The Language Test
Welcome to this weeks post. In this weeks post I want to share with you our experiences during the preparation for and the solving of the IELTS Language Test. Since we are about to apply for the Canadian permanent resident status, we need to complete an English Examination for immigration purposes. One of the accepted language tests is the IELTS: International English Language Testing System. To be more precise: the General Test.
Another accepted language test would be the CELPIP: Canadian English Language Proficiency Index Program. Just for the purpose of completion, it is also possible to take a french language test at TEF: Test d’évaluation de français.
General Information
First things first. So let me start with some general information about the necessity of the the language test. The Language Test is one of the prerequisites for the Skilled Worker Program. The nature of this program will be examined in a later blog post. Today I want to focus on the language test. Before you even think about immigrating to another country you should consider your ability to communicate in the countries official language. To ensure this feature of a future Canadian, the immigration process starts with testing your language skills.
After you have decided for the language and the language test, you must apply for it. In the meantime you should prepare for it, someday actually take it and finally score it. In our case we can only share our experiences with IELTS. So if you are looking for any information about one of the other language tests, please refer to the rest of the internet.
Apply for it
The Application process for IELTS is pretty simple. IELTS Website provides you with three simple steps:
Find Test Location
With more than 1,100 IELTS test locations in over 140 countries, there is bound to be one near you.
Register
You can register and pay online or download an application form to print, complete and submit to your local test Centre. Don’t forget to provide a copy of your valid identity document. You will also need to present the same identity document on the day of the test.
Prepare and take it
Once your application has been processed, the Centre will send you a written confirmation of the date and time of your test. In our case a formal confirmation was send directly after the registration process and a more detailed email including date and time and place of the test were sent a week prior to the test.
The Speaking and Writing tests typically take place on the same day. If this is not possible, the tests will take place within seven days of each other.
Prepare for it
After you booked your test it is totally necessary to prepare for it. This test is no piece of cake! With a good preparation you can definitely raise your results to a higher level.
Future Learn offers a free online course Understanding IELTS: Techniques for English Language Tests. It takes six weeks and requires you to spend not more than 2 hours per week on it. It was developed by the British Council and will give you insights on the four parts of the IELTS Language Test and – even more important – will give you insights on the question formats. Soon you will find out that the bigger problem will be understanding the question, rather than finding the correct answer.
Another great tool for preparation are the free IELTS practice tests. I would recommend a combination of the two. First take the free online course from FutureLearn and a bit later in the process step into the IELTS Practice tests. The reason is pretty simple. If you start with one of the practice tests you will not understand it. You need a bit of a background, since the provided practice tests are a 100% copy of possible language test material. So this is what the question-booklet will look like and this is the kind of questions you will be asked. Mark my words, but do as you think.
Another great way to prepare for the test and generally improve your skills in another language, is to expose yourself to it. Best practices for exposing to another language? Read a newspaper in the language, or a book or even a comic. Listen to a radio program in the language or watch a foreign language movie. Or – and this is the best thing I guess – watch your most favorite series or show in another language. In the best case it is an episode you now ever line, so you already know what the episode is about but you get a feeling of the foreign language and may even learn some new words.
Take it
The IELTS test assesses your abilities in the four major language capabilities: listening, reading, writing and speaking. All of this takes place in less than three hours. There are two types of the IELTS test: IELTS Academic and IELTS General Training. Listening and Speaking are the same for both tests, but the subject matter of the Reading and Writing components differs depending on which test you take. As already stated earlier the immigration process requires the IELTS General Training.
Listening Test
In the Listening Test you listen to four recordings of native English speakers. These speakers can have different accents, which sometimes can be a challenge in itself. The Listening test lasts exactly 30 minutes. While listening to the recordings you must answer four sections with 10 questions per section. The questions are given to you in a booklet. While you are listening you should take some notes or write your answers directly into the booklet. Mark correct answers – eliminate wrong answers. After 30 minutes of listening you are given 10 Minutes for transferring your answers to the answer sheet.
Reading Test
In the General Trainings Reading Test you must answer 40 question, designed to test a wide range of reading skills. These include reading for gist, reading for main ideas, reading for detail, skimming, understanding logical argument and recognizing writers‘ opinions, attitudes and purpose. For the General Training the Reading Test includes extracts from books, magazines, newspapers, notices, advertisements, company handbooks and guidelines. These are materials you are likely to encounter on a daily basis in an English-speaking environment. The Academic Test includes three long texts which range from the descriptive and factual to the discursive and analytical. These are taken from books, journals, magazines and newspapers. They have been selected for a non-specialist audience but are appropriate for people entering university courses or seeking professional registration.
Writing Test
The Writing Test differs in the General and the Academic Test as well. In the General Writing Test you have to produce two pieces of writing within 60 minutes. You will be presented with a specific situation and asked to write a letter to get some information, or explaining the situation. The letter may be personal, semi-formal or formal in style. In the second task you will be asked to write an essay in response to a point of view, argument or problem. The essay can be fairly personal in style. The requested letter should have at least 150 words, the requested essay should come up to at least 250 words.
Speaking Test
The Speaking Test will check your use of spoken English within 15 minutes. Every test is recorded. The test consists of three parts:
- Part 1 – the examiner will ask you general questions about yourself and a range of familiar topics, such as home, family, work, studies and interests. This part lasts between four and five minutes.
- Part 2 – you will be given a card which asks you to talk about a particular topic. You will have one minute to prepare before speaking for up to two minutes. The examiner will then ask one or two questions on the same topic.
- Part 3 – you will be asked further questions about the topic in Part 2. These will give you the opportunity to discuss more abstract ideas and issues. This part of the test lasts between four and five minutes.
Score it
At the beginning of the IELTS TEST itself you will be given a Candidate Number. This Candidate ID will allow you access to your test results at this IELTS Website Section. Results are online from 18:00 on the 13th calendar day after the test. A Test Report Form will be sent to you by post on the same day. This Test Report Form is your gate to heaven, because it proves your skills in the respective capability. For each of the four categories you will be given a score.
In my case the scores where:
-
Listening: 8
-
Reading: 7.5
-
Writing: 6.5
-
Speaking: 8.0
This score now needs to be matched to the Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB), because this is the actual benchmark that counts. The score of your abilities will give you respective Points in the CLB. You can get a maximum of 24 Points. For the IELTS language Test for the first official language the current matching table looks like this:
|
Listening |
Reading |
Writing |
Speaking |
Points per Ability |
|
6 – 7 |
6 |
6 |
6 |
4 |
|
7.5 |
6.5 |
6.5 |
6.5 |
5 |
|
8 |
7 |
7 |
7 |
6 |
|
8.5 – 9 |
8 – 9 |
7.5 – 9 |
7.5 – 9 |
6 |
Hence, my calculation would be:
|
|
IELTS |
Points |
|
Listening |
8 |
6 |
|
Reading |
7.5 |
6 |
|
Writing |
6.5 |
5 |
|
Speaking |
8 |
6 |
|
TOTAL |
23 |
This means that I can bring in a total of 23 points to my Express Entry Form for Permanent Residence within the Federal Skilled Worker Program. I don’t think this is such a bad result.
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