IELTS

International English Language Testing System

IELTS stands for International English Language Testing System and is used to test the knowledge of a person in the English language. It was established in 1989 and has the academic version and the general training version. The former version is used by those who want to join institutions of higher learning. Most of the time, it is expected of applicants who want to study in institutions based in English-speaking countries. It is mossy required of applicants who do not come from English speaking countries. Those who want to work in English-speaking countries will also be expected to sit the IELTS as well.  The general training version of the IELTS is used by any other person, those who are not planning to study or work in other countries. The general training version is easier since the standard of English expected of immigrants is lower than those of aspiring students or workers. IELTS is a standard expected of many institutions all over the world and is a standard used for immigrants who want to live and work in Canada and Australia.

IELTS candidates will be tested in reading, writing and speaking skills.  The listening part of the IELTS will be taken by all candidates regardless of whether they are taking the academic version or the general training version. The reading and writing part will be different depending on these two standards. The band scores of the IELTS exam are from 1 to 9 with 9 being the highest score for the expert user of English and 1 being the lowest, for the non user with no understanding. This test is done once in a week all over the world.  In the reading part, the candidates are expected to know how to pronounce English words and read sentences with good flow. They must keep in mind the context in which they passages have been written to be able read well. Academic writing skills are expected of anyone who wants to study or work in Australia or Canada. General users are expected to have the basic writing skills.

Special needs candidates will have to liaise with their centers and accompany their applications with medical certificates.  The exam is done 48 times in a year and has 40 fixed dates to ensure the flow of candidates is controlled. Most institutions will allow a candidate’s score, provided that it is not too old. Given the fact that the IELTS is done 48 times in a year, one has no excuse to give test scores that are more than 2 years old. Most institutions will not allow these test scores as there is a general attitude that after the end of two years, a person’s knowledge of the English language will have changed considerably. Besides, it does not look good in a CV to have scores that are more than two years. Choose a date that is convenient for you, a date when you are sure to be available. You will incur more costs if you change the date of examination or cancel it before you do it.

There is a standard fee for sitting the IELTS all over the world, but this fee is influenced by taxes and exchange rates, which may make it different in many countries. Find out how much your countrymen pay for the IELTS when you are registering. Sometimes, the number of test centers in a given locale wild terming the amount of money that will be paid. The test fee is the same for the academic and general training tests. Application forms are available online and so are the details of the payment methods in your country.

Last modified: 2011-04-30 09:08:56