4. IELTS/ TOEFL
IELTS and TOEFL are international standardized tests of English language proficiency recognized by many universities across the world. Both tests consist of four sections: speaking, listening, writing and reading. I have done Academic IELTS which is needed to be eligible for a postgraduate study of the universities I have selected. However, some universities have flexibility in the need for IELTS scores. If the student does his/her bachelors in English medium, they don’t have to provide IELTS/ TOEFL scores. But in my experience, many universities require IELTS/ TOEFL scores. For both examinations, you need to pay the specified amount of fee which can vary depending on the country. Please keep in my mind that you should have a valid passport in order to attend these international tests.
IELTS
“The International English Language
Testing System (IELTS) is an international standardized test of English
language proficiency for non-native English language speakers. It is jointly
managed by the British Council, IDP: IELTS Australia and Cambridge Assessment
English, and was established in 1989.”
There are two main types of IELTS
test conducted for non-native English language speakers.
|
IELTS General Training Test |
IELTS Academic Test |
|
This is for those
who are going to English speaking countries for secondary education, work
experience or training programs. It is also a requirement for migration to Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the UK. The test focuses on basic survival skills in broad social and workplace contexts. |
This is for people applying for higher education or professional registration in an English speaking environment. It reflects some of the features of academic language and assesses whether you are ready to begin studying or training. |
|
Listening and
Speaking are similar for both types, but the subject matter/content of the
Reading and Writing sections vary based on which test you attend. Source:
https://www.ielts.org/ |
|
IELTS can be taken on Paper or
Computer. For applying postgraduate studies, it is obvious that you should take
academic IELTS, not the general one. I did Academic IELTS (paper-based) managed
by British Council (BC), Sri Lanka and my test centre was ACBT campus in
Colombo. In 2019, 25,100.00 LKR was charged for each of my attempt in IELTS examination.
First, I did my speaking test on Tuesday and other 3 sections were scheduled to
Saturday of the same week. You also have the option of doing all 4 sections on the
same test day. You can refer the BC website and get further information on the IELTS
test. According to my experience, the time taken for four sections is given in the following
table. There may be changes/ revisions in these international examinations.
Therefore, it is always recommended to read thoroughly the information on
websites of examination managing institute where you are going to take your
test. As an example in my case, I referred this. https://www.britishcouncil.lk/exam/ielts
|
Section |
Content |
Time duration |
|
Listening |
40 Questions |
~30 min (+ 10 min transfer time) |
|
Reading |
40 Questions |
60 min |
|
Writing |
2 tasks |
60 min |
|
Speaking |
3 parts |
11–15 min |
|
Section |
Some Tips from My Experiences |
|
Listening |
Answering
the questions on paper after/while listening to the recordings with the given
headphones. During
my 1st attempt, due to less practising, I was panicked at the
start and it caused to reduce my listening score. Therefore, good listening
practices and being familiar with different accents are really important to
get a good listening score. Listening
to BBC news, watching English movies without subtitles, doing listening practice tests enhanced my listening capability. Having a good focus during the test is really useful in the listening test. |
|
Reading |
Answering
the questions on paper after/while reading the passages given in the question paper. Since
the start of practising IELTS, reading was the most convenient section for me even most of the others it was the hardest part. However, during preparation for my 1st attempt, time taken to complete all the questions was more than the allocated time. It was because I used to read and then try to answer the questions after understanding the whole passage. But during the preparation for 2nd attempt, I have learnt the techniques regarding the speed reading, locating answers, and approaching different types of questions. IELTS Liz blog was very effective for me to enhance my score. |
|
Writing |
Task
1- Writing a summary in response to a particular graph (bar, line or pie graph), table, chart, or process. I practised in writing responses for
various types of charts, diagrams, tables while using techniques mentioned by
Liz and in other online resources. For writing task 1 in IELTS, it is not just trying to write things as you see in the given chart. You need to write with appropriate vocabulary and organize the flow with the recommended techniques by IELTS tests guides. Task
