Most plans to go abroad for studies fail for the same reason: not because of lack of funds, not due to bad grades, but because of an insufficient language score. Here is a practical guide on how to improve your English proficiency.
Every year, many students with good academic performance and impressive CVs and desire to study abroad get rejected from the universities or don’t even apply to the programs because of low English scores. Not due to lack of intelligence. Not due to lack of abilities. Only because of the score that assesses how well they can use a language they sometimes learn for years.
This is quite annoying, but the good news is that it’s curable. It is important to remember that English is not a talent, it is a skill just like other skills gained by training. It is fair to say that people who underwent systematic training in early childhood achieve success navigating through the language requirements of international educational institutions not because they were blessed with a talent to learn languages.
This guide outlines university requirements, various proficiency levels and ways to acquire necessary English skills.
What universities actually require — and why
When an international education institution mandates that a student attain a certain level of proficiency in English, it has calculated the point of such level so that the applicant may be capable of taking part in seminars, listening to lectures, writing academic papers, and getting by in his or her daily life in English-speaking surroundings. The answer, according to the research conducted over many years, is in the range of B2 to C1 (CEFR).
Although different universities employ different tests that serve to assess the level of English proficiency required for students to reach, the most popular and noticeably used ones include IELTS Academic, TOEFL iBT, and different Cambridge certificates of level B2 and C1. In order to make sure that you know exactly what these tests assess and check what the current level of your English is, it is imperative to follow this essential first step which is preparing for passing the tests.
A2–B1: Survival English
You can manage basic conversations and understand simple texts. Not yet sufficient for academic study abroad. 12–18 months of focused work needed.
B2: Independent user
You can follow complex discussions and write clearly on a range of topics. The minimum realistic level for most study abroad programmes. IELTS 5.5–6.0.
C1: Advanced
You can express ideas fluently and spontaneously. Required for competitive programmes at top universities. IELTS 6.5–7.5. This is where most serious study abroad applicants need to be.
C2: Mastery
Near-native proficiency. Required for Oxford, Cambridge, and other highly selective institutions for some programmes. IELTS 7.5+.
The tests you need to know about
Colleges in different countries analyze standardized exams differently. Before committing to studying for an exam for months and months, check which exam your target college accepts and what score they actually require.
IELTS Academic
Target: 6.5–7.5 overall
The most popular examination across UK, Australian, Canadian, and many other European universities. The student must demonstrate the four skills of listening, reading, writing, and speaking. Beware of the minimum band scores; for instance, an overall score of 7.0 and a 5.5 in writing will not be accepted.
TOEFL iBT
Target: 90–110
Adopted widely by universities in the United States and Canada. Computer-based and delivered over the internet. The integrated writing activities (completing tasks in response to reading or listening passages) can be challenging for students accustomed to separate formats.
Cambridge C1 Advanced (CAE)
Grade B or above
Considered highly credible throughout Europe and the UK. No expiration date which makes it different from IELTS and TOEFL which are valid for just two years. It’s the best option for you when you’re not prepared to apply yet but want a qualification valid for a lifetime.
Cambridge C2 Proficiency (CPE)
The highest level Cambridge certificate. Accepted by Oxford, Cambridge, and other highly selective institutions. If you can pass C2, almost no English requirement will be a barrier.
“The most common mistake students make is preparing for the test, not for the language. A student who genuinely reaches C1 will pass IELTS. A student who only learns IELTS tricks may not.”
The four skills — and why each one matters for study abroad
Four skills are evaluated by proficiency tests in the English language: listening, reading, writing and speaking. The skills measured in these tests are always related to the necessary real-life academic requirements of the students who plan to go abroad for their studies. Therefore, universities are interested in the results of proficiency tests in all four language skills rather than their overall scores only.
