Language certificate for English Studies
IELTS (International English Language Testing System)
The IELTS is offered in two different versions, a general one and an academic one. It was developed under the lead management of the University of Cambridge which classifies the active and passive language skills on a scale from 0 to 9. Universities all around the world, but particularly in Great Britain, Ireland and Australia, determine a minimum score as a language admission requirement for their degree courses. Additionally, the general IELTS exam is prescribed to every non-native speaker wanting to work in Australia.
The general IELTS is addressed to people who need a language evaluation of their English skills for a job or immigration requirements.
The academic version is more frequently demanded and is addressed to students who want to study at an English speaking University or in an international course at a German University of Applied Sciences and therefore need an evaluation of their English skills.
The exam contains the four common parts which are tested in different sessions. It lasts around three hours in total. Firstly, the listening comprehension is tested on the basis of different audio recordings. This part lasts around 40 minutes in which the examinee needs to answer to approximately 40 questions. Following, the reading and writing skills are tested with taking one hour each. On the basis of different texts, the examinee has to answer to questions or write a text. For the academic version of the IELTS these parts are selected with regards to a special academic field of study. The speaking skills are tested in the last part of the exam in a session which lasts around 15 minutes. Here the examinee has to talk about his/her personal interests, give a short lecture on a given topic and have a short discussion.
IELTS exams can be taken almost every week. To be well prepared for the test we recommend only the best language courses at English language schools.
The IELTS candidate can obtain the results online after two weeks from the exam date. At the same time a certificate (IELTS test report form) is sent by post. The qualification is valid for two years and the results are given on a scale from 1 to 9, where 1 refers to hardly existing skills and 9 to fluent English. Most of the universities require a minimum score of 6,5 or 7 which is equivalent to the CEFR level C1.