After Your Course
Nobody studies English for its own sake. They study it to get into a university, to move somewhere, to work, or to stop being the person in the meeting who stays quiet. Here is where the score actually takes you.
A language course is a step in something longer, and the students who get the most out of one are the students who knew what the next step was before they arrived.
That is not a small point. It changes which course you pick, how long you stay, which test you sit and when you sit it. Someone aiming at a university deadline in March has a completely different term ahead of them from someone who wants to be able to hold a conversation at work.
Four things students do next
These are the routes we see most often. None of them is the serious one and none is the soft option; they are just different destinations, and the course that suits each of them is different too.
University abroad
Degree programs almost always ask for proof of English. Getting the score before you apply means the language question is settled while the rest of the application is still open.
IELTS Academic, TOEFL, PTEWork or migration
Immigration systems and overseas employers use test scores as the common measure of English. Which test and which score is set by the country, so check theirs first.
IELTS, often PTEWorking holiday
Live and work somewhere for a season. The visa is paperwork; the English is the part that decides whether you get a decent job when you land.
Practical speakingCareer at home
A promotion, a transfer, a role that needs English on calls. In Korea and Japan this usually has a number attached to it, and that number is TOEIC.
TOEIC, Business EnglishWhich test serves which goal
The most expensive mistake in this whole process is preparing for the wrong test. Work backwards: find what your university, employer or immigration authority accepts, then pick the test, then pick the course.
| Test | Mainly used for | Prepare here |
|---|---|---|
| IELTS | The broadest of the four. Universities across the UK, Australia, Canada and New Zealand, and immigration authorities in several countries. Academic and General Training are different exams for different purposes. | IELTS Preparation, or the Double Guarantee |
| TOEFL | Most associated with universities in the United States, and accepted widely elsewhere. Academic in style throughout. | TOEFL Preparation |
| PTE | Computer-based and quick to return a result. Widely accepted by universities and by visa authorities in Australia and New Zealand. | PTE Preparation |
| TOEIC | Workplace English rather than academic. The score employers in Korea and Japan already know how to read, and often the one written into a promotion track. | TOEIC Preparation, or the TOEIC Guarantee |
We deliberately do not print the score you need. Requirements differ by country, by university, by program and by year, and an out-of-date number on a school website is the kind of thing someone books a flight around. Get the current requirement from the institution or authority you are applying to, then bring it to us and we will tell you honestly how far away you are.
If a working holiday is the plan
A number of countries run schemes that let young people live and work there for a season, and the paperwork is rarely the hard part. The hard part is landing with enough English to get a job worth having rather than the one nobody else wanted. That is a different skill from exam English: it is speaking under pressure, on the phone, to people who will not slow down for you. Our working holiday course is built around that specific problem. The eligibility rules, age limits and quotas belong to each country and change from year to year, so confirm the current terms with that country's embassy before you commit to dates.
Leave with the score, not the intention
The most common regret we hear is from students who studied hard, went home, and planned to sit the test later. Later gets crowded. The work fades, the confidence fades faster, and the exam becomes a thing to be dreaded rather than the last step of a term that went well.
Sit it while you are still here if you can, or at least while the term is fresh. You will have teachers to ask, a study room open until 2am, and classmates going through the same thing. A score in hand also changes what your application timeline looks like: you can apply as soon as you are ready instead of waiting on a test date months out.
If you are still deciding how long to stay, that decision belongs to this conversation too. Extending is normal and it is easier to arrange from inside the country than to regret from outside it, though a longer stay usually means extending your permit as well, which the visa and SSP guide covers.
Questions about what comes next
Which English test should I take?+
What is the difference between IELTS Academic and General Training?+
How long is my score valid?+
Can I go straight from a course here to a university abroad?+
What is a working holiday?+
Do employers at home care about a course abroad?+
Can I extend or change course while I am here?+
Tell us where you are going
Bring us the requirement you are aiming at and we will tell you which course gets you there and roughly how long it takes. That answer is free, and it is more useful than a brochure.