IELTS test and my results

Finally, I did it! I got an overall band score of 8.0, and in all sections over 7.5. That's enough to get in just about every university in the world.

How was the test day?

Well, not so good. I arrived in Vienna one day before and met a few friends, to stop thinking about the test. I overnighted in a small flat of a friend, where I got probably 4 hours of sleep.

At 6:30 a.m., I went to the test centre. The registration started at 7:45, and 45 minutes later we started with the official test. So early in the morning, I couln't even breakfast since I can't eat anything before 10.

The IELTS test itself was like just about the same as the sample tests from my prep book. Reading was a bit more difficult, while listening was a bit easier. Writing wasn't that hard too, because the essay topic was easy (opinion about education and internet). Because of great time management (and the 4 sample tests I did before), I never had any time problem. If you want to go to the restroom, plan to do it during the reading section.

My test finished at 11:30 and I was wasted. After the test I had lunch and a coffee with a friend. At 16:15 I had the speaking part, where I fucked it up.

The first part of the speaking section was ok, the second one was just bullshit. I had to talk about a historical place, where I wanted to go, where it's located and so on. After 30 seconds or so of talking, I had no idea what else I should say. So I stopped talking for about 20 seconds. These seconds felt like hours... simply horrible. The last part was better, as the examiner had pity for me and asked good questions.

I thought, I wouldn't make it. And yesterday, I received my results and I was pleasantly surprised!

Here are a few tips:

• Take IELTS. It's easier, shorter and you have a statistical advantage.
• Drink enough water. You need to be concentrated for around 3 hours.
• Practice with Sample Tests. You'll get a feeling for the difficulty and the time.
• Arrive one day earlier. Check where the test centre is and in which room you'll have the exam.
• Relax one day before the test. Have fun and stop thinking about the test.

That's it, guys. I won't update this blog anymore and I hope you had a great time reading it.

Thank You,
AustrianBanker

Showtime

It's showtime! I fixed my test date on the second October, 2014 in Vienna. That means, I have 11 days to study for the test.

This is my schedule:

2 days Listening
2 days Reading
2 days Writing
2 days Speaking
= 8 days test prep

+ 1 day practice exams and 1 day as a buffer for unforseeable events.

My goal is to score a 6.5 band or higher.

IELTS Introduction - How does the test look like?

I skimmed through my prep book (Barron's IELTS super pack) to get an idea of how the test will look like.

Basically, there are two versions of the test: an academic and a general version. You need the former to apply for universities, summer schools and so on, while the latter is immigration, work permission, etc. Both versions differ in tasks, while the test structure remains the same. I'll only look at the academic IELTS, since my goal is to apply for masters in finance.

The IELTS test takes 2h 45min. There are four modules: listening, reading, writing and speaking. You do the listening, speaking and writing in one sitting without breaks, however you are permitted to go to the restroom. The speaking section takes a few days for or after the test, it's even possible to have it on the same day, but I don't have enough information on this. I guess, you'll get more accurate information when you register for the test.

There are 10 band scores: from 0 (not attempting) to 9 (expert user). Most universities want you to have a 6.5 to 7.5 (competent to good user), which corresponds to a B2 to C1 European language level.

The test results are valid for two years and the test costs like 200-250€ depending on the country, and so on. You'll get the results in about 14 days after the test.

Let's look at the modules and go more into detail:

Listening: 

The Listening module consists of four listenings with 10 questions each, making 40 questions altogether. The whole section lasts 30 minutes. The listenings cover everyday and school or training-related topics. On two listenings just one person will speak, while on the other two there will be a conversation of two or more people.

Unlike the TOEFL test, there is a great variety of question types: multiple choice, short answers, labelling diagrams, tables, matching, summarizing, sentence completion, etc.

Reading:

The reading module lasts 60 minutes and consists of three passages. You have to answer 40 questions altogether. The topics covered are of general interest for a general audience from sources like journals, books, newspapers and magazines. You can mark the text, re-read it, etc.

Again, the variety of question types is great. The question types are similar to the listening module, except for true/false/not given and yes/no/not given which are unique in the reading module and the most difficult types.

Writing:

The writing module takes 60 minutes and consists of two tasks. Task 1 is about describing or summarizing facts, figures, charts, graphs, diagrams or tables. You have 20 minutes for the first task and you need to write at least 150 words. Task 2 is about expressing your opinion and arguments, discussing a topic and giving examples to support your ideas. You have 40 minutes for the second task and you have to write at least 250 words. Task 2 is worth twice as much as Task 1.

