as the topic states, wanna know more bout IELTS as i might have to take it to apply for Australia universities

apart from the RM500 fee.. is the test hard??

i haven't even tried local MUET test, so i don't know what to expect..

UPDATE : Topic changed from "IELTS" to "IELTS/IDP"

This post has been edited by mooze: Oct 23 2007, 05:54 PM

hard if you don't practice english at all...

i have taken the IELTS before this and i would like to advice that reading lots of english books will help you in that test...gud luck

reading lots of english books... doesn't sound like a practical solution if i'm about to take it soon.. isn't there any example questions/practice sets?

i think there is a failure of understanding what the ielts (or any of the equivalent tests) actually is...........

it is an assessment system on LANGUAGE COMPETENCY, and not a "test" per se.........therefore, there is NO "pass" marks..........you are tested on the 4 aspects of any language, ie speaking, listening, writing, and reading..........and graded based on COMPETENCY of these aspects...........

the overall band (from 1 to 9) then is an indication of you competency in the language...........1 is like non existant ability, and 9.0 a well educated native speaker...........note that many native speakers will not score 9 if they sit for the test, 8.5 is considered a very good grade........

it is up to the respective organisations to then set what they think is a minimum standard required.........eg, some oz unis will accept 5.0 for simple courses like business, laws and medicine needs 7.0, to qualify for migration now requires 6.5..........etc........

so there is really NO such thing as "hard" or "easy"........and the grades you achieve is your competency in english at that time, which you can improve upon, by using the language more (eg, read, speak with friends etc).........

and usually it cant be compared to MUET bcoz of different testing method. IELTS is quite rigorous in its testing system, where in one instance they arent testing ur ability to speak, but ur ability to converse. when i took the verbal test, i found myself in a situation where we were conversing for a prolonged time - i was thinking... when's the test gonna start? and then poof... that was the test hahahhaa.

conversation skills - the ability to relay ur thoughts in words that the 2nd party could understand, the ability for u to understand whatever the 2nd part has to say in response to ur words, and the ability for u to process ur understanding into a response to the 2nd party. it's not a sesi soal jawab. most people treat it as a question-answer session, so the situation becomes very dull and awkward fairly quickly.

ahaaa!!! now i get what IELTS is about.. this is my kind of game.. i'm gonna enjoy the challenge..

azarimy,i totally agree bout u said "most people treat it as sesi soal-jawab therefore its boring".. i remember my english verbal test for SPM... just had a friendly chat until can each other laugh as if having teh tarik at mamak,didnt even feel was a test.. but i won't let my guard down, will try prepare myself for IELTS version of teh tarik session..

will let u guys know what's the result if i take it.. honestly i'm a no-clue guy hoping to get entrance to AMC(australia maritime college) for a marine engineering course, but i haven't even stepped in an IDP office before.. what to do and what should i bring?? there is one in subang jaya SS15, but i'm not really sure where, anyone knows?

This post has been edited by mooze: Oct 20 2007, 06:59 PM

I took the exam in 2005. Its not that hard IMHO. Even me who only finish circa 95% of my essay (due to time constrain) and doing extremely bad in oral (due to nonsense topic for me to give my opinion on) where i am practically dead when the examiner reveal the stupid topic. And still (reading and listening is peanut though), i managed to get 7.0.

My advice is, don't be scared. Its not as tough as you think it is.

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Added on October 20, 2007, 7:44 pmBased on the way you write in this forum. You must be doing very good. Say, no less than 8.0? Good to know we have one sifu here. anyway, do you have experience/knowledge in TOEFL? What are the similarities and deferences? Would be great if you can share.

Regards,
naktt.

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Added on October 20, 2007, 7:48 pmI heard that the test for education/student is quite different from immigrant. Anyone can verify?

Thanks.

This post has been edited by nakTT: Oct 20 2007, 07:48 PM

IMHO, it's not very different from MUET. i took both. format is the same, only different degree of language, in which IELTS is harder of coz.
one thing to be aware of is not to stop talking in speaking component. i rmbered i had nothing much to say during my oral and the examiner just look and me and said,
"that's it?" well i did not do that bad after all with 7.5. More than enuf to do my PR application . And mine was just the general one, not the academic. Academic IELTS is harder though.

there are 2 categories, general (for migration, etc) and academic (for uni entry).......and of course the content is different, and in general, the academic one is more difficult, obviously..........

hi , little confused here...
IELTS compulsory for UK universities application,
just like MUET is compulsory for Malaysian U?

not exactly.

all english based universities like in the UK, australia, new zealand and the US require those whose english is not their first language or was not formally educated in english to sit for an english test to prove their proficiency. mainly they do this using either one of the two exams: IELTS or TOEFL. it is not compulsory if u can prove that english is ur first language, or u've been formally educated in english schools.

