Blog Presentation

Why do we need to learn English?

Assess your English skill!

Still curious?

Reflection

My IELTS test

Advice to next year students

Funny Video

Advice To Next Year Students

First of all, what I would like to mention is that you should not think that everything you have learned so far throughout your entire learning process about the English language is enough. No, in fact, it's not enough and it has never been enough! How could this be possible? Try to imagine how many new english words are invented each day. Every word that has been mentioned in the dictionary has not been updated. Every month or probably each week, new english dictionaries are published. Why is that? It's all because of the fact that new english words are invented every day! They would have not published new dictionaries if there had not been any new english words. I know it's hard to believe, but that's the fact.

I found this fact throughout my experience. As I thought my current english level is sufficient and enough, I found out that I was totally wrong. Having IELTS of band 6.5 doesn't mean that I am able to cope up with grammar, vocabulary and accuracy in english language. In fact, I realized that those are my weaknesses as I need to improve. Furthermore, since now I'm doing my tertiary education in completely diverse ambiance, everyday I'll meet new people with different personalities, different way of thinking and the way they intepret words.

Let's try to take an example. Suppose there are three persons talking to each other about their english grades.

A: Hey, what do you think about your english grades? Are you guys going to pass it?

B: I'm sure I'm going to pass it more or less.

C: Well, I might pass. However, I'm not really sure since I've got insufficient grades for the last assignments.

You see? How a simple answer, YES or NO, can be interpreted in many different ways? One of them are certainly sure about it, but the other persons are being vague. It can be interpreted as yes or no. Therefore, by only looking this simple situation, do you still think that your level of english now is enough?

Graded Pair Assessment

Yesterday, I received the result for my graded pair presentation. I got 8.7, which is good! However, I need to improve my language accuracy and try to prevent sloppy mistakes, such as 'company who', but it should be 'company which' and 'take that in account', should be 'take that into account'.

Responses from my colleagues weren't that bad. Some of them thought I need to have more eye contact to the audience and some of them suggested me to small grammatical mistakes. To be honest, I actually know what I went wrong, but most of the time, I just say it straight away. So I don't take my time and try to think more of what I want to say. That's why most of the time, if I'm trying to explain something, I would explain it in a more complicated way.

My IELTS Test

Since I already told you all of the english tests, now I'm going to show you my IELTS test results. I took this exam a year ago as a requirement to enter the University of Groningen. I needed to score at a minimum of band 6.5 otherwise I couldn't enter the university. So here, I put the IELTS results so that all of you have an overview about it.

IELTS Test Result

So as you can see, I got 5.0 for reading and 6.0 for writing. Therefore, by doing this test, I know my weaknesses and what needs to be improved. As far as I have known, most of the universities would ask IELTS band score with a minimum of 6.5 or higher and each section should not be less than 5.0. So if you're planning to study abroad, please make sure that you accomplish those two requirements.

Lesson 6: Graded Pair Presentation

Later on, Ms Margareth gave us another presentation which will be graded. So my colleagues, Carmen and I, worked together on Hazel Case. We came up with new ideas and solution for the company. So here we go. Let's check out our presentation!

Lesson 5: Analyzing Case Studies, Hazel

Do you know how to solve specific issue within a company? What do you do suppose one of the world's largest company that has held its position for over 50 years fails to protect their market share? Somehow they are not attractive to customers. Customer's attention begin to move to competitors, therefore, the sales begins to decline. What would you do?

Well, this is what happened to Hazel Cosmetics. Their sales in the US and Western Europe jad begun to decline, as fewer women bought products sold door-to-door. In addition, Hazel's products had little appeal with teenagers and young women. Now the question is, suppose you are tghe senior management team at Hazel, what would you do to overcome this problem?

1. SWOT Analysis
First of all, you need to analyze what's been going on inside Hazel. This can be done through a thorough analyzing by looking in depth of Hazel's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Try to brainstorm ideas as possible.

