IELTS Exam & Test: All You Need To Know About IELTS? I was at the office when one of my senior colleague walked in to ask me about IELTS Exam.
She said; “my dear have you heard or what do you know about this so-called IELTS Exam? I saw so many young people going for the exam in town.”
I replied her and said, with the little knowledge I concerning IELTS Exam, “it’s an exam for those seeking for admission in abroad.”
But what is actually IELTS Exam or Test?
What Does ‘IELTS’ Mean?
IELTS means The International English Language Testing System (IELTS). It’s designed for those moving to a country where English is the dominant language in order to study, work, or migrate.
This includes countries such as Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the UK, and the USA.
IELTS is a secure English language test that is recognised by more than 11,000 organisations worldwide, including government and professional bodies, educational institutions, and workplaces.
IELTS is graded on a scale of 1-9. During the test, your proficiency in speaking, listening, reading, and writing English is evaluated.
You can take different types of tests, such as the IELTS Academic test, IELTS General Training test, and IELTS Life Skills (A1 or B1) test.
Your intent will determine the kind of test you need to take. It may be necessary for you to take the IELTS Academic test if you want to enrol in a higher education programme in an English-speaking country, such as those mentioned above.
IELTS is jointly owned by the British Council, IDP: IELTS Australia, and Cambridge English.
Why Do You Need To Take IELTS?
You must be able to demonstrate a high level of English language proficiency if you want to work or live in an English-speaking country, or study at an institution where English is the primary medium of instruction.
With a number of 379 million speakers worldwide, English is the third most spoken language in the world.
There are several advantages to being able to speak in the native tongue of the country you want to work or study in.
Additionally, it is necessary for community integration and job opportunities.
What Is The Purpose Of IELTS?
The purpose of IELTS is to offer a fair and reliable evaluation of English language proficiency.
Teams of language experts from the UK, the USA, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia create the test questions.
The test is split into four categories: Listening, Reading, Writing, and Speaking.
The IELTS test covers real-life situations. It treats test takers from all backgrounds equally and fairly.
What IELTS Score Do I Need?
The higher you can score in your IELTS, reflects a better understanding and ability to communicate in English.
Each immigration body, university, workplace or institution will have specific IELTS score requirements.
The score you need will depend on what you are looking to do in the country, i.e work or study.
Are There Testing criteria?
IELTS has different types of tests: IELTS Academic test, IELTS General Training test, and the Life Skills (A1 or B1) test.
There’s also IELTS for UKVI if you wish to study, work, migrate, or seek vocational training in the United Kingdom.
The IELTS test includes 4 (four) components: listening, reading, writing, and speaking, as mentioned earlier.
In the writing and speaking tests, you will be assessed using various criteria, such as grammatical range and accuracy, and lexical resource.
IELTS Score Scale
| Band score | Skill level | Description |
| 9 | Expert user | The test taker has fully operational command of the language. Their use of English is appropriate, accurate and fluent, and shows complete understanding. |
| 8 | Very good user | The test taker has fully operational command of the language with only occasional unsystematic inaccuracies and inappropriate usage. They may misunderstand some things in unfamiliar situations. They handle complex and detailed argumentation well. |
| 7 | Good user | The test taker has operational command of the language, though with occasional inaccuracies, inappropriate usage and misunderstandings in some situations. They generally handle complex language well and understand detailed reasoning. |
| 6 | Competent user | The test taker has an effective command of the language despite some inaccuracies, inappropriate usage and misunderstandings. They can use and understand fairly complex language, particularly in familiar situations. |
| 5 | Modest user | The test taker has a partial command of the language and copes with overall meaning in most situations, although they are likely to make many mistakes. They should be able to handle basic communication in their own field. |
| 4 | Limited user | The test taker’s basic competence is limited to familiar situations. They frequently show problems in understanding and expression. They are not able to use complex language. |
| 3 | Extremely limited user | The test taker conveys and understands only general meaning in very familiar situations. There are frequent breakdowns in communication. |
| 2 | Intermittent user | The test taker has great difficulty understanding spoken and written English. |
| 1 | Non-user | The test taker has no ability to use the language except a few isolated words. |
| 0 | Did not attempt the test | The test taker did not answer the questions. |
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Reerence: Ielts.idp.com