Who teaches you: Mike
Mike is a CELTA-certified teacher based in Hanoi, Vietnam. In his own IELTS test he scored 7.5 overall and 8.5 in Speaking. He teaches every session himself, one-to-one over Google Meet and in English, and Band Booster IELTS is independent of the organisations that own IELTS. Read more on the About Mike page.
Results that students have reported back include 6.0 → 7.5 overall, 5.5 → 7.0 in Writing and 6.5 → 8.0 in Speaking. These are individual outcomes, not averages or typical results. No band is promised; progress depends on the starting point and the work between sessions.
How one-to-one online IELTS lessons work for learners in the USA
Every lesson is 60 minutes, live and one-to-one on Google Meet, taught by Mike in English. Feedback comes during the session, not days later, and a session can be recorded on request.
Speaking
Speaking is practised in the real three-part format: Part 1 questions on familiar topics, the Part 2 cue card with one minute to prepare and one to two minutes to speak, and Part 3 discussion. The four criteria (Fluency and Coherence, Lexical Resource, Grammatical Range and Accuracy, Pronunciation) are weighted equally, so feedback can focus on the criteria that need the most work. The Speaking format is the same in Academic and General Training.
Writing
Task 1 and Task 2 are marked against the public band descriptors. In Task 1, Academic candidates describe a chart, graph, table, diagram or process and General Training candidates write a letter; Task 2 is an essay in both and counts twice as much as Task 1 in the Writing band.
Listening and Reading
Both are covered too, and a session can concentrate on a single skill. Between lessons, use the band score calculator to see how skill scores average into an overall band and the Speaking Part 2 timer to practise a long turn. See Speaking coaching, Writing feedback, Listening coaching and Reading coaching for each skill.
Price and commitment: shown in your own currency before you pay
A regular session lasts 60 minutes and is paid per booking. The booking page shows your price in your own currency before you pay. There is no subscription and no package to commit to. Your first booking can be a paid 30-minute trial, available once per student. No band is guaranteed.
How booking works
- Choose a slot in the booking calendar, shown in your own time zone.
- See your price, then pay. PayPal is available, and cards can be used through PayPal guest checkout.
- A Google Meet link and calendar invite arrive by email straight away, with a link to set up your account.
- Have your lesson; written progress notes appear in your account afterwards.
Rescheduling is without charge up to 12 hours before the slot. Cancellations inside 12 hours are not refunded.
Online only: no centre or classroom in the United States
Band Booster has no classroom, test centre or group class in the United States. It is a private coaching service, not an IELTS test centre: it does not register you for the test, set exam fees, run the exam or issue results. This page is for people in the US who need IELTS for a US institution, or for study, work or immigration elsewhere; the online IELTS tutor page shows how a session runs (its prices are for Vietnam).
A class can suit you better if you want a fixed weekly timetable or classmates; one-to-one lessons depend on which slots are open, so check the calendar first if your hours are fixed. How to choose an online IELTS tutor goes further.
Time zones: a US evening is a Hanoi morning (New York, Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles)
Hanoi is on UTC+7 all year: the IANA time zone database lists Vietnam with no daylight saving. NIST lists Eastern at UTC-5 on standard time and UTC-4 on daylight time, Central at UTC-6 and UTC-5, Mountain at UTC-7 and UTC-6, Pacific at UTC-8 and UTC-7, and Hawaii at UTC-10, and says Hawaii, Puerto Rico and most of Arizona do not observe daylight saving. So Hanoi is 11 hours ahead of Eastern time while US clocks are on daylight time and 17 hours ahead of Hawaii.
The offset changes whenever US clocks change and Hanoi's does not, so a slot at a fixed Hanoi time shifts by an hour on your clock. This page lists no clock-change dates.
| Hanoi (UTC+7) | Eastern, standard (UTC-5) | Eastern, daylight (UTC-4) | Pacific, standard (UTC-8) | Pacific, daylight (UTC-7) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19:00 | 07:00 | 08:00 | 04:00 | 05:00 |
| 20:00 | 08:00 | 09:00 | 05:00 | 06:00 |
| 21:00 | 09:00 | 10:00 | 06:00 | 07:00 |
Each row is the same calendar date.
Eastern covers cities such as New York, Central such as Chicago, Mountain such as Denver and Pacific such as Los Angeles. The table converts Hanoi morning times to US evening times on the previous calendar day, on standard time and (in brackets) on daylight time. Most of Arizona does not observe daylight saving time, so use the standard-time figure there.
| Hanoi (UTC+7) | Eastern UTC-5 (UTC-4) | Central UTC-6 (UTC-5) | Mountain UTC-7 (UTC-6) | Pacific UTC-8 (UTC-7) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 08:00 | 20:00 (21:00) | 19:00 (20:00) | 18:00 (19:00) | 17:00 (18:00) |
| 09:00 | 21:00 (22:00) | 20:00 (21:00) | 19:00 (20:00) | 18:00 (19:00) |
| 10:00 | 22:00 (23:00) | 21:00 (22:00) | 20:00 (21:00) | 19:00 (20:00) |
This table 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 every slot in your own time zone.