2. Report
After the SWOT Analysis has been done, the next step to consider it making a report of summary of the findings. You will need to present the proposals to the company board of directors eventually, so that there will be a new strategic plan for the company.

Therefore, my collegues and I tried to solve this problem and presenting it to the board of the directors. These are our findings:

Strength
Hazel has a substansial market share that spread across countries, such as America, Asia and Europe. Hazel's women products are making more profit than men's groom product.

Weaknessess
Hazel's products are not attractive as their rival's product

Opportunities
Eventhough Hazel's sales are beginning to decline, there is a slight annual sales growth throughout the last ten years.

Threats
Door-to-door sales.

Now, in order to gain market share, this is the summary of our findings that needs to be done immediately.

Hazel need new cosmetics line that can attract teenagers and young women. This can be done by partnering with Blake Lively, one of the new rising actress and so many teenagers fashioned her. Price of the cosmetics should be as cheap as possible, without cutting our profits and this new line should be widely advertise across all countries. Last but not least, Hazel need to rebuild company's mission statement in order to improve Hazel's image with costumers around the world.

This is our presentation looks like:

Our advertisement looks like this:

And our mission statement:

Lesson 4: Language Learning History

In this part, again, the teacher asked me to explain of what I've learn about English and how does it improve overtime. This is my language learning history.

Language Learning History

Diniari F. Putri S 2159074

I have started learning English since I was a kid. I can’t really explain on what age I actually started, but my parents put me in international pre-school program. So I’m quite used to listening to native speakers’ accent. However, most of the teachers there were originally came from America. I think that’s also the first thing people notice about my American accent. I can’t say my accent is hundred percent American, but in general, I would speak and talk more likely most American would talk. But it doesn’t mean that I wouldn’t like to learn about other accents. Honestly, I would love to learn British accent since it’s nice to listen to and with various kind of intonations.

Then I moved to my secondary educations, which are elementary, junior high, and senior high school. It was not really a diverse ambiance. All of teachers were Indonesian. I don’t mean to be harsh or racist, but I believe that if we want to improve our English, the only way to do is actually working with English native speakers, either come from America, England, Australia and other English countries. Nevertheless, I learned different kind of tenses, specific terms of vocabulary and learned to talk in English with two-way conversation in English Drama. All of the students in high school are expected to perform English Drama as one of their final English Grade.

After I graduated from my senior high school, I went to Australian education. Here, my English improved than before. I really had a diverse ambience. Teachers came from different nationalities; such as Australians, Americans, England and even one of them were Dutch. I learned so many things in here. Since all of the students were expected to develop their own paper and should not plagiarize other people's ideas, at this stage I learned how to make in-text citation, quoting and made reference. It was compulsory to read Harvard Business Journal as our secondary source. I personally believe this has been really helpful for my further studies.

So now I have chosen to study in Groningen, Nederlands, country with complete different culture and tradition from where I come from. I expect to improve my English skills more than before since the program is taught in English, especially improve my reading and writing skills. I always find it hard to easily understand the main point of an article or even harder, business journal. As for writing, I’m having a trouble with how to properly use preposition, grammatical correction, various vocabularies and tenses. For sure, vocabulary and tenses are not my strong potential skills. In my opinion, I don’t really have that many vocabularies of fancy words that people would look at me like an educated person. Furthermore, I always get confused on when and how to use those different kind of tenses. For instance, how to accurately use past perfect tense.

Nevertheless, as a first English student, I would like to advise that English language is interesting and fun to learn. Of course, it can be really difficult to learn, but I strongly believe that this language will help you in your future and further career. Learning English is not about pride, but it is about how educated you can be and how you can internationally recognizable with other people from different countries and nationalities.

Lesson 3: Press Release

Another assignment that I have to do is making press release. I found it quite challenging because I never done this before. But I really took this seriously, therefore, the outcome wasn't that bad. So here it goes, my first new press release.

