Jan 2, 2020

ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT IELTS

Updated: May 22, 2020

INTRODUCTION:

The International English Language Testing System (IELTS) is the world’s most popular English language proficiency test for higher education and global migration, with over 3 million tests taken in the last year.

WHAT IS IELTS?

The International English Language Testing System or IELTS is an Internationally standardized test of English Language proficiency for non-native English Language speakers. It is jointly managed by the British Council, IDP: IELTS Australia and Cambridge English Language Assessment, and was established in 1989.

IELTS is one of the major English language tests in the world, others being the TOEFL, TOEIC, PTE: A, and OPI/OPIc. IELTS assesses all the four aspects of your English Skills like: Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking and is designed to reflect how you will speak English at study, at work and at play in your life abroad. The IELTS test is developed by some of the world’s leading experts in language assessment. It has an excellent international reputation, and is accepted by over 10,000 organisations worldwide, including schools, universities, employers, immigration authorities and professional bodies.

IELTS is accepted in various English-speaking countries such as Canada, Australia, New Zealand, etc. This is a kind of test which is basically divided into 2 types:

IELTS General:

IELTS General is for those who are planning to work, immigrate to IELTS accepting countries. In this test, there is a Band Score which as to be achieved to be an IELTS General certified which allows you to fulfil the wish of working in your desired countries.

IELTS Academics:

Students who are willing to go abroad should complete this test. This is a test which tests the students reading, writing, listening and speaking skills which allows the students to be expertise in all these fields which helps the students to get adjusted to the changing environment. Even this test as a Band Score to be achieved. Which is 6 & above.

Scope of IELTS:

IELTS in Canada:

IELTS is Canada’s most popular English-Language test which is accepted as proof of English proficiency for study at all university and colleges in Canada, and for permanent residency and citizenship by provincial and federal governments, IELTS is the test that opens doors to those who want to study, work or immigrate to Canada.

If you are applying for a work visa, professional registration or for permanent residence in Canada, it is likely that you will be required to present your test result as part of your application. IELTS results are also accepted for Canadian citizenship.

IELTS in Australia:

To gain an Australian visa, you will need to prove your English abilities to the Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP). Australia have also introduced a new system called the “Computer Delivered” option, this new format offers our candidates more choice – now they can choose the format and time to take IELTS that best works for them.

Test takers who choose the computer-delivered option will take their Listening, Reading and Writing sections using a computer. The Speaking test will remain face-to-face, as we believe it is the most effective way of assessing speaking skills and prompts a more realistic performance from test takers. In fact, all the universities, colleges, schools etc., accepts IELTS in Australia.

IELTS in United States:

Each year, thousands of US colleges and universities accept hundreds of thousands of students from and around the world. If you want to study in the USA, IELTS can help. IELTS is the world’s most popular English test for people who want to live, work or study in another country. Accepted by more than 3,300 institutions in the US, your IELTS test score can help you achieve the goal of getting a place at a US college or university.

IELTS in New Zealand:

IELTS is a high stakes English test for anyone looking to live, work or study in New Zealand. Immigration New Zealand accepts IELTS as evidence of your English abilities for your visa application. With IELTS you can be confident that you are taking a test that is trusted by institutions and organisations throughout New Zealand.

In fact, all universities, colleges and professional associations in New Zealand that have set minimum language requirements to accept IELTS. Now let’s go in-depth into IELTS test and its process: The IELTS test assesses your abilities in listening, reading, writing and speaking – in less than three hours.

IELTS Exam Criteria:

There are two types of the IELTS test:

1. IELTS General Training.

2. IELTS Academic Training.

Listening and Speaking are the same for both tests, but the subject matter of the Reading and Writing components differs depending on which test you take. The Listening, Reading and Writing components of all IELTS tests are completed on the same day, with no breaks in between them. The Speaking component, however, can be completed up to a week before or after the other tests. Your test centre will advise. The total test time is 2 hours and 45 minutes.

