IELTS: Your gateway to the world

Ever wished to migrate to Australia, Canada, New Zealand, USA or the UK? If yes, you make a mental checklist of the university or office you need to apply to, find a place to live, apply for a visa.
But hold on, there's also the English language proficiency test to be considered. Providing proof of your language proficiency is an important step in obtaining an access to the destinations mentioned.
For starters, governments and organisations have to be sure that an immigrant can communicate and function successfully in a new environment. Secondly, language proficiency is strongly related to people's ability to integrate into their new communities and the workplaces.
 If you are considering going abroad for either work or study, the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) is the world's most popular English language proficiency test for higher education and global migration, with over 3.5 million tests taken in the last year alone.
Established in 1989, IELTS is a standardised English language test designed for non-English speakers who wish to study, work and live in an English-speaking environment.
The IELTS exam is accepted by immigration authorities in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, USA, the UK and the Ministry of Education, UAE. Government agencies of these countries accept IELTS exam results as a valid measure of an applicant's English language proficiency, in the application for University programmes, citizenship or the status of permanent residence.
More than 10,000 organisations in 140 countries accept IELTS, including schools, universities, employers, immigration authorities and professional bodies. The test is not barely a means to go abroad, but also a tool to improve language skills, which are key to career success, and are considered a valuable asset today.
IELTS assesses all of your English skills - reading, writing, listening and speaking, and is designed to reflect how you will use English in real life situations - at university, at work, and for your new life abroad.
 Types of IELTS tests
There are currently five IELTS  tests: Academic, General Training and Life Skills, IELTS for UKVI (Academic), and IELTS for UKVI (General Training)
- IELTS Academic is intended for people applying for higher education or professional registration in an English speaking environment. It reflects some of the features of academic language and assesses whether you are ready to begin studying or training
- The IELTS General Training test is for those who are going to English speaking countries for secondary education, work experience or training programmes. It is also a requirement for migration to Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the UK. The test focuses on basic survival skills in broad social and workplace contexts.
- IELTS Life Skills, the test for UK Visas and Immigration, is appropriate if you wish to immigrate to or obtain citizenship in the United Kingdom.
There are various parameters for assessing your spoken English. If you are a work visa applicant, you must achieve either 'competent' English or 'vocational' English language skills, which means you will have to be prepared for more than basic conversational English.
Everyone loves choice. We have made it easier and more convenient for you to take your IELTS test with more than 40 locations across the UAE. You can now take your test on a computer in multiple locations. When you take IELTS on a computer at one of our official test venues, you get:
-More test dates to choose from
-More venues to choose from
-More flexibility
-Your results will be available really quick in 5-7 days.
To understand the format of the test and to know what support is available for test takers with the British Council, visit: www.britishcouncil.ae/en/exam/ielts/prepare

• Supplements