I recently had a friend who went through this process and I wanted to share their experience. This is in no way any advice for what you should follow.
IELTS is an exam which tests your English language ability. It is required for many migration and student applications. Test centres are only set up in certain countries and Trinidad is one of them. The centre is located at the Centre for language Learning (CLL) in the University of the West Indies (UWI) St. Augustine Campus. Website - http://sta.uwi.edu/fhe/cll/ielts/.
There is one test at every month end assuming there are enough candidates for the program. Most times you would get a date for an exam two or more months away because of the high enrolment. The cost is $2000TTD and is not refundable. Basically if you miss the exam you have to pay again unless you have extreme circumstances such as illness, bereavement, trauma, military service or natural disasters. You have the option of paying a penalty to take only the verbal component on a different day if you miss the appointment.
The exam consists of four parts which test your English proficiency in four areas- speaking, writing, reading, listening. The speaking component takes part typically on the Thursday or Friday before the Saturday of the other exams. The writing, reading, listening are all done together on a single day.
In order to sign up, you first make an appointment online and this tells you the next available test date. You will get instructions and a deadline to make your payment at UWI. The office which you must visit in order to register is in the same building in which the exams take place. If you would like to have your exams at the same time as a friend or spouse you need to specify that when making the payment. Even though you may make the appointment and pay at the same time you may have the speaking exam on different days. After payment you will get confirmation and instructions for your exams. You should check that your schedule is the same 48 hours before the exam because it may change. Candidates from other countries are advised to arrive well before exam days because flight or boat delays are not grounds for a refund if you miss the exam.
After you register you are given 30 hours of access to official training material for all the components. You will also find many other free tips online. If you are not a native English speaker this can be difficult so you should be as comfortable as you can before taking the exam. Different countries/universities have different requirements for the minimum score they require. The country's immigration website of the university's website would have official details, be wary of advice from forums and other sites. Youtube has many examples of Band 9 (max score) spoken exams which show how exactly how the interview is conducted. Try to practice all components because for some people it may have been a while since they have sat or concentrated for such a long time for an exam.
There is a wheelchair ramp outside the building and an elevator once you are inside the building. The exam rooms are not on the same floor. You should verify that the elevator is working.
Try to reach early for your exams because one of the warnings is that traffic can be bad and parking may be difficult to find close by. During exams you are given a key for a locker which could hold a small backpack or medium sized purse easily. You must have the same ID which you registered with in order to enter the exams. Typical exam conditions apply during exams. You will be given writing paper, a pen, pencil and eraser so you do not need to bring your own. The building can be cold because of the air conditioning so you should bring a jacket. The only item you are allowed to bring is a clear bottle of water with the label removed. Bathroom breaks are taken out of your exam time and you are not given breaks between exams on Saturday. You are not allowed to leave during the listening portion because this would distract too many candidates and the recording is only played once.
Results are available 13 days (or two Fridays) after the exam day. If you do not collect it then it will be mailed for free to your registered address through regular post while may take a couple weeks to be delivered. You can also pay for expedited mailing.
The staff is very professional and helpful, however you should not try to be too friendly with them as requested in the guidelines.
Topics: English test for migration out of Trinidad and Tobago, leaving trinidad, studying abroad, exam to migrate to Australia, Canada, New Zealand, UK
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IELTS UWI Trinidad
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