Reading for IELTS and TOEFL  

An ability to read and understand a text is a key to literacy, and by developing their reading skills, learners will also progress in the other skills of listening, writing and speaking.

    Reading is a key element in  IELTS certification, as it is for TOEFL. Both certifications test the four language skills of literacy, namely reading and listening, writing and speaking, and each skill carries an equal weighting in the different tests. However when it comes to preparing for IELTS, TOEFL or other language certifications, students are advised to spend more time on developing their reading skills, than on directly developing the other skills. Developing a learner's proficiency in the active skills of writing and speaking is best achieved by exposure to new models, new vocabulary and new language features, and this comes from developing the learner's passive skills of reading and listening. Of the two, reading is the more demanding, the more likely to develop the learner's passive skills in an enduring way.

    For all students beyond beginner level – and arguably for beginners too in the case of a second or foreign language – reading is by far the most valuable of the four key language skills. Learners who have difficulty reading will also have difficulty with writing and listening. Reading introduces learners to new vocabulary, new structures, and new language devices, doing so naturally, showing language as it is used in context. It broadens a learner's knowledge of a language, boosting their ability to speak, write and listen with more competence, greater confidence, and more understanding.  Teaching learners the techniques that will help them score better on a reading test is only of limited value, unless learners are at the same time being encouraged or taught to develop their reading skills.

Reading and the tests

     IELTS tests come in two forms, called Academic and General. There is actually not a great deal of difference between the two forms, and as far as reading is concerned, the main difference lies in the choice of texts. Most of the exercise types, though not all, are common to both forms of IELTS test. This is notably the case with those used in the reading tests on this website.

    The IELTS reading test takes an hour, during which students have to answer a total of forty questions based on three different texts - i.e. an average of about 14 questions to answer in 20 minutes on each text.

    The TOEFL iBT reading test is shorter, with two passages to read in about 35 minutes, and ten questions on each text.

    However, apart from the time allowed and the number of texts, the two reading tests are similar; and more importantly, so is the job of preparing for them. There are no specific reading skills to be mastered for any particular test; there are just reading skills - skills that allow a person to read and understand written English in the same way as they understand spoken English. In particular these include understanding the general gist of what is written, without immediately understanding all the detail, just as we understand spoken or audio texts without having to understand every single word. And as with so many activities, practice makes progress.

    Reading practice tests on Linguapress.  
   Among the hundreds of reading texts available on Linguapress.com, and in addition to the learning / teaching and language development exercises that accompany all texts, a growing selection of texts are accompanied by IELTS-style reading tests.These cover a range of topics from history to the environment.

    Each IELTS-style reading test on Linguapress.com comprises about 20 questions, which is deliberately more than the number used per text in IELTS test papers. As in IELTS test papers, questions are grouped by category or question type, and cover the categories commonly used for testing purposes in IELTS papers. These include, among others:

Match headings - students have to find the paragraphs that correspond to a number of possible sub-headings.

MCQ True / False / not given - students must choose whether a particular bit of information agrees with what is said in the text, or not, or whether the text does not actually give any relevant information.

Complete the sentence: - students have to add as few words as possible, maybe just one or two words, to complete a sentence that reflects what was said in the text.

Missing words: students have to put back missing words into a summary of the text.

Match information: students have to match two bits of information given in the text, for example an event and a date, or an idea and a person.

How hard are the questions?
    Answer: it varies a lot. Some of the questions are very easy indeed. For example students may just be asked to provide a date, or a person's name, answers that can be very easily found in the text. Other questions, such as some of the multiple choice questions, may require a lot more thought, and a clear understanding of detail.

    This is deliberate. The purpose of IELTS and TOEFL reading tests is to provide students with a grade attesting their level in English, not to teach them English. The mix of easy and harder questions means that candidates get very varying scores on the test. It is the score  that will open up different educational or professional pathways. UK universities, for instance, generally require an IELTS test score of between 6 and 7.5.

    On the reading test, this means that students should aim to get at least two thirds of the answers right, i.e. a minimum score of 26 / 40... with at least 30 / 40 if applying to courses in the most prestigious universities, or courses with very competitive entry requirements.

The time factor
    Time is a critical factor in IELTS tests. The aim of the test being to gauge students' proficiency in English, time is limited. For the reading test, students have to answer 40 questions on three texts, in the space of one hour. This involves being able to read quite quickly, and also to scan a text for its main ideas, before going into the detail. The faster a student can read and scan a text, the more time is available for the detailed study; a student who reads slowly or with difficulty may thus be able to answer all the more general questions, but have less time left to check through the detail.... leading to a lower score.

    However, while time is strictly limited for testing purposes, it does not need to be limited for practice purposes, particularly for students starting to prepare for IELTS.  The process of preparation for any test involves getting familiar with the format, knowing what to look for, and knowing how to express it. Students are thus encouraged to start preparing for their test by allowing themselves all the time they need to work on each test paper on this website or elsewhere, and only later, as the test date gets nearer,  to limit themselves in time to half an hour, and eventually just 20 - 25 minutes for any one text... which is slightly more than under exam conditions. 

Reading and other skills
    More generally preparing for the reading test of any certification involves developing one's familiarity with the language and how it is used, reading for reading's sake, reading far beyond practice reading texts and old test papers, and reading to develop one's vocabulary across a wide spectrum of topics. Check out the wide variety of advanced level reading texts on Linguapress, texts that are not accompanied by reading tests, but by exercises and activities to develop a student's vocabulary, grammar and reading skills, not just to test them..

    While IELTS, TOEFL and other certifications test the four essential skills of literacy, not just reading skills, it is a student's ability to read English that will ultimately condition their ability to perform successfully in most academic or work environments.