IELTS centres reopen worldwide, introducing social media campaign

For those with study abroad journeys  disrupted by COVID-19, breathe a sigh of relief. The International English Language Testing System (IELTS) has resumed worldwide. The organisation has launched a social media campaign as IELTS centres reopen in more than 90 countries, including China and India.

The “Your Future, Your Conversations” campaign features real-life stories of IETS test-takers across social platforms in nine countries. In a time of lockdowns and social distancing, it serves to remind us of the importance of human conversations. As a trusted standardised language test, the IELTS empowers people from various backgrounds to communicate effectively and efficiently; this mission is driven forward when IELTS centres reopen in the fallout of COVID-19.

“This year, more than ever, we have been reminded of the special power of human conversations. When we could no longer come together in person, we lent on conversations to help us stay connected to our families, our work and our studies,” says Warwick Freeland, managing director of IELTS at IDP Education.

Freeland added that a key aspect of the test is its focus on human conversations, as opposed to interacting purely with a computer. Why? Well, IELTS believes artificial intelligence still has some ways to go before imitating trustworthy human-to-human conversations.

IELTS centres reopen: What you need to know

Students can now take both the paper-based and computer testing across the world. Similar to universities and colleges, IELTS test centres have opened with additional health and safety precautions in place. For example, all test takers, centre staff and examiners must wear a face mask, except during security checks.

Over in China, IELTS is in the process of reopening testing in phases according to domestic situations and rules. You can take the computer-delivered IELTS and IELTS for UKVI tests in Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Chonqing, or the paper-based version at selected test centres nationwide.

Check if the IELTS centres in your country are open and get your questions answered here.