MUET is basically a pre-requisite for malaysian universities, regardless whether u're a native speaker or not.

i thought MUET is usually for public universities such as UM, UIA, UTP, etc..
colleges such as sunway college, taylors, etc. need?

usually not for local colleges. they c ur SPM english result. if i'm not mistaken, anything lower than credit they'll just ask u to take up english as an extra subject. that was in taylors. not sure about others though. and regarding IELTS, if you're doing twinning or any stuffs like credit transfer, they usually don't require IELTS coz it's an accredited program to their uni. again, not sure about other courses but i did not sit for my IELTS when i was in taylors nor for my uni in OZ.

to graduate, all students in local unis, (both ipta and ipts) need to show they have SAT for the muet............

there is however, no minimum grade for entry,or graduating............you can get a band 1 and still enter a local uni and graduate............

which makes it a bit of a farce..........serves little purpose, excepts indicate to potential employers, the level of english competency, and hence whether to bother to call for interview or not...........

just took mine early august. pretty simple, 4 components and its quite fun especially the reading and listening part. I got 8/9 for listening, I lapsed and didnt catch the sentence on the radio. and 9/9 for reading. however i screwed my writing and i got a score of 6.5 only. as for speaking i didnt do as well as expected , 7.5! giving me a band score of 8. =)

if english is your main medium of communicating you wont have any problems with the exam.

writing is what format? writing a letter,report,summary,etc? based on facts from passages or own ideas?

writing is divided into several parts (i think 3 parts, but cant remember). 1st part is where u do a summary or ulasan of a data given in tables, graphs or diagrams.

the last part is usually argumentative. meaning they present a problem, issue or a scenario, u argumentatively write a ur hujah and present a standing or opinion at the conclusion. for example, "malaysia angkasawan program is a waste of money and time. what do u think about it?"

i cant remember if there is another part in between the two. aiyaaah getting old already!

pretty much sounds like SPM format to me... lol

so there are 3 parts,eh?

do IDP provide classes before the IELTS or just straight come and get on with it

Remember, they want academic English in the writing component. No personal statements, no bias in giving arguments, proper academic register, no over generalization...etc

It is unlike SPM where you can simply bullshit your way through and still obtain an A1 for 1119.

I didn't take IELTS, I took the TOEFL...which is basically the same thing. Only difference was that when I took it, they didn't have the Speaking aspect of it. Now they do

wow...so u r trying to say sometimes when we did not perform what we expected still can get high marks?
by the way,for transfer programme u need to take IELTS if u r applying the Uni that is not a partner Uni for ur college.

but of course if could do credit transfer(skip year 1 of degree), IELTS isn't a requirement?

if there's no partnership between a college in msia with any overseas universities, then u still need to take IELTS/TOEFL regardless if u could transfer credit or not. my wife used her diploma to skip 1st year of her degree in de monfort U, leicester, but still had to take IELTS.

uhm...i took mine earlier this year and there's only 2 parts to the writing component.
mine was general IELTS and both questions are essays, one in letter format and the other one in argumentative format. you gotta write damn fast and dun waste too much time on the 1st part. a lot of ppl (including my frens sitting the same exam with me) actually did not finish writing the 2nd essay coz the time given is not really long. 1 hour for 2 essays if i rmbered correctly.

bro the letter is telling what story? business? personal?

argumentative is kind of like given a topic and "do u agree with this? declare your reasons for it" ?

This post has been edited by mooze: Oct 22 2007, 03:50 PM

letter asked u to complained about a development in your local area.
argumentative question was about technical school. do you agree or disagree stuffs.

From my experience, it is hard to score well if u do not have strong english based.if u speak english as easy as pie for you,then i think there should be no problem for you to score between 6-8 point. if you do not have, i advise you to read a lot of book or newspaper especially related to social and learn some formal words.speak more too with ur frens and listen more english Tv programmes such as CNN haha~

i went to the IDP exhibition beside Taylors College subang jaya today... the "application fee waived for on-the-spot booth" deal got me up on my feet..
was quite impressed with IDP staff helping clueless people out(well yeah i know its their job) in finding the their right places..
i applied three universities for next intake(feb2008)..
highly hoping get my naval architecture/marine engineering degree offer letter soon....
though money is another matter..
hrmm... in any case,at least i know i've tried..

anyone going to australia education exhibition at klcc this weekend though?
it'd be a lot more booths than IDP i guess, and wide open space(minus the huge crowd gathering soon)..

any tips u guys can give me of my further study oversea attempt?