PRESS INFORMATION

NEW YORK, USA, November 29, 2011

CAPTURE A MAN OF YOUR DREAM WITH BLAKE SENSATION

From Hazel Cosmetics, The Beauty Experts, comes Blake Sensation, the newest addition to their classic era-style make up line. It is a color cream, specially designed for trendy and fashionable women.

“Natural beauty only comes out with the perfection of colors and shades. We believe Blake Sensation would fill every women’s hope to capture man of their dreams,” said Mike Smith, Hazel’s Marketing Manager. “We have formulated various colors and Blake Sensation has been carefully developed to be complementary with all skin tones”.

Blake Sensation is a concentrated, long-lasting, playful color cream modeled from romantic 1980s era that doubled as a cosmetic for use on the cheeks and lips. Applied to the cheeks with a fingertip, it goes on as silky, creamy color to create a natural, rosy look. Add a little more for bolder, more enhanced look. Applied to the lips with a lipstick brush or fingertip, lips are stained to luscious and kissable lips. Never heavy or moist after application, it blends into the skin seamlessly.

Keeping with Hazel Cosmetics’ high standard of using nothing but the finest quality ingredients. Blake Sensation is formulated with olive and jojoba oil for moisture and antioxidant properties, vitamin E and natural cherry flavor. Blake Sensation is proudly present to women all around the world with a reasonable price.

Blake Sensation will be available for purchase on December 1^st at www.Hazel.com and in select fine stores accross the country and around the globe.

About Hazel

Founded in 1972, Hazel is one of the world’s largest direct sellers of cosmetics and beauty products, a position it has held for over 50 years. Hazel Cosmetics has internationally recognized by consumer all around continents, embracing America, Asia and Europe. The cosmetics have been sold more than $ 140 billion sales worldwide.

For more information about Hazel, visit www.Hazel.com.

 # # #

76 Ninth Avenue, 4th Floor, New York, NY 10011

www.Hazel.com

My First Memo Report

So this is the example of my first memo report and yes, I didn't get a good grade. I got 5.8 for my first memo report.

MEMO REPORT

To      :     Managing Director of Laumann Construction    

From     :     Head of Communications working committee

Date     :     5 October 2011

Subject     :     Action plan for constructing passenger terminal at Konopnicka Airpot

Introduction

On 5 October 2011,  the communication working committee negotiate on constructing new passenger terminal at Konopnicka Airport. There are some changes regarding its funding and financing. We have agreed on the following plan of action to fit Polish Airport and Ministry of Infrastructure’s intention.

Financing

Firstly, we agreed to take full responsibility for building new facilities, with a total of 85% borrowed from Weber-Merkel Bank at interest rate of 3,5%. The remaining 15% to be financed by Polish Airport Agency.

Operation and Management

Secondly, we advised to manage airport service for 10 years. Therefore, we would engage in joint ventures with an equity of 55% decision profit for Polish Airport Agency, while the 55% net profit will be given to us. Fees and other expenses excluded.

Repayment Terms

We propose loan to be repaid by Polish Airport Agency in 20 years. ??

Building Schedule

The construction will take 30 months, hence, we advise to cooperate with Polish construction companies with a proven track record to carry out this project.

Risk Allocation

Finally, since we are taking over full responsibilities including weather circumstances, delays in building program incur penalty fines of a maximum 5M . Risk associated with low air traffic volumes are shared on 50 – 50 basis between Polish government and private contractor.

Conclusion and Recommendations

The communication committee realizes that implementing these recommendations will probably be costly and involve a joint venture. However, after thorough research and negotiation, we firmly believe that these finance and funding separation are core to achieve mutual benefit and achieve communal collaboration in order to build passenger terminal at Konopnicka Airport. Furthermore, we believe that it is an essential development for Konopnicka Airport to be highly internationally recognized.

We look forward to your reaction and we hope to have the opportunity to present these recommendations.