IELTS for immigrants and migration applicants: which test, and who sets the requirement
The authority or institution that asks for your result decides whether you need IELTS Academic, IELTS General Training or IELTS for UKVI, and requirements and score thresholds change, so check its own page before you book. Mike teaches English and the four IELTS skills; Band Booster IELTS does not give visa or immigration advice. See Academic or General Training for how the versions differ.
Which test: Academic, General Training or UKVI?
The IELTS USA page recommends checking with the organisation that asks for your result before you book, and with the immigration authority for a visa. Its descriptions:
| Test | What the IELTS USA page says |
|---|---|
| Academic | Study at undergraduate or postgraduate level or towards a professional degree. For work, examples include registering with a veterinary association in the US or credential reviews with US nursing boards. |
| General Training | Training below degree level, or a job in an English-speaking country. |
| Migration | Academic or General Training may be acceptable for an application to Canada's IRCC or for Australian or New Zealand immigration. |
| IELTS for UKVI | Proof of English accepted by UK Visas and Immigration. ielts.org says UKVI accepts only tests taken in person at an IELTS for UKVI test centre. |
For Express Entry, IRCC says you must take the IELTS General Training option, with results less than 2 years old when you complete your profile and when you apply for permanent residence. For UKVI, the IELTS USA page names one test centre as offering the only UKVI testing in the US, and the finder marked a single US centre UKVI Approved when this page was written; check both before planning a UK application.
Check the requirement with the body that sets it. The IELTS USA page says more than 3,400 institutions in the USA recognise IELTS, but this page states no score or test-type requirement for any university, employer or immigration body. Our study abroad scores page gives dated examples, but is no substitute for asking.
Booking the IELTS test in the USA: IELTS USA and its test centres
This section draws on ielts.org, IDP's site and one Canadian government page, read in October 2026, so confirm it there before you book. ielts.org's IELTS in the USA page says there are over 20 test centres across the country, and its About IELTS USA page says IELTS USA oversees the delivery of IELTS tests in the United States. Start with the ielts.org test centre finder, which the IELTS USA page links from its booking section; the test is not booked through Band Booster.
On computer: how Speaking is described
The ielts.org page on ways to take IELTS describes IELTS on computer at a test centre: Listening, Reading and Writing are answered on screen, while Speaking is a face-to-face session with an examiner. It says results are available 1 to 5 days after the test, and the IELTS USA page says most computer test takers in the US receive results in as little as 1 day. Timings are typical, not promised. ielts.org's Guide for Test Takers says Speaking is taken face-to-face or via video call, and the British Council's global IELTS on computer page says the same, while IDP's global IELTS on computer, Academic and General Training pages describe a face-to-face interview; none of them says that video-call Speaking is used, or excluded, at a US centre, so ask your centre how yours is run.
Paper and Writing on Paper: ask the centre
The IELTS USA page says IELTS on Paper is available to some test takers who may need access arrangements, and the finder lists Computer (Writing on Paper) at some centres. A 5 March 2026 notice says that from mid-2026 IELTS will no longer be offered as a paper-based test, with exact timelines varying by market, so ask the centre which options apply on your date.
IELTS Online: not confirmed for the USA
ielts.org says IELTS Online is offered in some countries, for IELTS Academic only, taken at home with Speaking by video call, and that receiving organisations decide whether to accept it. The IELTS USA page describes in-centre testing, links the centre finder and does not mention IELTS Online, and the US entries in the finder showed computer options only when this page was written. IDP's global article on IELTS for the USA (IDP has no US country site) says its test centres offer IELTS Online or IELTS on Computer and that you may also be able to take IELTS Online from home, so the providers' pages differ and this page cannot say it is open to you: check ielts.org's booking pages and ask your institution.
One Skill Retake
The One Skill Retake page says you can retake one of Listening, Reading, Writing or Speaking within 60 days of a full IELTS on computer test, once per original test, at a centre that offers it, and advises checking with the organisation you are applying to. A British Council blog post, last updated 10 October 2025, says One Skill Retake is not available for tests taken in the USA, which ielts.org's pages do not say (they say to check with your test centre), and ielts.org's US finder with the One Skill Retake box ticked showed no centres in October 2026, so ask your centre before booking the full test; this page cannot say whether it is open to you. Canada's IRCC says on its Express Entry language testing page that it does not accept IELTS One Skill Retake for Express Entry. See also One Skill Retake or full retake.
IELTS test fees in the USA: check with the test centre
The exam fee is not charged by Band Booster, so this page quotes no fee or test date, and both can change. Pick a centre in the test centre finder and check the current fee with it before you book.