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Simone Braverman

Simone Braverman is the founder of IELTS-Blog.com and the author of several renowned IELTS preparation books, including Ace the IELTS, Target Band 7, the High Scorer's Choice practice test series, and IELTS Success Formula. Since 2005, Simone has been committed to making IELTS preparation accessible and effective through her books and online resources. Her work has helped 100,000's of students worldwide achieve their target scores and live their dream lives. When Simone isn't working on her next IELTS book, video lesson, or coaching, she enjoys playing the guitar or rollerblading.

IELTS exam in Saudi Arabia – May 2009 (General Training)

Thanks to O from Saudi Arabia we know that their IELTS was exactly like the exam in India (except the Speaking part, of course). Here is what O was asked about:

Speaking test

Interview

– Your full name?
– What do you do ? What is your job?
– Do you use any machine in your job?
– Do you use computers widely in your job?
– Do people in your home town still use bicycles?
– Do you use bicycle yourself?
– Tell me something about some news you’ve recently heard.

Cue card

Talk about a person whom you know as a good cook, you should say:
– Who is that person?
– When and how did you get to know him/her ?
– Why do you believe he/she is a good cook?

Discussion

– Do you think cooking should be taught at schools?
– What affects producing of food world wide?
– Do you think Food industry in your home country provides healthy food?
– Do you agree or disagree that food should be provided at schools?

Easier IELTS exams: at IDP or at British Council?

Thanks to those who replied to my previous post about IDP and British Council, we’ve found out that students think there is a difference.

For example, in Vietnam, according to an IELTS Tutor Laura (not a real name) and her students, British Council scores tend to be at least 0.5 or 1.0 lower than those of IDP. According to some of Laura’s students, IDP favors students who have taken the IDP IELTS preparation course by giving them higher speaking and writing grades. Laura thinks that this could also be due to the fact that students feel more comfortable with the examiners they already know, especially during the speaking test.

Laura’s friends also said that IDP’s reading questions seemed more straightforward; the students felt they were easier than the Cambridge past papers and practice tests. On the other hand, she personally took the exam at the British Council and felt absolutely no bias on the examiner’s side – but she hadn’t had the chance to compare it to IDP.

So there you go, people in India and Vietnam think that IDP gives easier exams than the British Council does – especially if you participate in a preparation course.