There is no IELTS in Russia, but is there a silver lining?❓

In short, yes. IELTS is still available to us in nearby, visa-free countries. However, it is extremely expensive and time-consuming to take it - you have to take several days off, buy tickets, and book accommodation.

Believe it or not, I see a silver lining here. I hope, maybe, this will make people take preparation more seriously. There is a whole cohort of people who take IELTS many times - by "many" I mean in the region of seven or ten. They are the people who need a certain score for each part - a high score - for emigration or studies. Why do they do that? Because it's cheap and easy, but preparing is long and hard.

In the past, when IELTS cost 14,000-20,000 RUB, many people in St Pete or Moscow could afford to take it every two-three months. So, there were people who instead of investing time into quality preparation, would do just that - take IELTS over and over again hoping for some lifehacks to work and for examiners to finally give them a higher score.

I specifically remember two students like that. They needed very high scores for emigration (getting 8 is no mean feat). Yet, they would come to class every week and answer "No" to all of my questions: "Did you watch that TED talk? Did you write that essay? Did you rewrite your old essay? Did you do anything in English at all?" But then they would ask their own question: "By the way, I read this lifehack on the internet. Would you say it's a good thing to do?" Since they could afford it, they simply kept taking IELTS - and not getting the scores they needed.

These students were by no means an exception. But the stakes have risen. Quality preparation has become more important. Relying on life hacks has become riskier.

How is that for a silver lining? Will IELTS return?❓