What is IELTS?

The International English Language Testing System (IELTS) is an important English language test. It was established in 1989 jointly by the British Council, UK, University of Cambridge ESOL, and the International Development Program (IDP) of Australia. The IELTS test has grown dramatically, and each year many hundreds of thousands of men and women worldwide take the test.

The IELTS test is especially important as a measure of language proficiency in the UK, Australia, NZ, Canada and, increasingly in the USA. It is designed for those who are 16 years old and over.

Availability

The IELTS test is offered regularly in the major cities of almost every country of the world. Candidates can re-take the test at any time if their score is insufficient for their needs. Test results are available within two weeks of sitting the test.

IELTS Test options

Candidates can sit either the:

IELTS Academic test, which is used to assess language level for university or college entrance in many English speaking countries, or the:

IELTS General Training test, which is used for entry to further education, or for migration purposes,

Test structure

The test has four parts:

Listening      (4 Sections and 40 questions – about 30 minutes in total)
Reading        (3 Sections and 40 questions – 1 hour)
Writing          (2 Tasks – report or letter, and an essay on a social topic – 1 hour)
Speaking      (1 interview in 3 parts, with one assessor – 11-14 minutes in total)

Test scoring

Each part of the test is scored from 0-9 including half scores, and then an overall score is calculated. Different institutions set their own required, entry levels.

Official IELTS test site

The official IELTS test site ( www.ielts.org ) has detailed descriptions of what each score means, as well as lists of all the test centres, information on test costs and test dates in different countries, assessment criteria, and research reports on different facets of the IELTS test.