First held in 2010, the day coincides with William Shakespeare’s birthday and celebrates English as one of six official UN languages.
To mark the occasion, we spoke to IELTS expert Chris Cavey about how the British Council’s online IELTS course helped 2.2 million students learn English last year, enabling them to live, work or study overseas.
Did you know that 193 countries are UN members? With that many members speaking so many languages, there are just six official languages – English has been used as the lingua franca or bridge language in Europe since the interwar years.
I’ve had a think about why I think taking an IELTS course with FutureLearn is worthwhile. Beyond being intellectually stimulating, it’s something which has a positive impact on your prospects in employment and movement, globally.
Here are my two key reasons for learning English skills using the IELTS course.
- “It really is a global test, why not learn English in a global classroom?”
You see, it’s not a test that just uses English as spoken here in the UK, but the accents and customs of English wherever it’s spoken, from Australia to the US.
It’s the world’s most popular English test for higher education and global migration – IELTS is accepted by over 10,000 organisations worldwide.
So if you’re thinking about pursuing a career or study abroad, IELTS opens doors to universities, employers and even immigration authorities to help make this a reality.
The course you will take reflects the international reach of IELTS – and English as a whole – learners from around the world share their opinions and questions, helping one another to be more confident about English language tests.
- “Even before your IELTS results, you’ll boost your English language confidence”
Our free online course, “Understanding IELTS: Techniques for English Language Tests,” aims to help build your confidence over six weeks. The course focuses on each part of the test (listening, reading, speaking and writing), to give you the best chance to improve and get your desired IELTS score.
By the end of the course you’ll gain a clear picture of what is expected of you in the exam, developing your English language skills in the process. Videos and practice materials illustrate the format of the IELTS test, the best way to prepare for the real thing.
Useful to anyone learning English, working or studying abroad, and taking an English test – especially if your plan is to take IELTS.
Join the free online course, “Understanding IELTS: Techniques for English Language Tests,” now or find out more about today’s celebrations using #EnglishLanguageDay.
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