What is the IELTS test?
It is the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) and is designed to measure your proficiency and ability to communicate in the English language,
and prove that you have a certain level of English, whether for work or
study purposes. It is an English language test that assesses all four language skills:
listening, reading, speaking and writing
Who recognises IELTS?
Educational institutions in the UK, the US, Australia
New Zealand, Hong Kong, Ireland, South Africa and most universities, colleges, academic and professional bodies that teach in English around the world all
recognise IELTS, including Immigration New Zealand and the General Medical Council. IELTS is accepted by more than 6,000 different institutions worldwide.
What is the format of the IELTS exam? And how long is it?
As we mentioned earlier, the IELTS exam consists of 4 sections, the listening, reading and writing exams are on the same day and are tested in order, while the speaking exam may be on the same day as the previous sections, the day after it or the day before it
First: Listening:
– The first section of the IELTS exam is the listening section, and its duration is about 40-60 minutes. After you sit in your seat, the examiners distribute to you a booklet with the exam questions, and one sheet to transfer the answers at the end of the exam, then the headphones experience begins (each student has a special earphone). When the exam starts and the recording is turned on, you cannot stop the exam for any reason. The recording begins with information about the exam, then the conversations begin sequentially and a minute is left between each part and the next to review your answers
– The listening exam consists of 4 parts, each part is a conversation between several people
or a lecture given by one person, all you have to do is listen carefully to the conversation
and answer the questions in the answer booklet at the same time. Each of the four parts consists of about 10 questions, so the total number of questions in the speaking exam is 40 questions.
- The exam questions come in the order of the conversation, meaning that you will hear the answer to the first question followed by the answer to the second question… and so on.
- The listening test questions vary to include multiple choice, completing a data graph of a device or map, completing sentences with a word or an illustration and a table or a graphic showing a number, or answering direct questions such as when?, what?, how? and why?.
- The first part is a conversation or a phone call between two people about normal life matters; for example, a conversation about dentist appointments in the clinic between a patient and a nurse, or booking a flight ticket, or inquiring about the prices of certain goods, or inquiring about lecture times at the university… and so on. The questions in this part are in the form of a table with some empty boxes and you have to complete them when you hear the conversation.
- The second part of the exam is also a conversation between two people about a somewhat specialized topic, such as a conversation between a student and his teacher about a specific topic, or a conversation between two students about a party, a trip, or a research project.
- The third part of the listening exam is often a conversation between 3 people about a specific topic. Each one of them has his opinion, and this part is the most difficult – in my opinion –
- because it requires concentration to link the person’s name to his opinion and then answer the questions. The questions in this part can be multiple choice.
- Which is often a map of a specific place or a drawing of a device and you have to put the data on it according to what was stated in the conversation.
- The fourth part is in the form of a lecture by one person on a specific topic, and the questions are often a completion of the summary of this lecture by putting the appropriate word in place of the points through your understanding of what was mentioned in the lecture. At the end of the exam, you are left with 10 minutes to transfer your answers from the answer booklet to the answer sheet, the solution on this sheet is in pencil only
For anyone who wants to take the IELTS exam or improve their level of English in general… and for free ❤
“IELTS English material uploaded to Google Drive” About 4 GB consisting of:
12 official Cambridge IELTS books from 1997 to 2017 including an explanation of the exam system + full exams + solutions and a comprehensive explanation Passport to IELTS book + Collins English for Exams book Vocabulary material + Listening + Reading + Writing + Speaking on exercises
Additional explanation and exercises for each module separately + in addition to 185 models
written for various topics + more than 7000 words
Read also: IELTS exam book latest version (18)
