have enough proficiency in a particular language or not. If you need to migrate to another English speaking country for higher studies or work experience then you have to appear for IELTS and clear it. In this article, we discussed what is IELTS and what are its modules.