Learn about IELTS

What is IELTS?

IELTS is designed for those moving to a country where English is the dominant language in order to study, work, or migrate. This includes countries such as Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the UK, and the USA.

IELTS is a secure English language test that is recognised by more than 12,000 organisations worldwide, including government and professional bodies, educational institutions, and workplaces.

IELTS is scored on a scale of 1-9. During the test, your proficiency in speaking, listening, reading, and writing English is evaluated.

You can take different types of tests, such as the IELTS Academic test, IELTS General Training test, and IELTS Life Skills (A1 or B1) test. Your intent will determine the kind of test you need to take. It may be necessary for you to take the IELTS Academic test if you want to enrol in a higher education programme in an English-speaking country.

IELTS is jointly owned by the British Council, IDP: IELTS Australia, and Cambridge English.

What does ‘IELTS’ mean?

IELTS means the International English Language Testing System (IELTS).

Why do you need to take IELTS?

You must be able to demonstrate a high level of English language proficiency if you want to work or live in an English-speaking country, or study at an institution where English is the primary medium of instruction. With a number of 379 million speakers worldwide, English is the third most spoken language in the world. There are several advantages to being able to speak in the native tongue of the country you want to work or study in. Additionally, it is necessary for community integration and job opportunities.

How IELTS is developed

The purpose of IELTS is to offer a fair and reliable evaluation of English language proficiency.

Teams of language experts from the UK, the USA, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia create the test questions. The test is split into four categories: Listening, Reading, Writing, and Speaking.

The IELTS test covers real-life situations. It treats test takers from all backgrounds equally and fairly.

Testing criteria

IELTS has different types of tests: IELTS Academic test, IELTS General Training test, and the Life Skills (A1 or B1) test. There's also IELTS for UKVI if you wish to study, work, migrate, or seek vocational training in the United Kingdom.

The IELTS test includes four components: Listening, Reading, Writing, and Speaking. In the Writing and Speaking tests, you will be assessed using various criteria, such as grammatical range and accuracy, and lexical resource.

Get ready for your IELTS test with the help of our exclusive preparation materials.