IELTSIELTS
A four-skill test with a live human speaking interview. Choose Academic or General Training according to your purpose.
- Test structure
- Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking
- Total test time
- 2 hours 45 minutes
- Listening
- 4 parts · 40 questions · about 30 minutes
- Reading
- 3 sections · 40 questions · 60 minutes
- Writing
- 2 tasks · 60 minutes
- Speaking
- 3-part interview · 11–14 minutes
- Delivery
- Computer-delivered in Australia; speaking with an examiner
- Score
- Band score from 0 to 9 for each skill and overall
What makes it attractive?
- A real conversation with a trained examiner
- The examiner can follow your meaning and natural speech in real time
- Academic and General Training versions
- Familiar question types and extensive preparation material
Who may benefit?
IELTS may feel easier if you communicate well with another person, want an examiner to follow your meaning in real time, or need a widely recognised Academic or General Training test.
Think carefully if:Listening includes typed answers, so spelling matters. The live speaking interview may feel stressful if you strongly prefer speaking into a microphone.
Explore IELTS preparationPTEPTE Academic
A fully computer-delivered academic test with many short, repeatable task types and AI-assisted scoring.
- Test structure
- Speaking & Writing, Reading, and Listening
- Total test time
- Approximately 2 hours
- Questions
- Approximately 65 scored questions across 22 question types
- Speaking & Writing
- 9 question types · 76–84 minutes
- Reading
- 5 question types · 23–30 minutes
- Listening
- 8 question types · 31–39 minutes
- Delivery
- Computer, headset and microphone in a test centre
- Score
- 10–90 for each communicative skill and overall
What makes it attractive?
- A shorter overall test than IELTS or CELPIP
- Many short tasks instead of spending a long time on one task
- No face-to-face speaking interview
- Predictable task types that respond well to structured practice
Who may benefit?
PTE may feel easier if you find large blocks of text difficult, lose focus during long tasks, type confidently, speak clearly into a microphone and prefer moving through many shorter activities.
Think carefully if:Speaking is scored through Pearson's automated system, so fluency, pronunciation and microphone technique matter. Spelling is important in tasks such as Write From Dictation and listening fill-in-the-blanks.
Explore PTE preparationCELPIPCELPIP-General
A fully computer-delivered general English test built around everyday situations and completed in one sitting.
- Test structure
- Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking
- Total test time
- Under 3 hours in one sitting
- Listening
- 6 scored parts · 38 questions · 46–55 minutes
- Reading
- 4 scored parts · 38 questions · 43–56 minutes
- Writing
- 2 tasks · 53 minutes
- Speaking
- 8 recorded tasks · 15 minutes
- Delivery
- Computer, headset and microphone
- Score
- CELPIP level from M to 12 for each skill
What makes it attractive?
- Spell-check helps reduce the effect of spelling mistakes in the writing test
- Listening and Reading use multiple-choice or similar selected-response formats
- Everyday English situations rather than mainly academic contexts
- Recorded speaking avoids a live interview; trained human raters score speaking and writing
Who may benefit?
CELPIP may feel easier if spelling is a persistent problem because the writing test includes spell-check. It may also suit you if speaking to a human examiner makes you nervous or anxious and you feel more comfortable recording answers on a computer.
Think carefully if:You cannot ask an examiner to follow or clarify your meaning while speaking. The test is long, and Listening and Reading may contain unscored items that cannot be identified during the test.
Explore CELPIP preparation