How to Prepare for IELTS?
IELTS (International English Language Testing System)- an international exam to assess knowledge of English as a foreign language. The IELTS certificate, along with the TOEFL certificate, is accepted by universities and employers around the world to determine the level and proficiency of the English language of people whose first language is not English. In my classes, you will learn about all the features and “pitfalls” of IELTS, which will allow you to pass the exam with the highest score and secure a decent future for yourself at a foreign university or in an international company.
I myself took the Academic IELTS exam in December 2015, getting a total of 8.5 out of 9. Every second eleventh grader faces questions from relatives, friends, himself: where will you go? The main mistake that a future graduate can make is not to do anything for admission to a higher educational institution, believing that that “it just works out somehow.” The approach is also wrong when a student chooses subjects that he can pass, hoping to understand where he can go by passing scores.
Types of IELTS exam and how they differ
There are two versions of the test – Academic IELTS (academic version) and General Training IELTS (general version).
The Academic IELTS certificate is used for admission to schools, colleges and universities in the UK, Canada, Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa, the USA and other countries where the teaching is conducted in English.
The certificate is also required for obtaining a UK work visa, and for other purposes related to studying, living or working in an English-speaking community.
If you need a language certificate to work abroad, feel free to choose IELTS General Training. This certificate will confirm your level and will require only basic English skills. You can also prepare for General Training IELTS in my classes.
If you are interested in entering a university, in particular, a US university, you will need to pass the IELTS Academic or TOEFL.
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What is the structure of the IELTS exam?
The certificate includes an assessment in four test modules:
Listening (listening skills);
Reading (reading skills);
Writing (written English skills);
Speaking (speaking English skills)
The Listening section consists of 40 questions and lasts 30 minutes. In total, 4 entries will be offered to your attention. Before each task, you will have the opportunity to read the questions and predict what the entry will be about. The audition can only be listened to once.
The Academic Reading section includes 3 academic texts, 40 questions, and is designed for 60 minutes. Read the texts carefully and answer questions about what you have read.
The Academic Writing section offers 2 essays – 150 words and 250 words minimum. 60 minutes per section. The first essay must be written according to a diagram, table, illustration or graph, describing the process or analyzing from the information received. In the second essay, it is necessary to reveal the proposed topic, prove your point of view, considering the problem from your own and from the opposite side.
The Speaking section takes place either on the day of the main part of the exam, or is scheduled on another day. It lasts about 10-15 minutes and includes a conversation with the examiner – a dialogue on general questions, a monologue on a given topic with preparation, further discussion of the topic with the examiner and answers to his questions.
You can prepare for all parts of the Academic IELTS exam and learn about the features, templates and strategies for success in my lessons. In the classroom, in addition to working out all the necessary skills, I will definitely provide you with the maximum number of templates that guarantee a high score. With them, you will be able to pass the exam without difficulty, one might say, “automatically”, and guarantee yourself success.
If you are planning to take IELTS General Training, then it will differ in easier sections for reading (Reading) and writing (Writing). The number of questions and the time to complete remain the same, however, the texts and tasks for writing will not be academic, but close to real life. Texts in Reading will be about more everyday topics, will contain less complex vocabulary. The first essay will need to be written in the form of a letter to a friend, the second – on a familiar topic. You can prepare for the features of the high score exam by enrolling in the course using the form below.
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How is Academic IELTS different from TOEFL?
IELTS and TOEFL are similar exams that test the same skills, but there are fundamental differences between them.
Firstly, TOEFL is based on the American version of the exam, IELTS is based on the British one. While the differences are minor and you can use both British and American English on both exams without losing points, some students are more accustomed to taking an exam that is closer to understanding. However, when it comes to the Listening parts, the speakers of both exams speak very clearly, so the difference is really minimal.
Secondly, the TOEFL exam is taken electronically, in front of a computer in a special test center. The IELTS exam is taken on paper. From here, the Speaking part differs significantly, because in the case of TOEFL you are talking to a computer that records your answers through a microphone for a strictly defined time, and in the case of IELTS you are talking personally with the examiner.
Unlike IELTS Writing, where the integrated part consists of describing the graph, in TOEFL the integrated writing part requires reading the text, listening to the passage, and then writing a retelling. The second essay, on a familiar topic, is quite similar.
The same applies to the Reading part – they are similar to each other. The only difference is the form of tasks – in TOEFL this is a choice of several answer options, in IELTS there are more diverse tasks (for example, choose a title or compare facts in accordance with information from the text). This difference is insignificant and should not affect the choice.
In the Listening part, the key difference is that for exams, you must first read the questions, and then listen to the recording and answer the questions along the way. Note-taking skills are not needed here, since the questions are known in advance. In TOEFL, you must first listen to the recording and make notes, only then questions appear on the screen.
Which is easier – IELTS or TOEFL? Which test is right for you?
There are no comrades for taste and color here. Both exams consist of the same sections and test the same skills – Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking. Exams are evaluated on scales that are easily translated into each other, so after passing one of the exams, you can see how much it is on the scale of another exam. This makes both exams universal.
The differences lie precisely in the forms of tasks. Based on personal experience, I can say that the TOEFL exam is more “tense” – the pressure of time is much more clearly felt here, which you need to be in time for. This applies to the Speaking part, which needs to be actively trained. Historically, TOEFL has been the most popular entrance exam for American universities. However, whichever exam you decide to take, American universities will accept it and easily compare results with those who have passed another exam, using the generally accepted scale for transferring points. Therefore, if it seems to you that it will be easier for you to pass IELTS, and you pass it with a higher score, sign up for IELTS preparation and I will help you pass the exam for the maximum score.
And remember that English certificate exams, like IELTS and TOEFL, test not so much the level of English as the level of your preparation for this particular exam. Therefore, do not forget that at any level of the language, careful preparation and study of the necessary templates for a given exam is necessary.