See open times in your time zone
Who teaches: Mike, CELTA, 8.5 in Speaking
Mike holds the Cambridge CELTA and is based in Hanoi, Vietnam. In his own IELTS test he scored 7.5 overall and 8.5 in Speaking. He teaches every session himself; About Mike has more detail. Three results have been reported back to him, each anonymous: 6.0 to 7.5 overall, 5.5 to 7.0 in Writing and 6.5 to 8.0 in Speaking. No band is promised: progress depends on your starting point and the work you do between sessions.
How online lessons work from Chicago
A regular lesson lasts 60 minutes, live and one-to-one, with feedback during the session rather than days later. It can cover Listening, Reading, Writing (Task 1 and Task 2, marked against the public band descriptors) or Speaking (Parts 1, 2 and 3 in the real test format). See IELTS Speaking coaching, the Speaking tutor page for the USA and IELTS Writing feedback.
The booking steps and how your price is shown are on the page for learners in the USA. In short: payment options and your price in your own currency appear on the booking page before you pay, there is no subscription or package, and a paid 30-minute trial can be taken once, on your first booking. You can reschedule at no charge up to 12 hours before the slot.
Chicago and Hanoi: a 12 or 13 hour gap
NIST lists the Central time zone at UTC-6 on standard time and UTC-5 on daylight time, with daylight saving time running from March to November. The IANA time zone database lists America/Chicago at UTC-6 on standard time with US daylight saving rules, matching those Central offsets. Its Asia file lists Vietnam under the entry Asia/Ho_Chi_Minh at UTC+7 with no daylight saving rule, and a note in the file says that entry agrees with all of Vietnam since 1975-06-13.
So Hanoi is 13 hours ahead while Chicago is on standard time and 12 hours ahead on daylight time. With no daylight saving rule listed for Vietnam, Hanoi stays on UTC+7, so a lesson at a fixed Hanoi time moves by one hour on your Chicago clock when the US clocks change. This page lists no clock-change dates. The table reads from your side: a Chicago time, then the matching Hanoi time.
| Chicago time | Hanoi, Chicago on daylight time (+12 hours) | Hanoi, Chicago on standard time (+13 hours) |
|---|---|---|
| 06:00 | 18:00, same day | 19:00, same day |
| 07:00 | 19:00, same day | 20:00, same day |
| 19:00 | 07:00, next day | 08:00, next day |
| 20:00 | 08:00, next day | 09:00, next day |
This is a conversion, not a list of open slots: Mike's calendar decides which times are open, and no particular hours are promised. The booking calendar shows real slots in your own time zone; check the time it shows for the date you pick, especially around a US clock change.
IELTS test centre in Chicago: the one venue ielts.org lists
Band Booster coaches; it does not run the test. It does not register you for the test, set exam fees or issue results. ielts.org says IELTS USA oversees IELTS test delivery in the United States and that IELTS is jointly owned by the British Council, IDP IELTS and Cambridge University Press & Assessment; Band Booster is independent of all three. This section was read on ielts.org and IDP's site in October 2026, so confirm it there before you book.
The venue in the finder
ielts.org's US test centre finder showed 27 results for the United States, and the only one in Chicago was at 105 West Madison Street, Suite 1901, Chicago, Illinois 60602. Its ielts.org page lists the Academic test and the General Training test, each with two delivery options: Computer, and Computer (Writing on Paper). The finder and that centre page are this page's sources for Chicago. The finder lists centres in other US cities too, so check it for a venue that suits you.
The centre's ielts.org page has a 'Book A Test' button on each of its four test entries. Its note on prices says to check with your local test centre for more information, so for prices and anything else, check with the centre. Band Booster does not book tests.
Computer, or Computer with Writing on Paper
Writing on Paper means taking IELTS on computer and writing the Writing component by hand. ielts.org's Writing on Paper page says the task types, scoring and time allocation are the same, and that your results form does not say you chose it. For how formats, results timing and the other options work across the US, see computer-delivered IELTS in the United States.
What the Chicago listing does not show
- One Skill Retake. Not mentioned in the Chicago listing. ielts.org says it is widely available but to check with your test centre; see One Skill Retake or a full retake.
- IELTS for UKVI. Not mentioned either, and the finder does not mark the Chicago venue as UKVI Approved. The IELTS USA page says one centre offers the only UKVI testing in the US; the finder's UKVI Approved filter returned a single US centre, in Arlington, Virginia (the Washington DC metro area), and the IELTS USA registration page also places the only UKVI testing in the US in Arlington, Virginia. Check with the immigration authority which test is required.
- IELTS Online. ielts.org describes it as Academic only, taken at home or in a private location. ielts.org's pages do not name the United States as an IELTS Online country and the Chicago listing shows computer options only, but IDP's global article on IELTS for the USA says you may also be able to take IELTS Online from home, so the providers' pages differ: check ielts.org and ask the organisation that wants your score before assuming it.
- Paper. ielts.org's 5 March 2026 notice announced that IELTS would no longer be offered as a paper-based test from mid-2026, with timelines varying by market. The IELTS USA page, read in October 2026, still describes IELTS on Paper as available to some test takers who may need access arrangements, so the two ielts.org pages do not read the same. Ask the centre which format applies.
Fees, dates and test day
This page quotes no exam fee or test date. The centre's ielts.org page says prices may vary and to check with the local test centre. ielts.org's test day page says to bring the same identification document you used when you booked, and that you will not be able to take the test if you bring the wrong ID or forget it.
Which test: Academic or General Training?
The Chicago listing offers both tests, and the organisation that asks for your result decides which you need; the IELTS USA page recommends checking with it. This page states no score or test-type requirement for any institution. See Academic or General Training. Band Booster does not give visa or immigration advice.
What to practise before test day
The table follows ielts.org's Academic test pages; the Speaking and Listening tests are the same in General Training. The last column is general teaching advice, not ielts.org guidance.
| Section | Format, per ielts.org | General practice advice |
|---|---|---|
| Listening | About 30 minutes, 40 questions in four parts of 10; each recording heard once only | Follow a recording once through without pausing |
| Reading | 60 minutes, 3 sections, 40 questions | Practise finishing all three sections inside the hour |
| Writing | 60 minutes: Task 1 at least 150 words in about 20 minutes, Task 2 at least 250 words in about 40; Task 2 counts twice as much | Practise planning and finishing both tasks inside 60 minutes, on screen or by hand |
| Speaking | Face-to-face interview, 11 to 14 minutes: Part 1 4 to 5 minutes, Part 2 3 to 4 including 1 minute to prepare, Part 3 4 to 5 | Answer aloud, to time, with a person listening |
The band score calculator shows how skill scores average into an overall band, and the Speaking Part 2 timer helps you practise a long turn.
Using ielts.org's preparation materials alongside lessons
ielts.org's preparation resources section includes sample test questions and Writing test resources. The sample test questions page has a heading that describes its practice papers and resources as available at no charge; this page does not say the same of other ielts.org resources. The Writing page has a video series on how Writing is marked, with a video for each marking criterion.
One way to combine them with lessons: do a sample section on your own, to time, then bring the questions that went wrong, or your Writing answer, to the lesson, where the time can go to one skill. Sample material does not replace feedback on your own answers, and no band is promised either way.
Online only: not an IELTS class in Chicago
IELTS classes in Chicago can mean a course at a venue. This is a different format: Mike teaches you alone, live on Google Meet, with no classroom or group class in Chicago. If you want classmates or a fixed weekly timetable, a class may suit you better; one-to-one lessons depend on which slots are open in Mike's calendar. How to choose an online IELTS tutor goes further.