IELTS vs Cambridge English Exams - Which One Is Best For You?

Today we’re going to look at what’s  different between the IELTS and Cambridge  

exams. This can give you a better idea  of which exam is the right one for you!

Hi, I’m Anna from English like a Native  dot com and welcome to my series on exam  

preparation. You asked so I’m delivering!   If you are new here, drop a comment below  

telling me what video lessons you need and then  be sure to subscribe for more English lessons. 

Let’s take a closer look at the differences and  

similarities between the  IELTS and Cambridge exams.

Firstly, and the most important thing you should  know is that the IELTS exam is the same test  

for all candidates. So you take the exam and  IELTS tells you what level you are. Whereas,  

with the Cambridge exams, there are different  tests for each level. These levels go from A2 Key  

to C2 Proficiency. So you need to know which level  you are before you start to prepare for the exam. 

Secondly, the IELTS exam expires after two  years so you may need to take the IELTS exam  

more than once in your life, if you need it for  university entry and then a few years later,  

for visa requirements, for example. The Cambridge  exams don’t expire, so they are valid for life. 

Thirdly, there are two versions of the IELTS exam  - General Training and Academic Training. The  

Speaking and Listening papers are the same for all  candidates but the Writing and Reading papers are  

different for the General and Academic versions.  The General version concentrates on more every day  

types of contexts and text types and the Academic  one is, well…more academic. The number of correct  

answers you need for different band scores is  different for the Reading paper too. Take a look  

on the screen to see what I mean. The one that’s  best for you depends on why you need the exam.  

If you need the exam to get into university, you  probably need the Academic version but if you need  

to for a visa requirement, you’ll probably need  the General version. With the Cambridge exams,  

there’s just one version of each exam  for each level. Everyone answers the  

same kinds of questions with the same kinds  of texts. There is one small thing to mention  

here - three exams - the A2 Key, B1 Preliminary  and B2 First have a ‘for schools’ exam with  

topics that are appropriate for younger  people. But the same things are tested!

Fourth, you can’t fail the IELTS exam. You just  get a score and that gives you your level. People  

say they failed the exam but they mean they didn’t  get the score they needed. You can fail Cambridge  

exams. On the bright side, if you get a grade A,  you get a higher level on your certificate. So,  

if you take the B2 First exam and get more than  one hundred and eighty points, your certificate  

will say your level is C1. This is true for  all the exams from A2 Key to C1 Advanced.

Fifth, on the IELTS exam, there is no specific  part that tests your grammar but your grammar is  

tested! There’s just no dedicated section. If,  in the listening paper you write a word in the  

plural, like informations but the answer  should be the uncountable, information,  

then it’s marked as wrong. You don’t get  any points for knowing the answer if the  

grammar doesn’t fit the space provided. What a  shame! However, on the Cambridge exam there is  

a specific part that tests your knowledge  of grammar and vocabulary on the B2 First,  

C1 Advanced and C2 Proficiency, there is a  section at the end of the Reading paper called  

‘Use of English’. This has exercises designed  to test very specific language like verb tenses,  

collocations, idioms and verb  patterns, to name just a few.

There are four papers on the IELTS exam -  Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking. You take  

them in that order on the test day, so Listening,  Reading, Writing, then Speaking. On the Cambridge  

A2 Key exam there are just three papers, Reading  and Writing together as one, and Listening and  

Speaking. On the B1 Preliminary exam and up to C2  Proficiency, all exams have four papers - Reading,  

Writing, Listening and Speaking and they are  taken in that order, except for the speaking. 

Speaking of the speaking exam, for the IELTS, it’s  just you and an examiner having a conversation in  

a room. For all the Cambridge exams, there  are two candidates and two examiners - one  

who speaks to you and the other who just  listens. For both IELTS and Cambridge,  

the Speaking paper can be on the same day as the  other papers or up to seven days before or after.

There’s a difference in the time the  examinations take. The IELTS exam is about two  

hours and forty-five minutes in total, while the  Cambridge exams can take up to four hours. They  

start at two hours for the A2 Key and each  higher level test takes more and more time.

And that’s a brief outline of the main  differences and similarities between the  

IELTS and Cambridge exams. If you want to  know about test questions in more detail,  

look out for my other videos  in this examination series.

Remember, when trying to decide which test is  best for you, you should think about why you  

need an official English qualification. If you  need the exam to go to a specific university,  

please check what exams your  university accepts. Similarly,  

if your employer has asked you to take an  official exam, check with them what they take.

If you are happy to stick with me for a little  longer then why not look at my video ‘10 Common  

Grammar Mistakes’ so you’ll know what not  to do whichever exam you decide to take!

Until next time, take care and goodbye!