T

International English Language Testing System (or better known as IELTS)

In one of my Facebook status, Farra did mention about IELTS, or the short acronym for International English Language Testing System. For your information, there are actually two types of IELTS exams: (1) Academic module, and (2) General Training module. For working oversea, countries like UK and Australia will require for you to take the General Training exam. As for me, I sat for my IELTS in 2009, with the Academic module, since I was applying for UK placement to do my post graduate studies. Most universities require IELTS as the mandatory document for entrance. I did write about my experience for IELTS in this previous post: Allah works in mysterious ways. I didn't buy any reference materials for my IELTS exams, and do bear in mind that the exam is quite expensive. I am not sure about the fees nowadays, but during 2009, it was around RM 400+, then in 2010, I did read somewhere it increased to RM 500+. I use online resources for my reference. Y ou can just google around the word IELTS, and it can do wonders. I studied during my 1-2 p.m. break in the office, and it was a stressful experience, since I haven't taken a test for such a long time (at that point, my last test was in 2002, for my final exam in MMU). The grading for IELTS are based on bands, and the highest band is 9, with the lowest band at 0. The scores for every 4 section of IELTS (writing, reading, listening and speaking) are different from each other. The result will be out for the 4 components, but there will be the final average score for the test. The band marks have a variation of +/- of 0.5 for each component. The bands in IETLS are as follows (source: Wikipedia);
9 Expert User Very Good 8 User 7 Good User 6 Competent User Has full operational command of the language: appropriate, accurate and fluent with complete understanding. Has full operational command of the language with only occasional unsystematic inaccuracies and inappropriacies. Misunderstandings may occur in unfamiliar situations. Handles complex detailed argumentation well. Has operational command of the language, though with occasional inaccuracies, inappropriateness and misunderstandings in some situations. Generally handles complex language well and understands detailed reasoning. Has generally effective command of the language despite some inaccuracies, inappropriacies and misunderstandings. Can use and understand fairly complex language, particularly in familiar situations. Has partial command of the language, coping with overall meaning in most situations, though is likely to make many mistakes. Should be able to handle basic communication in own field. Basic competence is limited to familiar situations. Has frequent problems in using complex language. Conveys and understands only general meaning in very familiar situations. No real communication is possible except for the most basic information using isolated words or short formulae in familiar situations and to meet immediate needs. Essentially has no ability to use the language beyond possibly a few isolated words. No assessable information provided at all.

5 Modest user 4 Limited User Extremely 3 Limited User Intermittent 2 User 1 Non User Did not 0 attempt the test

Since this is just a basic understanding of the score, and most universities require a score between 5.5 to 7.0 for university's placement.
converted by Web2PDFConvert.com

placement. Thus, the 4 sections are divided as follows: 1. Listening section This is actually a basic test, the invigilators will play a CD / tape recorder and we need to listen REALL Y carefully to it. Usually, there will be conversations between two peoples, and short passages, thus you need to be prepared to have your hearing aid (your ears) to be clean. The invigilator will usually play the conversation / passages twice, thus if you did miss quite a few answers on first listening, do not fret since there will be replay. The type of questions are objectives and fill in the blanks. The listening test has 4 sections, with 40 items. The exam lasted for 30 minutes. 2. Reading section There are lots of passages to be read, tonnes of it, that if you do not know how to speed read, learn now. It will be useful during the exam. Questions consist of objectives and fill in the blank sections. It was quite hard if you do not read lots of books, since the variation of words in the passages are tremendous. Sometimes, I just went 'Ehhh' at certain points, because I have to reread the passages to get the answers. What I did was, I read the questions first, then I answer. Trust me, it was much easier that way, so you know you have to search for answers to the questions. It consist of 3 sections, 40 questions and the exam is 60 minutes. 3. Writing section Before entering the exam, I did read a lot on essays by other IELTS candidates, thus I also read the comments by the marker to get a better understanding on the mistakes of the essay. There will be 2 types of questions: (a) Graph / pie / chart / statistics - any kind of graphic visuals that correlates with numbers, that you have to try and practice writing for all types of visuals. (b) A general opinion question, which in my revious post, I did mention that the topic was: "Should rich countries give money or services to poor countries?" I find the writing section, even though the questions, were OK for me (yes, I read a lot of current issues), I thought I would score higher for this section. I was wrong. After getting my result, I noticed that the writing section for IELTS actually need us to know lots of variation for words. For example: the line shown in the graph is static (thus, some of static's word variations: do not fluctuate much, maintain stagnant, does not show any movement, do not increase or decrease, not climbing, no upward or downward trends). That kind of word variations. Because, for the examiner, if you keep repeating static, and you cannot use the variation of words to describe it, thus it will be boring (that's my own opinion). The writing section is in 60 minutes, and you have to complete the 2 tasks with count of words between 150 - 250 words for each tasks. 4. Speaking section The speaking section will be conducted like in 2 days time after we finished sitting for our listening, reading and writing components (these 3 tests were taken in one day). The speaking section, for Malaysia's IELTS was different than the questions that I researched for the speaking section. The speaker will give a cue card for us to start conversation with him / her. My topic was 'Library', thus the speaker will start throwing questions on this topic. It was sort of interesting, since I was not really that prepared for this section. I was actually dumb struck, when I found the test was way different than what I found on the Internet. Some of the questions for my cue card; What do you think about library? What resources you can get from library? What is your favourite library? Can you describe the structure, layout and architecture of the building? How to attract people to come to library? What are some of the efforts to increase people's attendance to library? Trust me, you have to speak fluently in this section. If you have lots of 'Errr' moments, then it will somehow affect the speaking marks, thus lower your band mark for this section.
converted by Web2PDFConvert.com

