Today we’re going to look at what’s different between the IELTS and Cambridge
exams. This can give you a better idea of which exam is the right one for you!
Hi, I’m Anna from English like a Native dot com and welcome to my series on exam
preparation. You asked so I’m delivering! If you are new here, drop a comment below
telling me what video lessons you need and then be sure to subscribe for more English lessons.
Let’s take a closer look at the differences and
similarities between the IELTS and Cambridge exams.
Firstly, and the most important thing you should know is that the IELTS exam is the same test
for all candidates. So you take the exam and IELTS tells you what level you are. Whereas,
with the Cambridge exams, there are different tests for each level. These levels go from A2 Key
to C2 Proficiency. So you need to know which level you are before you start to prepare for the exam.
Secondly, the IELTS exam expires after two years so you may need to take the IELTS exam
more than once in your life, if you need it for university entry and then a few years later,
for visa requirements, for example. The Cambridge exams don’t expire, so they are valid for life.
Thirdly, there are two versions of the IELTS exam - General Training and Academic Training. The
Speaking and Listening papers are the same for all candidates but the Writing and Reading papers are
different for the General and Academic versions. The General version concentrates on more every day
types of contexts and text types and the Academic one is, well…more academic. The number of correct
answers you need for different band scores is different for the Reading paper too. Take a look
on the screen to see what I mean. The one that’s best for you depends on why you need the exam.
If you need the exam to get into university, you probably need the Academic version but if you need
to for a visa requirement, you’ll probably need the General version. With the Cambridge exams,
there’s just one version of each exam for each level. Everyone answers the
same kinds of questions with the same kinds of texts. There is one small thing to mention
here - three exams - the A2 Key, B1 Preliminary and B2 First have a ‘for schools’ exam with
topics that are appropriate for younger people. But the same things are tested!
Fourth, you can’t fail the IELTS exam. You just get a score and that gives you your level. People
say they failed the exam but they mean they didn’t get the score they needed. You can fail Cambridge
exams. On the bright side, if you get a grade A, you get a higher level on your certificate. So,
if you take the B2 First exam and get more than one hundred and eighty points, your certificate
will say your level is C1. This is true for all the exams from A2 Key to C1 Advanced.
Fifth, on the IELTS exam, there is no specific part that tests your grammar but your grammar is
tested! There’s just no dedicated section. If, in the listening paper you write a word in the
plural, like informations but the answer should be the uncountable, information,
then it’s marked as wrong. You don’t get any points for knowing the answer if the
grammar doesn’t fit the space provided. What a shame! However, on the Cambridge exam there is
a specific part that tests your knowledge of grammar and vocabulary on the B2 First,
C1 Advanced and C2 Proficiency, there is a section at the end of the Reading paper called
‘Use of English’. This has exercises designed to test very specific language like verb tenses,
collocations, idioms and verb patterns, to name just a few.
There are four papers on the IELTS exam - Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking. You take
them in that order on the test day, so Listening, Reading, Writing, then Speaking. On the Cambridge
A2 Key exam there are just three papers, Reading and Writing together as one, and Listening and
Speaking. On the B1 Preliminary exam and up to C2 Proficiency, all exams have four papers - Reading,
Writing, Listening and Speaking and they are taken in that order, except for the speaking.
Speaking of the speaking exam, for the IELTS, it’s just you and an examiner having a conversation in
a room. For all the Cambridge exams, there are two candidates and two examiners - one
who speaks to you and the other who just listens. For both IELTS and Cambridge,
the Speaking paper can be on the same day as the other papers or up to seven days before or after.
There’s a difference in the time the examinations take. The IELTS exam is about two
hours and forty-five minutes in total, while the Cambridge exams can take up to four hours. They
start at two hours for the A2 Key and each higher level test takes more and more time.
And that’s a brief outline of the main differences and similarities between the
IELTS and Cambridge exams. If you want to know about test questions in more detail,
look out for my other videos in this examination series.
Remember, when trying to decide which test is best for you, you should think about why you
need an official English qualification. If you need the exam to go to a specific university,
please check what exams your university accepts. Similarly,
if your employer has asked you to take an official exam, check with them what they take.
If you are happy to stick with me for a little longer then why not look at my video ‘10 Common
Grammar Mistakes’ so you’ll know what not to do whichever exam you decide to take!
Until next time, take care and goodbye!