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UK higher education institutions have widely adopted intensive pre-sessional programmes (PSPs) encompassing English for academic purposes provision to enhance their attractiveness in the intense global competition for higher fee-paying international students whose proficiency in English falls below standard entry requirements. Nevertheless, opening up tertiary education participation to linguistically weaker candidates has attracted controversy, with reports in the UK media and academic journals that institutions have been engaged in linguistic corner-cutting for financial gain. This paper critically reviews research investigating the extent pre-sessional courses 'work' to remedy deficits in international non-native English-speaking students' language proficiency in the UK higher education context. This paper synthesises the findings and methodological facets of 18 diverse studies investigating pre-sessional effectiveness, organised according to Lynch's (1996) quantitative/qualitative language programme evaluation typology. The findings revealed that (a) most students were able to successfully complete pre-sessional programmes, demonstrating tangible, if unremarkable language proficiency gains; (b) where post-PSP measures were included, it was revealed many alumni undertook their tertiary programme with borderline proficiency, sometimes resulting in delayed degree completion, lower academic outcomes compared with direct entry students, or failure, often by thesis non-(re)submission (in time); (c) PSP alumni perceived value and reward in undertaking the programme, though enhanced self-effectiveness beliefs did not always translate into academic results. Suggestions are made for enhancing research into PSP effectiveness, while gaps in the literature are identified for future complementary investigations. Policy implications for institutions are also discussed.

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 cutoff 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.

Despite an abundance of studies that address the fundamental issue of the relationship between students’ IELTS results and their academic performance, findings remain inconclusive. One reason for this are variations in research design, notably in how researchers collect, analyse, and interpret data, and report their findings. The present study constitutes a critical methodological synthesis of 32 published IELTS predictive validity studies. The results revealed a number of efficacious design practices, and also some concerning tendencies, including: (a) dependency on linear models of causality, (b) small sampling frames situated in Anglo-Australian contexts, (c) a lack of thoroughness in describing contexts, samples, and approaches to academic performance measurement, and (d) where qualitative data was generated through interviewing and observation, a tendency to overlook ‘quality’ issues, such as confirmability, dependability, and trustworthiness. Recommendations are made for enhancing research designs along with suggestions for novel investigations to address gaps in the predictive validity literature.