Diniari Fajar Putri

Head of Communications Working Committee

(302 words)

Example of Good Memo Report

To: Directors of the Polish Airports Agency
From: Vincent Steven Rijpkema (Managing Director of Laumann Construction)
Date: October 6, 2011
Subject: Negotiation agreements for Konopnicka Airport expansion project

Introduction
On October 6, the Polish Airports and the Ministry of Infrastructure discussed together with Laumann and the Weber-Merkel bank, the contract for the development of a second runway and the construction of a new world-class passenger terminal, a cargo terminal and a catering base at the Konopnicka Airport in Poland. We have agreed on the following plans of action and financial agreements to construct and run the to be newly built runway and related services.

Financing
Firstly, we concurred on the financing loan to be set at 85% loan from the Weber-Merkel bank and the remaining 15% will be financed by Polish Airports at a total cost of 120 million euros. The loan interest rate will be set at a rate of 3%. Laumann will take full responsibility for designing and building the new facilities at the Airport.

Operation and management
Secondly, after completion of the second runway and extra services, there will be a joint-venture for ten years, where Polish Airports will have decision power. However, 55% of net profit will be for Laumann Construction after costs are split.

Repayment terms
Moreover, the loan will be repaid by Polish Airports over 20 years, starting after 50% completion of the project. This will be done on a quarterly basis. The airport will collect take-off and landing charges and overflight fees from  foreign airlines and use this to repay the loan. Excess charges and fees will be for Polish airports.

Building schedules
Furthermore, the construction project will take 30 months. Laumann will cooperate with Polish construction companies who they pick themselves.

Risk allocation
Lastly, Laumann will be responsible for additional costs from delays in building schedules, with a fine of one million each month and a maximum penalty fine of five million euros. Risk associated with low air-traffic volumes will be shared on a 50-50 basis.

Conclusion and recommendations
Laumann Construction realizes that a project of this size comes with risks and great difficulties, but both parties have agreed on foundation parts as financing, a joint-venture, repayment terms, schedules and risk allocation. We believe that the construction and expansion of the airport is an essential investment for the Polish Airports, as is the construction and joint-venture programme for Laumann Construction.

Vincent Steven Rijpkema,
Managing Director of Laumann Construction.

Lesson 2: Memo Report

1.            What is a memo report?

Put simply, a memo report is a brief report which is presented with a memo header:

To:

From:

Date:

Subject:

It is presented in the form of a memo because it is for internal communication purposes. In the context of your project, the consultant sees him/herself as temporarily affiliated to the company and, therefore, uses the memo format to stress his/her temporary insider status.

2.            But what is the difference between a memo and a memo report?

A memo can be used for any kind of internal correspondence within an organisation. It may be very short and relatively informal. Over the past 10-15 years, however, this use of the memo has largely disappeared from organisations because of the use of e-mail. These days, memos are largely reserved for the communication of information that is deemed too important to just put in an e-mail (although, of course, it might still be distributed as an e-mail attachment).

A memo report has a formal status. It is a means of briefly summarising complex information, using an explicit structure. You make the structure clear to the reader by using sub-headings, which should be in bold and can be numbered as in this document. Numbering helps when the document is discussed because the speaker can easily refer to e.g. section 3, second paragraph.

3.            What structure should I use?

Memo reports are often summarised reports of highly focussed investigations, and they then have the following structure:

Introduction (Background and problem definition)

Methodology (Explanations of the methods used during field research)

Findings (What did you discover during your investigation?

Discussion (What do your finding mean? Why are they important to the reader?)

Conclusions

Recommendations

In the context of your project, your discussions are rather broad, and you are not carrying out field research, so the methodology section is not needed. You can also use a structure in which you divide your memo into major themes and deal with findings and discussion per theme, as follows:

Introduction: background, explanation of problem and explanation of main themes

Theme 1 findings and discussion

Theme 2 findings and discussion

Theme 3 findings and discussion

Conclusions and Recommendations (these can be combined)

             

Note: if you use more than 3 or 4 themes, your report begins to feel like a list and it is difficult for the reader (and writer!) to make connections between the themes. Try to develop 3 or 4 umbrella themes under which all the issues discussed can be placed.

