Bengaluru: A survey conducted by LeapScholar revealed that 68% of respondents found that online preparation for IELTS was more convenient than physical coaching. Students indicated Covid as a major factor that digitized their entire test preparation and coaching to an online format. Moreover, most respondents believed that this trend was here to stay as it gave them more flexibility, convenience and accessibility. 

India is currently home to the largest number of IELTS test-takers in the world with an estimated 1.3-1.4 million Indian aspirants appearing for the exam annually. The survey, which was conducted amongst 60,000 aspirants, revealed the major areas of concern, needs, and dynamics of the Indian test-takers. According to the findings, 71% of IELTS aspirants used English as their primary language in school and yet 62% had trouble holding impromptu conversations in English. Notably, 56% of them want to improve in the listening module by improving their understanding of global accents in the IELTS exam. To combat the problem, around 42% of the respondents preferred preparing their listening skills by using sample tests, followed by 33% who relied on Hollywood movies and web series. Interestingly, 39% of the respondents use their regional native language as a filler during a conversation in English. 

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Commenting on the survey, Vaibhav Singh, Co-founder of LeapScholar said, “With Covid shifting the dynamics from traditional to online formats, IELTS test preparation has surely undergone a pedagogical transformation. The insightful findings of the survey throw light on the pulse and dynamics of the entire IELTS preparation journey of an Indian student. From physical coaching centres to having the entire process end to end online, students truly love the platform approach to solving accessibility with better convenience and top quality mentorship.”

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The survey also revealed that students found speaking and writing test modules to be the most difficult. Under the reading category, 37% found concentration to read long passages most challenging, closely followed by 36% who found the meaning of the passages difficult to comprehend.  In terms of speaking test, 27% of candidates thought they could improve their vocabulary, followed by confidence and fluency. 

IELTS test preparation is one of the key offerings by LeapScholar. With a growing community of over 2 million students, it is one of the largest communities of study abroad aspirants globally, helping students ace the exam.