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 and Cambridge English, and was established in 1989. IELTS is one of the major English-language tests in the world. The IELTS test has two modules: Academic and General Training. IELTS One Skill Retake was introduced for computer-delivered tests in 2023, which allows a test taker to retake any one section (Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking) of the test. IELTS is accepted by most Australian, British, Canadian, European, Irish and New Zealand academic institutions, by over 3,000 academic institutions in the United States, and by various professional organisations across the world. IELTS is approved by UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) as a Secure English Language Test for visa applicants only inside the UK. It also meets requirements for immigration to Australia, where Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) and Pearson Test of English Academic are also accepted, and New Zealand. In Canada, IELTS, TEF, or CELPIP are accepted by the immigration authority. No minimum score is required to pass the test. An IELTS result or Test Report Form is issued to all test takers with a score from "Band 1" ("non-user") to "Band 9" ("expert user") and each institution sets a different threshold. There is also a "Band 0" score for those who did not attempt the test. Institutions are advised not to consider a report older than two years to be valid, unless the user proves that they have worked to maintain their level. In 2017, over 3 million tests were taken in more than 140 countries, up from 2 million tests in 2012, 1.7 million tests in 2011 and 1.4 million tests in 2009. In 2007, IELTS administered more than one million tests in a single 12-month period for the first time ever, making it the world's most popular English language test for higher education and immigration. In 2019, over 508,000 international students came to study in the UK, making it the world's most popular UK ELT (English Language Test) destination. Over half (54%) of those students were under 18 years old.

History

The English Language Testing Service (ELTS), as IELTS was then known, was launched in 1980 by Cambridge English Language Assessment (then known as "UCLES") and the British Council. It had an innovative format, which reflected changes in language learning and teaching, including the growth in 'communicative' language learning and 'English for specific purposes'. Test tasks were intended to reflect the use of English language in the 'real world'. During the 1980s, test taker numbers were low (4,000 in 1981 rising to 10,000 in 1985) and there were practical difficulties administering the test. As a result, the IELTS Revision Project was set up to oversee the redesign of the test. In order to have international participation in the redesign, the International Development Program of Australian Universities and Colleges (IDP), now known as IDP: IELTS Australia, joined Cambridge English Language Assessment and the British Council to form the international IELTS partnership which delivers the test to this day. This international partnership was reflected in the new name for the test: The International English Language Testing System (IELTS). IELTS went live in 1989. Test takers took two non-specialised modules, Listening and Speaking, and two specialised modules, Reading and Writing. Test taker numbers rose by approximately 15% per year and by 1995 there were 43,000 test takers in 210 test centres around the world. IELTS was revised again in 1995, with three main changes: Further revisions went live in 2001 (revised Speaking Test) and 2005 (new assessment criteria for the Writing test).

IELTS characteristics

IELTS Academic and IELTS General Training are designed to cover the full range of abilities from non-user or middle user to expert user. The Academic version is for test takers who want to study at the tertiary level in an English-speaking country or seek professional registration. The General Training version is for test takers who want to work, train, study at a secondary school or migrate to an English-speaking country. The difference between the Academic and General Training versions is the content, context, and purpose of the tasks. All other features, such as timing allocation, length of written responses, and reporting of scores, are the same. IELTS Academic and General Training both incorporate the following features:

IELTS test structure

Modules

There are two modules of the IELTS: There is also a separate test offered by the IELTS test partners, called IELTS Life Skills:

The four parts of the IELTS test

Note 1: Listening, Reading and Writing are completed in one sitting. The Speaking test may be taken on the same day or up to seven days before or after the other tests. Note 2: All test takers take the same Listening and Speaking tests, while the Reading and Writing tests differ depending on whether the test taker is taking the Academic or General Training versions of the test. Note 3: The 10 minutes transfer time is for the paper-based option of the test. For the computer-delivered option, candidates will be given 2 minutes (at the end of the test) to re-check their answers.

Listening

The module comprises four sections, with ten questions in each section. It takes around 40 (paper-based) or 32 (computer-delivered) minutes: 30 for testing, plus 10 for transferring the answers to an answer sheet (paper-based) or 2 for re-checking the answers (computer-delivered). Sections 1 and 2 are about everyday, social situations. Sections 3 and 4 are about educational and training situations Each section begins with a short introduction telling the test taker about the situation and the speakers. Then they have some time to look through the questions. The questions are in the same order as the information in the recording, so the answer to the first question will be before the answer to the second question, and so on. The first three sections have a break in the middle allowing test takers to look at the remaining questions. Each section is heard only once. At the end of the test, candidates are given 10 minutes to transfer their answers to an answer sheet (if they take their test paper-based) or 2 minutes (at the end of the test of course) to re-check the answers (if they do so computer-delivered). Test takers will lose marks for incorrect spelling and grammar.

Reading

The Reading paper has three sections and texts totalling approximately 2,150–3,250 words. There will be a variety of question types, such as multiple-choice, short-answer questions, identifying information, identifying writer's views, labelling diagrams, completing a summary using words taken from the text and matching information/headings/features in the text/sentence endings. Test takers should be careful when writing down their answers as they will lose marks for incorrect spelling and grammar. Texts in IELTS Academic Texts in IELTS General Training

Writing

IELTS Academic IELTS General Training

Speaking

The speaking test is a face-to-face interview between the test taker and an examiner. The speaking test contains three sections.

