Are you looking for more IELTS Preparation material?

Become an IELTS Speaking Preparation Tutor ebook by James Hogan is now available. 

(James Hogan is the author of 'Become an English Language Conversation Tutor' ebook now in its 2nd Edition)

Featuring advice on how to run a private IELTS speaking lesson, several exercises that can help students with pronunciation problems and 10 whole IELTS speaking practice pages to keep you going.

You can order it online here for only $AU9.95 and the 40 page ebook will be emailed to you within 24 hours.

The University of Cambridge, British Council and IDP:IELTS Australia manage this system jointly.
The IELTS exam contains tests on listening, reading, writing and speaking.

In Australia it is very important to get a good score in your IELTS exam as it could mean the difference between being accepted into a university or not.

The IELTS exam mark is also required to be able to apply for permanent residency in Australia. It is referred to when applying for a job and can also be useful in applying for certain visas.

As the IELTS mark is an overall mark encompassing the 4 major areas of communication, it is more comprehensive than TOEIC which does not test speaking. (Note to this. I believe there have been changes to the TOEIC test and the new TOEIC includes a short test on speaking)

It's quite possible to be absolutely brilliant in English language grammar and writing and still fail the IELTS test because your listening and speaking skills are bad.

The hardest part for many people is the speaking section. While it is possible to scrape through with a 6 or even a 7 in other sections, it is extremely difficult to get more than a 5 in the speaking section.

A great guide to IELTS, the IELTS Handbook, can be downloaded for free from the IELTS site here. (Right click on the link and choose save) The IELTS Handbook gives example questions and explains how the test is run. The main IELTS site is here.

As well as the handbook, there are many other sites online that can help you with IELTS. Here is a summary of some of the best.

Useful Free IELTS Preparation links:

IELTS Speaking Practice. This page is a page from the ebook Become an IELTS Preparation Tutor by James Hogan and features an example speaking test. Questions from this speaking test are similar to those asked in IELTS exams in early 2008 in Australia.

New IELTS essays questions writing preparation ebook - Adult English School have released a writing guide for students doing the IELTS general exam. It features 10 letter questions and 10 essay questions plus answers. The ebook is free for a limited time via the link above. If the link is no longer working, you can get it here: Adult English School Shop

Insearch IELTS features a free online video course that helps you study for IELTS.

IELTS Preparation Hints This chinese site has a great English Language summary on what you should do to help you prepare for the test.

IELTS online test practice This Russian site features a useful online IELTS exam for students to test themselves.

IELTS test Another online test

Holmesglen Features a very comprehensive guide to the IELTS exam. Download materials to help you practice in your own time.

Hong Kong Polytechnic University has a great IELTS test preparation guide and exam system online with LOTS of examples!

City University Hong Kong has some video lessons and downloadable materials for IELTS

IELTS essay template This page features a guide to how to set out your essay and is useful for the IELTS examination.

For teachers
One Stop English IELTS preparation

If you're looking for private tutors to help you prepare for the IELTS exam, please visit Adult English School to find out how they can help you. Private IELTS tutors available around Australia and the world.