IELTS (International English Language Testing System)

The International English Language Testing System (IELTS) measures the language proficiency
of people who want to study or work where English is used as a language of communication. It
uses a nine-band scale to clearly identify levels of proficiency, from non-user (band score 1)
through to expert (band score 9). It has two test versions: Academic and General.

Academic
The IELTS Academic test is for people applying for higher education or professional registration
in an English speaking environment. It reflects some of the features of academic language and
assesses whether you are ready to begin studying or training.

General
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 test focuses on basic survival skills in broad
social and workplace contexts.

In taking either the Academic or General, proficiency in four specific categories are measured:
Speaking, Reading, Writing and Listening.

Proficiency Categories are as follows:

Speaking: 11-14 minutes

Face-to-face interview without disruptions or distractions. Structured discussion on a familiar
topic.

Reading: 60 minutes
Texts and Articles taken from notices, advertisements, company handbooks, journals, official
documents, books and newspapers followed by different types of questions. (40 items)

Writing: 60 minutes
It consists of Task 1 and Task 2. Task 1 includes interpreting graphs and charts (Academic) or
writing a letter (General) (150 words). Task 2 includes writing a short essay about a particular
issue (250 words). Semi-formal style.

Listening: 30 minutes
4 sections, each with 10 questions. The first two deal with everyday social contexts. Section 3 &
4 deal with educational and training contexts. (40 items)

1
IELTS resources review:

BARRON’S IELTS SUPERPACK

It consists of four books with practice exams, MP3 Audio CDs, and answer keys.
I. Essential Words for The IELTS (2ND Edition) – It consists of the useful vocabulary that
appear frequently on the IELTS, it is arranged thematically.
i. It is divided into 10 units. The topics as follows: 1) The Natural World, 2) Leisure
Time, 3) Transportation, 4) Culture, 5) Health, 6) Tourism, 7) Business, 8)
Society, 9) Education and 10) Technology and Inventions.
ii. There are three topics for each unit. Each topic has 20 new words to learn.
iii. The new words are used in lengthy text to show how each word is used properly.
Easy to do context clues for when answering the definition exercise in the
beginning. This also makes a good Reading Skill practice while learning the new
vocabulary.
iv. Some footnotes are included as extra information to show what words normally
used under British English and what are under American English.
v. Word families of some of the words are given and are applied to 2 kinds of
exercises to practice proper usage.
vi. There is a brief exercise for listening pertaining to the topic.
vii. There is a writing exercise of 250 words under each topic.
viii. There is a speaking exercise. It includes two relevant questions that is related to
the topic.

II. IELTS PRACTICE EXAMS (3RD Edition) – Up-to-date Academic and Training practice
tests for Speaking, Writing, Listening and Reading.

III. IELTS (4th Edition) – It consists of step-by-step training materials, tips and strategies to
improve your IELTS score and a teacher’s manual. There are four modules for each
proficiency category. It’s recommended for self-study and class training.

IV. IELTS Strategies and Tips - It consists of prerequisites to prepare for the IELTS. Each
module consists of a general and a specific strategy.

Prepared by:
Ms. Louise Almelor
Ms. Charmaine A. Barrientos
Ms. Elle Quevedo
Date: November 16, 2017