Homo sapiens or better say humans have been the migratory species since ages. We have mobility in our genetic material. However, nowadays, there are some rules and regulations of every country for immigrants of other nationalities to allow their entry to their destined immigration country. Among them, language proficiency is one of the important factors. Many countries require the language proficiency test to check whether the aspirant has command on its official language or not as without it, he/she finds difficulty in communication there.
The International English language testing system (IELTS) is the most popular and trusted English proficiency test across the globe. It is widely used in educational institutions, companies, and government immigration offices of different English-speaking countries like Canada, New Zealand, Australia and more to approve the entry of any international aspirant.
In the test, all four language abilities including speaking, writing, listening and reading of candidates who wish to settle abroad or planning to study in foreign universities are evaluated. Cambridge ESOL Examinations (Cambridge ESOL), British Council and IDP jointly manage the execution of IELTS in different corners of the world.
Types of Exam modules for IELTS:
There are two IELTS modules: Academic and General Training module.
Academic module:
This module is for those who are interested in studying undergraduate or postgraduate courses from foreign universities where the language of communication is English.
General training module:
This module is for those who are interested in working, training or studying below degree courses in any English-speaking country.
So if you are planning for the IELTS exam, then at first, you need to understand the test format. The following is the precise description of the IELTS format.
| Test components | Listening | Reading | Writing | Speaking |
| Pattern | 40 questions | 40 questions | 2 tasks | 3 parts |
| Time duration (in minutes) | 30 | 60 | 60 | 15 |
As stated above, there are four sub-tests for IELTS, reading, writing, listening and speaking and it is necessary for every candidate to sit in all sub-tests. Listening and speaking sub-tests remain same in both academic and general training modules. Whereas, candidates have the choice for academic and general training reading and writing sub-tests.
Components of IELTS:
Listening:
This section is of 30 minutes and comprises of 4 subsections. Each section has ten questions which need to answer after listening monologues or dialogues on cassette tape. Questions may come in the form of multiple choices, short answers, sentence completion, flow chart completion and more.
Writing:
This section is of 60 minutes and comprises 2 tasks.
Academic module’s tasks:
Task 1: In writing task 1, the candidate needs to describe the visual representation given in the form of graph/table/chart/diagram and more in academic or semi-formal writing style. The minimum word limit for description is 150 words, and the maximum duration is 20 minutes.
Task 2: In writing Task 2, the candidate needs to write on given words with minimum words limit of 250 words in academic or semi-formal style in the maximum duration of 40 minutes.
General training module:
Task 1: In writing task 1, the candidate needs to write an informal, semi-formal or formal letter on common, daily topics in the minimum word limit of 150 words.
Task 2: In writing task 2, the candidate needs to write an essay on general problems or arguments in the minimum word limit of 250 words.
Reading:
This section is of 60 minutes.
General training module:
It comprises three sub-sections. Section 1 contains two or three smaller texts, Section 2 contains two texts, and Section 3 contains one long text. Texts are generally from magazines, advertisements, newspapers and other sources which people encounter in their daily routine in English-speaking countries. The total number of questions is around 40.
Academic module:
It comprises of three long texts which have 40 questions in total. Texts may be descriptive, factual or analytical.
Whether general or academic, questions may come in the form of multiple choices, matching heading, matching feature, true/false, note completion, summary completion, short answer and more.
Speaking:
This section is of 11-15 minutes and comprises of 3 parts. Part 1 is the introduction and interview, part 2 is the topic presentation, and part 3 is the discussion.
Part 1: In part1, the candidate needs to introduce himself/herself. Examiner asks general questions related to his/her education, family, interest and all. It ends in 4-5 minutes only.
Part 2: In part 2, the candidate needs to present the topic given by the examiner. It lasts for 3-4 minutes only.
Part 3: In part 3, the candidate needs to answer the questions raised by the examiner related to the topic given in part 2. It lasts for 4-5 minutes only.
So, instead of worrying, candidates need to focus on practising questions and make a habit of reading English newspaper, magazines and more to improve the Score in IELTS.
Besides IELTS, a candidate can give the Canadian English Language Proficiency Index Program (CELPIP), if he/she is planning to move to Canada. The Canadian government and its professional organizations, universities, colleges, employers accept both language proficiency tests, IELTS and CELPIP.
There are two major types:
CELPIP General: This test is for those candidates who wish to apply for Canadian Permanent Residence. The total time duration for the test is 180 minutes.
| Test components | Listening | Reading | Writing | Speaking |
| Duration | 47 minutes | 60 minutes | 53 minutes | 20 minutes |
| Number of Questions | 45-48 | 46-49 | 2 | 9 |
CELPIP General LS: This test is for those candidates who wish to apply for Canadian citizenship. The total time duration is 67 minutes.
| Test components | Listening | Speaking |
| Duration | 47 minutes | 20 minutes |
| Number of Questions | 45-48 | 9 |
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