IELTS in Malaysia was described by I. as follows (and what an excellent memory she has!):
Listening test
Section 1: A female student wanted some advice on how to go about online shopping from her male friend.
Questions: Fill in the blanks and True/False/Not Given.
Section 2: A friendly neighborhood radio announcement about an upcoming town fair, and the activities and souvenirs on offer.
Questions: A Table was given, and the task was to fill in the blanks some details: dates, types and frequency of activity, and types of souvenirs available.
Section 3: A survey conducted on usage of beauty and skin products amongst 3 different age groups: 20, 25-35 and >40.
Questions: There was a little graph and multiple choice questions were asked. There was also a short fill in the blanks section on the types of techniques used in conducting the survey.
Reading test
Passage 1: Studies and findings on alternative processes which cause less pollution than traditional sources of energy like coal and LNG. This passage was very technical.
Questions: Match the organization or the professor with their experiments and survey reports. You may use letters A-H more than once. Multiple choice questions followed.
Questions: Information matching – confirm which paragraph letter(A-H) stated what amongst a list of 6 scientific observations. There were also 3 multiple choice questions.
Passage 3: Telepathy and Parapsychologists who investigated the causes and existence of psychic abilities. It discussed mostly the Ganzfeld experiments conducted in the 1920s, where a ‘sender’ would be given 4 random images and asked to choose one, and the ‘receiver’ in another room would use telepathy to positively identify what that chosen image is. The test data gathered would then be subjected to a ‘meta-analysis’ for interpretation.
Questions: Information matching – state which paragraph corresponds to the 5 given statements/findings, A-H. We were given a table for filling in the blanks. Data to be included was dates, name of scientist, testing method and results.
Writing test
Writing Task 1 (report)
Two tables were given. We were required to report on a survey conducted on a library’s range of books (Table 1) and non-book facilities (DVDs & CDs) (Table 2) across 5 age categories. The subjects’ criteria were Very Good, Satisfactory and Poor.
Writing Task 2 (essay)
Governments have been responsible for environmental pollution. Should companies and private individuals be made to pay the costs for pollution? To what extent do you agree or disagree? State facts, your opinions and/or personal experiences you may have regarding environmental pollution.
Speaking test
– What is your full name?
– How should I call you?
– Tell me about the city you live in.
– Does your city have a swimming centre?
– Do you agree that swimming is good for you? Why?
– Do you like to attend parties?
– What kind of parties do you prefer, family parties or young people’s parties? Why?
– What is the legal age for drinking, driving and marriage in your country?
– Do you think that the legal age is suitable? Why?
– Do you agree that the legal age should be reduced to a lower age? Why?
Cue Card
Tell me about the best stage in your life. You should say:
– When that stage was.
– What you did.
– Who you did it with.
– Why it it was the best stage in your life.
Discussion
– Why do you think traditional ceremonies and national days are celebrated?
– Do you think they should be marked?
– Can we do without them? Why is it significant or insignificant to some?
– Why is it important to you?
Then I shook her hand, and said “Thank you so much for your time. I hope you have a great weekend!” Big smiles!
That was it! I think it wasn’t bad at all. Try to be as honest as possible and have a connection with the examiner when telling your little story, just like when you’re talking to your friends or family. It makes a lot of difference.
That’s all people! Enjoy trying out the questions and all the best in your IELTS!