What is the IELTS Test?

International English Language Testing System popularly known as the IELTS test is probably one of the most popular English Language Tests for students who wish to study in English speaking nations preferably in the US and UK. The IELTS score is accepted in thousands of institutions in Australia, Britain, Canada, New Zealand and over 300 institutions in the United States. The British Council IELTS, IDP: IELTS Australia and Cambridge English Language Assessment combining own and manage the official IELTS test.

The IELTS test is all about assessing your English proficiency skills based on the following four parameters.

• Reading Skills.
• Writing Skills.
• Speaking Skills.
• Listening Skills.

As mentioned above, the IELTS exam is designed by some of the world’s leading experts in language assessment. It is accepted by close to 9000 organisations around the world including schools, colleges and professional bodies.

The main highlight of the IELTS exam is that it uses a one on one speaking test to assess your English communication skills. This means your abilities are assessed by a real life person while engaging in a real time conversation. This is considered the most effective way of testing English proficiency skills.

The IELTS Test- Why Should One Take It?

Students are often faced with the dilemma of which test they should choose; TOEFL or IELTS, while going for the English abilities test. Here is why you should consider taking the test–

• Most US universities accept the IELTS scores.
• The IELTS exam is mostly a paper based test. Students would have a feeling of appearing a high school/secondary school exam feeling during the test.
• Unlike other tests, the IELTS accepts a variety of spellings and accents including both British and American.
• The idea of speaking to a trained professional during IELTS test is more appealing and relaxing rather than speaking to a microphone.
• Due to its association with the British Council IELTS, the IELTS test is considered to be the best available option for immigration to the UK approved by UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI). Also, people migrating to Australia, New Zealand and Canada prefer taking IELTS test.

The IELTS exam is conducted in decent hotels, unlike some other exams which may be conducted in cyber café turned exam centres. If you do not like the cyber café exam idea and want to experience the exam more closely, IELTS is for you.

IELTS is jointly manages by the British Council IELTS, IDP: IELTS Australia and Cambridge English Language Assessment. So, the students often confuse themselves by considering it to be three different IELTS test owned by different companies. For a better clarification to the above query, let us understand:

British Council IELTS or IDP: IELTS—Which IELTS test should one take?

It is a common misconception that British Council IELTS and the IDP: IELTS tests are different. To sum up the information, we can say that:

• Both these exams follow the same procedure.
• The test conducted by both these companies use the same OMR sheets that contains the symbol of British Council IELTS and IDP: IELTS printed on them.
• The questions asked in both the tests are same.
• The IELTS tests conducted by both these test-owning companies have the same IELTS test dates and timing allotment.

The basic fact is that in some countries the test is managed by the British Council IELTS, while the IDP: IELTS manages the test in some countries. However, there are countries where both these companies manage the test combining.

The IELTS Academic Test- Who Should Take It?

The IELTS Academic test is different from the IELTS General Training Test not only in terms of structure, but also on the basis of who the test is meant for. People who aspire to apply for higher education or professional registration in an English speaking institution or country must take the IELTS Academic Test. This tests assess the ability of the candidate to understand and communicate in academic English language and the readiness to begin studying or training.

The IELTS General Training Test- Who Should Take It?

People who aspire to go to an English speaking nation for their secondary education, or work experience or general training should take the IELTS general training test. The tests tend to measure the survival abilities of the test takers in the social and workplace environments. Also, people who are considering to migrate to Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the UK must take this test.

IELTS Academic Test Vs IELTS General Training Test

The difference between the IELTS Academic test and the IELTS general Training test lies in the fact that the subject matter for the reading and writing components is comparatively different from each other. It is important to note that all the test takers take the same IELTS listening test and IELTS speaking tests. But the seating arrangements for reading and writing tests are different. It depends on whether a test taker has selected IELTS Academic Test or IELTS general Test.

The Listening, Writing and Reading test must be completed on the same day with no breaks in between them. However, the pattern in which these tests are conducted may vary from one test taker to another.

The speaking test, depending on your test centre will happen after a break on the same day as you appear the other three tests or may even happen a week before you take the other tests.