ScottishMatilda Posted February 3, 2017 Share Posted February 3, 2017 Hi folks... So we have just got started with our visa and are feeling a mixture of excitement and trepidation. we have talked about it now for going on 10 years and figure if we don't at least try it then we will regret it. Life is for living...right! Wanted to ask if anyone has any thoughts regarding these two english tests and what they preferred or can recommend. I was leaning towards IELTS as most people seem to go for this and it is paper based with only one examiner for speaking (versus recording your voice digitally I think for PTE). Any thoughts welcome... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liam13 Posted February 3, 2017 Share Posted February 3, 2017 i needed 20 points. i took IELTS twice and couldnt quite hit superior. I took PTE and managed to get the 20 points i needed, i didnt like the school like examination the IELTS has and felt very much under pressure and its a really long day. the PTE can be tricky when the speaking test begins due to everyone around you talking so can be tricky to block it out but the trick is to start asap. i preferred being able to write my document on the computer rather than by hand as i could visually spell check it and scan over it and change it quicker than written. for me PTE was the way forward for those reasons and i felt like i was not under as much pressure which helped me for sure Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AwdAmr Posted February 3, 2017 Share Posted February 3, 2017 Hi ScottishMatilda I went for PTE. I am not a native English speaker (although studied English all my life) and still manged 80+ in each component. Reason for taking PTE was proximity to the test center and availability of test dates and results (published next day). I started my preparations a week before the exam by doing a few mock tests so as to understand how scoring works and watching a videos on YT. I cannot comment on IELTS as never attempted. I think majority on this forum prefer IELTS over PTE so depends on theindividual. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DukeNinja Posted February 3, 2017 Share Posted February 3, 2017 I wanted to get mine done asap, and I went for the IELTS as I could get a test date at a local-ish centre much sooner than PTE. I had about 10 days to prepare, and whilst commuting on my bike to work I practiced the listening part. I found that for the writing test, especially part 2, success comes from following the tried and tested writing formats. During the listening part of the test it's very easy to start daydreaming instead of listening (as I did!), so being focused is key. I can't comment on the PTE as once I booked my IELTS, I focused on that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big girl Posted February 3, 2017 Share Posted February 3, 2017 I did PTE last August as I needed 20 points, passed first time. Did prepare with CD rom and book from Amazon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bell123321 Posted February 5, 2017 Share Posted February 5, 2017 My husband tree pte twice and couldn't pass. He particularly struggled with the speaking element as I lot was on how well you can interpret graphs etc. His native English and didn't even get 10 points. After advice on here he took ielts and scored 8.5 and 9s on all elements on his first attempt. On both tests he got books and studied. I guess it's completely down to the individual on which suits you best. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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