scholarly journals ‘Remark or retake’? A study of candidate performance in IELTS and perceptions towards test failure

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
William S. Pearson
Keyword(s):  
Performance Feedback ◽  
Test Performance ◽  
Writing Assessment ◽  
English Language ◽  
Testing System ◽  
Limited Information ◽  
The Public ◽  
High Level ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
International English

Abstract It is becoming increasingly important for individuals for whom English is a second language to demonstrate their linguistic credentials for academic, work and employment purposes. One option is to undertake International English Language Testing System (IELTS), which involves attempting to meet the linguistic entrance criteria set by a gatekeeping institution in the skills of listening, reading, writing, and speaking. Yet limited information is available in the public domain concerning the success of test-takers in meeting cut-off criteria set by the 10,000 or so organisations that utilise IELTS. The present study analyses the relationship between the test results and stated band score objectives of a cohort of 600 IELTS candidates, who shared their results on a social networking platform. It was uncovered that more test-takers failed to meet their band score goals (n = 281) than achieved them (n = 245), with many requiring high level linguistic goals to maximise their prospects in immigration systems. Thematic analysis was employed to explore the seldom-heard perspectives of the test-takers who missed their targets, and thereby ‘failed’ the IELTS test. Far more candidates held perspectives that constituted a rejection of their overall or sub-test score in comparison with those who were accepting of their results. Candidates’ incredulity was notably acute concerning the accuracy of Speaking and Writing assessment, likely fuelled by a mistrust in single examiner marking and a lack of detailed test performance feedback to explain what went wrong.

scholarly journals DECONSTRUCTING COMPREHENSIBILITY

2012 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 475-505 ◽  
Author(s):  
Talia Isaacs ◽  
Pavel Trofimovich
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
English Language ◽  
Oral Proficiency ◽  
Testing System ◽  
Esl Teachers ◽  
Lexical Richness ◽  
Ability Levels ◽  
Communicative Success ◽  
High Level ◽  
International English

Comprehensibility, a major concept in second language (L2) pronunciation research that denotes listeners’ perceptions of how easily they understand L2 speech, is central to interlocutors’ communicative success in real-world contexts. Although comprehensibility has been modeled in several L2 oral proficiency scales—for example, the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or the International English Language Testing System (IELTS)—shortcomings of existing scales (e.g., vague descriptors) reflect limited empirical evidence as to which linguistic aspects influence listeners’ judgments of L2 comprehensibility at different ability levels. To address this gap, a mixed-methods approach was used in the present study to gain a deeper understanding of the linguistic aspects underlying listeners’ L2 comprehensibility ratings. First, speech samples of 40 native French learners of English were analyzed using 19 quantitative speech measures, including segmental, suprasegmental, fluency, lexical, grammatical, and discourse-level variables. These measures were then correlated with 60 native English listeners’ scalar judgments of the speakers’ comprehensibility. Next, three English as a second language (ESL) teachers provided introspective reports on the linguistic aspects of speech that they attended to when judging L2 comprehensibility. Following data triangulation, five speech measures were identified that clearly distinguished between L2 learners at different comprehensibility levels. Lexical richness and fluency measures differentiated between low-level learners; grammatical and discourse-level measures differentiated between high-level learners; and word stress errors discriminated between learners of all levels.

IELTS READING AND SOME TECHNIQUES TO IMPROVE IELTS READING SKILLS FOR STUDENTS

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dinh Thi Bac Binh ◽  
Dinh Thi Kieu Trinh
Keyword(s):  
English Language ◽  
Reading Skills ◽  
Language Testing ◽  
Training Institution ◽  
Testing System ◽  
Time Saving ◽  
International English

The International English Language Testing System (IELTS) is recognized as an accountable tool to assess whether aperson is able to study or train in English. Every year, thousandsof students sit for IELTS. However, the number of those who arerecognized to be capable enough to take a course in English issomehow limited, especially for those who are not major inEnglish at their universities.IELTS Reading is considered as a discerning skill and it is of theequal importance to listening, speaking and writing in obtainingthe objectives of IELTS of band 6 or 6.5. Being teachers of Englishat a training institution, the authors recognize that students canmake time-saving improvements in their reading command undertheir teachers’ insightful guidance.

scholarly journals Knowledge, Education, and Attitudes of International Students to IELTS: A Case of Australia

