IELTS is no longer the only option for those wanting to meet their visa application requirements to work in technology sector in Australia. Now you have a faster, leaner and meaner option in the form of Pearson’s Test for English Academic (PTE Academic). In a short time PTE has overtaken IELTS and is poised to become the number one English exam in the next few years. The presence of PTE real exam question banks has made things even easier.
However, you might be wondering which exam is good for you? Should you take IELTS or PTE? This article will help you to make up your mind.
If you have been using computers for a while then you will find PTE Academic to your liking. This exam is taken on a computer and is even evaluated by a computer software. There is almost no human intervention. You don’t need to be afraid of the native speaker sitting in front of you. But you do need to be comfortable typing on a keyboard and speaking into a microphone.
Have you worked or lived in an English speaking environment already? If yes then PTE again is the better option for you. Most of the question types in PTE are based on everyday situations that you face in your life. For example, describing an image or retelling a lecture will come naturally to someone who has studied in a college where the medium of instruction is English.
Another factor to consider is your previous experience with English exams. Have you taken IELTS before multiple times without much success? Then I guess it is no brainer for you to give a shot to PTE Academic.
Many people turn towards PTE after experiencing what we might call a human bias. There is a perception that IELTS examiners have some inherent prejudices against people of certain backgrounds. If you feel you haven’t been able to achieve your desired score yet despite being reasonably good at the English language, then it is time for you to go for PTE Academic.
Carefully evaluate all these parameters and make a wise decision. If you answer negative to most of these questions then you are probably better staying with IELTS. Try to find out why you keep failing to reach your goal in IELTS and work on that.