I am taking IELTS examination after two weeks because it is required for taking my undergraduate degree. I am only worried about few things and it might sound trivial to you but please help me out here:
- Must I use a British accent in the speaking test and a British spelling of words in writing because I am so accustomed to American accent and spelling...I don't have any problem understanding a British accent, though.
- When writing essays shall I be extremely cautious about punctuation?
Really appreciate your help!
Has anyone taken the test?
Dear Ignitus,
The British RP pronunciation and the American pronunciation are both considered correct. Both are even "Queens English" as opposed to Scotts and Cockney. If American English comes naturally to you then by all means use it. My experience has been that Britishers are usually not critical of American pronunciations. Strangely, the only one I've ever been hassled about by a Britisher was "tomato" which Americans pronounce tuh-may-toh or tuh-may-tuh and the British pronounce tuh-mah-to.
Watch your puctuation and review the rules in any English grammar book but don't be "extremely cautious". That's like trying to be a perfect speller and nobody ever is. Even the best and brightest people occassionally need to refer to the dictionary or the internet for proper spelling .
Ignitus: I searched the answer with regarding to your query. The answer is: any kind of accent would be feasible during the exam.
3. What kind of accents can be heard in the Listening and Speaking tests?
As IELTS is an international test, a variety of English accents are used in both of these examinations.
Here is the link for more FAQ:
http://www.ielts.org/candidates/faq/default.aspx#3
Brennus and Boy, Thank you very much!
There is still one point I am uncertain of...Must I change my "color", "theater" and "practice" into "colour", "theatre" and "practise". It is not that hard to do, honestly, but I am sure I will end up using both spelling without even noticing it.
Dear Ignitus,
You can use ANY standard spelling. Amercian or British spelling are both fine.
You can use ANY native speaker pronunciation.
The real problem for students doing the IELTS is grammar accuracy. The examiner will be looking at the clarity of your answers, not the individual spelling or pronunciation of a word.
Good luck!
Mike MacDermott
http://www.write4ielts.bravehost.com