The speaking section is between 11-14 minutes. After you finished your exam, the result will be out in 2 weeks time. I have never revealed my IETLS score, but I do have the certificate. Thus it was ingrained in my memory clearly, haha. The final score: Listening: 7.5 Reading: 8.5 Writing: 6.5 Speaking 7.0 Overall band score: Band 7.5 I was in between Band 7: Good User - Has operational command of the language, though with occasional inaccuracies, inappropriateness and misunderstandings in some situations. Generally handles complex language well and understands detailed reasoning and Band 8: Very Good User - Has full operational command of the language with only occasional unsystematic inaccuracies and inappropriacies. Misunderstandings may occur in unfamiliar situations. Handles complex detailed argumentation well. Comparison between my friends of the famed Gang of 4: Lynn, Kak Tini and Aini, I was in between them. Lynn was the highest at band 8.5, Kak Tini was at Band 8, and Aini did score high for the IELTS, even though she did not study at all.. warghhh. Thus, all of us, based on reading from Wikipedia, are eligible to attempt to enter Oxford University, since the requirement is Band 7. I noticed my dream college, London School of Economics, require Band 7 or Band 7.5 (aahhhh, my dream is to study in LSE). My sister, Alyaa, who has a Degree in English Literature, did mention her friends scored between Band 8 / 8.5 / 9.0 (the requirement for her course was to score Band 8 and above). Thus, her MUET is so 'kacang putih' that she scored Band 5 out of Band 6 (again, I stress, the requirement of her course for MUET is that she has to score Band 4 and above). IELTS should never be underestimated. Since my friends, love to read, thus we did learn a lot of new and complex words. My youngest sister, Afiqah, improved her English by reading Harry Potter series, which is fiction, thus never ever underestimate the power of reading fiction books. Some of the interesting facts that I also found on Wikipedia:
COUNTRIES WITH HIGHEST AVERAGES In 2007, the top five countries of residence with the highest average scores for the Academic Strand of the IELTS test were:[3] Germany Malaysia Philippines Russia Hong Kong RESULTS BY FIRST LANGUAGE OF CANDIDA TE The top 5 language-speaking (or nationality) groups that achieved the best results in 2007 for the Academic Strand of the IELTS test were:[3] 1. Tagalog 2. Spanish 3. Malay 4. Hindi 5. Telugu

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

[EDIT]

Isn't it nice to know Malaysia has a high command of English language? *wink* P/S: I hope this long post will help people out there to get a better view on the test, from my perspective as an IELTS candidate in 2009.
aida at 6:02 am

6 comments:
Aina Ana 9:57 am, June 19, 2012 Macam best je test tu..tp akak mungkin akan fail kut. Haha. I learned correct sentencing & writing not through Grammar lessons at school but through reading novels. Trust me, I don't really know what adverbs, verbs, adjective, etc means.. I just know instinctively what makes a sentence right grammatically. My knowledge of grammar are limited to 'He, She, it - is' & I, Y ou, We, They - are'
converted by Web2PDFConvert.com

But I speak fluent English because I'm surrounded by English speaking people in the workplace. Trust me, even if you write perfect English, you may speak 'awkwardly'. I had that experience on my first day working after I graduate. The 1st office that I work with have international staff from UK, Indonesia & India. From Malay sounding English (I had to translate the Malay word in my head first), I morphed into British sounding English..well almost. Haha. But my mind from then on practically speaks English. Reply

aida

10:02 am, June 19, 2012

Akak, I don't think you would fail. Actually, maybe at speaking part might be hard if there is not much exposure on daily speaking with English. I learned thru novels just like you. If you ask me what are adverbs, verbs, adjective, I am not sure whether I can answer it or not. When I was in class, sometimes I do slip in Bahasa Malaysia with my British tutor. It is just so hard to sometimes string words to explain complex problem to the tutor. Terima kasihlah kat tutor-tutor saya sebab penyabar orangnya. Reply

Smiley 2:03 pm, June 19, 2012 I don't think I can score good like u all ladies... But after reading your post I definitely aim to improve my english! ok caiyok2! Reply

aida Reply

2:06 pm, June 19, 2012

IELTS is good for testing your english level :)

Tyha 1:54 pm, June 20, 2012 x berani komen pasal baca satu perenggan pon dah pening hahahaha Reply

aida 4:15 pm, June 20, 2012 kak tyha, baca slow and steady.. hikhik Reply
Enter your comment...

Comment as:
Publish

Select profile...
Preview

Home

View web version Powered by Blogger

converted by Web2PDFConvert.com