The IELTS or '
International English Language Testing System', is an
international standardised test of English language proficiency. It is jointly managed by
University of Cambridge ESOL Examinations, the British Council and IDP Education Australia,
and was established in
1989.
There are two versions of the IELTS: the Academic Version and the General Training Version
• The
Academic Version is intended for those who want to enroll in universities
and other institutions of higher education and for professionals such as medical doctors and nurses
who want to study or practice in an English-speaking country.
• The
General Training Version is intended for those planning to undertake non-academic training
or to gain work experience, or for immigration purposes.
IELTS is accepted by most Australian, British, Canadian, Irish, New Zealand
and South African academic institutions, over
2,000 academic institutions
in the United States, and various professional organisations. It
is also a requirement for immigration to Australia and Canada.
An IELTS result or Test Report Form is valid for
two years.
In 2007, IELTS tested over a million candidates in a single 12-month period for the
first time ever, making it the world's most popular English language test for higher
education and immigration.
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All candidates must complete
four Modules
- Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking - to obtain a band score,
which is shown on an the IELTS Test Report Form (TRF). All candidates
take the same Listening and Speaking Modules, while the Reading and
Writing Modules differ depending on whether the candidate is taking
the Academic or General Training Versions of the Test.
The total test duration is around
2 hours and 45 minutes for Listening, Reading and Writing modules.
•
Listening: 40 minutes, 30 minutes for which a recording is played centrally and
additional 10 minutes for transferring answers onto the OMR answer sheet.
•
Reading: 60 minutes.
•
Writing: 60 minutes.
The first three modules - Listening, Reading and Writing (always in that order)
- are completed in one day, and in fact are taken with no break in between.
The Speaking Module may be taken, at the discretion of the test centre, in the
period seven days before or after the other Modules.
The tests are designed to cover the full range of ability from non-user to expert user.
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IELTS is scored on a
nine-band scale, with each band corresponding to a
specified competence in English. Overall Band Scores are reported to the
nearest whole or half band.
For the avoidance of doubt, the following rounding convention applies; if the average
across the four skills ends in .25, it is rounded up to the next half band, and if
it ends in .75, it is rounded up to the next whole band.
The nine bands are described as follows:
9 Expert User
Has fully operational command of the language: appropriate, accurate
and fluent with complete understanding.
8 Very Good User
Has fully operational command of the language with only occasional unsystematic
inaccuracies and inappropriacies. Misunderstandings may occur in unfamiliar situations.
Handles complex detailed argumentation well.
7 Good User
Has operational command of the language, though with occasional inaccuracies,
inappropriacies and misunderstandings in some situations. Generally handles complex
language well and understands detailed reasoning.
6 Competent User
Has generally effective command of the language despite some inaccuracies, inappropriacies
and misunderstandings. Can use and understand fairly complex language, particularly in familiar situations.
5 Modest User
Has a partial command of the language, coping with overall meaning in most situations,
though is likely to make many mistakes. The candidate should be able to handle communication
in his or her own field.
4 Limited User
Basic competence is limited to familiar situations. Has frequent problems in using
complex language.
3 Extremely Limited User
Conveys and understands only general meaning in very familiar situations. Frequent
breakdowns in communication occur.
2 Intermittent User
No real communication is possible except for the most basic information using isolated
words or short formulae in familiar situations and to meet immediate needs.
1 Non User
Essentially has no ability to use the language beyond possibly a few isolated words.
0 Did not attempt the test
No assessable information provided.
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The test is taken every year in
500 locations across
121 countries,
and is one of the fastest growing English language tests in the world.
The number of candidates has grown from about 80,000 in 1999 to over 1,000,000 in 2007.
The top three locations in which candidates took the test in 2007 were:
Academic Category
1. China
2. India
3. Pakistan
There are up to
48 test dates available per year. Each test
centre offers tests up to four times a month depending on local demand.
There used to be a minimum time limit of 90 days before which a person
could not sit for the test again, but this restriction was recently lifted.
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Just over half (51%) of candidates take the test to enter higher education
in a foreign country. The IELTS minimum scores required by academic institutions vary.
As a general rule, institutions from English-speaking countries require a higher IELTS band.
United States
The highest IELTS Band required by a university is
8.5, by the Graduate School of
Journalism at Columbia University; the only US institution to require this band.
It should be noted that while Ohio State University's Moritz College of Law is listed as
requiring an 8.5 on the IELTS website , the school lists an 8.0 .
For
MIT the minimum score required is
7.
United Kingdom
The highest IELTS Band required is
8, by the Master of Science degree in
Marketing at the University of Warwick .
Most IELTS requirements by universities fall
between 5.5 and 7.0.
Germany
Stuttgart University requires an IELTS minimum of
6.0. Most german
universities require an IELTS minimum of 6.0 for their master students.
Hong Kong
The Law Society of Hong Kong requires applicants to achieve a minimum
score of
7.0 for entry into the Postgraduate Certificate in Laws course,
taught at University of Hong Kong, Chinese University of Hong Kong and City University of Hong Kong.
Universities
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