4.            How do I introduce a new theme?

Use a header, as described above, but remember that the header is only like a headline in a newspaper. It gives your reader a quick indication that the topic is changing, but it does not explain this. Therefore, each new section should begin with a full sentence, which introduces the new topic. For instance:

Concerning promotion, we have decided to concentrate on internet advertising.

Regarding promotion, we have decided to concentrate on internet advertising.

In terms of promotion, we have decided to concentrate on internet advertising.

Or:

Our second main challenge/problem is promotion. We have decided to concentrate on internet advertising because…

5.            How long should it be?

This varies, but the idea is that you summarise ideas briefly. We have asked you for about 500 words, which represents 2-3 pages in a text laid out with headers.

Feedback of my presentation

Lesson 1: Power Up Your Power Point Presentation

Since I already told you all of the english exams, now I'm going to share of what I've learned during this semester in University of Groningen. As you can see, I'm a first year student and it's an obligatory for me to take English Studies considering the studies are taught in English.


So first lesson that I had is to present and how to make a good presentation. My tutor, Ms Margareth McKinney, told us everything and every sources we need. It is taken from Treasure Trove and I took one of the article, which is "Power Up Your Power Point Presentation".


How to make a good presentation then?


1. No one came to see the slideshow
Before create one single slide, think about what you want to say, what do you want people to think, know or feel when you're done speaking? If the slides crashed, could you still tell the story?


2. Talk, don't read
It's important to create slides that speaks in phrases, not sentence so you talk instead of read. Eliminate words such as, if, the, in, on, and of. Instead, use 3 to 5 words per line to reinforce what you're saying so people listen to you instead of reading the slide.


3. Think headline
Look at each slides and ask, "What is the meaning to the people?". Every slides must have a reason to setting up point such as driving home a message.


4. Hit them over the head.
Your first few words determine whether your audience tunes in or out. When you open your mouth, hit them over the head with a story or example that engages and grabs attention so they understand why they should care?


5. Finally, create slides for people in the back of the room.
Use color, big fonts and contrast. Remember, every time you speak, you're on!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/1819529

Pearson Test of English

The following tests are available from Pearson:

The Pearson Test of English Academic
PTE Academic is a computer-based academic English language test aimed at non-native English speakers wanting to study abroad. It tests Reading, Writing, Listening and Speaking.
Questions often test 2 skills together, such as listening and reading or reading and speaking. The whole test is done in a single session, lasting 3 hours and is taken sitting at a computer in a secure test environment. The speaking part of the exam is done at the computer. Your voice is recorded and sent for marking. One advantage of this test is that you get your results very quickly; in about 5 days.

This is a relatively new test and it is not yet available in every country. The cost varies by country but is in the range of $150-$210.

PTE Academic is a multi-level test, like IELTS, TOEFL and TOEIC.

The Pearson Test of English General
(Formerly The London Test of English, these are designed to reward positive achievement in English language learning. The tests consist of two parts: a written paper and an interview.
There are six levels of the General test. Each level is set at one of the CEFR levels.

		Writing	Interview
A1	Level A1	75 mins	5 mins
A2	Level 1	95 mins	5 mins
B1	Level 2	95 mins	7 mins
B2	Level 3	120 mins	7 mins
C1	Level 4	150 mins	8 mins
C2	Level 5	175 mins	8 mins

The writing paper tests listening, reading comprehension and writing skills.
Recognition
Levels 4 and 5 are recognised for admission to UK universities and by many international companies.

How do the PTE General tests compare to other exams?
Click here to see a comparison table.

Where do I take the test?
At a test center in your country.

When can I take a PTE General test?
May, June, August, November, December.

