International English Language Testing System (IELTS)

International English Language Testing System (IELTS) is an English language proficiency test used for higher education, professional registration, migration, and employment purpose. It uses a nine-band scale (band score 1-9) to measures the English language proficiency of people. This test is available at more than 1,600 locations globally including the USA and there are 48 test dates a year. The IELTS results are valid for 2 years from the test-taking date.  In India, the IELTS fee is Rs. 13,250. IELTS is conducted jointly by the British Council, IDP, IELTS Australia, and the University of Cambridge ESOL Examinations.

 Paper-based IELTS- The test takers have to take the test in an official IELTS test center with a pen and paper. He/she can use a pen or HB pencils to write on the answer sheets. The speaking test is executed face-to-face with a trained IELTS Examiner. In the paper-based test, the test report Form will be available after 13 days of the test-taking date. 

 Computer-delivered IELTS- The test takers have to take the test in an official IELTS test center in front of a computer with the questions presented on the screen. The Speaking section is carried out face-to-face with a trained IELTS examiner just like Paper-based IELTS.  A select group of IELTS test centers delivers the IELTS Speaking test via high-definition video calls. In computer-delivered test results will be available between 5 and 7 days after the test.

Types of the IELTS test

IELTS Academic- Required for people who are applying for higher education or professional registration in an English speaking country.

IELTS General Training- Required for people who are going to an English speaking country for secondary education, training program or work experience or who want to migrate to Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the UK.

Listening and speaking sections are the same for both IELTS Academic and General Training but the subject matter of the reading and writing sections differs. The Listening, Reading and Writing sections of all IELTS tests must be completed on the same day without any breaks but the speaking section can be completed up to a week before or after the other tests. The total time for the IELTS Academic or General Training test is 2 hours and 45 minutes.

Test Format Listening-

Time-30 minutes

Number of Question- 40

Paper format- Need to listen and answer four types of conversations of native English speakers

 Type 1 – a conversation between two speakers related to an everyday social context 

 Type 2 - a monologue related to an everyday social context

 Type 3 – a conversation between up to four people related to an educational or training context

 Type 4 - a monologue on an academic subject

Task types

 Type 1- Multiple choices

 Type 2 - Matching

 Type 3 - Plan, map, diagram labeling

 Type 4 - Form, table, flow-chart, summary completion

 Type 5 - Sentence completion

 Type 6 - Short-answer questions

Scoring of IELTS listening section-

One mark is awarded for each correct answer in the 40-question test. A Band Score conversion table is produced to translate scores out of 40 into the IELTS 9-band scale for each version of the listening section.

Test format – Academic/General Training Reading 

Test takers need to read three reading passages and answers several task types.

IELTS Academic test – This test includes three long texts collected from books, journals, magazines, and newspapers ranges from the descriptive and factual to the discursive and analytical. These texts are appropriate for people entering university courses or seeking professional registration.

IELTS General Training Test – There are three sections

 Section 1- Two or three short texts or several shorter texts

 Section 2- Two texts

 Section 3- One long text

These materials are related to daily activities in an English speaking country. These are collected from books, newspapers, magazines, advertisements, notices, company handbooks, and guidelines.

Time-60 minutes

Number of Question- 40

 Task type 1 – Multiple choices

 Task type 2 – Identifying information

 Task type 3 – Identifying writer’s views/claims

 Task type 4 – Matching information

 Task type 5 – Matching headings

 Task type 6 – Matching features

 Task type 7 – Matching sentence endings

 Task type 8 – Sentence completion

 Task type 9 – Summary, flow-chart, table completion

 Task type 10 – Diagram label completion

 Task type 11 – Short-answer questions

IELTS Reading Section Scoring

1 mark is awarded for each correct answer in the Reading section. A Band Score conversion table is produced for each version of the Academic and General Training Reading test, which translates scores out of 40 into the IELTS 9-band scale.

Test format – Academic/ General Training Writing

Test-takers need to complete two writing tasks

Time- 60 minutes

IELTS Academic Writing Tasks

 Task 1- The test-taker need to describe some visual information (graph/ chart/ table/diagram) in his/her own words within 150 words in about 20 minutes

 Task 2- The test taker needs to respond to a point of view or argument or problem within 250 words in about 40 minutes.

IELTS General Training Tasks

 Task 1- The test takers are asked to respond to a situation that may need to write a personal or formal letter requesting information, or explaining a situation.

 Task 2 – The test-taker will be asked to write an essay in response to a problem or an argument.

Scoring of IELTS Academic/General Tasks

Each task is assessed separately. The assessment of Task 2 carries more weight in marking than Task 1.Scores These scores are reported in whole and half bands.

Assessment Criteria for Task 1

 Task achievement

 Coherence and cohesion

 Lexical resource

 Grammatical range and accuracy

Assessment Criteria for Task 2

 Task response

 Coherence and cohesion

 Lexical resource

 Grammatical range and accuracy.

Test format – Speaking

The speaking section consists of an oral interview between the test takers' and an examiner to assess your English speaking proficiency. Every test is recorded

Time- 11-14 minutes 

Part 1 (4-5 minutes) - The examiner asks general questions about test-takers and a range of familiar topics including interests, studies, home, family, etc.

Part 2 (3–4 minutes, including the preparation time) – In this section, the test-taker needs to speak on a given topic using appropriate language and organizing ideas. The examiner will also ask one or two questions on this topic

Part 3 (4-5 minutes)- In this section, the examiner will ask further questions about the topic in Part 2 to test the ability to express and justify opinions and to analyze, discuss and speculate about issues

Scoring of IELTS Speaking Tasks-

The scoring is based on below-mentioned criteria

 Fluency and coherence

 Lexical resource

 Grammatical range and accuracy

 Pronunciation

The IELTS scale

IELTS Test Registration

Find your nearest IELTS test location here

Register for your IELTS test online or offline

IELTS sample test questions

Source

https://www.ielts.org/

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