IELTS and Cambridge Exam comparison

Jan 30, 2012

IELTS vs Cambridge First Certificate and Advanced Exams


A question I often hear from students; "I want to take an English Language Exam but which one should I take? IELTS or Cambridge First Certificate (FCE)/ Advanced (CAE)?".  Well, there are many similarities and differences and I have put together what I think are the most important:

FCE and CAE


These are General English Exams. They not only test your General English, but a really good course should improve your all-round language skills.  They are a great way to develop your vocabulary, spoken fluency/ accuracy, writing and listening skills and your all-round confidence in English.  It's like taking a General English course with an aim to help you focus and get motivated.  Topics covered are very wide and can include The Environment, Love, Literature, Finding a job, Owning a pet, for example.  Marking is pass or fail with an added CEFR result (Common European Framework for Language Reference) such as B1 (Intermediate) if you don't get over 60% overall.  People consider the First Certificate as the level a student needs to function in an English speaking office environment.  First Certificate and Advanced Exams are valid for life and you can take an exam every 6 weeks.

IELTS


Conversely, IELTS is officially valid for only 2 years.  However, as an employer, I am always very happy to see a good IELTS result on an applicant's CV, even if it is 10 years old.  It still demonstrates a the person's language ability or, at least, their realistic potential. Naturally, a student isn't IELTS 7.5 one day and then 5.0 in 5 years time, particularly if he or she has stayed in the UK.  On the other hand, most Universities tend to be stricter and only accept IELTS if it has been taken within the last 2 years.

IELTS is much more limited in subject matter.  Subjects are academic and can include Sociology, History, Literature, Sciences, Architecture etc.  In short, anything that you study at University.

IELTS is not pass or fail, it is a sliding scale of achievement from 0 to 9.  Most Universities want 6.0 or more for a course that is theoretical in nature and 5.0 for a very practical one.  Masters degrees generally require 7.0 or higher.

I only recommend taking IELTS if the student has a clear reason to take it such as:

1.  "My potential employer needs me to get a 6.0 to start work."

2.  "My University needs me to get 7.5 for my Masters degree."

..otherwise, my advice is, to improve your English in all areas, choose Cambridge First Certificate or Advanced.

Also note that IELTS exam courses tend to teach you how to get the best score possible in the exam, rather than making you a better English speaker, listener, reader or writer.

In summary:

First Certificate and Advanced Exams

    • General English Exams.
    • Better for your overall fluency and confidence in English.
    • Pass or fail with a grade from A to C.
    • Added CEFR level grade.
    • Valid for life.
    • Wider range of topics.
    • An exam every 6 weeks.

IELTS exams

    • Valid for 2 years for University but longer in reality for employers.
    • Lots of exam dates - every 2 weeks.
    • Academic language - the English you need for a University degree.
    • Courses are very, very exam focused.

ICE is enrolling now for IELTS Exam Courses, Cambridge First Certificate Courses and Cambridge Advanced Exam courses for day and evenings.

Best of luck with your English!

Tim



Tags:
Category: news

Add Pingback

Please add a comment

You must be logged in to leave a reply. Login »

Category List


Tag List

english course london (12)
english grammar help (1)
english as a foreign language (3)
Recording vocabulary (3)
English grammar (4)
Vocabulary notebook (8)
reading tips (1)
IELTS (2)
making predictions (1)
Beautiful London (8)
Shopping in London (4)
pronuciation (3)
ILEC (1)
English tips (4)
Journalism classes London (1)
Journalism evening course London (1)
english study tips (1)
english grammar tips (1)
future tenses english (1)
Social programme (1)
Learning tips (10)
the shard (1)
Hello from Ally (1)
Learn English (15)
Somewhere to go London (3)
Listening in English (2)
Where to visit London (3)
Free english lessons (10)
English food (3)
grammar tips (1)
Islington Centre for English (6)
Events in London (1)
english grammar online (1)
Idiom (3)
Christmas in London (3)
English vocabulary (3)
Basic English mistakes (1)
Somewhere to visit London (1)
World Naked Bike Ride (1)
Cycling (1)
Adjective (2)
Journalism Masterclass (1)
New language (7)
Fun (1)
english review (1)
Francais (2)
past modal verbs (1)
efl (4)
defining relative clauses (1)
New vocabulary (4)
London Summer (7)
ICE (5)
English (1)
Journalism Course London (1)
english school (2)
Things to see in London (4)
Cool as a cucumber (1)
writing a mini saga (1)
Cambridge Exam Preparation (1)
Reading in English (1)
writing a mini-saga (1)
Covent Garden (1)
Halloween (2)
Tweed (1)
future tenses efl (1)
Attractions in London (1)
exams (1)
mini-saga (1)
Peaceful London (2)
things to do london (1)
London markets (4)
Polite questions (1)
london events (1)
Places to see in London (4)
Victoria park (1)
music festival London (1)
FCE (4)
Students (2)
Tourist tips (5)
Sport Journalism Course (1)
Historic moment (1)
student study tips (1)
free english grammar (2)
study tips (9)
study english (1)
Business English (1)
english courses london (1)
saga (1)
Relaxing London (4)
London Marathon (1)
Field day (1)
Things to do in London (6)
spelling (1)
english school online (1)
Insider info London (14)
London (5)
Winter in London (6)
the people's tower (1)
silent disco (1)
Barney Ronay (1)
New blog (1)
study english onlline (1)
Somewhere to visit (9)
english school london (12)
Vocabulary (11)
CAE (3)
music festivals uk (1)
Improve your vocabulary (5)
Journalist Course London (1)
Learn english online (12)
grammar (1)
past modals (1)
narrative voice (2)

Tag Cloud

World Naked Bike Ridespellingpronuciationnarrative voiceImprove your vocabularyStudentsexamsSomewhere to visitJournalist Course LondonJournalism Course LondonsagaLearn english onlineNew languagepast modal verbsEvents in LondonIslington Centre for EnglishNew blogstudy englishHistoric momentwriting a mini-sagaFrancaisVocabularyenglish school londonPeaceful LondonJournalism evening course LondonBeautiful Londondefining relative clausesPolite questionsmini-sagaChristmas in LondonSomewhere to visit LondonFree english lessonsmaking predictionsEnglish vocabularypast modalsLearning tipsmusic festivals ukgrammarICEenglish course londonstudy tipswriting a mini sagaReading in EnglishLondon marketsenglish school onlineenglish reviewgrammar tipsthings to do londonCool as a cucumberField dayCyclingLondonthe people's towerCAEIdiomNew vocabularyVocabulary notebookTourist tipsmusic festival LondonBasic English mistakesEnglishstudy english onllineenglish as a foreign languageCambridge Exam PreparationLondon MarathonJournalism classes LondonFunenglish study tipsInsider info Londonenglish grammar onlineRecording vocabularyenglish grammar helpHello from AllyTweedreading tipsJournalism Masterclasslondon eventsLearn EnglishWhere to visit Londonfree english grammarenglish schoolLondon Summerenglish courses londoneflCovent GardenAttractions in LondonAdjectivestudent study tipsfuture tenses eflEnglish tipsfuture tenses englishEnglish foodHalloweenSport Journalism CourseBusiness EnglishPlaces to see in LondonShopping in LondonRelaxing LondonListening in EnglishSocial programmeenglish grammar tipsthe shardIELTSBarney RonayThings to do in LondonEnglish grammarFCEWinter in Londonsilent discoSomewhere to go LondonILECThings to see in LondonVictoria park


Archive