Listening is the trickiest skill for English learners. Native speakers use natural speed, academic vocabulary, unlikely topics plus strange pronunciations while giving lectures, so that even the students with fairly high skills can find it hard to comprehend. The students who trained only with non-native instructors are very often unprepared for this challenge. We thus recommend that you always train with native English teachers.
Reading involves comprehension and speed. To train for the IELTS Academic reading exam, you should read academic journals and material in TOEFL reading, including university textbooks. You should cultivate both speed and vocabulary since the reading process is quite fast during the test or in class.
Writing is the area where most students lose unexpected marks. Writing in academic English has its own particular conventions: conviction, paragraph organization, use of hedging language, citation styles, formal language, etc., which differ from the writing conventions of spoken language and from the conventions used in writing in other languages. Make sure that a native speaker (not just grammatically savvy) checks your writing.
You cannot acquire the skill of speaking just through studying. What does it mean? You have to speak – repeatedly, regularly, get feedback, and do so in real time. Learners with excellent passive knowledge of English (they understand everything) but weak active knowledge (they do not speak fluently) always demonstrate low performance in speaking tests and other real academic settings.
Building the English you need — a realistic timeline
One of the biggest misconceptions people have concerning the preparation for the English test is that it’s what you do within three months of your test date. While for many learners this may be an element of preparation, in reality it is far from that. In most situations, in order to move up from B1 level to C1 level, it would take from one year to two years of systematic practice. To advance from B2 level to C1 level usually takes from six months to a year of very intense preparation.
Thus, it is clear that a learner who wants to start studying at the university in September has to start preparing his/her English at least in January of the same year (but it would be better to start preparing the year before). The sooner you start preparing for your test, the more time you will have before the test date.
Practical preparation sequence
Begin your preparation by taking a practice test to find out your current level. Then determine the skill you are weakest in and work on that most. A teacher who is a certified native speaker can help you as well in your preparation process. Take the official test after practice tests result in passing grades. Also, make yourself ready to take the test again if you do not succeed the first time, as the majority of students score better after retaking the test.
The vocabulary your lecturers will assume you already have
Academic English is a language with special terminology — a collection of formalized words that are used in various subjects and lectures. Some of such words are “analyse”, “evaluate”, “synthesise”, “contextualise”, “methodology”, “framework”, “implication”, “criterion”. This set of words can be seen in lectures, essay questions as well as reading materials. If students do not know these words well, they will have to spend their mental abilities understanding the language instead of the content itself.
Averil Coxhead has gathered words in the so-called Academic Word List (AWL), which includes 570 word families that are often found in academic texts. Each student, planning to study abroad, must be familiar with this list.
Study abroad support
Smapse Education — from language readiness to university enrolment
Achieving the requisite level of English proficiency is just half the battle when it comes to studying abroad. After the attainment of the necessary language scores, prospective candidates must face yet another daunting challenge in application procedures, given how such processes differ for each country: they involve visa procedures, scholarship application procedures, writing personal statements, and various financial documentations.
Smapse Education is an education consultancy firm that established itself as a trustworthy and reliable consulting service for students in need. The company works with students in search of suitable educational institutions in different parts of the world, and their consultants provide guidance and support throughout the entire process.
University selection
Application support
Visa guidance
Scholarship advice
Test preparation help
Pre-departure support
The connection between fluency and academic success
There is one final point to make, and an important one at that—one that test scores cannot fully capture. Students who succeed academically in foreign countries are not necessarily those who merely passed a language test. Instead, they are the ones who are truly fluent in the language—that is, those who are able to follow a lecture given at the speed of light, those who can make contributions in discussions without having to translate their words in their minds while speaking, those who can write an essay under pressure at two in the morning without struggling in any way with the language.
Fluency itself is not reached only through preparing for the language test—it takes thousands of hours of genuine exposure to English. Have you read, listened, spoken in and written in English? And the more the better!
Remember to start early, be honest with yourself regarding your current level, work on all four language skills, and think how much of an achievement you can achieve through becoming truly fluent!