General Training

IELTS General is for those who are planning to work, immigrate to IELTS accepting countries such as Canada, US, Australis, New Zealand. General Training IELTS Exam. The General Training module of IELTS is for the students who wish to join other institutions such as colleges and high schools in these countries. The purpose of this exam is to test the ability of a student to understand the basic English language which is used at these institutions. In this test, there is a Band Score which as to be achieved to be an IELTS General certified.

IELTS General Test format is as follows:

Test format – Listening

4 sections, 30 minutes

You will listen to four recordings of native English speakers and then write your answers to a series of questions.

Recording 1 - a conversation between two people set in an everyday social context. Recording 2 - a monologue set in an everyday social context, e.g. a speech about local facilities. Recording 3 - a conversation between up to four people set in an educational or training context, e.g. a university tutor and a student discussing an assignment. Recording 4 - a monologue on an academic subject, e.g. a university lecture.

How is it marked?

The Listening test is marked by certified markers, who are regularly monitored to ensure their reliability. All answer sheets, after being marked, are further analysed by Cambridge Assessment English.

Test Format – Speaking:

11–14 minutes

The speaking component assesses your use of spoken English. Every test is recorded.

Part 1- the examiner will ask you general questions about yourself and a range of familiar

topics, such as home, family, work, studies and interests. This part lasts between four and five minutes.

Part 2- you will be given a card which asks you to talk about a particular topic. You will have one minute to prepare before speaking for up to two minutes. The examiner will then ask one or two questions on the same topic.

Part 3- you will be asked further questions about the topic in Part 2. These will give you the opportunity to discuss more abstract ideas and issues. This part of the test lasts between four and five minutes.

How is it marked?

Speaking performances are assessed by certified IELTS examiners. All IELTS examiners hold relevant teaching qualifications and are recruited as examiners by the test centres and approved by the British Council or IDP.

The examiner will assess the marks based on the following:

Infimind Institute of Skill Development IELTS Fluency and Coherence, Lexical (Vocabulary) Resource, Pronunciation, Grammatical range and accuracy and will be assed accordingly based on the candidate’s performance.

Test format – Writing

60 minutes

There are two tasks in Writing:

Task 1 - you will be presented with a situation and asked to write a letter requesting information, or explaining the situation. The letter may be personal, semi-formal or formal in style.

Task 2 - you will be asked to write an essay in response to a point of view, argument or problem. The essay can be fairly personal in style.

How is it marked?

Writing performances are assessed by certified IELTS examiners. All IELTS examiners hold relevant teaching qualifications and are recruited as examiners by the test centres and approved by the British Council or IDP.

The examiner will assess the marks based on the following categories:

Task 1 responses are assessed on:

Task achievement
Coherence and cohesion
Lexical resource
Grammatical range and accuracy

Task 2 responses are assessed on:

Task response
Coherence and cohesion
Lexical resource
Grammatical range and accuracy.

This assesses how appropriately, accurately and relevantly the response fulfils the requirements set out in the task, using the minimum of 150 words and also enables the examiner to know as to how clear the candidate is on the topic. Based on all the above- mentioned categories the marks will be allocated by the examiner.

Test format – Reading

The Reading component consists of 40 questions, designed to test a wide range of reading skills. These include reading for gist, reading for main ideas, reading for detail, skimming, understanding logical argument and recognising writers' opinions, attitudes and purpose.

IELTS General reading test includes extracts from books, magazines, newspapers, notices, advertisements, company handbooks and guidelines. These are materials you are likely to encounter on a daily basis in an English-speaking environment.

This test contains various tasks such as:

Multiple choice
Identifying information
Identifying writer’s views/claims
Matching information
Matching headings
Matching features
Matching sentence endings
Sentence completion
Summary, note, table, flow-chart completion
Diagram label completion
Short-answer questions

How is it marked?

The General Training Reading test is marked by certified markers, who are regularly monitored to ensure reliability. After being marked, all answer sheets, are further analysed by Cambridge Assessment English.