How much does it cost?
The test fees are set by each center.These tests are reasonably priced. The higher level tests are more expensive than the lower level ones.
Expect to pay £50 for level A1 and £100 for level 5.
Resources for PTE General are reproduced with permission from Pearson

For further details, please contact:
Pearson Test of English

Cambridge ESOL

Cambridge ESOL is a department of Cambridge University. Their English exams CPE, CAE, FCE, PET and KET are recognised around the world by thousands of employers, universities and government ministries as proof of ability to use English.

Cambridge ESOL exams
IELTS International English Language Testing System	Listening: Full test , test2 (form-filling) Reading: Full academic reading test, academic test 2 General reading test part 1 New! General reading test part 2 New! General reading test part 3 New! General reading test 1 Academic writing part 1 Writing part 2, Vocabulary, Vocabulary 2, Grammar1, Grammar2
FCE First Certificate in English (B2)	Reading: part 1, part 2, part 3 Use of English: part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4 Listening: part 1, part 2, part 4, extra Listening Writing, Grammar
CAE Certificate of Advanced English (C1)	Reading: part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4 English in Use: part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5 Listening: part 1, extra listening
CPE Certificate of Proficiency in English (C2)	grammar, vocabulary, dictionary
PET Preliminary English Test (B1)	Reading: part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5 Writing: part 1, part 3 Grammar, Vocabulary
KET Key English Test (A2)	Grammar, Vocabulary
BULATS Business Language Testing Service	Reading and Language: part 1, section 2 | part 1, section 3 | part 1, section 4 | part 2, section 1

TOEIC Bridge

The TOEIC Bridge is produced by ETS and is not as difficult as the
TOEIC test. The TOEIC Bridge test was developed especially for beginning to lower-intermediate learners of English.

Who is it for?

Students who are learning English and are at a beginning to lower-intermediate level
Learners of English who are taking commercial English language courses
People who need to know some English for work, travel, or other purposes.

What is the TOEIC Bridge test like?

The TOEIC Bridge test is a one-hour multiple-choice test that consists of 100 questions divided into two sections:
Listening, 3 parts, 50 questions
part 1, photographs
part 2, question-response
part 3, short conversations or talks
Reading, 2 parts, 50 questions
part 4: incomplete sentences
part 5: reading comprehension

What about scores?

You get a score for both Reading and Listeningas well as a total score. You do not pass or fail.
You can compare your TOEIC Bridge scores with the CEFR as follows:

	A1	A2	B1
TOEIC Bridge Listening	46	64	84
TOEIC Bridge Reading	46	70	86

How much does it cost to take TOEIC Bridge ?

Fees vary from country to country.. Expect to pay around 70 euros. You can pay extra to have the test marked more quickly.

TOEIC

The Test of English for International Communication is produced by ETS (Educational Testing Service).
TOEIC test questions are based on real-life work settings in an international environment (meetings, travel, telephone conversations, etc).

Who is it for?

The Test is used by organisations to determine whether an employee is suitable for a particular task. If you work or want to work for a large organisation, particularily in Asia, then the TOEIC test will be useful to you.
What is the TOEIC test like?
There are two separate parts to the TOEIC test. You can do one or both parts.
The Listening and Reading test is a paper and pencil test that takes 2.5 hours and is taken at a test centre.
The Speaking and Writing test is an online test that is taken in a test centre and takes 90 minutes. The Speaking and Writing test is a new test wich is only available in some countries.

What about scores?

The TOEIC Reading and Listening gives a score between 10 and 990:
905 - 990 International Proficiency
785 – 900 Working Proficiency Plus
605 – 780 Limited Working Proficiency
405 – 600 Elementary Proficiency Plus
255 – 400 Elementary Proficiency
185 – 250 Memorised Proficiency
10 – 180 No Useful Proficiency
TOEIC Speaking and Writing tests are scored out of 200.

How much does it cost to take TOEIC?

Fees are set by test centres. Expect to pay around $85 USD for each component (Listening and Reading / Speaking and Writing).
TOEIC Bridge is an easier version of the exam.

