Once upon a time, there was an engineer passed out student, named Kabir, who loved reading. Since childhood he was fascinated by a notable Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar’s education and his contribution. After engineering, he dreamt of going abroad for further education. However, the biggest hurdle for him was finance. He chose to do a job for 1 year and save money for a master Program.
In final year, he was selected for two IT companies but he denied it to go for practical work in his area of interest. He completed a month's internship in his core branch. Subsequently he got an interview call, as a teacher, he joined an engineering college. Meanwhile, he was thinking about the master program and was communicating with senior friends, who were doing masters in foreign universities.
A day came, when Kabir came in contact with an Ambedkarite teacher. Who introduced him to the path of higher education with the help of government scholarship. After a discussion, he explored three question’s answers…
1- WHY (WHICH) 2-WHEN 3-HOW
Which exam is necessary to get admission in an overseas university- The answer he got was the IELTS exam (International English language Testing System), this exam is necessary to get admission in an overseas country such as USA, Canada, Europe, Japan, China, Russia, Australia etc. The average band score is 6.5 band out of 9 band, accepted in most of the Universities. It assesses student English comprehension abilities in 4 parts, in less than three hour. This exam is advantageous to do Job, education and to get an international fellowship in foreign country. For more details check out here about IELTS
When you can give this exam: It is a private examination system. Most of the country has its branches. Anyone can register for the test online. It charged around USA $ 188.90 , as per Indian currency (14k Rupees). It has two modules, the first is Academic test, which is important to get education as well as fellowship. Second is General training, which is necessary to get jobs in overseas. Usually, 3 to 4 dates are available every month. However, these days due to the Novel pandemic it has been reduced to two-three dates in a month in India.
How to prepare for this exam: As I mentioned earlier, Kabir was preparing under Ambedkarite teachers guidance, who helped him in every part of the exam. The exam comprises four sections: listening (30+10) min, reading (60) min, writing (40+20) min, and speaking (15 min). The first three sections take place back to back with a 10 minutes break. However, speaking tests are usually conducted on the previous day or next day.
How to improve listening skills: Students should practice each question’s format of the test. Students can watch English movies with subtitles, TV shows, News and listen to mp3 and write down their lyrics. After basic practice, students should practice for an actual listening test. (Mock Test link given in the reference link page)
To improve reading: The most important thing is to read, read and read. Students can begin reading their favourite books, novels and The Hindu, Times of India articles on a daily basis at least one hour a day. The reading has 12 different types of questions, for that students need to practice thoroughly each question format. You will get detailed ideas on ieltsliz.com websites.
To study IELTS writing: Students should begin daily writing. On any favourite topic, students can write, in their own words. The practice should continue at least for a month. However, it should be checked by a teacher, who has a command on English writing. IELTS writing comprises two parts, 1st task is for report writing & 2nd is essay writing.
After practicing three IELTS's parts individually, students can give IELTS practice mock tests. It will get after test registration. In which they will be provide 4 sample tests. However, you can search the IELTS sample paper on google and you will get a number of PDFs. (files available in the reference link). You should be habitual to sit around 3 hours continuously. For the writing skill, Kabir used to take guidance from his teacher.
After 5, 6 months of Kabir’s hard work and his teacher's persistence guidance, Kabir successfully passed the exam. However, he was granted a NOS (National Overseas Scholarship) government of India scholarship and he got admission in the USA university for Masters program.
Frequently asked questions -
1- What is IELTS?
It is English proficiency language test, Which started in 1980 by joint collaboration of British council and Cambridge English language assessment.
2- Why IELTS is important ?
It is important for those students or professional workers who want to study (bachelor, diploma, masters and ph.d) and to do work in foreign countries whose native language is English for example, USA, Canada, Europe, Australia etc.
3- Who can write the IELTS test?
If you are 18 year old, you can write IELTS tests online or offline.
4- Which book is best to prepare for the test?
