IETLS is an International English Language Testing System, conducted in several countries around the world, including Ghana (hence IELTS Ghana), which measures the proficiency of people who want to study or work in a country that uses English as a primary medium of communication.
Established in 1989, IELTS is jointly managed by the British Council, IDP: IELTS Australia, and Cambridge Assessment English.
Today, IELTS is among the major English tests in the world.
IELTS is accepted mostly by Australia, British, Canada, Europe, Irish, and New Zealand for academic, residence, and work purposes.
Also, over 3,000 academic institutions in the USA accept IELTS as an entrance test.
Levels of proficiency area measured on a band-scale of score 1(non-user) through to score 9(expert user)
Types of IELTS:
- IELTS FOR STUDY
- Academic: If you are applying for higher education or professional registration, this would be the perfect fit for you. This type of IELTS is most suitable when aspiring to study for undergraduate or graduate levels, or professional registration purposes. It assesses your readiness to study or train in an English-speaking environment.
- General Training: The IELTS General Training test is for those who are going to English speaking countries for secondary education, work experience, or training programs. It is also a requirement for migration to Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the UK.
The above-mentioned types of IELTS for study incorporate the following features:
- Listening, Speaking, Writing, and Reading.
The speaking module is a key component of IELTS. It is conducted in the form of a one-to-one interview with an examiner.
The examiner assesses the test taker as he or she is speaking. The speaking session is also recorded for monitoring and for re-marking in case of an appeal against the score given.
- To minimize language bias in the test, a variety of accents is incorporated.
The accents in the listening section are generally 80% of British, Australia, and New Zealand, and 20% of others (mostly American)
- IELTS FOR MIGRATION
Some countries require IELTS for various visa categories. Among these countries are Australia, Canada, UK, and New Zealand.
Australia requires the ILETS, for permanent residency, professional organizations, and accrediting bodies.
In Canada, IELTS is required if you are applying for a work visa, professional recognition, or for permanent residency.
IELTS General Training is the only internationally available English proficiency test accepted by Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) for immigration to Canada.
New Zealand requires IELTS for many visas, such as those within the Skilled Migrant, Investor, and Entrepreneur, Residence for Work, and Parent categories.
Also, IELTS is a requirement for those applying to settle permanently in the United Kingdom (also known as applying for ‘leave to remain’ or ‘long residence’).
- IELTS FOR WORK
Some of the registration bodies in English speaking countries that accept IELTS represent the health sector: Nursing, Medicine, and Pharmacy.
Other professional bodies in particular countries requiring IELTS include accounting, engineering, law, and veterinary practice.
Employers from a wide range of other sectors, such as finance, government, construction, energy, aviation, and tourism also require IELTS.
The only difference between all the types of IELTS is the content, context, and purpose of tasks.
All other features, such as timing allocation, length of written responses, and reporting of scores, are the same.
IELTS CAN BE TAKEN ON PAPER OR COMPUTER.
PAPER- BASED:
As tests are traditionally taken, this way of the IELTS test requires test-taker to sit at a desk with the question papers and answer sheets for Reading, Listening, and Writing in an official IELTS test center. Answers are to be written with either a pen or HB- pencils. During the speaking test, you are required to sit face-to-face with a trained IELTS interviewer.
COMPUTER- DELIVERED:
As the name reflects, this test requires test takers to sit the Reading, Listening, and Writing tests in front of a computer with the questions presented on the screen in an official IELTS test center. The test takers then submit their answers through the use of a keyboard and a mouse. The Speaking test is not on a computer and is carried out face-to-face with a trained IELTS examiner.
The four parts of the IELTS test
- Listening: 30 minutes (plus 10 minutes’ transfer time)
- Reading: 60 minutes
- Writing: 60 minutes
- Speaking: 11–14 minutes
The test total time is 2 hours and 45 minutes.
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.
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.
Listening
The module comprises four sections, with ten questions in each section. It takes 40 minutes: 30 – for testing, plus 10 for transferring the answers to an answer sheet.
Sections 1 and 2 are about everyday, social situations.
- Section 1 has a conversation between two speakers (for example, a conversation about travel arrangements)
- Section 2 has one person speaking (for example, a speech about local facilities).
Sections 3 and 4 are about educational and training situations
- Section 3 is a conversation between two main speakers (for example, a discussion between two university students, perhaps guided by a tutor)
- Section 4 has one person speaking about an academic subject.
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, students are given 10 minutes to transfer their answers to an answer sheet. Test takers will lose marks for incorrect spelling and grammar.
Reading
The Reading paper has three sections and texts totaling 2,150-2,750 words. There will be a variety of question types, such as multiple-choice, short-answer questions, identifying information, identifying writer’s views, labeling 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
- Three reading texts, which come from books, journals, magazines, newspapers, and online resources written for non-specialist audiences. All the topics are of general interest to students at the undergraduate or postgraduate level.
