IELTS breaks the 1.5 million tests mark - 9 March 2011

IELTS has cemented its position as the world’s most popular high stakes English language test with latest figures revealing a record 1.5 million tests were taken around the world in 2010.
Representing over 15 consecutive years of global growth, the number of tests taken has increased year-on-year annually since 1995.

North America followed by the Philippines and Hong Kong experienced the largest growth over the year, whilst China, Australia and India continue to retain their positions as the largest markets for IELTS.

Tony Pollock, Chief Executive of IDP: IELTS Australia, speaking on behalf of the three IELTS partners said, “We believe the increase in the number of IELTS tests taken can be attributed to two key factors. Firstly, we have seen greater test accessibility with 800 locations in 130 countries now available.

www.ielts.org

“There are also over 6,000 institutions globally that rely on the rigour and reliability of the IELTS test to make informed decisions where English language skills are a key requirement, including universities, employers, professional bodies and immigration authorities,” he continued.

IELTS provides a reliable measure of a candidate’s ability across the four skills of listening, reading, writing and speaking.

Candidates cited the number one reason for taking the test in 2010 was in pursuit of entry into an academic institution, followed by migration purposes.

“IELTS continues to help change people’s lives as they look for opportunities around the world – whether that be in education, for migration or employment. That’s why IELTS is a high stakes test and also why it’s so critical that the test continue to be a robust and rigorous measure of English language proficiency.

“With 1.5 million tests delivered last year, it is clear that the effectiveness of IELTS in this regard is acknowledged by both candidates and those who use and rely on the test alike,” Mr Pollock concluded.

IELTS is jointly owned by the British Council, IDP: IELTS Australia and the University of Cambridge ESOL Examinations (Cambridge ESOL).

Increasing vocabulary through reading

Every day find an article of approximately 250 words. Look in magazines or find an article froma newspaper on the web or in a library. Read the article through and highlight five words you do not know. The words you highlight should be important to the understanding of the article. Look them up and make sure that the meaning you find in the dictionary is the correct meaning as it relates to the article. Keep these words in your own dictionary and review frequently.

Taken from prfect phrases for the TOEFL by Roberta G steinberg.

Spelling game exercise

Practice you spelling using this game. Practice adjectives for people.

http://www.manythings.org/vocabulary/games/l/words.php?f=adjectives_for_people_1

Do you want to get Band 8 in IELTS? Here is some advice

“My advice to other IELTS candidates will be to time them while they practice as time is of utmost importance while taking the test. When I was preparing for IELTS, I prepared from the past papers book provided by the British Council. The Road to IELTS is also very helpful as it is an interactive guide to studying for the test and also works on your vocabulary.

I used to solve the papers and check the answers and mark myself. Every time I did it, I wanted to beat my past score and do better. Start preparing at least 15 days prior to the test and if you don’t have time to solve the entire paper, solve at least one section of the sample papers everyday.

The Listening and Reading tests are very scoring and easy. All you have to do is listen carefully and go on marking answers at the same time. While attempting the reading test read the questions carefully and read the passages and underline anything you think is important, it will help you spot answers faster.

The Writing and the Speaking tests are not as easy as the Listening and Reading ones so read about different topics and read the newspaper regularly to be prepared. For the Speaking test, even if you don’t know much about the subject speak confidently and be careful about your grammar. If you know you have made a mistake, correct yourself.

Hope this helps. All the best and do well.

- Anuja Gangan from IELTS blog

IELTS News

The University of Western Sydney’s UWSCollege recently launched the region’s first dedicated IELTS testing centre in a move that will greatly support migrant and refugee settlement programs in Greater Western Sydney.

UWS Vice-Chancellor, Professor Janice Reid said the new centre is another great way in which the University is opening up opportunities and access to higher education for the people of Greater Western Sydney.

“Australian Bureau of Statistics data reveal that 34 per cent of people in the Greater Western Sydney region are born overseas and 29 per cent come from a non-English speaking background, a higher amount than any other parts of Sydney,” she said.

The new IELTS Centre will assist new migrants, refugees and overseas students on the path to greater participation in the community, work and further education.

The centre will cater for about 350 people a session where the candidates will complete individual tests for listening, reading, writing and speaking.

The CEO of UWSCollege, Dr Kerry Hudson, said: “What sets IELTS apart from other English language tests is the face-to-face speaking component, and the security and integrity of testing. The interactive component closely resembles a real-life situation, to really test the students’ English language skills and proficiency.”

Do's and Dont's

I found this very useful in the IELTS official website. It will help you understand more how to improve your score. For more details go to www.ielts.org

	Keep an eye on the time: it will probably seem to pass very quickly, so take care not to spend too much time on any one passage or question. Remember that you only have 60 minutes to answer the questions and to transfer your answers to your Answer Sheet.
	Start at the beginning of the test and work through it. If you cannot do a particular question, leave it and go on to the next. You can then return to that question later if you have time. Put a mark next to this question on the Question Paper so that you can find it again quickly.
	Answer as many questions as you can.
	Look carefully at the title of the passage and any subtitles and illustrations it may have. You can get a quick idea of what the passage is about from these.
	Read the instructions for each set of questions very carefully: it is important to do exactly what you are asked to do
	Where appropriate remember to skim the questions before reading the passage so that you have a purpose for reading.
	Make sure you give the passage a quick read through so that you are familiar with the topic and how it is developed in the passage. An understanding of the text structure can be very helpful in answering the questions.
	Use the glossary, if there is one provided, to help you understand unfamiliar words.
	Pay attention to any examples that are provided.
	Make sure that your answers keep to the word limit asked for: if you are asked for ‘NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS’, for example, then do not write more.
	Make sure that you copy words accurately from the text: spelling mistakes will mean that you will lose the mark for that question.
	Make sure that where you have to write an answer yourself, your answer is grammatically correct, (e.g. Short-answer Questions, Sentence Completion, Summary Completion).

	Don't waste time reading the whole passage each time for each set of questions. Remember that many task types ask you to locate or check details in the text. In cases like this you need to skim quickly through the passage rather than read it all carefully.
	Don't go back to the beginning of the passage for each question when you know from the task type that the answers will come in the order of the information in the passage.
	Don’t forget that questions can come before the reading passage as well as after.
	Don't become anxious if there are questions you cannot answer. Leave them and move onto the next questions. You can always come back to the ones you couldn’t answer at the end of the test if you have time.
	Don’t worry if you don’t understand every word. It may not be necessary to understand all the words in order to answer the questions correctly.
	Don’t forget that you must write your answers on your Answer Sheet. You will not be given extra time to do this at the end of the test.
	Don’t write more than one answer when only one is required; even if one of your answers is correct, you will not receive a mark.