This post has been edited by mooze: Oct 23 2007, 06:07 PM

The australian education exhibition at IDP that day was really great. I've got my on-the-spot offer, haha, feeling so funny.

i know the feeling,bro...
eh,wait.. what do u mean "on-the-spot" offer? u mean u applied n accepted without conditions that same day?
or u just meaning u filled up the form n applied only, no official answer(letter) from the university?

This post has been edited by mooze: Oct 26 2007, 02:30 PM

IELTS is nice...well if you can write n read English rather well. I guess you are good to go. If you still unsure, take some course, IDP got offered but I think fees applied.

Or, you can go to MPH, Borders or any book shop to look for exercise books.

Last time when I wanted to go Australia to study, I took the 3 days after i register and managed to get a 6.5 without much effort.

By the way, if you study using English during your college time, you might not need to take IELTS as what you studied already is in English.

can i apply using a bachelor honour degree from UK university to study in Australia for postgraduate programme ? .. .do i need IELTS ?

As long as you are taught in English then I guess its exempted. What I do not understand is why you want to study UK honours in Australia? Both of them had different system...albeit slightly.

I myself used to study a UK degree in INTI. But after 2 years I credit transffered to Australia. Is that similar to your case?

but in any case,u'd hv to ask the university personally,contact them by email or something,each course differs.. and ur UK -> Australia system might also differ..

UK degree -> aussie postgrad degree = YES.

IELTS = no.

when i apply for my masters at UCL using my UTM degree, i was required to take IELTS. after graduating masters, i applied to RMIT in aust, sheffield, UCL and nottingham in the UK, all did not require IELTS. the only one requiring IELTS was JPA, bcoz of protocol bla bla bla.

I handed in my application form, the counsellor checked through my forecast results, and took out the official letter, wrote my name, and gave it to me.

What university was that?

I just sat for my IELTS a few months back. The result was..... satisfactory; 7.5. It was as if me and my friend went to a war without any armour or fighting equipment. HAha. The ILETS exam was just a few days after our final semester exam for our degree. So we don't have enuf time for any preparations whatsoever. Hmm... well, it's not necessary for you to be a native english speaker to score well in IELTS. As long you have a solid foundation you'll pull through it. If you usually scores A or A- in your school exam, you'll definitely get 7.0 or above. I kinda enjoy the examination though because it was quite relaxing. The environment wasn't too stiff or make you nervous. HOWEVER, please take extra cautious for your reading paper. I ran out of time for that paper since we're required to read as fast as possible but at the same time extracting the important points out. Don't spend your own sweet time for that paper or you might regret!!

I have not done anything for the IELTS preparations so I cannot recommend you on any tips to study for it. However, it'll be very useful to get the sample papers. You can purchase it when you register for you exam. I got mine from British council KL (near KLCC). At least you'll get a rough idea on wat to expect from the exam.

Finally, good luck to you and don't worry too much

This post has been edited by Blumarooz: Oct 28 2007, 12:05 PM

bro, how much paid for the sample papers?? ya,i want a rough idea on what to expect

If I'm not mistaken, it's RM80 for the preparatory book. BTW, I'm a gal. Haha.
The book also comes along with a CD for the listening and speaking part. There will be samples of conversation by a few IELTS candidates that got different bands. You can roughly estimate where you stand in this exam.

oops,sorry sorry... gender typo

rm80 for sample n cd,eh? thats good i guess,compared to the rm270,12hour training workshop...
many students bought it for practice? IELTS must've made a fortune selling it..

don buy the book, is useless
http://www.ielts-exam.net/
this webside more useful

i didnt buy any books or join a workshop for IELTS. frankly, u dont need to. there are websites giving out more information than most of the workshops, and even having discussions amongst friends or an online community would benefit u better bcoz it tailors suit to what u wanna know.

browsing a book 250-300 pages thick to sit for IELTS to me is counter productive. u need to practice ur english skills, and reading is only just one of them.

a few advice...

be extra careful when doing the listening test..
I found that many candidates screw up this part...
follow the instructions, read every questions carefully... and please only transfer the answers to the omr ONLY after you're told to do so...
coz, you'll missed the conversation...

and don't worry so much about the speaking test.. most of the examiners are more than helpful to give you marks... just don't go rojak or put 'lah' on every sentence you make...

ya, save the rm80 for celebration, the preparation book is really nothing inside. I used to buy it and another IELFs book but it really not that useful. Just use the webside i give you, it got more information compare to the preparation book..

just received my IELTS score a few days ago.... i got 7.5!!