Texts in IELTS General Training
- Section 1 contains two or three short texts or several shorter texts, which deal with everyday topics. For example, timetables or notices – things a person would need to understand when living in an English-speaking country.
- Section 2 contains two texts, which deal with work. For example, job descriptions, contracts, training materials.
- Section 3 contains one long text about a topic of general interest. The text is generally descriptive, longer, and more complex than the texts in Sections 1 and 2. The text will be taken from a newspaper, magazine, book, or online resource.
Writing
There are two tasks in the reading that has to be completed. The first task requires the test taker to write 150 words in 20 minutes. In task 2 test takers write at least 250 words in about 40 minutes. Test takers are penalized for too short answers or answers that deviate from the topic. Answers must be written in full sentences.
IELTS Academic
- Task 1: test takers are required to describe a graph, table, chart, map, process, pie chart, or diagram in their own words.
- Task 2: test takers discuss a point of view, argument, or problem. Depending on the task, test takers may be required to present a solution to a problem, present and justify an opinion, compare and contrast evidence, opinions, and implications, and evaluate and challenge ideas, evidence, or an argument.
IELTS General Training
- Task 1: test takers write a letter in response to a given everyday situation. For example, writing to an accommodation officer about problems with your accommodation, writing to a new employer about problems managing your time, writing to a local newspaper about a plan to develop a local airport.
- Task 2: test takers write an essay about a topic of general interest. For example, whether smoking should be banned in public places, whether children’s leisure activities should be educational, how environmental problems can be solved.
Speaking
The speaking test is a face-to-face interview between the test taker and an examiner.
The speaking test contains three sections.
- Section 1: introduction and interview (4–5 minutes). Test takers may be asked about their home, family, work, studies, hobbies, and interests, reasons for taking the IELTS exam as well as other general topics such as clothing, free time, computers, and the Internet.
- Section 2: long turn (3–4 minutes). Test takers are given a task card about a particular topic. Test takers have one minute to prepare to talk about this topic.
The task card states the points that should be included in the talk and one aspect of the topic which must be explained during the talk. Test takers are then expected to talk about the topic for 2 minutes, after which the examiner may ask one or two questions.
- Section 3: discussions (4–5 minutes). The third section involves a discussion between the examiner and the test taker, generally on questions relating to the theme which they have already spoken about in Section 2.
Online simulators like SPEAKING IELTS allow learners to practice for the speaking test.
IELTS REGISTRATION IN GHANA
Wise Consult is one of the few recognized institutions in Ghana that organizes IELTS tuition and assists in registration.
Registration prices depend on the type of IELTS to be taken by the Test Taker.
For more information on tuition and registration for IELTS, visit our office at Santasi, Adjacent to the station, on Light House Church building, or call us on 0502272133/0243221379.
IELTS TEST DATES IN GHANA 2020
In Ghana, IELTS is available on 48 dates within a year. It is usually written on Saturdays and Thursdays.
The dates for the 2020 IELTS test in Ghana is as follows:
IELTS test dates Test Format
Jul. 2020
Thursday, 2 Jul. 2020 Academic only
Saturday, 11 Jul. 2020 Academic and General Training
Saturday, 18 Jul. 2020 Academic only
Saturday, 25 Jul. 2020 Academic and General Training
Aug. 2020
Thursday, 6 Aug. 2020 Academic only
Saturday, 8 Aug. 2020 Academic and General Training
Saturday, 22 Aug. 2020 Academic and General Training
Saturday, 29 Aug. 2020 Academic only
Sep. 2020
Saturday, 5 Sep. 2020 Academic only
Saturday, 12 Sep. 2020 Academic and General Training
Thursday, 17 Sep. 2020 Academic and General Training
Saturday, 26 Sep. 2020 Academic and General Training
Oct. 2020
Saturday, 10 Oct. 2020 Academic only
Thursday, 15 Oct. 2020 Academic and General Training
Saturday, 24 Oct. 2020 Academic and General Training
Saturday, 31 Oct. 2020 Academic and General Training
Nov. 2020
Saturday, 7 Nov. 2020 Academic only
Thursday, 12 Nov. 2020 Academic and General Training
Saturday, 21 Nov. 2020 Academic and General Training
Saturday, 28 Nov. 2020 Academic only
Dec. 2020
Thursday, 3 Dec. 2020 Academic only
Saturday, 5 Dec. 2020 Academic and General Training
Saturday, 12 Dec. 2020 Academic only
Saturday, 19 Dec. 2020 Academic and General Training
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Website: http://www.wiseconsult.co/exams/ielts