Band score conversion

A band score conversion table is produced for each version of the General Training Reading test which translates scores out of 40 into the IELTS 9-band scale. Scores are reported in whole bands and half bands.

This is the complete format of how the IELTS General Training test will gone on and the process which the students as to undergo if he/she as to be certified.

This is how IELTS General test gores on. Next thing is IELTS Academics and this process is as follows:

Academic Training

IELTS Academic test format is as follows:

Test format – Listening

4 sections, 30 minutes

You will listen to four recordings of native English speakers and then write your answers to a series of questions.

Recording 1- A conversation between two people set in an everyday social context.

Recording 2- A monologue set in an everyday social context, e.g. a speech about local facilities.

Recording 3- A conversation between up to four people set in an educational or training context, e.g. a university tutor and a student discussing an assignment.

Recording 4- A monologue on an academic subject, e.g. a university lecture.

How is it marked?

Infimind Institute of Skill Development IELTS The Listening test is marked by certified markers, who are regularly monitored to ensure their reliability. All answer sheets, after being marked, are further analysed by Cambridge Assessment English.

Note: Listening and Speaking is same for both IELTS General and Academic

Test format

Speaking

11–14 minutes

The speaking component assesses your use of spoken English. Every test is recorded.

Part 1- the examiner will ask you general questions about yourself and a range of familiar topics, such as home, family, work, studies and interests. This part lasts between four and five minutes.

How is it marked?

The examiner will assess the marks based on the following:

Fluency and Coherence, Lexical (Vocabulary) Resource, Pronunciation, Grammatical range and accuracy and will be assessed accordingly based on the candidate’s performance.

Note: Listening and Speaking is same for both IELTS General and Academic

Test format – Writing

60 minutes

Topics are of general interest to, and suitable for, test takers entering undergraduate and postgraduate studies or seeking professional registration. There are two tasks:

Task 1- you will be presented with a graph, table, chart or diagram and asked to describe, summarise or explain the information in your own words. You may be asked to describe and explain data, describe the stages of a process, how something works or describe an object or event.

Task 2- you will be asked to write an essay in response to a point of view, argument or problem. Responses to both tasks must be in a formal style.

How is it marked?

Each task is assessed independently. The assessment of Task 2 carries more weight in marking than Task 1.

Responses are assessed by certificated IELTS examiners. All IELTS examiners hold relevant teaching qualifications and are recruited as examiners by the test centres and approved by the British Council or IDP

The examiner will assess the marks based on the following categories:

Task 1- responses are assessed on:

Task achievement
Coherence and cohesion
Lexical resource
Grammatical range and accuracy

Task 2- responses are assessed on:

Task response
Coherence and cohesion
Lexical resource
Grammatical range and accuracy

Test format – Reading:

60 minutes

IELTS Academic test - this includes three long texts which range from the descriptive and factual to the discursive and analytical. These are taken from books, journals, magazines and newspapers. They have been selected for a non-specialist audience but are appropriate for people entering university courses or seeking professional registration.

This test contains various tasks such as:

Multiple choice
Identifying information
Identifying writer’s views/claims
Matching information
Matching headings
Matching features
Matching sentence endings
Sentence completion
Summary, note, table, flow-chart completion
Diagram label completion
Short-answer questions

How is it marked?

The General Training Reading test is marked by certificated markers, who are regularly monitored to ensure reliability. After being marked, all answer sheets, are further analysed by Cambridge Assessment English.

Band score conversion

This is the complete format of how the IELTS Academic Training test will gone on and the process which the students as to undergo if he/she as to be certified.

Why Infimind for IELTS?

We at Infimind are committed to “Learner Focussed” approach wherein, we nurture our digital marketing learners by providing them with case study analysis, assignments, class participation, quizzes, projects etc. there by allowing them to foster problem solving, creative and critical thinking skills. We also conduct bi-weekly tests in order to understand more about the learner’s progress.

We also help our students evolve through the following: