For example, if a student has a level of band 4.5 (pre-intermediate) research indicates that to increase his or her score by 1 band level, he or she will need to study for a minimum of 12 weeks. So if a student needs a 6.5 or higher, we’re talking about at least 6 months’ study.
However, this duration is for the most dedicated students and most people cannot devote entire days or weeks to studying English, especially if they work, have children and other time-consuming responsibilities.
The average student will need about 120 hours of study (CEFR) to go from pre-intermediate to intermediate and then a further 120 hours to advance to upper-intermediate.
And when we say 120 hours of study, this is not exposure to English, it is focused attention on grammar, vocabulary, reading and writing skills, not to mention speaking and comprehension. In this scenario, we're talking about a year or more and it is essential that English teachers are honest with students.
Students can achieve advanced language skills but it takes time and to tell prospective students otherwise is misleading and just gives language schools a bad name.
Many students need IELTS for emigration purposes. Their dream is to emigrate to a country where they believe their children will have a more satisfying and secure future. This is a wonderful thing to do for your children but the governments of the countries that accept immigrants all require an advanced level in English.
The main reason for this is to ensure that people emigrating to the country integrate and contribute to society, both financially and morally. Other students need IELTS for university study and generally need a 6.5 or higher, depending on the institution.
Studying in an English-speaking country is a dream come true for so many but universities are obliged to ensure applicants can express themselves sufficiently well to meet their academic requirements, which are generally highly challenging.
Whatever your reason for studying IELTS, you are investing in your future and it is sensible and realistic to see this as a long-term project and not something that can be done in a couple of months.
Some students believe that there are certain strategies and tricks that can help them achieve the band they need and the right teacher will be able to provide this. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Whilst teachers can train a student to address the questions, complete the tasks, read the instructions and complete the exam to the requirements of IELTS examiners and markers, if a student has a level of band 4 or 5, they will not be able to achieve a band 6 or a 7 through test-taking strategies alone.
If these strategies did allow a student with a pre-intermediate student to achieve a band 7, the exam would be useless and governments, universities, and other organizations would stop using it.
Jake Borland
Jake Borland is an experienced English teacher with 20 years in the field. As the co-founder and Marketing Manager of Speak English Institute, he is dedicated to delivering high-quality education both in-person and online. Jake’s passion lies in helping students improve their English skills through engaging and effective learning experiences.