TOEFL PBT

The Paper-based test has the following format:

	Time Limit	No. of Questions
Listening Comprehension	30-40 minutes	50
Structure and Written Expression Free practice tests	25 minutes	40
Reading Comprehension	55 minutes	50
Writing (Test of Written English)	30 minutes	1 topic

Click here to see a comparison of TOEFL scores with other exams.

Where do I take the test?

At a test center in your country. The test is organised by the
Educational Testing Service. You can register for the TOEFL® iBT online.

Click here to register

How much does the TOEFL test cost to take?

The paper-based TOEFL costs $160.

TOEFL IBT

The next generation TOEFL® iBT test has four sections:

1	Reading	3-5 passages, 12-14 questions each	60-100 mins
2	Listening	4-6 lectures, 6 questions each 2-3 conversations, 5 questions each	60-90 mins
3	Speaking	6 tasks, 2 independent and 2 integrated	20 mins
4	Writing	1 integrated task 1 independent task	50 mins

An integrated task is one where you have to use more than one skill. For example, you read about something, listen to a lecture, and then write about what you have heard and read.

Where do I take the test?

At a test center in your country. The test is organised by the
Educational Testing Service. You can register for the TOEFL® iBT online.

Click here
to register

How much does the TOEFL test cost to take?

Prices of the TOEFL iBT vary in each country ranging from $160 to $240.

TOEFL

Test Of English as Foreign Language.
The essential exam for entry to universities in the United States. Academic language.

Who is it for?

The Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) measures the ability of nonnative speakers of English to use and understand North American English as it is spoken, written and heard in college and university settings. Most people who take the TOEFL test are planning to study at colleges and universities where instruction is in English. In addition, many government agencies, scholarship programs, and licensing/certification agencies use TOEFL scores to evaluate English proficiency.
Versions of the TOEFL® test

You can do the test on paper or on a computer, depending where you live. The test comes in two formats:
paper-based test (PBT)
next generation computer-based test (iBT)
The iBT is not yet available at every test center. If it is available at your local center then you will have to do it. If not you will do the PBT.
There is also an exam for younger students called TOEFL Junior.

Where do I take the test?

At a test center in your country. The test is organised by the Educational Testing Service. You can register for the TOEFL® iBT online.

How much does the TOEFL test cost to take?

Prices of the TOEFL iBT vary in each country ranging from $160 to $240.
The paper-based TOEFL is $160.

IELTS

Now you know what kind of test are available for you. Each test has its own advantage and purpose. But in this post, I will only discuss regarding IELTS.

IELTS, the International English Language Testing System, is designed to assess the language ability of candidates who need to study or work where English is used as the language of communication. IELTS is required for entry to university in the UK and other countries.

Who is it for?

IELTS is recognised by universities and employers in many countries, including Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the UK and the USA. It is also recognised by professional bodies, immigration authorities and other government agencies.
More than 1.4 million people a year take the test.

What is the IELTS test like?

You can choose between the Academic or General Training versions of the test. All candidates do the same Listening and Speaking sections.
The test has four sections:
Listening - 4 sections, 40 questions, 30 minutes
Speaking - interview, 15 minutes
Reading - different for Academic or General Training - 3 sections, 40 questions, 60 minutes
Writing - different for Academic or General Training - pieces of writing, 60 minutes

IELTS is a multi-level exam. You get a score between 1 and 9 for each section. Half scores such
as 6.5 are possible. Universities often demand an IELTS score of 6 or
7. They may also demand a minimum score in each of the 4 sections.

IELTS Listening marking schemes

For the listening test, which contains 40 questions, the approximate band scores can be calculated using this table.

Band Score	9	8.5	8	7.5	7	6.5	6	5.5	5	4.5	4	3.5	3	2.5
Score / 40	39-40	37-38	35-36	32-34	30-31	26-29	23-25	18-22	16-17	13-15	10-12	8-10	6-7	4-5

 

IELTS General Reading marking schemes

For the general reading test, which contains 40 questions, the approximate band scores can be calculated using this table.