2015 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 488-500
Author(s):  
Abe W Ata
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Language Skills ◽  
Considerable Effect ◽  
Testing System ◽  
Language Test ◽  
Negative Attitudes ◽  
Testing Environment ◽  
Language Learning Motivation ◽  
International English

The main objective of this study is to determine the knowledge, education and attitudes of Chinese, Indian and Arab speaking students in Australia towards the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) test. A questionnaire was administered to 200 students at six university language centers to investigate their overall response towards the four components of the IELTS test i.e. listening, reading, writing, and speaking. It was hypothesized that having positive or negative attitudes toward a certain language can exert considerable effect on the learners’ performance on a language test. The effect of variables such as testing environment, test rubric, and broader demographic factors on attitudes of the three national groups were investigated. Significant differences were found on students’ misconceptions of language learning, motivation and the degree to which it may have hindered their progress in attaining language skills.

scholarly journals PREPARATION TECHNIQUE FOR WRITING ESSAYS AT INTERNATIONAL EXAMS IN ENGLISH

2020 ◽  
Vol 224 ◽  
pp. 72-79
Author(s):  
E.V. Bessonova ◽  
◽  
I.K. Kirillova ◽  
YU.A. Tarabarina ◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
English Language ◽  
Main Idea ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Task Orientation ◽  
Preparation Technique ◽  
Essay Writing ◽  
High Level ◽  
International English

Today experts with a high level of proficiency in a foreign language are considered in demand in the labour market. The level of foreign language proficiency is confirmed by a high test result of international exams in a foreign language. The essay is a mandatory part of international English language exams such as TOEFL, IELTS, and Cambridge Advanced English. We examined the requirements and assessment criteria for the essay writing exam task. The task assesses the level of speech skills formation necessary to create your own pieces of writing in a foreign language. As part of the research, we developed a technology for teaching writing based on a product-oriented approach. According to the technology we have identified the following stages of text production: task orientation, text planning, text writing, and text self-editing. We have also proposed a set of exercises aimed at developing following skills: task understanding, formulating the author’s point of view and its proving with relevant examples, planning a cohesive and coherent text, text division into paragraphs, highlighting of the paragraph’s main idea, development of the idea in the text, expressing ideas in the text logically in accordance with the rhetorical structure of English essay, usage of lexical cohesive means, text self-editing. This technology was tested during experimental training; its results prove the effectiveness of the proposed technology for teaching essay writing according to international English language exams requirements.

Performance Measurement and E-Reporting

2012 ◽  
pp. 544-560
Author(s):  
Kathryn Kloby
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Performance Measurement ◽  
Government Performance ◽  
Limited Information ◽  
Agency Staff ◽  
Data Manipulation ◽  
The Public ◽  
Measurement Systems ◽  
Performance Measurement Systems ◽  
High Level

Public sector performance measurement systems are often designed by high-level administrators and agency staff. In many instances performance reports are treated as internal documents or provide limited information of how government actions impact the lives of citizens or fall short of expectations. Performance measurement and reporting approaches, however, are gradually changing to include citizens in the process and to communicate results in a more robust way to the public. This chapter explores the topic of e-reporting and the potential it offers to engage the public in the assessment of government performance. Three exemplary programs are examined: Virginia Performs, Maryland’s BayStat, and King County AIMs High. Each offers useful techniques for describing program objectives, showing government progress, making data available, and exploring interactive mechanisms that support data manipulation or customization. The chapter concludes with a discussion of future areas of research.

scholarly journals Linguistic Landscape of Religious Signboards in Ado Ekiti, Nigeria: Culture, Identity and Globalisation

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (9) ◽  
pp. 1146
Author(s):  
Blessing T. Inya
Keyword(s):  
Public Space ◽  
Collective Identity ◽  
English Language ◽  
Activity Level ◽  
The Other ◽  
Linguistic Landscape ◽  
The Public ◽  
Islamic Religion ◽  
The Relationship

This paper focuses on the linguistic landscape (LL) of religious signboards in select areas of Ado Ekiti, Nigeria with a view of establishing the relationship between the languages used on these signboards and the implication for identity, globalisation and culture. Fifty-three LL items were photographed for the study. The areas selected were based on activity level and the number of religious signboards they featured. The data were analysed both quantitatively and qualitatively. The findings revealed the dominance and the pervasiveness of the English language over and across the other languages in the public space. The use of Yoruba texts across the items revealed religio-cultural and loyalist reasons while the use of Arabic confirmed the inherent attachment of the language to Islamic religion, and fostered a religion-based collective identity between the sign writer and the sign reader.

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