You have just completed your pre-university programme and want to enrol for degree in a world-class university. You’ve fulfilled every requirement and prepared the necessary documents, but stopped short when you noticed that you needed to obtain at least Band 3 in the IELTS Malaysia exam. Then you scratched your head and thought, ‘what on earth is an IELTS Malaysia test? Isn’t my 1119 English language paper in SPM sufficient?’ 

Whether you’ve just completed SPM, pre-university studies or diploma, you will see plenty of universities use this as an entry requirement.

What is IELTS?

The International English Language Testing System (IELTS) is, no doubt, the most popular English proficiency test in the world and is a benchmark of the highest standard. Obtaining a good score can open doors of opportunity for you to study at renowned universities, land a job or even migrate overseas! IELTS has built its reputation globally with 28 years of establishment and more than 2.5 million tests taken in 2016 alone. With this English language certificate, the university will be able to gauge your ability to converse in English.

How is the IELTS Malaysia Test Structured?

You will be equipped with the necessary knowledge and skills as you will be required to undergo the test in various facets of the English language, learning how to speak, read, write and listen attentively. The IELTS exam Malaysia is divided into four parts and graded at each level. The average IELTS results make up the overall band score between one (new user) to nine (excellent user). It is also possible to get a .5 score as well, for instance, 4.5, 6.5 and so on.

Reading

Candidates are only allotted 60 minutes to complete the reading section that consists of 40 questions. These are categorised into different parts such as objective questions, identifying and matching information, completing sentences, etc.

Writing

The writing test is divided into two tasks. You are required to write a short report based on the graphic given in the first task. You are then tasked to write an argumentative essay and some supportive points for the second part.

Listening

It may be difficult to understand the way non-Malaysians speak English, but in this section, you will have train your ears as they will test how attentive you are. During the 30 minutes, you have to listen to every little detail and mark down the answers on your answer sheet.

Speaking 

Again, this part is broken down to three different subcategories, namely Parts I, II and III. In the first part, you will be able to show off your speaking skills by having a real life one-to-one conversation with the examiner. You have only five precious minutes to impress the examiner with your fluency in mastering the language. In this part, you’ll be introducing yourself and providing a brief answer to the question you are given. Part Two requires you to give a speech for only two minutes about a given topic while part 3 is a follow-up question to the topic in Part Two where you will have to analyse it and give your opinion.

Why Do We Need IELTS

• Recognised worldwide
• Accurate test to gauge your English language competency
• Entry requirement to study abroad and apply for scholarships
• Improve your English language
• Standard qualification for all international students
• Open more job opportunities

How do I apply for IELTS Exam

The British Council Malaysia is currently providing a free English course online including IELTS practice test that will be extremely helpful when preparing to take tests in English for beginners. The British Council Kuala Lumpur’s IELTS preparation course will help you learn strategies to improve your scores, receive plenty of practice and feedback on each module and is able to improve your competency in the language. You may register at the IELTS registration Malaysia site or British Council IELTS website here

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