IELTS

The letters IELTS stand for 'International English Language Testing System'. IELTS is a test administered to evaluate the English language skills of non-English speaking candidates seeking to pursue education programmes or immigration to English speaking countries. The test is designed to assess the candidate's ability to understand spoken and written English in academic and social contexts and also use the language to communicate in the spoken and written forms.

IELTS scores are accepted by educational institutes, professional bodies, government undertakings and for immigration processing in Australia, New Zealand, U.K., Canada and certain American universities (like Princeton and Duke), where the IELTS scores are accepted in lieu of TOEFL scores.

The IELTS test has two versions:
1. The Academic Module - This module is intended for candidates seeking entry to a university or institution of higher education offering degree and diploma courses (i.e. those seeking undergraduate or postgraduate courses).

2. The General Training Module - This module is intended for students seeking entry to a secondary school or to vocational training courses. This module is also meant for candidates seeking immigration to an English speaking country.

The two versions do not carry the same weight and are not interchangeable.

All candidates are tested on reading, writing, speaking and listening skills. Whereas the speaking and listening sections are common for the Academic and General versions of the test, the Reading and Writing sections are different.

> Format of the IELTS
> Scoring Pattern
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