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All
  • All
  • All about IELTS
  • All about PTE
  • All about TOEFL
  • Career in the US
  • Choose your country wisely
  • English excellence
  • Expense calculator
  • Home away from home
  • IELTS listening
  • IELTS reading
  • IELTS speaking
  • IELTS writing
  • International student life
  • Opportunities in Australia
  • Opportunities in New Zealand
  • Scholarships
  • Study & career in Canada
  • Study abroad
  • Test Preparation
  • Uncategorized
  • Visa filing for a smooth transition
English Idioms: A Fun and Fascinating Dive into Expression

English Idioms: A Fun and Fascinating Dive into Expression

Have you ever been caught off guard when someone says, “It’s raining cats and dogs”? Or perhaps you’ve wondered why people say, “Break a leg” to wish someone good luck? ...
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Breaking News: Starting July, Australia to increase the limit on work hours for foreign students; allow post-study work right extension

The Australian government has recently increased the permissible cap of work hours from 40 hours to 48 hours per fortnight for international students, along with the post-study ‘stay and work’ ...
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Get proficiency in English to study abroad with touchstone

Excellent spoken English cannot be ignored if you desire to settle or study abroad. The English language is the most important factor that determines your eligibility for a study abroad ...
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Tips to improve your spoken English

The most engaging and rewarding part of learning English is practicing speaking. Once you start speaking the language, there are numerous ways to enhance your skills in a satisfaction filled ...
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Build up your ability to think in english – expert tips

Translating your very own language into English is useful up to a point. Yet, to really learn English,   you should think in English. But here arises a major problem – ...
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Gear up to enhance your english speaking skills

Think like a wise man but communicate in the language of the people.’ William Butler Yeats You may have remembered unlimited arrangements of vocabulary, you may know all the language ...
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General English

English and Society In today’s society good English communication has become a source of respect. A person with good English communication earns a lot of respect and acceptability in social ...
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Spoken English

Good English speaking ability is an absolute necessity to be successful in personal and professional life. Speaking good English is no longer a matter of choice, good English communication skills ...
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Interview Preparation

Start on time Being called for a job interview is the second step towards an individual’s aspiration of getting a dream job. Preparing to face the interview panel with confidence ...
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Listening

The IELTS Listening test consists of four recordings (four parts) from native English speakers with ten (10) questions in each recording (part).

Recording 1: an everyday social conversation between two people

Recording 2: a monologue set in an everyday social context

Recording 3: an educational conversation with upto four people

Recording 4: a monologue on an academic subject

Listening test scores will be based on your ability to understand the main ideas,
factual information, opinions, attitude and purpose of the speaker and your ability
to follow the development of ideas.

No. of questions: 40 Marks:

each question is worth one (1) mark

Total time: 30 minutes (+ 2 minutes review time )

Speaking

The IELTS Speaking test assesses your pronunciation, grammar, accuracy, fluency and lexical resources while speaking English. There are three (3) parts to this test, with each part fulfilling a specific function in terms of task input, interaction pattern and the test taker’s output.

Part 1: Introduction & Interview This part includes general questions about the test taker like residence, work,family, interests, etc.

Part 2: Long Run Cue cards are shared on a particular topic and one (1) minute will be given to prepare to speak for upto two (2) minutes on the topic.

Part 3: Discussion This part gives you the opportunity to discuss the topic from the cue card in further detail, in a more general and abstract way

Total time: 11-14 minutes

Reading

The IELTS Reading test is designed to test a wide range of reading skills including reading for skimming, details, gist, understanding arguments and writer’s opinions,attitude and purpose

IELTS Academic Reading – It includes three (3) reading passages (with a variety of questions) ranging from descriptive and factual to discursive and analytical. These passages are of general interest dealing with interesting and recognizably appropriate issues, with at least one passage containing a detailed logical argument

Note: The reading texts may contain non-verbal materials as well like graphs, diagrams or illustrations.

IELTS General Reading – It includes three (3) daily passages (with 2-3 short texts in the first passage, 2 texts in the second passage and 1 long text in the third passage), based on an English-speaking environment, from notices, newspapers, magazines or advertisements.

Reading passage 1: texts based on social survival, like advertisements, notices and timetables

Reading passage 2: texts based on workplace survival, like contracts, job descriptions, staff development & training material

Reading passage 3: texts based on general reading, involving more extended prose and a complex structure.

No. of questions: 40

Marks: each question is worth one (1) mark

Total time: 60 minutes (no additional transfer time)

Note: Please note that the question types in the Listening & Reading sections can include multiple choice answers, true or false answers, matching information/headings or sentence, table & flow-chart completion.

Listening

The IELTS Listening test consists of four recordings (four parts) from native English speakers with ten (10) questions in each recording (part).

Recording 1: an everyday social conversation between two people

Recording 2: a monologue set in an everyday social context

Recording 3: an educational conversation with upto four people

Recording 4: a monologue on an academic subject

Listening test scores will be based on your ability to understand the main ideas,
factual information, opinions, attitude and purpose of the speaker and your ability
to follow the development of ideas.

No. of questions: 40 Marks:

each question is worth one (1) mark

Total time: 30 minutes (+10 minutes transfer time)