An employer, recruiter or university asks for "an English certificate". Two names come up again and again: Linguaskill from Cambridge and IELTS. Both are reliable tests, but they are built for different situations. Here is how they compare.
Kognixr is independent and not affiliated with Cambridge University Press & Assessment, IDP or the British Council. Always check what the organisation asking for your result accepts.
At a glance
| Linguaskill | IELTS | |
|---|---|---|
| Versions | General and Business | Academic and General Training |
| How you take it | On a computer, at a centre or online; organisations can choose the modules | At a test centre, on paper or on a computer; all four skills |
| Reading and listening | Adaptive: questions get easier or harder as you answer | Fixed set of questions |
| Speaking | Recorded on the computer | Face to face with an examiner |
| Result | A CEFR level and a score for each skill, usually within days | A band score from 0 to 9 for each skill and overall |
| Typical use | Recruitment, company programmes, some universities | Universities and many visa and immigration purposes |
How to choose
- For a visa or immigration: check the government's list. In many countries this means IELTS or another named test; Linguaskill is usually not on these lists.
- For a job or a company programme: Linguaskill Business is often faster, cheaper to organise and closer to real work tasks. Ask the employer whether they accept it.
- For university: follow the university's list exactly. Some accept Linguaskill, many accept IELTS Academic.
- If you can choose freely: think about speaking. Some people perform better with a person (IELTS), others with a computer (Linguaskill).
Preparation that helps for both
- Read texts at your level and one level above, and check every wrong answer.
- Practise writing an email and a longer text under time pressure, then compare with a model answer.
- Learn the words that change meaning: may and must, until and by, some and all.
Practice for Linguaskill
The Linguaskill Business Reading & Writing Trainer and the Linguaskill Reading & Writing Trainer (General) cover every task type with practice tests, mock tests and explained answers. See also Linguaskill Business or General? and the Linguaskill Business online course (two free lessons). Kognixr does not publish IELTS material.