Band Score	9	8.5	8	7.5	7	6.5	6	5.5	5	4.5	4	3.5	3	2.5
Score / 40	40	39	37-38	36	34-35	32-33	30-31	27-29	23-26	19-22	15-18	12-14	9-11	6-8

 

IELTS Academic Reading marking schemes

For the academic reading test, which also contains 40 questions, but is more difficult, the approximate band scores can be calculated using this table.

Band Score	9	8.5	8	7.5	7	6.5	6	5.5	5	4.5	4	3.5	3	2.5
Score / 40	39-40	37-38	35-36	33-34	30-32	27-29	23-26	19-22	15-18	13-14	10-12	8-9	6-7	4-5

 

IELTS Writing marking schemes

The two writing questions are marked out of 9 according to the following criteria:

• Task Achievement
• Coherence and Cohesion
• Lexical Resource
• Grammatical Range and Accuracy

IELTS Speaking marking schemes

The speaking test is also marked out of 9 according to the following criteria:

• Fluency and coherence
• Lexical resource
• Grammatical range and accuracy
• Pronunciation

Comparison of CEFR Levels & Scores for Various Exams

Now let's get back to the CEFR again. The following table gives an approximate comparison between the different exams. The exams all use the Common European Framework (CEF) proficiency levels.
Click here for a free test to check your level.

CEF Level	Cambridge ESOL	IELTS	TOEFL iBT	TOEIC	Michigan	BULATS	PTE General	PTE Academic
C2	CPE	9			ECPE		level 5	85+
		8				90
C1	CAE, BEC Higher	7.5	110-120	880			level 4	76-84
		6.5				75
B2	FCE, BEC Vantage	6	87-109		ECCE		level 3	59-75
		5				60
B1	PET, BEC Prelim	4.5	57-86	550			level 2	43-58
		4				40
A2	KET						level 1	30-42
						20

You Probably Don't Want To End Up Like This

I remembered this video while I was writing for the CEFR. So I thought, why wouldn't I also put it on my blog? It's funny, entertaining and in the same way, encouraging people to speak more clearly and pronounce english in the right way, so it wouldn't end up just like this video below. You probably don't want to end up like this!

What? Cock drink?

The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages

Now, if you really want to know what your english skills, you can refer to The Common European Framework of Reference for Language (CEF or CEFR). It's a way of standardising the levels of language exams in different regions and very widely used internationally and all important exams are mapped to the CEFR.

There are six levels: A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, C2. These are described in the table below with each level provided with their specific exam, in which you can practice!

Council of Europe levels	Description
C2 Mastery	The capacity to deal with material which is academic or cognitively demanding, and to use language to good effect at a level of performance which may in certain respects be more advanced than that of an average native speaker. Example: CAN scan texts for relevant information, and grasp main topic of text, reading almost as quickly as a native speaker. All practice tests at this level
C1 Effective Operational Proficiency	The ability to communicate with the emphasis on how well it is done, in terms of appropriacy, sensitivity and the capacity to deal with unfamiliar topics. Example: CAN deal with hostile questioning confidently. CAN get and hold onto his/her turn to speak. All practice tests at this level
B2 Vantage	The capacity to achieve most goals and express oneself on a range of topics. Example: CAN show visitors around and give a detailed description of a place. All practice tests at this level
B1 Threshold	The ability to express oneself in a limited way in familiar situations and to deal in a general way with nonroutine information. Example: CAN ask to open an account at a bank, provided that the procedure is straightforward. All practice tests at this level
A2 Waystage	An ability to deal with simple, straightforward information and begin to express oneself in familiar contexts. Example: CAN take part in a routine conversation on simple predictable topics. All practice tests at this level
A1 Breakthrough	A basic ability to communicate and exchange information in a simple way. Example: CAN ask simple questions about a menu and understand simple answers.