International English Language Testing System (IELTS) is a road to success for immigrants and students seeking admission in foreign universities and colleges.
What is IELTS?
This is a test in English language conducted by Cambridge University. IDP Australia and British Council are the official partners in conducting this test world wide.
Why IELTS?
IELTS is accepted globally as a standard of English skills. Many countries mandated the score in IELTS test for immigration and/or study in their country. It is not possible to apply for an immigration visa or for admission in foreign university without getting minimum required IELTS band score.
How IELTS test is organized?
The test is conducted in 4 areas of English language viz. Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening. Test is different for students and immigrants. Candidates seeking admission in a foreign university should appear for IELTS-Academic whereas for immigration purposes it is IELTS-General. However, Listening and Speaking test will be same for academic and general. It differs only in Reading and Writing.
Test duration and number of questions
Listening: 40 questions, 40 minutes
An audio is played to candidate which is a general conversation in the real life. For example, conversation between a university student and professor, conversation between a customer and the customer service executive of a bank or it can be a conversation between a family members. In 30 minutes candidate has to listen and write the answers (can write question paper itself) and then 10 minutes will be given to transfer the answers to answer sheet.
Reading: 40 minutes, 60 minutes
Read the given comprehensions and answer the questions. Questions are of different kind in nature like True/ False/ Not Given, Fill in the blanks in NOT MORE THAN 3 WORDS, match the paragraph with a suitable given heading.
It is different for academic and general.
Writing: 2 tasks, 60 minutes
Task-1: 20 minutes, 150 words.
Academic candidates have to write the analysis for a given diagram.
General candidates have to write a letter for the given scenario.
Task-2: 40 minutes, 250 words.
Both should write an essay on the given topic.
Speaking: 15 minutes.
It is similar to an interview. Tasks will be given by the examiner like speak for 2 mins about yourself, on an important event in the history etc.
What is band score?
Based on the performance in IELTS test, a band score is given to the candidate. The overall score of minimum 6.0 is required for immigration/ admission of any country. Some candidates may need a minimum of 7.0 based on their specific situation/ requirements. The maximum that can be scored is 9.0 The score is valid for 2 years.
Where to get training?
There are plenty of training institutes available across the cities in India. The British Council (http://www.britishcouncil.in), one of the official partners of IELTS is also conducting training programs to prepare for the test. It may be the standard institute but the courses offered only in Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata and New Delhi.
A candidate with minimum English knowledge may think that the training is mandatory to appear for IELTS test. But remember, no institute is going to teach the English language as part of their IELTS training program. They just train the candidate and provide an environment to practice the test. All the institutes teach the tips and dos/ don'ts. It is candidates' responsibility to improve the English skills by whatever the means but the institutes do not teach anything to improve the language skills. Hence it is of no use joining in an institute for IELTS test unless you cannot practice at home on your own.
How to practice for this test?
There are plenty of resources available in internet where they provide different kinds of test papers, mock tests and the material. The official material provided by the Cambridge University is the standard material. It is available in any of the IDP Australia test center/ British Council test center near by your city. Download the sample test papers and practice. Spend at least 2-3 hours a day both to improve your language skills like vocabulary/ grammar and to practice the sample tests.
Official website
The best source of information on IELTS is http://www.ielts.org/, the official website. Everything about this test is available in this site such as who accepts IELTS score, sample test papers, addresses/ contacts of different test centers available in different cities etc.
