During the speaking test, you will be assessed on 4 main criteria pronunciation, GRA, fluency, and coherence. While the first of those criteria are relatively familiar to most students the last one (namely fluency and coherence) is where students fail to score well.

In this article, we will take a look at one of the aspects of fluency and coherence that you can use to improve your speaking score. We will learn all about discourse markers, what they are and how you can use them.

What Are Discourse Markers?

Discourse markers are words or phrases that we use to manage what we say or write or to express attitude. They are also quite helpful in building a well-organised answer and orienting your listener as you speak. Some discourse markers are used to start and end conversations, while some are used to start new topics or to change topics.

Common discourse markers and their function:

Here are some examples of how to use discourse markers in a natural way during the speaking test:

Personal Opinions:

“…. well, besides that I would also say that city life is exciting and full of opportunities - not just in terms of jobs and education, but also in terms of entertainment. Personally, I would always choose to live in a big city.”

Talking About The Future:

Finally, I think that it is highly unlikely that we will use the same kind of fuel in our cars in the future. I am convinced that scientists will come up with a new way of fueling cars.

Talking About Trends:

“In my country, holiday habits have changed a lot over the last twenty years. In the past, only young people went to exotic locations or difficult destinations. However lately, far more people have started going to these kinds of places - families, older people, people with more money.

Why Are Discourse Markers Important?

The publicity available band descripts for speaking state that in order for a candidate to reach a score of band 7 in terms of fluency and coherence they must be able to use discourse markers.

‘Uses a range of connectives and discourse markers with some flexibility.

Even a band 6 score requires candidates to “Uses a range of connectives and discourse markers but not always appropriately".

However, if you use these discourse markers incorrectly, or if you overuse them then your score can decrease to a band 5 as can be seen from what is stated in the official band descriptors. “May overuse certain connectives and discourse markers.”

Discourse markers signal to listeners about the type of information to follow. They also make your speech sound more fluent. Knowing how to discourse markers correctly shows the examiner that you have a high level of fluency and coherence.

If you need to know more about the IELTS speaking section then read more of our blogs on the topic. If you have any further questions about discourse markers then feel free to learn.

If you need to take the IELTS exam as part of the requirements for your university admission or visa application, you’re probably wondering about how to begin your preparation.

The truth is that students who are at different levels of language proficiency must focus on different aspects of the English language to ensure that their preparation is effective. To refer to understand how to move forward with your preparation, you need to have a good level of your current band score. In this article, we will look at how to determine your current level of proficiency and your current band score.

Why Is It Important To Assess Your Current Band Score

Knowing your current band score will help you identify your weak areas, and help you identify the areas of your language skills that you need to focus more on.

Assessing Your Reading And Listening Band Scores

It is easy to determine your band scores for the IELTS listening and reading sections. All you need to do is to take an authentic mock test under exam conditions. Both sections contain different types of questions and there are 40 questions in total. The answers for this part of the test have fixed answers. Once you have completed your test you can compare your answers and use the following guide to determine your score.

Band Score Chart

Take a close look at the areas of the test that you struggled with, think about why exactly these parts were difficult, did you not understand the question? Did you struggle with the vocabulary or grammatical skills to answer? Were you unfamiliar with the question pattern? Doing this will help you to understand which areas of language skills you need to pay more attention to.

Writing And Speaking Skills

The next step would be to assess your writing and speaking skills. These two skills are a lot more difficult to assess on your own. Since these are productive skills (meaning you must produce language), the answers for these types of questions will vary from person to person. However, there is a strict set of assessment criteria that your responses must meet to score well. A printable copy for these criteria (or band descriptors) can be found on the official IELTS website.

There are different ways in which you can assess your speaking and writing scores. I will mention a few of the common ones. A quick search on YouTube will lead you to find several high scoring IELTS speaking test interviews. You could practice answering these questions yourself and then compare them how you compared them to the speaking test in the video. Again keep in mind, why you struggle more with certain questions. Did you lack the vocabulary to answer or did you not understand what is required in the question.

Another option to assess your current level in terms of writing and speaking, would be to opt for a paid mock test.

As a second language learner, it would be very difficult to score your writing or speaking test on your own in an objective manner.