2 - Writing a formal essay in response to an opinion, discussion, direct questions and answers, etc. Writing an essay can be familiar to you since your primary/secondary education. But for IELTS writing task 2, you should adhere to their marking criteria and organize the flow with the recommended techniques by IELTS tests guides. I practised in writing essays while using techniques mentioned by Liz and in other online resources and it also helped me to improve brainstorming ability at the actual test date. Writing
less number of words can surely reduce marks in 2 writing tasks and therefore, I used to do practise tests in writing section in copies of standard answer sheets (you can find some on the web). Thus, I was able to get a rough idea of how much longer should I write in an answer sheet to satisfy the given minimum word limit. |
|
Speaking |
Oral
interview between the test taker and an examiner (physically present) in the test centre. It was conducted in a small room where only I and examiner were present. So, the environment was calm and not distracting to have a good conversation. For
both attempts, my speaking scores were similar and good. Even though I had little confusions just after speaking test in attempt 1, I realized that speaking confidently and clearly can give you a good score. In general, content or things you speak are not things to matter, but how you speak and your fluency are evaluated. That means your opinions and attitudes do not reduce your marks even they are not compatible with your examiner. But you should focus to give answers relevant to the questions. I
improved my speaking ability with practising alone. I took a list of
questions/ speaking topics from IELTS learning resources, spoke/answered
(kind of practice speaking with a mirror) while adhering to time constraints and recorded my speaking for later listening. If you have a friend/partner,
it may be more effective because then you can also get some feedback from them regarding your speaking. |
“IELTS results are designed to be
simple and easy to understand. They are reported as band scores on a scale from
1 (the lowest) to 9 (the highest)”. Each section is graded based on this scale
and then finally an overall band score will be provided.
Main learning resource I used to learn techniques for IELTS test is IELTS Liz blog. It is very clear and well organized. I referred all most all the posts/articles in her blog. Thus, it is recommended as a good learning source for a beginner of any stage (https://ieltsliz.com/). Other than that, when I felt that I was weak at some certain parts in a section, then I also watched some good learning videos on the web.
Practice makes perfect. I have completed all the practice tests for 4 years in my 2nd attempt. Therefore, it was a total of 16 papers (4 papers for each year). You can download “Cambridge IELTS Practice Test Series” (official practice tests) from web resources. My preparation time for my 1st attempt was about a month and for 2nd attempt was another month. Therefore in my case, a total of 2 months was needed to obtain an overall band score of 8. However, it may vary depending on the person.
IELTS test is not a hard task if
you really commit and learn techniques properly. Before doing IELTS, I have
heard it’s difficult to obtain a score like 8, and it’s not very common. I
have taken two attempts and the following scores were achieved. I have improved
the overall score from 7 to 8 by these 2 attempts. If you follow correct
materials, do enough practice tests, and don’t get panicked during the
examination, you can certainly get a good score in IELTS. Since most of us are
doing our bachelors in English medium, I don’t think IELTS is hard. Only thing
is that you need to learn techniques in IELTS. Getting a good score in IELTS is
also good to give a positive impression to your profile. Most universities
require a minimum IELTS score (overall band score) of 6.5. The usual validity period
of IELTS test results is 2 years following the test. Thus it is advisable to
go through entry requirements of your preferred university before starting the preparation
for IELTS.
TOEFL
TOEFL is also accepted by many
universities. I did not need to do TOEFL because my preferred universities also
accept IELTS test results. Therefore, I do not have much knowledge of TOEFL but
only have some basic idea with some of my friend’s experiences.
“Test of English as a Foreign
Language (TOEFL) is a standardized test to measure the English language ability
of non-native speakers wishing to enrol in English-speaking universities. The
test is accepted by many English-speaking academic and professional institutions.
TOEFL is a trademark of the Educational Testing Service (ETS), a private
non-profit organization, which designs and administers the tests.”
As I heard from my friends, many USA universities require TOEFL test score and most students who are going to the USA for their postgraduate studies do TOEFL examination. Therefore, it is recommended to go through the entry requirements of your preferred university to know correctly which test (IELTS or TOEFL) you should do for the eligibility of postgraduate studies.
* Please noted that quoted statements are obtained from some online resources.
* You can study materials uploaded in the following drive for the further reference.
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1tYQ8LvoPxSqEWYLgBn6V7HbL9xUuByim?usp=sharing
Comments
IELTS Reading
Reading Test