IELTS General Exam & Classes

Which IELTS General Training band does your file need?

For the two files we see most from the UAE, it's 6 in every module. Canada's Express Entry counts CLB 7 as IELTS General Training 6.0 in each of reading, writing, listening and speaking. Australia's competent English for skilled visas is at least 6 in each of the four components.

Sources: Government of Canada, Express Entry language tests and Australian Department of Home Affairs, competent English.

Read the table one module at a time. A 7.5 in listening doesn't cover a 5.5 in writing, because each component has its own floor. Also check whether your target is the minimum or a higher score your consultant has asked for, and plan for that number.

How is General Training different from IELTS Academic?

Listening and Speaking are the same test. Reading and Writing aren't. So if you prepared for Academic once, your listening and speaking practice still counts, and the work is in the other two.

General Training Reading uses everyday and workplace texts: notices, adverts, a staff handbook, then one longer passage. Writing Task 1 is a letter, where Academic candidates describe a graph or a diagram. Task 2 is an essay in both versions, though the General Training topics tend to be closer to daily life.

If a university admission is part of your plan, the IELTS Academic course is the right page instead. Still deciding between the two? The IELTS preparation overview sets them side by side.

How do you write a Task 1 letter that scores well?

Start by deciding who you're writing to. That one choice sets the tone for the whole letter, and getting it wrong is where many candidates lose marks.

• Formal: to someone you don't know, such as a property agency about a deposit that hasn't come back. Open with Dear Sir or Madam and close with Yours faithfully.
• Semi formal: to someone you know in a professional way, such as your manager asking to change your shift. Use their name and keep it polite and direct.
• Informal: to a friend, inviting them to visit you in Dubai. Contractions and a warmer tone are fine here.

The question always gives three bullet points. Cover all three, each in its own paragraph, and state the purpose of the letter in your first two lines. Write at least 150 words. Fewer costs you marks, and much more leaves less time for Task 2, which carries more of the writing score.

One habit to drop: office phrases like kindly do the needful or please revert back. They're common in UAE workplaces, but an examiner reads them as unnatural English.

What does the test cost, and where do you sit it in the UAE?

IDP UAE charges AED 1,590 for IELTS General Training on computer, or AED 1,750 on computer with writing on paper. IELTS for UKVI is AED 1,680. If you miss your target in one module only, IDP's One Skill Retake lets you resit just that module for AED 1,000.

Those are the test centre's fees and they can change, so confirm them when you book. The point for planning is simple: one full resit costs more than our full course, so it's cheaper to sit the test once you're ready.

Test centres operate in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and other cities. If you're outside Dubai, see IELTS in Abu Dhabi or IELTS in Sharjah for local booking details. For an Australian file, book a centre test rather than an at-home one.

Should you take the full course or the targeted one?

Take the full course (AED 1,038) if it's your first attempt, or if you're more than two bands short in any module. Take the targeted course (AED 862) if you've sat IELTS before and your result card shows one or two modules just below the line.

A typical targeted case: 6.5 in listening and reading, 6.0 in speaking, 5.5 in writing, and a Canadian file that needs 6.0 everywhere. There's no point paying to relearn reading strategy. The hours go on letters, essays and the grammar slips that keep writing at 5.5.

Not sure where you stand? Put your practice scores into the IELTS band score calculator, then bring the result to the demo. If your consultant wants 7 or more, read what band 7 takes for UAE candidates first.

Where do candidates in the UAE usually lose marks?

Mostly in writing, and mostly in ways your first language explains. That's good news, because a pattern can be fixed on purpose.

• Arabic speakers often drop is and are, add an extra pronoun ("the flat which I rented it") and run sentences together with and. In speaking, p and b can blur.
• Hindi and Urdu speakers tend to use the continuous tense where English wants the simple one ("I am working here since five years") and leave out a and the.
• Malayalam and Tamil speakers often keep statement word order in questions, which shows up in speaking Part 3.
• Tagalog speakers sometimes mix up he and she, because Filipino has one pronoun for both.

Then there's the problem nobody expects: people who use English all day at work. Fluent, yes. But workplace English in Dubai is full of shortcuts that an IELTS examiner won't credit, and long answers that never quite answer the question.

How does preparation fit around a UAE working week?

Thirty minutes at a fixed slot, in Gulf Standard Time, that you can actually keep. Early morning before a site shift, a lunch break, or late evening once the children are asleep. Pick one and protect it.

You write your letter or essay before class. The class goes on what went wrong in it, and you rewrite the weak paragraph while the trainer watches. Speaking is practised live, with follow up questions, so Part 3 doesn't come as a shock.

• A recording and written notes after every class, to replay on the metro or before bed.
• Speaking prompts between classes from the IELTS speaking questions page.
• Essay practice on the IELTS Writing Task 2 page.
• Timed mocks, so you book the test when the numbers say you're ready.

A plan runs for its stated length from activation and unused sessions lapse, so choose a slot you'll keep. If IELTS isn't required for your route, PTE preparation is the other common option. All prices are on the AED fee page.

IELTS General Training Course Fees (AED)

Two ways in, both taught one to one online. The test fee is separate and goes to the test centre.

Each class is a 30 minute live one to one session. A plan runs for its stated length from activation and unused sessions lapse. Every IELTS fee is also listed on the AED fee page.