Why partner with us?

BLC civil company is a reputable and prestigious English language centre in Lebanon that provides high-standard English teaching. Our continuous growth, place in the market, high- standards, good relations and earned respect among the Lebanese community make us efficient partners in Lebanon.

Visit: www.britishcouncil.org.lb/en

What is IELTS?

IELTS (International English Testing System) If you wish to emigrate or study abroad, IELTS will be your key to prove your competency in English.

IELTS test is a proof of competency in the English language that is recognised by all universities in Lebanon, the UK, Australia and New Zealand, by many universities in Canada and the US, and by universities in Europe. It demonstrates both your passive and active language abilities. It is also a requirement for emigration to Australia, Canada and New Zealand. IELTS uses a nine-band scale to clearly identify levels of proficiency, from non-user (band score 1) through to expert (band score 9).

How can BLC help you take IELTS?

Register at BLC
Due to our cooperation with the British Council, you can now register for IELTS at our premises as the BLC is now an Official IELTS Registration Centre. Our staff will assist you and answer all your questions regarding IELTS.

Take our IELTS preparation course
The BLC teaching team also offers a special preparation course for all candidates who plan to take the Academic or the General Training test. To join this course, you will need an Advanced or higher level of English.

You can take a placement test at one of our centres for us to identify your knowledge of English and place you correctly in the right level. As a result, you might need to take one or more General English Courses to reach the desired level before you can join our IELTS preparation course.

About IELTS
Students must select either the Academic or General Training.

Students are tested in all four skills: reading, writing, listening, and speaking. There is a choice of Reading and Writing modules.

The academic Reading and Writing modules assess whether a candidate is ready to study or train in a medium of English at an undergraduate or postgraduate level.

The general Training Reading and Writing Modules are not designed to test the full range of formal language skills required for academic purposes.

Test format
The IELTS test assesses your abilities in listening, reading, writing and speaking – in less than three hours.
There are two types of the IELTS test: IELTS Academic and IELTS General Training. Listening and Speaking are the same for both tests, but the subject matter of the Reading and Writing components differs depending on which test you take.
The Listening, Reading and Writing components of all IELTS tests are completed on the same day, with no breaks in between them.
The Speaking component, however, can be completed up to a week before or after the other tests. Your test centre will advise.

The total test time is 2 hours and 45 minutes.

• Listening
• Speaking
• Writing
• Reading

Test format – Listening
30 minutes

You will listen to four recordings of native English speakers and then write your answers to a series of questions.

• Recording 1 – a conversation between two people set in an everyday social context.
• Recording 2 - a monologue set in an everyday social context, e.g. a speech about local facilities.
• Recording 3 – a conversation between up to four people set in an educational or training context, e.g. a university tutor and a student discussing an assignment.
• Recording 4 - a monologue on an academic subject, e.g. a university lecture

Test format – Reading
60 minutes

The Reading component consists of 40 questions, designed to test a wide range of reading skills. These include reading for gist, reading for main ideas, reading for detail, skimming, understanding logical argument and recognising writers' opinions, attitudes and purpose.

IELTS Academic test - this includes three long texts which range from the descriptive and factual to the discursive and analytical. These are taken from books, journals, magazines and newspapers. They have been selected for a non-specialist audience but are appropriate for people entering university courses or seeking professional registration.

IELTS General Training test - this includes extracts from books, magazines, newspapers, notices, advertisements, company handbooks and guidelines. These are materials you are likely to encounter on a daily basis in an English-speaking environment.

Test format – Academic Writing
60 minutes

IELTS Academic test Topics are of general interest to, and suitable for, test takers entering undergraduate and postgraduate studies or seeking professional registration. There are two tasks:

• Task 1 - you will be presented with a graph, table, chart or diagram and asked to describe, summarise or explain the information in your own words. You may be asked to describe and explain data, describe the stages of a process, how something works or describe an object or event.
• Task 2 - you will be asked to write an essay in response to a point of view, argument or problem. Responses to both tasks must be in a formal style.

Test format – Speaking
11–14 minutes

The speaking component assesses your use of spoken English. Every test is recorded.

• Part 1 - the examiner will ask you general questions about yourself and a range of familiar topics, such as home, family, work, studies and interests. This part lasts between four and five minutes.
• Part 2 - you will be given a card which asks you to talk about a particular topic. You will have one minute to prepare before speaking for up to two minutes. The examiner will then ask one or two questions on the same topic.
• Part 3 - you will be asked further questions about the topic in Part 2. These will give you the opportunity to discuss more abstract ideas and issues. This part of the test lasts between four and five minutes.