Taking a paid for the mock test means that you will get valuable feedback about your writing and speaking answers. A detailed analysis of your answers along with individual band scores is only given out to students who pay for these services. Most good mock test sites will also give you a detailed section-wise report card result.

Even just having the answers to the reading passages and listening tests would not be enough to help you figure out where your comprehension skills are lacking. This why I recommend obtaining the services of a trained IELTS  professional tutor. Not only will an IELTS lecturer be able to tell you about your estimated IELTS score, but they will also be able to help you improve it as well.

During the IELTS essay writing question, you will have 40 minutes to write an essay of minimum 250 words on a high level and named topic. Many students struggle with enough words to include in their answer. In this article, we will look at one of the most effective way to brainstorm ideas for the IELTS essay question and that is by using mind maps.

What Is A Mind Map

A mind map is a useful tool that helps you to visually organise information. It helps you to link ideas that are associated with each other in an essay to understand in an organised manner.

I recommend using a mind map to generate ideas. A mind map will help you to organize your ideas in a logical sequence.

Mind Maps For Writing

Once you have thought of some main ideas, you can start to organise your points. Think about which points are important enough to add to your essay. Try to think about the order in which you will mention each main point.

You can also use your brainstorming time to think of topic-specific vocabulary and synonyms that could be useful for your essay.

Making a mind map helps you to logically order your main ideas, supporting points, and examples, as you brainstorm. This means that you will save time on planning your essay, which buys you time to write and recheck your response.

Here is an example of what a mind map should look like:

Mind Maps For Speaking

When you make a mind map for your speaking part two question, the mind map will be a little different. You should place the main topic in the centre of the mind map and then link relevant ideas to the main topic by using the following keywords. What, who, when, where, why and how.

For Example:

This is a useful way to extend your answer while you are thinking of ideas to add to your mind map, you should also think of useful vocabulary related to the topic.

For Example:

The more you practice making mind maps for both your writing and speaking questions, the better and faster you will become at doing so. This will greatly ignore the speed at which you prepare for these questions.

If you have any further questions do not hesitate to drop a comment down below.

Due to the Covid 19 global pandemic, the schedule for IELTS tests across the world has been unpredictable, to say the least. A number of test centres have shut down, while some centres have reduced the number of tests that they offer. If these issues have delayed your plans to study abroad, then you should probably consider taking the new IELTS indicator test. The owners of the exam (the University of Cambridge ESOL, the British Council, and IDP Education Australia) have recently introduced the IELTS indicator test as a stand-in for an actual IELTS exam test result. The IELTS Indicator test has also been made available in Singapore. Read on to find out more about this new home-based test and how it can serve as a replacement for a regular IELTS test score  

What Is The IELTS Indicator Test?

The IELTS indicator test is an online IELTS test that you can take from the comfort of your own home. The test can be taken on a laptop or PC and is very similar in structure to the computer delivered IELTS test. The same four skills of listening, reading, writing, and speaking are assessed. The timings are also very similar to the computer delivered IELTS tests. You will not be given any extra time for any component of the test and you will not be allowed to pause or take a break at any point during the test.

What Do You Need To Take The New Test

Why Do You Need To Take The IELTS Indicator Test?

At the moment the IELTS indicator test is available in countries where regular IELTS testing has been postponed. It is a temporary solution for the problems caused by the pandemic and is perfect for those students who need to provide IELTS scores in order to secure admission to their chosen universities.

In addition to this it is also the cheapest IELTS test option at the moment, costing as little as 149 dollars

How Can You Register For The IELTS Indicator Test

You can find a list of both countries that offer regular IELTS tests and IELTS indicator tests on the official IELTS website. The booking procedure is very similar to that of a regular IELTS test and you can pay using a debit or credit card

The test is only available in the Academic format, and you must make sure that your test scores will be accepted by your chosen institutions, since not all universities accept IELTS indicator scores as a replacement for an actual IELTS test score.  Your results will be available after a week of taking the test.

How Can You Prepare For The IELTS Indicator Test

The test is exactly the same as the computer-delivered test. Therefore, students can use the same practice materials and resources, such as mock tests and model answers to prepare for this new version of the test.

