International English Language Testing System (IELTS)
What is IELTS?
IELTS is an English language proficiency test used by more than 8,000 organisations globally to determine your language skills. There are two different IELTS test modules, Academic module (for those who wish to study in an English speaking country) and General Training module (for those who wish to work/immigrate to an English speaking country). The exam is divided into three sections: listening, reading, writing and speaking.
Time: 2 hours and 45 minutes
Cost: Rs 8900
Frequency: The exam takes place on 48 fixed dates throughout the year at various test centres in the city
FORMAT
Listening: 30 minutes
Reading: 60 minutes
Writing: 60 minutes
Speaking: 11 to 14 minutes
Section 1: Listening
Section 2: Reading
Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCS)
MOOCs have fundamentally altered the education that was being imparted, and engineered a global shift in the scope, blurring the limitations which so distinctly existed only yesterday. Geographical boundaries have been bulldozed, and attending a class in Political Science offered by MIT is eminently possible. There is a critical difference which delineates this bunch of resources from your regular animated curriculum material – the experience is engrossing and augmented by social interaction, thus enabling features such as peer-reviewed papers.
Aniket Parikh, a second year student of Mining Engineering at IIT Kanpur, opines, “I believe that even though e-learning definitely has long-term potential in India, the right way to go about it is systematically via establishment of prerequisite infrastructure and distribution conduits.” Indians are the second largest group registering on e-learning websites, which is testimony to the growing influence of online education and sustained shift towards a more refined approach to intellectual stimulation. Anant Agarwal, president of edX, a not-for-profit Harvard-MIT joint venture, was the benefactor of $60 million in funding to host a huge basket of lectures from the colleges online, believes that MOOCs are “the single biggest change in education since the printing press.” The influence of these resources is further amplified by the inability of a substantial number of major universities in offering simultaneous dual degrees. In the 21st century where one is expected to possess a working knowledge of every element and field one interacts with during the course of his professional work, such monolithic systems are strenuous and counterproductive.
There should be a clear move towards encouraging enrolling for dual undergraduate courses simultaneously. An upcoming field is patent lawsuits, for which one needs to be familiar with the finer nuances of law and technology. Unfortunately, this is a field dominated by lawyers with absolutely no knowledge of the technical intricacies. Rather, an engineer or lawyer resorts to online MOOCs to gain familiarity with the opposite field as the university still seems reluctant to enforce these reforms. Mumbai University’s decision to allow technical degrees to be pursued in conjunction with legal qualifications must be applauded in this light.
Do the following statements agree with the information given in the passage?
TRUE – if the statement agrees with the information
FALSE – if the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN – if there is no information on this
Q2. Indians are not keen on using e-learning websites.
Q3. edX was given $60 million to hold lectures in Indian classrooms.
Section 3: Writing
Academic Writing
The chart below shows male and female fitness membership between 1970 and 2000.
Q4. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.
Write at least 150 words.
General Writing
Q5. The increase in social media dependency in recent years has transformed the way we live, communicate and do business. Do you think social media has more advantages that disadvantages?
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.
Write at least 250 words.
Section 4: Speaking
Q6. Describe something some healthy habits you have incorporated in your lifestyle.
You will have around 2 minutes to speak on the subject. The examiner will not interrupt you for questioning.
ANSWERS:
Q2. False
Q3. False
Q4. Divide your response into: introduction, body text and conclusion. Analyse the figures in the chart to highlight your points. For example, there has been a drastic decrease in the number of male gym members between 1995 and 2000 (from 5000 members to 2000 members)
Q5. Your writing should be clear, concise and grammatically correct. Avoid repetition of ideas and do not bullet your responses; write your essay in paragraph form.
Q6. Your response should be well-structured and grammatically correct. If you are unsure of the meaning or pronunciation of a word, avoid using it.
