IELTS characteristics
The IELTS incorporates the following features:
- A variety of accents and writing styles are presented in text materials in order to minimise linguistic bias.
- Band scores are used for each language sub-skill (Listening, Reading, Writing, and Speaking). The Band Scale ranges from 1 ("Non User") to 9 ("Expert User").
IELTS Test Structure
All candidates must complete four Modules - Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking to obtain an IELTS Test Report Form. Candidates are tested in Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking. All candidates take the same Listening and Speaking Modules. There is a choice between Academic and General Training in the Reading and Writing Modules.
Total Test Time 2 hours 45 minutes
The first three modules - Listening, Reading and Writing - must be completed in one day. The Speaking Module may be taken, at the discretion of the test centre, in the period seven days before or after the other Modules.
The tests are designed to cover the full range of ability from non-user to expert user.
Band Scale
IELTS is scored on a nine band scale. Each Band corresponds to different English competence. The Band Scores are in either or half Bands. The nine bands are described as such:
Expert User
Has fully operational command of the language: appropriate, accurate and fluent with complete understanding.
Very Good User
Has fully operational command of the language with only occasional unsystematic inaccuracies and inappropriacies. Handles complex detailed argumentation well.
Good User
Has operational command of the language, though with occasional inaccuracies, inappropriateness and misunderstandings in some situations. Generally handles complex language well and understands detailed reasoning.
Competent User
Has generally effective command of the language despite some inaccuracies, inappropriacies and misunderstandings. Can use and understand fairly complex language, particularly in familiar situations.
Modest User
Has partial command of the language, coping with overall meaning in most situations, though is likely to make many mistakes. Should be able to handle basic communication in own field...
Limited User
Basic competence is limited to familiar situations. Has frequent problems in use of complex language.
Extremely Limited User
Conveys and understands only general meaning in very familiar situations. Frequent breakdowns in communication occur.
Intermittent User
No real communication is possible except for the most basic information using isolated words or short formulae in familiar situations and to meet immediate needs. Has great difficulty understanding spoken and written English.
Non User
Essentially has no ability to use the language beyond possibly a few isolated words.
No Original English Used
No assessable information provided. Candidate may have failed to sit for the test
Locations and test dates
There are around 300 test centres worldwide. The number of candidates has grown from about 100,000 in 1999 to about half a million in 2003. The top three locations in which candidates took the test in 2003 were Mainland China, India and the United Kingdom for the Academic Category, and India, Mainland China and Australia for the General Training Category.
There are up to 48 test dates available per year. Each test centre offers tests up to four times a month depending on local demand.
IELTS level for admission to the academic world
IELTS minimum levels required by institutions depend sometimes on particular college or school and country. As a rule, institutions from English spoken countries require a higher level of IELTS than those from non English spoken countries. According to IELTS official site [1] the highest IELTS level required by a University is 8.5, only two institutions are included here, both from the U.S.: the Graduate School of Journalism at Columbia University and the Moritz College of Law at the Ohio State University. In addition, the higher IELTS level required by institutions from the United Kingdom, where the IELTS had been originated, is 7.50.
Most IELTS requirement by Universities are between 7.00 and 5.50. For example, the Liverpool University required 7.50, the Cambridge University 7.00 and the Birmingham University 6.0 as the minimum levels, Essex University requires minimum 5.50. In Germany, the Stuttgart University requires an IELTS minimum rate of 6.00.
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