For many aspiring students, immigrants and job-seekers in the UAE and other GCC countries, achieving a perfect score in the IELTS is crucial for pursuing their dreams and advancing their careers. This can be a challenging endeavour as there can be several factors such as anxiety, the three-hour test time, and other unexpected circumstances that can adversely affect a candidate’s performance. As a result, retaking the IELTS becomes a viable option for those seeking to improve their scores. This is the reason why IELTS has now introduced the IELTS One Skill Retake allowing candidates to retake any one part of the test: Reading, Listening, Speaking or Writing. Now, this new option is available to test takers in the UAE and the GCC countries. This article aims to discuss how this Retake could be booked and the ways this new feature would be an advantage for candidates.
Booking the IELTS One Skill Retake for Academic and General tests
The retake can be done if one has completed the entire test on computer and received the score, from an IELTS test centre that offers the IELTS One Skill Retake. Moreover, this retake should be completed within 60 days from the original test date and one skill can be booked for retake per test. A candidate would receive a new Test Report Form as their results. This includes the updated score from the One Skill Retake and the scores of the previous skills that were not retaken. Most importantly, this form would have the same date as the candidate’s original Academic or General IELTS test.
Benefits of One Skill Retake
- The retake would have the same format and timing as the original test and therefore, the approach to it remains the same.
- It boosts the candidates’ confidence as they step into the test, and gives them an opportunity to showcase their potential.
- The candidate saves time and resources by not having to attempt all the other three skills if they have received a satisfactory result in them.
- The other test scores remain unchanged and one can confidently attempt the skill they need to improve on.
- The new Test Report Form will have the new scores and the ones from the original performance. The candidate is free to choose the old form or the updated one.
In my opinion, this bold move to allow candidates retake one skill instead of taking the full test again, provided they have received a lower band in one of the skills, is definitely going to be an excellent opportunity to demonstrate their language competency. With the right preparation and practice, candidates would be able to achieve their desired score through this way. Let us hope that this feature will boost the confidence of the candidates in the UAE and other Gulf countries.
By: Lydia Grace Raju, Verbal Trainer
