Dyslexia and IELTS

If you have been certified as dyslexic you may include this information on the IELTS application form.

Q.22 Do you have any special requirements due to ill health/medical condition?
You will be required to attach supporting medical evidence.


Although the speaking and listening section will be the same as other candidates, you may ask the test centre to provide you with extra time on the reading and writing section as dyslexics tend to read and write at a slower pace.


The exam paper will be marked the same as everyone else, so care should be taken with spelling.

In the listening section, errors mean that you lose marks, so you will need to work on the alphabet, numbers and spelling in general.

In the writing sections, use words that you find easier to spell e.g. instead of “decrease” use “fall”.


Reading is a matter of transferring words found in the passage so ensure that they are spelt the same. Reading speed can be somewhat increased by learning 220 Dolch Sight Words (provided here). These help with fluency.
You have read this article with the title Dyslexia and IELTS. You can bookmark this page URL http://apostolosmakrides.blogspot.com/2012/02/dyslexia-and-ielts.html. Thanks!

1 comment for "Dyslexia and IELTS"

  1. The exam paper spelling may be quite a challenge. Thus, there should be modified requirements for those students who have dyslexia. For instance, while writing a research paper, students can go to page and find best variants of hooks and catchy phrases. Therefore, they can learn how to substitute difficult words with easier, but not less important or level-determined.

    ReplyDelete