This update came from Africa about a recent IELTS exam. This is what Y remembers about the test in general and about the topics and the questions in particular:
“It was my first time taking the exam and personally, I dont believe it is a valid exam to assess your command of English. To me TOEFL seems more valid.
Listening test
Section 1: a professor providing information about a university, location, financial aid, etc.
Section 2: a women lost her property in the train, etc.
Section 3: fishing in the State of Alaska.
Section 4: how plants move from place to place.
Writing test
Writing task 1 (report)
We had charts about absenteeism from work, a case study done in Europe for three years.
Writing task 2 (essay)
The essay was about economical and social pressure on children.
Speaking test
– Do you drive a car?
– Do you like to party?
– How do you arrange a party?
– Do you travel a lot?
Here I must say that I was amazed by these questions and how irrelevant they are to my country. Parties and driving a car are rare in my country because of the poverty and other issues. Few people drive a car, especially students, may be less than 1% of us drive. The same applies to parties, for cultural and economy reasons we dont have many parties.”