Speaking:

On the speaking module, you will talk between 11 to 14 minutes and the conversation will be recorded. It's more like an interview, you'll talk to one examiner alone in a room. The first 4-5 minutes are about yourself and your activities, you introduce and talk about yourself. 3-4 minutes are about a topic presented on a task card with some questions on it. Topics could be about friends, trips, places, etc. You have 1 minute to prepare, then you'll speak for 2 minutes and then there will be 1 minute of follow-up questions out of the 4 minutes. The last 4-5 minutes will be a discussion of the task card topic, but in a more general context.

---

That's it, all four modules of the test. If you need more information, visit the official IELTS website. I use Barron's IELTS Superpack to prepare, and all information I have about the test, is explained in the book with lots of useful information and tips. It's a great prep pack so far and I can really recommend it!

Related articles: TOEFL vs. IELTS - Which one is easier?

TOEFL vs. IELTS - which one is easier?

Once in a life time, every prospective finance master student asks himself, whether to write the TOEFL or the IELTS test. I already wrote a very similar article at my finance master blog, but here I want to go more into detail. 

Most universities in Europe want 100 points on TOEFL ibt or a 7.0 band on IELTS. Some universities, especially those in UK and US want even higher scores, mostly 110 (TOEFL) or 7.5 (IELTS). My goal is to achieve at least 93 points on TOEFL or 6.5 on IELTS. Now the question is, on which test it's easier to score high?

TOEFL vs. IELTS - the statistics

• TOEFL

Before speculating or just guessing around, it's a good idea to look at some hard numbers. The ETS institute, who invented the TOEFL test, wrote good a score data summery for 2013 worth reading.

Look at the Total Scale Score and the Percentile Rank. 100 points correspond to the 82th percentile, which means 82% of people scored lower than 100 points. In other words 18% scored exactly or more than 100 points.

Now, there's a problem: the TOEFL test takers aren't a homogeneous group, but consist the whole social spectrum from immigrants, college students to doctors and managers. Here's a more specific statistics, showing the results of applicants for English-language schools:

It looks even worse, just 14% (86th percentile) scored 100 points or more. However, the means ordered by native language look better: German native speakers, like me, scored 97 points on average, while, for example, the mean for French native speakers was just about 86 points (table 15).

• IELTS

The makers of the IELTS test also published test performance data, but for the year of 2012.

(click on the picture to zoom in)

As you can see, 35% (65th percentile) of academic IELTS test takers scored an overall band of 7.0, who took the test for higher education purposes. 

Since we don't know the nationality/native language composition of the total test taker population, it's a better idea to compare the numbers ordered by native language. 

(click on the picture to zoom in)

73% (27th percentile) of German native speakers scored an overall band of 7.0! The mean was 7.17.

TOEFL or IELTS easier?

Well, if you compare the statistics of both tests, it seems like the IELTS test is a lot easier. On average German native speakers scored 97 points on TOEFL vs. 7.17 overall band on IELTS. Comparing the numbers of educational purpose test takers yields the same conclusion: 14% scored the critical mark of 100 points on TOEFL vs. 35% scored a band of 7.0 on IELTS.

The numbers might be a bit skewed, since the composition of test takers population might deviate. However, millions of people around the globe take the tests every year, so you can use the numbers above as a good proxy.

In addition, Taichi Kono - a Japanese TOEFL and IELTS expert - came to the same conclusion in an interview: "An IELTS Band 7 is definitely easier than an iBT TOEFL 100. The same goes for TOEFL 109 vs IELTS 7.5, maybe by a little smaller margin. 110 vs 8 is a close call, but I’d say an IELTS Band 8 is less difficult."

You may ask yourself, why the TOEFL seems to be more difficult. In my opinion, it's because of the test format. The TOEFL test is almost entirely multiple choice, where all items look the same. Plus, it takes 4 hours to complete the test. The IELTS test, on the other hand, has a much greater variety of tasks and just takes 2 hours and 45 minutes, but is less predictable. See here for a good list pointing out the differences between both tests.

Personally, I've decided to take the IELTS test, since the numbers look better and I don't want to write a 4 hours long test - there are less exercises on IELTS. Furthermore, you talk to an examiner and not to a computer in the speaking section.