Hopefully by now you have a better idea about whether the IELTS indicator test is a good fit for you. If you feel that you are unsure of how to move forward with your IELTS indicator preparation, then you probably need to consult with a trained IELTS professional. From my point of view, opting for paid coaching classes is your best bet at acing the exam. The reasoning behind this is simple, only an IELTS professional teacher can guide you and offer you valuable feedback on your weak areas, and such courses often includes personalized coaching, and unique preparation and practice materials developed by certified English language experts.

The IELTS reading test lasts for a total of 1 hour and consists of three sections. The texts are usually academic in nature and consist of high-level vocabulary and ideas, which are usually tough for second language learners to grasp even under normal circumstances, let alone strict exam conditions. Many test-takers struggle to answer all of the reading module questions in time. In this article, we will take a look at some important ways to save time during the reading test.

How Should You Divide Your Time For The IELTS Reading Test

Many IELTS lecturers tell their students that they should divide the time for three sections of the reading test equally, meaning that they should have 20 minutes for each passage. However, I don’t really agree with this method. Firstly, I believe that you need to straightaway save up 10 minutes at the end of your test for rechecking your answers. That leaves you with a full 50 minutes to answer the questions related to the three passages.

Part 1

Most students are unaware, that although each passage is around the same length, approximately 800 words or so, they are not all of the same levels of difficulty.

The reading passages and questions for part 1 are usually much easier than those for part 2 and three. The question types present in part one of the exam usually ask you to locate specific information, with not that much critical thinking or inference needed.

Questions like fill in the blanks and multiple choice questions 

For these type of questions, it is important to be able to use keywords to scan for detail. Scanning involves searching for certain pieces of information without much further thought or understanding. This will be easier to do once you have predicted the type of answer you require and know what to keep a lookout for.

Part 2 And 3

The second and third parts of the IELTS Reading module contain more difficult questions and texts. These require more detailed reading, and, therefore, more time to answer. The sentences present in these tests are often longer and more complex. If you are careless, you may get thrown off by distractors and infer information incorrectly. In these two sections, you should spend about fifteen minutes reading each article and five minutes answering each set of questions.

Skimming to understand the main ideas for each paragraph is crucial for these types of questions. Skimming refers to the ability to go through a reading passage in order to get a general idea about it, without reading in detail. This helps one to quickly  understand the layout of the passage. To do this you need to be able to locate the topic sentences of each paragraph. locating the topic sentences within each paragraph. Topic sentences are those sentences which give us the main idea of the main paragraph. You can usually find them at the beginning of a paragraph (the first two sentences). To skim each paragraph effectively, I recommend that you obtain the main idea of a paragraph from the topic sentence. Briefly go through the rest of the paragraph and look for words or phrases that confirm your main idea.

To best prepare for the reading test, it would be best to enroll in a IELTS course with an experienced teacher. Make sure that the course you choose also has practice tests and questions that reflect the actual levels of the IELTS exam.

The IELTS exam is the most popular language proficiency exam in the world. Each year thousands of students take the exam as part of their university admission or immigration requirements. If you are one such prospective test taker, then you probably have already heard or read a lot about the exam. in this article, I aim to dispel some of the common and popular myths about the IELTS exam, that are actually untrue.

#1 You Have To Have A Native Accent

During the IELTS exam, your accent is not assessed. It is your pronunciation that matters. Most people are unaware that pronunciation and accent are actually two different things. The examiner assesses how well you use the correct intonation, word stress, and pace of speech. In fact, if you attempt to mimic a foreign accent, you might end up making more mistakes since it is not your natural manner of speaking.

#2 The Writing Section Is the Most Important Section

While it is true that most people consider the writing section to be the toughest part of the exam, it is not the most important. All four skills i.e. Listening, Reading, Speaking, and Writing contributes equally to your overall score.

This is especially true since a number of institutions and organizations have minimum requirements for each individual component as well as your overall score.

Therefore you need to pay as much attention to your preparations in these three areas as you do for writing.