Band scale and scoring

Test takers receive a score for each test component – Listening, Reading, Writing, and Speaking. The individual scores are then averaged and rounded to produce an Overall Band Score. There is no pass or fail. IELTS is scored on a nine-band scale, with each band corresponding to a specified competence in English. Overall Band Scores are reported to the nearest half band. The following rounding convention applies: if the average across the four skills ends in .25, it is rounded up to the next half band, and if it ends in .75, it is rounded up to the next whole band. The nine bands are described as follows:

IELTS and the CEFR

Results

For a computer-delivered test, results are released between 3–5 days. For a paper-based test, a Test Report Form will be sent to test takers 13 days after their test. It shows: Test takers receive one copy of their Test Report Form, apart from test takers who are applying to the Department of Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) or UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) who receive two copies. Test Report Forms are valid for two years.

Locations and test dates

Test takers can take IELTS in more than 140 countries and in over 4,000 locations. 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. The Academic version is available on all 48 dates per year and the General Training version is available on 24 dates. There used to be a minimum time limit of 90 days before a person was allowed to retake the test. However this restriction has been withdrawn and currently there is no limit for applicants to retake the test.

Level required by academic institutions for admission

Just over half (51%) of test takers take IELTS to enter higher education in a foreign country. The IELTS minimum scores required by academic institutions and by course vary. As a general rule, the top ranked universities in the United States tend to require a higher IELTS band (typically 7.0). Most universities accept scores between 6–7 as being suitable for undergraduate study in English. Full details about the organizations which accept IELTS and the scores they require can be found on the IELTS Global Recognition System website.

IELTS use for immigration purposes

A number of Commonwealth countries use IELTS scores as a proof of prospective immigrants' competence in English.

Australia

Australia's immigration authorities have used IELTS to assess English proficiency of prospective migrants since May 1998, when this test replaced the 'access:' test that had been previously used. There are different IELTS score requirements for different types of visa.

New Zealand

New Zealand has used the IELTS test since 1995. There are different IELTS score requirements for different types of visa and type of applicant. Originally, applicants who could not achieve the required score could pay a NZ$20,000 fee instead, which would be fully or partially refunded later if the migrant were able to successfully take the test within a certain period (3 to 12 months) after his or her arrival to the country. A few years later, the policy was changed: the fee was reduced, and, instead of being potentially refundable, it became treated as a "pre-purchase" of post-arrival ESL tuition.

Canada

Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) uses IELTS and/or TEF as evidence of one's ability to communicate in English and/or French. The CELPIP (Canadian English Language Proficiency Index Program) test scores are an alternative to IELTS. The Canadian Language Benchmarks (CLB) are the national standards used in Canada for describing, measuring and recognizing the English language proficiency of prospective immigrants. The following table shows the IELTS scores needed for each CLB level. There are different language requirements for different types of immigration program as shown below: Submitting one's IELTS scores is also one of the several ways to prove one's proficiency in an official language when applying for Canadian citizenship (minimum of CLB level 4 required).

United Kingdom

On 6 April 2015, UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) changed its English language requirements for UK visa and immigration applications. IELTS assesses all four language skills and is accepted by UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) at levels B1 to C2 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). A new test, IELTS Life Skills, assesses Speaking and Listening at CEFR level A1 and at CEFR Level B1. IELTS Life Skills can be used to meet the English language requirements for some classes of visa application, including 'family of a settled person' visas and indefinite leave and citizenship. To be used for visa and immigration purposes, IELTS and IELTS Life Skills must be taken in test centres approved by the UKVI. For UK visa purposes the test is designed to meet certain administrative requirements specified by UKVI. These Test Report Forms are slightly different, to show that the test taker has taken the test at an IELTS UKVI session. The actual test taken is the same – same content, examiners, format, level of difficulty, scoring and so on.

Criticism

One of the key criticisms of IELTS relates to its perceived lack of fairness and reliability. Since the speaking section of the test is conducted in a face-to-face interview format, there are concerns about examiner bias, as different examiners may score candidates differently based on subjective factors. This subjectivity raises concerns about consistency in scoring, as candidates may be unfairly disadvantaged or benefited depending on the personal perceptions of the examiner. Another thing that it was found that IELTS examiners' gender and cultural background impacted how examinees performed in their speaking test. Test-takers tended to prefer certain examiner genders and often adjusted their behavior to create social distance, reflecting strong identity awareness. Additionally, some critics argue that the IELTS Writing and Speaking components lack clear, objective grading standards. Research suggests that scoring varies between test centers, leading to potential disparities in how candidates are assessed. Another significant criticism revolves around the accessibility and affordability of the IELTS test. The cost of taking the test, which varies by region but is generally considered expensive, can be a major barrier for test-takers from developing countries. For many, the test is prohibitively expensive, particularly if they need to retake it multiple times to achieve their desired score. In addition to cost, accessibility issues arise from the limited availability of IELTS test centers. These centers are concentrated in urban areas, making it difficult for candidates in rural or remote locations to access testing facilities. This uneven distribution of test centers disproportionately affects individuals from less economically developed regions.

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