This post has been edited by mooze: Dec 9 2007, 10:21 PM

There's an Education Fair conducted by IDP at a few areas mainly Subang KL penang and 1 more I forgot the place LOLz

In KL it's the one on this Saturday at Pan Pacific Hotel.
Anybody going ?

I just found out that I have to provide evidence of my English proficiency by taking the IELTS. My minimum is an overall of 7.5 (8.0 minimum for oral).

Anyone here got an 8.0 for their oral module before?

Very easy, anyone who reads newspapers and has some general knowledge can hantam this test and still get a decent score.

If you speak english regularly, don't bother with anything they ask you to go for, just show up for the test and listen to instructions.

I am considering whether or not I should go for the one day course or perhaps buy the materials.
My concern is mainly on the summary in the writing module as well as the speaking module.

I'll be taking the Writing/listening/Reading exam this Saturday.
I've NO preparation at all and I'm only an average band 5 MUET student.
...
Any last minute advice ?

just WTA...

after i got the result...what EXACTLY should i do??

i should just submit it to the IDP with the form for which university i would like to apply right??

and also...how long should i wait for the confirmation letter to arrive??

Ielts is used to gain admission to overseas universities,so you should send it to them as the prove of your english level(Together with your academic qualification and other credentials).

Ielts only valids for 2 years.So if you still plan to study in other universities,you will have to take in again.

ielts arr choose english as second language, i think its easier

I agree with this, I get 6.5 overall but my oral is only 5.0 - lol. This was 3 years ago. I do read a lot, I have confidence with my listening and writing skill. Unfortunately I don't converse in English much. During the oral examination, I knew what I'm going to talk about but my lack of confidence made me get only 5.0. Lucklily my university didnt bother about it. They don't even look at my IELTS result.

I bought a book which came with a cd to practice the listening component. I don't think it's a waste of time to go through the books cos they let you know what youre gonna be doing. Plus you'll be able to spend more time practicing than if you go for the day course. So if you ask me, get a book which comes with a cd.

I got 8.5 - two nines and two eights.

Wow, 8.5 is a very good score. How did you manage to get 8 in speaking test? What are the questions asked? Is there any website which provides free listening test? I've tried ielts-blogs.com but i feel it's not enough for me.

if you speak english everyday then I think an 8.0 wouldn't be a problem. but it largely depends on the Q u r asked on that day and the leniency of the marker

just to add to this point:

if u managed to graduate with a degree from the UK, u dont need to take IELTS again even if it's passed 2 years. well, atleast i didnt have to after my masters.

I would also like to add to this point.

I had to take my IELTS again for my Post graduate dip as well as my Masters despite the fact that my degree was from the UK and it was fully conducted and assessed in English.

The reason I received from the University is this
"the fact that your degree is a UK degree is not evidence of your competency in the English language'

wanna ask..did IDP open too at weekends??n wat the office hour?
IELTS can b apply through IDP also rite?
thx

Yes IDP is open on Saturday, not sure what time though.
The IELTS fee has been increasing constantly over the years
It's not very hard if you have a strong English background.

my english is getting weaker..
so i think abit hard for me n i know got speaking test so i will b sux on tht...

btw sun no office?

Exactly! To all those who're about to sit for the test: Your pronunciation and fluency of the conversation count. But never, ever, forget to provide good points for whatever questions you are asked. Those points are just as important, if not, constitute even more of the marking system! I was unable to answer one particular question and was marked down quite a bit. The question was something like: How do you think weather influences a person's character''. I was dumbfounded. I was tempted to say: Hell NO! I do not think it influences a person's character, at all. But i tried and eventually strayed out of the main question(I went on talking about it changes a person's mood etc). I requested for a remark and it only managed to be raised by 0.5. (though it was enough to satisfy my University's minimum requirement for the Speaking section)

This post has been edited by LadyVictoria: Sep 4 2008, 03:33 AM

thread closed, thanks everyone for their support