Do you know how long does it take to increase a Half band score?

How much time do I need to go up 1 band score (for example from a 6 up to a 7)?

SGI London Academic English teacher, Simon talks about the study that is required to improve your IELTS band score.

If you’re talking about going from one band to another, it does take quite a long time, I would say. I’d say half a band can take anywhere from 6 weeks to 3 months. An entire band could take 6 months to a year depending on; how much you study; what your work ethic is like and you know, in general, how fast you learn English… because everyone is different, right? OK? 

Read this New IELTS research: how long does it take to increase half a band score?

This IELTS Research Report investigated the relationship between IELTS test preparation, learner background variables (hours of study, amount of English language use, level of proficiency etc.) and IELTS score gains. Fifty-two Korean students, enrolled in IELTS preparation classes, participated over 3-months, sitting an IELTS test at the start and end of the period.

A key finding was that students achieved significantly higher scores if they fully participated in specific IELTS preparation programs. Even a course of only three months made a big difference. 

Other interesting findings were that:

• on average students improved by slightly less than half a band (0.3); approximately 60% of participants increased their score by either 0.5 of a band or a full band
• the largest score gain was in writing and the least was in speaking 
• hours of study and level of proficiency were the best indicators of language gain
• the more hours of study spent on a language skill during the course and outside of class time, the higher the score gain
• students with lower levels of English made greater gains (not unusual, as improvements at this level have more impact)
• background variables such as anxiety, personal issues or work commitments all played a part in affecting IELTS score outcomes.

This study highlights that preparing for IELTS is about considerably more than achieving a desired test score and that language proficiency gain requires an invested time commitment, possibly more than one often thinks.

This IELTS Research Report has similar findings to a previous Research Report published in 2003: Investigating the relationship between intensive English language study and band score gain on IELTS

Over 120 IELTS Research Reports are available in full for free on website.

Click Here and Find more on Investigation of relationships between learner background, linguistic progression and score gain on IELTS

Researchers: Okim Kang, and Kate Yaw, Northern Arizona University, USA; and Hyunkee Ahn and Soh-Yon Chung, Seoul National University, South Korea