#3 The Passing Score For IELTS Is Band 7.0

There is no passing mark for the IELTS exam. the grading system is just a scale that measures a test taker's level of language proficiency with 9 being the level of a native speaker of the language and 0 representing a person who does not speak English. Most immigration authorities and universities require a certain overall band score and a minimum score for each individuals component. This varies from institution to institution and it is not always a band 7.0. In fact, in some cases, the required scores can go all the way up to an 8.5. The owner is on the candidates, to check with the relevant institutions about the required score.

#4 You Need To Be Knowledgeable On A Wide Range Of Topics In Order To Score Well

In the IELTS test, your content is not assessed. As long as your responses are generally topic-related. The examiners are interested in your language skills and have you communicate with whatever little knowledge you have.

I have seen plenty of tests in which test takers have had brilliant ideas but have failed to score well because they kicked the vocabulary and grammar skills to sufficiently communicate their skills.

Now that you have a better about what the IELTS exam is really about, you can now move forward with your IELTS preparation.

Being able to communicate with and understand one’s patients is obviously a vital component of being effective in the medical field. Medical professionals who reside in non-native speaking countries often wonder if they will need to take some language proficiency test to prove their ability to speak in English, if they decide to practice in an English country.

Do Medical Professionals Have To Take The IELTS Test?

If you are a medical professional who happens to be a non-native speaker of English, you might need to take the IELTS test for a number of reasons. Firstly, you might need to take the IELTS for medical licensing. IELTS tests for medical licenses are a common requirement for a skilled migrant visa. This applies to a number of different medical professions, such as pharmacists, nurses, doctors, physical therapists, speech-language, and pathologists. It is a general rule that if you have completed your medical study in a medium other than English, you must take the IELTS exam if you wish to practice or work in another country.

Which IELTS Test Do Medical Professionals Take

It might surprise you to know that unlike other skilled workers seeking entry to English-speaking countries, medical professionals have to take the IELTS academic exam and not the general training exam. The IELTS academic covers all the requirements for professional registration and can be used for obtaining your medical license to practice and your visa application. This makes it more convenient for applicants since they don’t have to take separate exams, i.e. the academic exam for licensing and the general exam for immigration.

What IELTS Band Scores Do Medical Professionals Need?

The IELTS requirements for doctors are set by the governments of English-speaking countries like the US and Australia, the average score required ranges from 6.0 to 7.5. for example, the US requires a minimum score of 6 for professional nurses, and a minimum score of 7.5 doctors.

It is also important to note that there might condition made on minimum requirements for individual components, such as you might need a minimum of 6 in each individual component.

Generally, the score requirements for different medical professions are similar throughout various English-speaking countries, since they all hold these professions to the same high standards.

If you are thinking of shifting your practice abroad, then you will probably need to prove your language skills by taking the IELTS exam. This requires more than just having good English communication skills. My advice would be to enroll in a course in order to learn the pertinent exam techniques and strategies in order to ace the exam. It would be a shame to lose out on your dream job in your dream destination simply because of ignorance.

Both the IELTS and the PTE exams are language proficiency exams that are designed to assess a non-native speaker's ability to cope in an English-speaking environment for work or study purposes. If you have to take a language proficiency test to secure your admission to a university or as part of your visa application process then you might be confused about which exam to opt for. In this article, we will take a closer look at whether you should choose the IELTS exam or the PTE exam.

Neither Test Is Easier

If you’re intent on choosing the exam which is easier, let me just stop you there. There is no easier test. Both the IELTS and the PTE are language exams with high standards. They each have their own format and question types, and thorough preparation is needed for the exams. So to be clear, I’ll state it again. The PTE exam is not easier than the IELTS exam.

However, which exam you choose does depend on an individual's personal preference.

Paper VS Computer

The PTE exam is fully computerised. Every aspect of the exam is displayed on a screen including the answer blocks.

The IELTS exam offers you the choice of taking a computer-based test or a paper-based test.

This is especially useful for test-takers who are not comfortable with their level of computer proficiency or their typing aspect.

Which Are You Better At Writing Or Speaking

To be honest, the real difference between these two tests is how the speaking and writing components of the exams is conducted and assessed. 

Many PTE candidates score poorly in the Oral Fluency criteria. This is because the computer AI that grades the speaking portion of the PTE exam is designed to compare a second language learner's accent to the accent of a native speaker.

