Duolingo English Test Course for Students in South Africa — Online with Certified Instructors

Do South Africans really need an English test?

Often, yes — but not always, and it is worth establishing which case you are in before you commit to anything.

Most universities abroad will waive an English test if your previous degree was taught and examined in English at a recognised institution. Since South African universities teach in English, a Wits, UCT, Stellenbosch, UP or UKZN degree frequently earns that waiver, particularly in the UK and Ireland. The waiver is discretionary, though: some departments apply it only to degrees completed within the last two or five years, some apply it to undergraduate degrees but not to shorter qualifications, and competitive programmes sometimes decline to waive at all.

Three situations where you will almost certainly need a test: you are applying straight from school with an NSC rather than a degree; your degree is older than the university’s waiver window; or the destination is the United States, where test requirements are applied more mechanically and waivers are granted less freely. In all three, the DET is the most straightforward document that will satisfy the requirement.

The practical move is simple: email the admissions office, state that your qualification was taught and assessed in English at a South African university, and ask in writing whether the English test requirement is waived. If the answer is no — or the reply takes three weeks and your deadline is in two — sit the DET and move on.

Where South African students apply, and the scores expected

• United Kingdom. The largest destination for South African students, and the one most likely to waive a test on the strength of a South African degree. Where it does not, Imperial College London, Warwick, Southampton, Liverpool and York are among the universities accepting the DET, generally at 110–125. Our UK DET score requirements guide has more.
• United States. The most test-insistent destination. The overwhelming majority of well-known US universities accept the DET for undergraduate admission and most graduate schools do too — competitive programmes want 120–130, many bachelor’s programmes 95–110.
• Canada. The University of Toronto requires an overall 120 with 120 in Production for tests taken on or after 1 July 2024. The Production condition is separate from the overall score, which is the detail most applicants miss. Elsewhere, 110–125 is typical.
• Netherlands, Germany and Ireland. English-taught programmes across these three take a large share of South African applicants. Most Irish universities accept the DET; German and Dutch acceptance is decided programme by programme, usually around 105–120, so read the specific course page rather than the general admissions page.

Inside South Africa, universities teach in English and do not ask South African applicants for an English test, so the DET here is purely for going abroad.

Visas: admission is not immigration

United Kingdom. The DET is not a UKVI Secure English Language Test. For degree-level study this is usually fine: gov.uk allows your Higher Education Provider to assess your English itself at CEFR B2 and confirm it on your CAS, and DET-accepting universities do exactly that. For a course below degree level — foundation years, certain diplomas, courses at non-HEP private colleges — a SELT at B1 from an approved provider is mandatory and no DET score will substitute. South Africans should note carefully that being a fluent English speaker does not exempt you: the exemption list of majority English-speaking countries does not include South Africa.

Canada. The Student Direct Stream ended in November 2024, so everyone uses the regular study permit route. The designated learning institution decides what English evidence it accepts; if that includes the DET, submit the score with your letter of acceptance.

Australia. The DET is not accepted for the subclass 500 student visa. An Australian offer based on a DET score still leaves that requirement open.

United States, Ireland, Germany, Netherlands. No separate government English test on top of admission — the institution’s decision governs.

DET or IELTS for a student in South Africa

Once acceptance is settled, the choice comes down to format and to what each exam is valid for.

For degree-level applications to the US, UK, Canada, Ireland, Germany or the Netherlands the DET is usually the more flexible option, and unlimited score sending suits applicants filing to several universities at once. IELTS keeps its place for below-degree-level UK courses and for Australia.

Choosing your target score for the universities South African students apply to

The DET reports an overall score on the 10–160 scale in steps of five, plus four subscores — Literacy, Comprehension, Conversation and Production. Universities publish a minimum overall score, and many publish a minimum in each subscore too, which is where unprepared candidates are caught: an overall 120 with a Production of 95 fails a requirement that the headline number appears to meet.

Work backwards from the requirements on this page rather than aiming at a round number:

• 95–110 covers most US bachelor entry, and much of the English-taught bachelor and master intake in Germany (105–120).
• 110–125 is the usual band for UK degree-level entry (Imperial, Warwick, Southampton, Liverpool, York) and for most Canadian universities.
• 120–130 is what competitive undergraduate and graduate admissions ask for, and Toronto adds a subscore condition — 120 overall with 120 in Production, so a strong total with weak Production still fails.

Pick the highest requirement on your shortlist and plan a margin above it, because subscore floors rather than the overall number are what most often send an application back. If a waiver is possible on the strength of your South African degree, ask admissions in writing first — then target the published band if the answer is no. Send us the English page on WhatsApp and we will read it with you.

Paying by card from South Africa, and how the course runs

South African Visa and Mastercard debit and credit cards handle international online payments routinely, and a course payment sits far below any exchange control threshold — the single discretionary allowance applies to amounts vastly larger. The usual practical checks apply: make sure online international transactions are enabled on the card in your banking app (some banks ship cards with foreign e-commerce switched off by default), expect a 3D Secure prompt, and allow for your bank’s international transaction charge and rand conversion. If one card is declined, another from a different issuer almost always works.

As for the course itself: our classes are live, taught entirely in English by certified instructors, and every lesson is recorded so you can review it. South Africa sits close enough to Central European time that live attendance is comfortable, and the recordings mean a work shift or a lecture clash never takes a session away from you. Homework comes back with personal Speaking and Writing correction rather than a bare grade, WhatsApp support covers the gaps between sessions, and full mock tests run before your real attempt.

For South African students the gains are almost always in exam behaviour rather than language: keeping speech going for the full duration in Speak About the Photo and Listen Then Speak, structuring the Writing Sample so the Production subscore has something to reward, pacing Interactive Reading, and treating Read and Complete as a precise grammar-and-spelling task. Choose the standard course for a steady pace, the intensive course when the test is close, or the private tailored course for one-to-one work on your target score. Schedules are set per round — message us on WhatsApp for the next round’s details, or read more about Teachero.