What is IELTS?
If you study English, you might have heard of IELTS. This stands for International English Language Testing System. It is a test that is comprised of four parts – Listening, Reading, Writing, and Speaking. You take the test at designated IELTS centers around the world, and it is operated by Cambridge, the British Council, and IDP. Depending on your needs, you can either sit the Academic or General Training test. This article will look at the Academic test.
The IELTS test judges students on a range from 0-9, according to their English level. You will receive a score for each section, as well as an overall score.
Reading
The IELTS reading test presents candidates with three reading passages totaling no more than 2,700 words. It lasts for one hour, meaning that you have to read quickly in order to answer the 40 questions that you are given.
Although the material in these reading passages often seems very difficult to understand, you need no specialist knowledge in order to answer the questions. Even if the passage is on a scientific topic, you do not need to be a scientist to answer. There is a variety of material that could be included, from newspapers and magazines to journal articles.
Questions in this part of the exam include true or false, multiple choice, and so on. You should practice reading generally in your daily life to prepare for the exam, and then do some intensive reading practice targeted at the IELTS exam.
Ultimately, there are only a limited number of question types and so you should practice these as much as possible to ensure success.
Listening
In the listening section, you will hear four listening passages over thirty minutes, and then have ten minutes to transfer your answers to an answer paper, making a total of forty minutes of test time.
Thankfully, although the listening exam is difficult, you can largely predict what you will hear. Section one and two are about social or general matters, and sections three and four are set in an academic context. Section one will present you with a dialogue (that means two people speaking) such as a phone call. Often someone is finding out information about a club or event. You will be asked to write down names, numbers, and addresses. In section two, one person will present information about a service or arrangement. In section three you will hear multiple people talking, such as students discussing an assignment, and section four is usually a lecture or a student giving a presentation.
It is important to note that in the IELTS listening test, each section becomes progressively more difficult than the previous. If you wish to get a high score, you should aim to get all the answers correct in the first two sections, as the questions at the end can be very challenging.
Speaking
The speaking exam is conducted between one student and one examiner and is recorded. It is broken into three parts, and, like the listening, each is more difficult than the previous.
Part one is often called the “interview”. It is comprised of some general questions. You will be asked about nine questions on about three topics, such as hobbies, hometown, sports, food, etc. (There are a number of common IELTS topics you can study.)
Part two is completely different. The examiner will give you a cue card and you will be asked to “describe” or “talk about” something. For example, describe a building or person. You have one minute to prepare and then you must talk for between one and two minutes. There will be follow-up questions.
Here is an example, with some helpful vocabulary:
Part three is often called the “discussion”. The questions are much more difficult than in part one. You will have to talk about social issues or other complex topics. Instead of “what do you like…?” questions, you will be asked about morality and so on. Be prepared to justify your views and give developed answers with examples.
Writing
The writing exam is often the most dreaded part of IELTS. This is because it can be tough to prepare for it without a teacher giving constant feedback.
The IELTS writing is made up of two tasks that require totally different essays. Task one is a report on a piece of visual information. Most commonly, you have to describe a line graph, bar chart, table, or pie chart. However, you may also be asked to describe a map, flow chart, or process of some kind. You need to write at least 150 words and it is recommended that you spend about 20 minutes on this task.
Task two is longer. Candidates have to write at least 250 words and are supposed to spend 40 minutes doing this, although some tutors recommend devoting more time to this essay. In any case, you will be given a question and you have to write an answer in response. This should be a formal essay with an introduction and conclusion, as well as developed paragraphs that fully address the question.
Candidates are assessed according to four criteria:
• Task achievement (task 1) or task response (task 2)
• Coherence and cohesion
• Lexical resource (that means vocabulary)
• Grammatical range and accuracy
Preparation
Preparing for the IELTS is difficult, but people successfully do it every day. I have seen many students succeed by working diligently because IELTS is the key to their future. Having a good teacher or high quality textbooks helps, but ultimately it’s about the candidate. If you train in English every day, you will eventually succeed. I recommend constantly working on your general English by listening and reading every day, as well as focusing on IELTS techniques. You should do mock exams often under realistic exam conditions, and seek feedback on your work from qualified teachers and/or native speakers.
People who are teaching IELTS should make sure they know about the exam in great detail and train in the best ways to prepare students. There is a wealth of useful material online designed to help IELTS teachers get the best out of their students.