• What is IELTS?

IELTS is the International English Language Testing System, which tests English proficiency across the globe. Conducting two million tests in the past year, IELTS is the world’s most popular high stakes English language proficiency test.

• Which organisationss accept IELTS?

IELTS is accepted by more than 8,000 organisations worldwide. These include universities, immigration departments, government agencies, professional bodies, and multinational companies.

• Who owns IELTS and who writes the test?

IELTS is jointly owned by British Council, IDP: IELTS Australia, and Cambridge English Language Assessment, and offered through more than 900 test centres and locations in over 130 countries. International teams of writers contribute to IELTS test materials. Ongoing research ensures that IELTS remains fair and unbiased. Test writers from different English-speaking countries develop IELTS content so it reflects real-life situations.

• Why are there two versions of the test?

IELTS has two versions – Academic and General Training. The Academic test is for those who want to study at a tertiary level in an English-speaking country. The General Training test is for those who want to do work experience or training programs, secondary school, or migrate to an English-speaking country. All candidates take the same Listening and Speaking tests but different Reading and Writing tests.

• Which version should I do?

Read the explanation of the Academic and General Training tests, and then contact the organisation or institution to which you are applying to find out what it requires. Note that you must know which version to take when you complete the IELTS Application Form.

• What is the test format and how long will it take?

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.

• What help is available for candidates with disabilities?

Test centres make every effort to cater for the special needs of candidates with disabilities. It is our aim for all candidates to be assessed fairly and objectively. If you have a special need, talk to your local test centre when registering. Centres may need three months to organise arrangements.

• Where can I take IELTS?

You can take IELTS in over 900 locations worldwide. IELTS centres have friendly, helpful staff who will help you with the registration process.

• How do I register for the test? 
  

• IELTS candidates should go to  IELTS Registration Website. Then select Iran for country and the related test location and create a profile on this website.

  • All personal details must be entered as they appear on your Passport / National ID Card.
  • Candidates are responsible to ensure their details are entered correctly.
  • IAU IELTS does not take any responsibilities for wrong information on Test Report Form (TRF) caused by the candidates’ typos.

  • For payment, please select offline payment. You will be directed to IAU IELTS website payment page. You can complete your payment by submitting the form and making online payment. You have up to 24 hours from the time of reservation to make online payment.  After this allotted time, your test reservation will be cancelled. You will receive a registration confirmation email within three days after your successful payment.

• If you want your results to be sent automatically to a university or educational institution, include the correct details on the IELTS Application Form. 
• Once you have registered, the test centre will confirm your IELTS test date, time and venue. Please note the Speaking test can be up to 7 days before the test date or on the test dat.
• On the test day, you must bring the both passport and national identity card.

•  What if I need to postpone or cancel my application?

If you postpone or cancel your application more than five weeks before the test date, you will receive a refund minus an administration charge. If you postpone or cancel within five weeks of the test date, you will be charged the full fee unless you have a serious medical reason. If you provide a medical certificate within five days of the test date, you will receive a refund minus the administrative cost. Please note, this does not apply to minor illnesses.

• What if I am absent or sick on the test day?

If you are away on the test day with no prior notice, you will lose your full fee. However, in cases of serious illness, if you provide a medical certificate within five days of the test date, you will receive a refund minus the local administrative cost.

• Is the IELTS test completed in one day?

The Listening, Reading, and Writing components of the test are always completed immediately after each other and with no break. Depending on the test centre, the Speaking test may be taken up to seven days before the test date or on the test day.

• What if I am delayed by circumstances beyond my control (e.g.,  a transport strike)?

The test centre may offer you a test on the next available test date.

• What can I bring into the examination room?

Only pencils, and erasers. You must bring the passport and national identity card to the test. You must leave everything else outside the examination room. Mobile phones and pagers must be switched off and placed with personal belongings in the area designated by the supervisor. If you do not switch off your phone/pager or keep it on you, you will be disqualified.

• Which part do I take first?

You do the Listening test first followed by the Reading and Writing components of the test. Depending on the test centre, the Speaking test may be taken up to seven days before the test date or on the test date.

• What kinds of accents can be heard in the Listening and Speaking tests?

As IELTS is an international test, a variety of English accents is used in both of these tests.

• Does the Listening tape provide instructions and pauses?

Yes. At the beginning, you hear instructions and a sample question. Then you read the questions in section 1, listen to section 1 and answer the questions. The same procedure follows for sections 2, 3, and 4. In the final 10 minutes, you will transfer your answers onto the answer sheet.

• Is there a similar period of 10 minutes in the Reading test to transfer answer?

No. The Reading test is one hour, and you must write all your answers on the answer sheet in this time.

• Can I use a pen for IELTS test?

No. You must use pencil. The answer sheet is scanned by a computer, which cannot read pen.

• Can I make notes on the Listening and Reading question papers?

Yes. The IELTS Examiner will not see your question paper.

• What is the Speaking test?

The Speaking test is a conversation with a certified IELTS Examiner. The Speaking test is made up of three sections. It is recorded on an audiocassette or a digital recorder.

• What do I need for the Speaking test?

You must bring your passport and National ID card used for the rest of the test. Your ID will be checked before you enter the interview room.

• Did you know?

1- IELTS enjoys a unique partnership of 3 international organisations; The British Council, IDP: IELTS Australia and Cambridge English Language Assessment. Whilst British Council and IDP: IELTS Australia manage the test delivery, examiner management, result processing, compliance and other centre related aspects, Cambridge Assessment is involved in research, test development and paper despatch to all IELTS centres. Since the paper production and despatch are controlled by one IELTS partner, the standard of the test is the same regardless of the location you choose to sit for your test. It also brings consistency in the approach we undertake in assessing you on your language skill.

2- IELTS Examiners worldwide are supported by the IELTS Professional Support Network; a system of recruitment, training, standardisation and monitoring of examiners. The Professional Support Network is jointly managed by the British Council and IDP: IELTS Australia. As IELTS partners, British Council and IDP: IELTS Australia also shares examiners in many centres and locations and our standardised Professional Support Network helps us to
penetrate this practice across various locations.

3- It’s crucial to achieve better scores in each IELTS sections (listening, reading, writing and speaking) to get a good overall score. One of the best practices is to put in more time in improving your weaker skills that could lead to a higher overall score.

4- Learning a language is a life changing experience. Like developing any other skill, English language enhancement requires a continuous effort that should be put in practice. That will only make you better and help you improve your
test.

5- IELTS examiners follow set criteria and are trained to assess your speaking skills on four indicators; lexical resource, grammar, fluency and pronunciation. Any opinions or views shared by you don’t form part of the speaking marking criteria.

6- Writing assessments are carried out by trained and certified IELTS examiners. The examiners work to clearly defined criteria and are subject to extensive and detailed quality control procedures, including regular monitoring on their marking to ensure IELTS is fair to all.

7- IELTS maintains highest level of security in data protection and due to this and as part of our commitment to be fair to all our test takers, IELTS centres are not allowed to either discuss or share your previous IELTS scores with examiners who are assigned to mark your current test performance. IELTS Professional Support Network system also ensures that the marking is up to standard and it accurately reflects your performance on a particular test
day.

8- IELTS strictly follows a distributed marking policy. This practice  ensures that:

• - Your IELTS writing and speaking are marked by different examiners
• - Your IELTS writing task 1 and writing task 2 are marked by two different examiners
• - Your IELTS Listening and Reading are marked by certified markers, who don’t get involved in either writing or speaking assessment.

The above mandatory practice ensures that your performance is assessed by at least 4 different examiners and markers who do not have access to your scores on other sections, as part of the distributed marking rule.