Help choosing the right English test

Hi
I want to apply for a master and I'm required to take an English test to enter. I'm not worried that much because I already have a good knowledge of English (I think I'm between B2 and C1).
I have seen that they ask lots of certification such as CAE (grade C), IELTS 6.5, Pearson 61, Trinity College London ISE III and TOEFL IBT 88

Which one you would suggest me to take? As much as cost are concerned, from a quick search I found out that they cost pretty much the same (CAE, IELTS and TOEFL), Trinity is cheaper (about 30-40% less) and I couldn't find any info about Pearson (actually I didn't know it existed until now lol)
So, if I have to choose to save some money I could go with the Trinity test but I want to know from you your opinions and suggestions about strength and weakness about these tests.
Which one you would suggest me? Which one do you think it's easier to take?
Thank you :smile:

Reply 1

username4429376

OP

9

Hi
I want to apply for a master and I'm required to take an English test to enter. I'm not worried that much because I already have a good knowledge of English (I think I'm between B2 and C1).
I have seen that they ask lots of certification such as CAE (grade C), IELTS 6.5, Pearson 61, Trinity College London ISE III and TOEFL IBT 88

Which one you would suggest me to take? As much as cost are concerned, from a quick search I found out that they cost pretty much the same (CAE, IELTS and TOEFL), Trinity is cheaper (about 30-40% less) and I couldn't find any info about Pearson (actually I didn't know it existed until now lol)
So, if I have to choose to save some money I could go with the Trinity test but I want to know from you your opinions and suggestions about strength and weakness about these tests.
Which one you would suggest me? Which one do you think it's easier to take?
Thank you :smile:

Original post by cloud10

............

They aren't interchangeable, you need to take the one that the University you apply for requires. I think IELTS is the most popular. Don't save money, you may well end up paying twice, look for the Universities first, and that will tell you which you need.

Reply 3

username4429376

OP

9

Original post by threeportdrift

They aren't interchangeable, you need to take the one that the University you apply for requires. I think IELTS is the most popular. Don't save money, you may well end up paying twice, look for the Universities first, and that will tell you which you need.

The university I decide to apply ask for the tests I listed before : Cambridge, ielts , toefl , trinity and Person

(edited 4 years ago)

Original post by cloud10

The university I decide to apply ask for the tests I listed before : Cambridge, ielts , toefl , trinity and Person

Well, if you are only going to apply to one Uni, you can stick to what is cheapest that they accept. However, I thin IELTS is the most widely accepted/preferred if you apply to more than one institution.

Reply 5

username4429376

OP

9

Original post by threeportdrift

Well, if you are only going to apply to one Uni, you can stick to what is cheapest that they accept. However, I thin IELTS is the most widely accepted/preferred if you apply to more than one institution.

ielts, toefl and cambridge seem are the most requested. What test do you think is easier to achieve?

Original post by cloud10

ielts, toefl and cambridge seem are the most requested. What test do you think is easier to achieve?

Sorry, I've never sat any of them.

Reply 7

maresa_re

8

I'm only familiar with the IELTS and the TOEFL test. The main difference between those two is the speaking test. You got to decide if you prefer to talk to a computer (really awkward!) or you'd better talk to a real person instead. As for the TOEFL, the speaking section is part of the main test, you may find yourself in a room where at least one person is talking, through the entire test. Also, don't forget that the TOEFL is an American test (spelling!). While the TOEFL takes four hours to complete, the IELTS (without the speaking part I guess) will only take approximately two and a half hours. Question-wise, as far as I remember the TOEFL tends to have more multiple choice questions while the IELTS has a bigger range of questions which include gap-filling etc. What I would suggest is think about your strengths and your abilities to concentrate (for four hours/two and a half hours/in a quiet room/in a not so quiet room). Good luck! :smile:

Reply 8

999tigger

19

IELTS Academic for UK Vi.

If your are that bothered then you can look how the tests vary, but IELTS is more widely recognised/popular.

Reply 9

merigrey

8

Do you already live in UK or already have a visa? If not, you have to take IELTS UKVI or no visa.

Reply 10

username4429376

OP

9

Original post by merigrey

Do you already live in UK or already have a visa? If not, you have to take IELTS UKVI or no visa.

I'm eu citizen. I don't need a visa

Reply 11

merigrey

8

In that case no need to pay for UKVI version, the other is cheaper iirc.

Reply 12

username4429376

OP

9

Which one is the easier to get ?

OP

Anyone ???

Don't know what else to tell you but choose the one which suits you and your strengths best. There's not THE "easy one" for everyone.

Original post by cloud10

Anyone ???

Reply 15

PTMalewski

20

I did IELTS Academic with practically no preparations, just read a day before how does it looks like and got 7.5 overall which is an overkill for most if not all courses. Pretty easy.

My worst result was in writing, 6.5, mainly because I didn't practice and I made a mistake of writing in pencil. My hand quickly got tired, and it's not fully functional because of health condition. I've lost a lot of time because of this, essays were poorly structured and I had no time to check for mistakes. Still, got 6.5 for my writing.

Reply 16

username4429376

OP

9

Original post by PTMalewski

I did IELTS Academic with practically no preparations, just read a day before how does it looks like and got 7.5 overall which is an overkill for most if not all courses. Pretty easy.

My worst result was in writing, 6.5, mainly because I didn't practice and I made a mistake of writing in pencil. My hand quickly got tired, and it's not fully functional because of health condition. I've lost a lot of time because of this, essays were poorly structured and I had no time to check for mistakes. Still, got 6.5 for my writing.

That's good to hear
Did you have a previous high level of English ?

Reply 17

PTMalewski

20

Original post by cloud10

That's good to hear
Did you have a previous high level of English ?

A couple of years earlier I was a fluent speaker, but I was making a lot of grammar mistakes. Then I went on individual C1 course, after which I only practiced watching English TV shows adopting the phrases and imitating their pronunciation, then went through Raymond Murphy's 'English Grammar in Use'.
I didn't prepare for the test except watching a few vids about the speaking part, and reading on its formula, only watched several episodes of Poirot shortly before the test to switch my mind more into English. I got 9.0 for listening, 7.5 for speaking, 7.5 for reading and 6.5 for writing. If I had practiced the writing part before, it would have been much better.

To my experience with English in general, if your vocabulary is good, you know many language functions and most of the grammar tenses, the most tricky part are the modal verbs and structures such as to+verb and verb+ing (gerund) because the use of modal verbs does a lot of changes to the use of basic grammar tenses, while to+verb and gerund have specific, precise meanings and many exceptions.
For me, it was also initially difficult to distinguish between the use of past simple and present perfect, but that's because in my native language there are no such distinctive tenses and at the beginning, the difference didn't make any sense to me.

(edited 4 years ago)

Help choosing the right English test

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