The IELTS exam has human examiners, who assess a candidate's speaking skills during a one on one interview. Sounding like a native speaker is not really assessed, as long as a person's accent does not hinder the examiner's understanding of what they are trying to communicate.

The writing section of the IELTS exam is notoriously difficult. Candidates are heavily penalized for grammatical and spelling errors.  Generally, speaking the PTE writing criteria is a bit more lenient than IELTS.

So, to sum up, whether you choose PTE or IELTS really depends on which skill is weaker, your writing or speaking skills.

Who Accepts These Tests

The IELTS exam is recognized by more immigration authorities and institutions across the world. Currently, the IELTS exam is accepted in over 140 countries and over 9000 global institutions. At the moment PTE Academic is only recognized by Australian, New Zealand, and UK immigration authorities. It is also recognized by fewer education authorities than the IELTS exam.

As you can see that there are differences between how each test is conducted, as well as its format. However, this does not necessarily mean that one test is easier than the other. Through preparation and practice will still be needed regardless of which test you choose.

The IELTS exam is the world’s most popular English language proficiency exam. It is used by higher learning authorities and immigration authorities. To determine whether or not a candidate will be able to cope in an English-speaking environment. The above-mentioned facts are generally well known by most people but did you know that having a good IELTS score can also help you when it comes to getting your dream job. Here are just some of the ways in which having a good IELTS score can help you land the perfect job:

World-Wide Acceptance

A good IELTS score helps you to get your foot in the door at a number of global institutions. The IELTS exam is accepted by over 10000 organizations across the globe. These organisations do not employ non-native speakers unless they have the required valid scores, at the time of hiring.

IELTS For Healthcare Professionals

IELTS is recognized by a large number of medical authorities in English-speaking countries. Most of these regulatory bodies require that candidates who have completed their training in a medium other than English must take the IELTS exam, in order to prove that they will be able to effectively deal with their colleagues and patients when working in an English-speaking country.

Thus if you are a healthcare professional looking to practice/work abroad the IELTS exam is a must.

By now you will have a better idea about how IELTS  can help you achieve your career goals, and you have hopefully decided that the exam is the right fit for you. Now the real work begins, as you embark on your IELTS preparation journey.

These days the number of language proficiency tests available to second-language speakers is on a rise. This is especially true for medical professionals who can now opt for the OET exam, which is specifically geared towards medical professionals like nurses or doctors. In this article, we will take a closer look at the OET and IELTS exams, so that you can decide which one is best for you.

Which Test Do Medical Professionals Need To Take?

Both the IELTS exam and the OET are accepted by regulatory bodies around the world. These tests assess the language skills of healthcare professionals and make sure that they are sufficiently capable to communicate with patients in English so that they can deliver the best possible medical care possible

What Is The Difference Between OET And IELTS

The IELTS exam assesses a candidate's overall language skills while the OET assesses your ability to communicate in English in medical settings only, by assessing your knowledge of medical English.

What Is the OET test?

The OET exam is only recognized by healthcare regulatory bodies in the major English-speaking countries, whereas the IELTS exam is recognized by immigration authorities, healthcare regulatory bodies, and universities across the world.

What Is The IELTS Exam?

The IELTS exam is a language proficiency test, that is used to assess the language skills of a non-native speaker in order to determine if they will be able to cope in an English medium in a higher learning environment. It is also accepted by medical authorities to determine if a person has the language skills necessary to practice medicine in an English-speaking country.

Which Test Is Easier?

Despite the many rumors that the OET is easier, it is simply not true. The level of skill needed (by the regulatory authorities) to score well in either of these tests is about the same.

Most healthcare writers say that the OET is easier, mostly because the questions present in the test draw heavily from their medical knowledge, skills, and vocabulary that said there is some merit to taking the IELTS  exam since it is more widely accepted on a global level and for a greater variety of purposes such as medical licensing immigration and higher education purpose.

In either case the basic skills needed to score well in either exam are the same, and you will most probably require outside assistance to prepare. This is not because your English communication skills might be lacking, but more because both exams require knowledge of special exam techniques in order to score well.