Passing IELTS is a requirement for many to get a visa. However it is also very helpful to be good at english anyway (even if the Aussies themselves talk funny).
Also at $300 per attempt, failing your IELTS can make it an expensive, time consuming process – Fortunately it does not have to be that way.
The answer is a IELTS preparation course online.
As you may know, the IELTS tests English language proficiency is for anyone wanting to move to Australia on a 1-9 scale, with the minimum passing score typically being a 6 or higher.
A passing score is required to get your visa approved, so you will need to take the exam in advance of applying for your visa.
With proper practice however, one time is all you will need to get a high enough score so that your work visa will get approved, but possibly more importantly you’ll stand out from the competition to employers when you arrive in Australia.
Being well-prepared is about more than just taking English lessons – you need to be familiar with the test format, practice similar exam questions in a timed situation, get feedback on your progress to know what you’re doing wrong and how to improve, and use a study system that is proven to actually work.
There are many online IELTS preparation courses (even free ones) that will help you improve your English proficiency and prepare for the examination, but we have done our research highly recommend this IELTS Preparation Course you can do online.
Owned and operated by Maquarie University (a prestigious university) in Australia we are confident in their ability to continue to deliver a high quality course. They have a high success rate, user-friendly interface, comprehensive study tools and resources, and practice tests in all areas of the examination.
IELTS Online has over 20,000 students from 140+ countries and a whopping 96% of them recommend this IELTS preparation course over other study methods. They offer three different levels of courses so that you only pay for exactly the level of help you need.
Information about the IELTS practice courses they offer online is translated into Spanish, Russian, Korean, Indonesian, Chinese, and Thai.
IELTS Online offers the IELTS Express, IELTS Master, and IELTS Master Plus preparation courses.
The Express course is for those who already speak English, but need to familiarize themselves with the format of the test and take practice exams so that they don’t fail on technicalities.
The Master course is a lot more hands-on learning and includes 500 pages of teaching material, over 300 learning activities, detailed feedback and model answers for all questions, over 5 hours of audio recordings, test tips, and study strategies in all modules, recording tools to practice your speaking online, and practice tests in all four modules.
The Master Plus course offers all of the above, plus online tutors to give you detailed feedback on your assessment tasks if you need the extra help.
Even the master plus is great value at $300 in our opinion, especially if you take into account that it will cost $300 to redo the test.
Anyone who is from a country whose native language is not English (essentially, any country other than the UK, US, Canada, New Zealand, or Ireland) and wants to come to Australia on a student visa (subclass 570-575), working holiday visa (subclass 417) or sponsored work visa (subclass 457). Some take the test simply to improve their English skills or to re-test their knowledge of the English-language after living abroad.
IELTS has four parts – Listening (30 minutes), Reading (60 minutes), Writing (60 minutes) and Speaking (11–14 minutes). The total test time is 2 hours and 45 minutes. The Listening, Reading and Writing tests are done in one sitting. The Speaking test may be on the same day or up to seven days before or after the other tests.
Remember: the examiner is grading your ability to use and understand the English-language, not assessing your opinions or personality.
There are two different IELTS exams. The Academic IELTS and the General Training IELTS. The General Training IELTS is most common, and you will only need to take the Academic Test if specifically instructed to do so.
Results are released 13 days after your exam. You can check your provisional score online, but official results will arrive via postal mail.
If you pass with acceptable scores and your visa gets approved, but you’d like to retake the test to attempt a higher score (and look more desirable to employers on your resume), there are over 50 testing centers in Australia for you to do so after you arrive.