Road to IELTS to prepare test-takers

By Divya Thotawatte

Road to IELTS Institutional Version, the online test preparation tool developed by the British Council in collaboration with ClarityEnglish, was launched yesterday at the British Council.

Road to IELTS is an online preparation and practice resource for the IELTS designed to help test-takers improve their proficiency in English and to enable teachers to better prepare test candidates. This online tool was launched for the first time in Sri Lanka exclusively through the British Council IELTS Registration Centre network and it can be accessed from anywhere using desktops, tablets and mobile phones as well.

Road to IELTS is an all-inclusive and up-to-date practice resource developed in order to address the challenges faced by IELTS candidates and it consists of four key resources for each skill area, namely Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking and begins with an eBook introducing each paper and explains task types. Advice, tutorial videos by experts and a practice zone where candidates can simulate the test experience with mock tests are also included.

IELTS is the International English Language Testing System, the world’s most popular English language proficiency test for higher education and global migration with over three million tests taken in the last year. 

Over 10,000 organisations trust and accept IELTS as a secure, valid and reliable indicator of the ability to communicate in English for education, immigration and professional accreditation. IELTS is jointly owned by the British Council, IDP: IELTS Australia and Cambridge Language Assessment.

“IELTS is a critical test and the objective of British Council and ClarityEnglish is to help all IELTS candidates get the best possible IELTS score. Whether they want to work overseas or whether they want to go to a foreign university, good teachers and Road to IELTS can help them move one step forward toward that dream,” said ClarityEnglish Managing Director and registered IELTS examiner Andrew Stokes.

“Online learning allows a student to use all of those times of the day which are often lost. So sitting on public transport, maybe sitting in a café waiting for a friend, the second half of your lunch hour. Of course online learning means you can study wherever you are, not just at any time of the day but wherever you are. So you can be at school, in the classroom, in the library, you can even be outside sitting in the grass,” he added.

ClarityEnglish is a developer of tech-based learning materials for English and the recipient of the English-Speaking Union Innovation Award and the HKICT Award for Technical Excellence (Best Product) for Road to IELTS. Established in 1994, its relationship with British Council spans more than 20 projects.

“Our IELTS Registration Centre network spans the country. Many of them offer IELTS preparation support to test candidates and we are keen to support the partner network with quality tools for IELTS preparation. We understand that preparation is key to getting the desired results at the test,” said British Council Country Exams Manager Simon Creasey.

The online platform consists of more than 300 interactive exercises, 36 individual practice tests and 24 advice videos. Road to IELTS has several features, including a countdown clock, an IELTS score calculator, a timer for exam practice and downloadable study sheets. The My Progress function enables students to monitor performance, analyse their use of time, compare performance with other online users and even predict band scores in the Reading and Listening tests using an interactive widget.

An effective test preparation and teacher support which extends beyond the classroom can be obtained through Road to IELTS. Since its inception, Road to IELTS has concluded more than four million sessions and is utilised by over 1,000 schools and universities globally.

Pix by Ruwan Walpola