As a student who aspires to study abroad, only applying to the college of your choice won’t be enough. You need to fulfil several other requirements to complete your application and stand a chance to get into that university.
The most essential of these additional requirements is a good score on an accepted English Language Test.
Some of the most important English language proficiency tests that are accepted by the majority of the universities are as follows:
IELTS: International English Language Testing System
The most well-known exam is the one that is accepted in most universities across the globe. This test examines your comprehension, writing, reading and speaking skills.
Which countries accept
About 3400 universities in the US accept IELTS test scores. This is a standard exam in Australia and the UK. In addition, many educational institutions in Europe, Canada, Ireland accept this standard exam.
Format
The test is prepared to evaluate your English listening, writing, speaking and reading skills. You will have to listen to the spoken language of a native English speaker and then will be asked questions about it by the end of the test. You will also be expected to talk to the moderator on any given topic to examine your speaking skills or about yourself. For checking your reading skills, passages will be provided to you, after which you will have to answer a set of questions. For assessing writing skills, you will be required to write an essay and express infographics like charts, diagrams, etc.
Scores: 1-9
Universities tend to have different cut-off scores; most universities try to look for 5.5 scores and above. Ivy League colleges and highly ranked institutions require higher scores; some institutions also look at students having scores higher than 8.
Conducted by
IDP- IELTS Australia, British Council, and Cambridge Assessment English.
Duration
Two hours and 45 minutes are the test duration.
Results
Results are received after 13 days from the date of examination.
TOEFL: Test of English as Foreign Language
Students mainly prefer TOEFL as an English language test. It is also referred to as TOEFL iBT, where iBT means internet-based test.
Which countries accept
It is widely accepted across Canada and the US and is widespread across 150 countries and 11,000 educational institutions. TOEFL stands valid in highly ranked universities in America, Canada, the UK, New Zealand and Australia. About 90% of the educational institutions in the USA use TOEFL scores as a standard measure.
Format
Listening and Reading tasks are similar to the IELTS test but with different time duration. To assess your speaking skills, you will be asked to present your opinion on any given topic and will be asked questions related to the same. The writing assessment needs you to draft an essay and again present your views.
Scores: 0-120
A good score falls anywhere between 90 and 100. However, there are many sub-categories present in this test, and many universities have their standard minimum score for each of these sub-categories.
Conducted by
ETS: Educational Testing Service
Duration
3 hours will be the test duration
Results
Results come six days from the date of examination.
PTE: Pearson Test of English
PTE is also a computer-based exam that uses Artificial Intelligence to arrive at an impartial and fair score similar to the TOEFL exam.
Which countries accept
Many counties, including New Zealand, the UK, Australia, accept the PTE scores.
Format
The writing and speaking skills will be judged based on essay writing, narrative skills, etc. The task to assess your listening skills is similar to TOEFL and IELTS tests. You will be given a text and have to answer multiple-choice questions, fill in the blanks, etc., to arrive at the score.
Scores: 10-90
Some reputable institutions will require a higher score of up to 70. While a PTE score of 58 and above will get you through most universities
Conducted by
Pearson PLC Group
Duration
The duration of the test is 3 hours.
Results
Results come two days from the date of examination. The declaration of these results is quicker than TOEFL and IELTS.
DUOLINGO
It is a computer-based test designed to assess real-world language ability by measuring Reading, Listening, Writing and Speaking skills. This exam is most famous for working, studying and migrating to English speaking countries like Canada and the US.
Which countries accept
Besides Canada and the US, the UK, Australia, and New Zealand accept Duolingo scores.
Format
The Duolingo English Test takes place as an online exam. Candidates can take this test on their personal computers from anywhere, anytime.
This test is adaptive, i.e. with every correct answer, the difficulty level of the test increases, and the next question becomes easier if your answer is wrong. There is also an upgraded section where candidates can take a 10 minutes video interview of themselves and record answers to open-ended questions.
Scores: 10-160
Proficiency is measured as a holistic score on a scale of 10- 160. The score received is complete and not a -wise section score. Usually, top courses require a score of more than 120.
Conducted by
Duolingo: https://englishtest.duolingo.com/
Duration
The exam takes about 1 hour to complete.
Results
Scores are received within 24 to 48 hours.
