IELTS: Your first step towards an overseas

education
The International English Language Testing System, or IELTS for short, is
the go to test for English as a secondary language (ESL) students and
professionals wishing to study in or migrate to countries, where English is the
chief means of communication. IELTS scores are accepted by a significantly
large and growing number of educational institutions and countries as a proof
of competency in the English language. Australia, Canada, UK, New Zealand
and South Africa are some of the major countries that accept IELTS scores as
proof of proficiency in English.
The IELTS Academic exam and the IELTS general training exam: The
IELTS exams are of two types, the IELTS academic exam and the IELTS
general training exam. The IELTS Academic exam is aimed at test takers who
want to study at universities and other third level education institutions in
English speaking countries. The Academic exam assesses the candidates
general language skills as well as their competency in academic English, The
General Training version is for test takers who want to work, train, study at a
secondary school or migrate to an English-speaking country. For both
versions, the candidate is assessed on his ability listen, read, write and speak
in English and a score is assigned to each category. The IELTS scores range
from a band of 1-9 with 1 indicating least competency or non-speaker and 9
indicating expert speaker. There is no minimum pass marks for IELTS, every
country sets its own minimum acceptable threshold for each category for the
IELTS score. For example the minimum IELTS score for immigration to
Canada is widely believed to be an overall score of 6.0 across all categories.
The IELTS exam locations and dates: The IELTS can be taken at more than
1,100 location in 140 countries worldwide. In India, the IELTS is administered
by the British council, and is available at 42 locations across the country. The
candidate can choose from any one of the 48 IELTS exam dates in a year.
The candidate needs to apply for the test dates in advance.
The IELTS Modules: is broadly divided into four modules; listening, speaking,
reading and writing. For the listening module, the candidate taking the test is
expected to listen to a recording, which comprises of a variety of vocal
examples including, monologues, conversations of different types and
academic discourses, delivered in a range of accents including Canadian,
British, American and Australian.
The IELTS reading module is different for the IELTS academic and IELTS
general training test. The IELTS academic reading test comprises of three
reading passages followed by a variety of questions, which can be classified
under various task types like multiple choice, identify information, choose the
following and match the following among others. The IELTS academic reading
passages are taken from various media such as books, journals, magazines
and newspapers, and cater to a general audience. The IELTS academic
reading passages are typically written in a wide variety of styles, examples of
which include, descriptive, logical, argumentative and non-verbal texts such
as charts and diagrams. The IELTS general training reading module is divided
into three sections, viz social survival, workplace survival and general
reading. The IELTS general training reading passages are selected from
newspapers, magazines and books which are of general interest to a wide
range of users.
For the IELTS speaking module test, the candidate is engaged in a
conversation with the examiner, where the examiner asks him some questions
about himself and his personal life and interests, including his home, family,
work etc. The examiner assesses the candidate on his ability to understand
and respond to the examiners questions appropriately. The examiner further
asks the candidate to elaborate on a given topic for one to two minutes and
encourages the candidate to answer a few questions about the topic.
The IELTS writing module too varies for the two test types. For the IELTS
academic writing test, the candidate is expected to complete two mandatory
writing tasks, both of which are mandatory. The test takers are asked to look
at visual information and describe it in their own words for the first task. For
the second task candidates are asked to respond to an argument or problem.
The IELTS general training writing, also, consists of two mandatory writing
tasks. However the general training writing test differs from the academic test,
in the nature of the material expected to be written. Here the candidate is
asked to write a letter in response to a situation for the first task, and is
required to write an essay in the second.
The IELTS test results are typically provided 13 days after completion of the
test. The test results are generally posted, but may also be personally picked
up if so desired
The IELTS test score validity period is two years. However some countries
may accept test scores that are older for specific categories of visas. For
example Australia considers a three year old test score as valid for its general
skilled migration category