Wren and Martin books for grammar, Books for Ielts practice- 1 to 14 IELTS genuine books pdf drive link
5- Which type of exam is it?
It is an Online and offline based exam, It takes around 3 Hours.
6- Description Of IELTS test of each format
listening:
(30+10) minutes , 30 minutes for listening and 10 minutes for writing down the answers.
It comprises 40 questions, 10 questions in each section.
1st section: Conversation between two people (telephonic, travelling, hotel, registration conversation, etc)
2nd section: One person speaking about facilities, school time table, history description, etc.
3rd section: Discussion between two main speakers (such as student-teacher)
4th section: Single person speaking about research topic, history, academic subject, etc.
Reading:
60 minutes, 3 sections, it comprises a variety of questions.
Three section including journal, magazine, newspaper and online resources articles
Usually the 1st two sections are simple and the last section is tough.
Students should spend 15+15+30 minutes on each section.
Writing:
It comprises two tasks, in 60 minutes the candidate must complete it. For the task one student should at least write 150 words in about 20 minutes and 250 words in the task two in about 40 minutes.
For example:
Task 1: students have to describe a graph, pie chart, map, table, digram, process, etc.
Task 2: Candidates have to write an essay on a general topic, such as, some people think that mobile phones are harmful for children, while others disagree. Discuss both sides and give your opinion.
7- How to analyze self weakness of listening, reading, writing and speaking ?
For that students need to solve an online mock test of listening and reading (the link is given in reference) after the test completion you will get instant results. You can analyze yourself and for writing you have to get help from your teacher, however for speaking you can analyze yourself by recording it.
8- How much ideal time students should prepare ?
It depends on the student’s current English proficiency level.
9- Which podcast students should listen ?
There is one best booklet app available on playstore, you can download and read, listen to their books summary. Also the google podcast is good, you will get trending podcasts on it.
LearnEnglish podcasts- by British Council (With Subtitle) you will get on playstore
10- What will be the validity of IELTS score ? ?
The IELTS score validity is of two years counting from the date of receiving it.
11- Which YouTube channel students should prefer ?
Once again IELTSliz would be best for the exam, for listening practice, search listening practice test, you will get numerous videos with answer keys.
E2 IELTS channel would be also useful for reading and writing techniques.
12- Which documents are needed to register the IELTS exam?
You need a color scan copy of your Passport and you can pay easily with Netbanking, Debit/Credit card and PayTM, it costs you around 14k Indian Rs.
13- How to apply for a passport?
You have to register online for it. Apply online , required documents are AADHAR card and living certificate xerox/ 12th /10th marksheet. Registration fees will be Indian Rs 1500. The small interview will be conducted in the post office center after a registration to verify basic details.
14- Which are the alternative Option for IELTS?
IELTS indicator
TOEFL(IBT)
Pearson (PET academic)
Duolingo (DET) test exam
15- What will be the target Score
The target score should be 6.5 to 7.5 band out of 9 band, for top ranking university 7- 7.5 band score is necessary such as
Harvard University, USA
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA.
University of Zurich, Switzerland
University of Oxford, UK
University of Columbia, USA
IELTS 6.5 band score is required for given university
University of Waterloo (Canada)
University of Alberta (Canada)
University of Melbourne (Australia)
British Columbia (Canada)
University of Wisconsin Madison (USA)
University of Adelaide (Australia)
16- How is the IELTS marking system?
Ielts.org please go through it, you will get a detailed idea.
17- Which books should we prefer?
Books for practice- 1 to 14 IELTS genuine books pdf drive link
For grammar: Wren and martin
Reference link:
Details idea about IELTS: Ielts.org
Registration link for IELTS centres in India: 1-British council, 2-IDP
Basic step by step guidance for each part: Ielts liz.com
Books for Ielts practice: 1 to 14 IELTS genuine books pdf drive link
Websites for online practice test: Mock Test
Social Sites for discussion (fb.com): SocialMediaStudy
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