English is becoming a more and more profitable language to learn, providing an avenue for overseas scholarships, work and business.

The vast majority of scholarships available to Cambodians have English language proficiency as an eligibility requirement - quite often demonstrated through the IELTS test. Universities in Australia, Canada, the UK, the USA or New Zealand usually require their students to have an IELTS score of 6.5 or above.

Therefore, scholarships to these countries available to Cambodians every year require the same band score for direct entry into universities or an IELTS score of at least 5.0 with further English language training provided.

IELTS is the world’s leading English language test for higher education and migration. More than 7,000 universities, government bodies and professional organisations in over 135 countries accept IELTS scores. IELTS is jointly owned by the British Council, IDP: IELTS Australia and University of Cambridge ESOL Examinations.

According to IELTS USA, over 3 000 institutions and programs in the USA accept IELTS as proof of English language proficiency. Last year, over 1.7 million IELTS tests were taken around the world, with a steadily increasing number of tests being taken in the USA.

IELTS tests all four language skills – listening, reading, writing and speaking. IELTS is available in two test formats: Academic and General Training. The Academic format is, broadly speaking, for those who want to study or train in an English-speaking university or institutions of higher and further education.

Admission to undergraduate and postgraduate courses is based on the results of the Academic test.

The General Training format focuses on basic survival skills in broad social and workplace contexts. It is typically for those who are going to English-speaking countries to do secondary education, work experience or training programs.

People migrating to Australia, Canada and New Zealand must sit the General Training test.

The IELTS has a nine (9) band score system and the test score is valid for two years. For most test centres around the world, IELTS tests are offered every two weeks.

For more information about the IELTS test, how to prepare for the test, check available test dates or to sit the test in your country, go to: www.ielts.org