Critical perspectives on the IELTS test

Pearson, William S.

doi:10.1093/elt/ccz006

Cited by 27 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…IELTS is specially designed to assess a candidate's proficiency across the four language skills mentioned in Section 1. According to Pearson (2019), IELTS is used to measure both the academic and general training levels of English proficiency, the former undertaken for admission to tertiary education, the latter usually for immigration purposes. The IELTS listening module comprises four sections and evaluates, in approximately 40 minutes, an examinee's ability to understand spoken English in different contexts.…”

Section: General Background 21 the Ielts Listening Testmentioning

confidence: 99%

Teachers’ and Students’ Perceptions of the Effect of Cultural Background in the IELTS Listening Test

Altakhaineh¹

2022

IJAES

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This study examined the effect of culturally-specific items on the performance of Arab candidates on the IELTS Listening Test. Using an online survey and focus-group discussions with 16 IELTS teachers and 32 IELTS candidates at Al Ain University in Abu Dhabi/the United Arab Emirates, the current study showed that the independent variable, i.e. ‘culture’, has a negative impact on the candidates’ performance. The results revealed that the most culturally-loaded section of the IELTS Listening Test is Section 1, followed by Section 2, Section 3 and Section 4, respectively. The results also demonstrated that the culturally-specific items included in the Listening Test had a negative effect on the candidates’ answers who were not aware of certain cultural aspects referenced in the test. The study concluded with some recommendations that aim to improve the cultural awareness of Arab candidates.

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Section: General Background 21 the Ielts Listening Testmentioning

confidence: 99%

Teachers’ and Students’ Perceptions of the Effect of Cultural Background in the IELTS Listening Test

Altakhaineh¹

2022

IJAES

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“…Such a move confers greater validity on variants to inner-circle English, emphasizing the reality of the truly international nature of English today. 5…”

Section: The Physicianmentioning

confidence: 99%

Equality & Diversity Perspectives for the Proficiency in English Assessment for IMGs

Chakravorty

2021

phy

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The story of a West Midlands General Practitioner who faced the fearsome prospect of deportation and severance from her young family due to expiry of her English proficiency test after 2 years- highlights the lack of consultation, awareness, empathy and dignity that is perceived by international medical graduates in the UK. What is most alarming is that evidence of working as a GP in the UK for 8 years, communicating with patients and colleagues in English - and passing all the standardised professional examinations set by the medical royal colleges was not considered sufficient for her to be assessed to have the minimum requirements for her permit/ leave to remain to be renewed. The mental anguish and stress that a frontline GP has to face is totally avoidable. The NHS, GMC and Department of Health and Social Care need to have robust consultation with the Home Office department on making the rules sensitive and meaningful and applied with awareness, understanding and compassion that is critical for the wellbeing of the healthcare workforce- and the benefit of our patients.

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“…For example, in the UK, it is the most widely recognised test of English for academic purposes (Green, 2007). The test is currently being administered at approximately 1,100 venues in 140 countries at a rate of up to four times a month, and it is recognised by over 10,000 organisations globally (Pearson, 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Due to its immense popularity, IELTS is unique among other tests in terms of its claims to assess "English as an international language", indicating a recognition of the expanding status of English (Uysal, 2009). As a result, IELTS has become increasingly globalised, and the number of people taking it has continued to grow in recent years, standing at approximately three million test-takers in 2016 (Pearson, 2019). IELTS is available in two test versions: IELTS Academic and IELTS General Training, and is jointly owned, managed, and administered internationally by three associations, namely the British Council, Cambridge Assessment English, and the International Development Programme (IDP) of Australian Universities.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It is used to inform the decisions of higher education institutions (HEIs) and is also used by employers to assess prospective employees' ability to function in a workplace. It also plays a significant role in the language-proficiency-selection process for English-medium programmes for international Higher Education Institutions (Green, 2019;Pearson, 2019). However, the vast majority of non-native English-speakers (NNES) encounter several challenges in this test, particularly in the reading section, which is time-bound.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Unpacking the challenges and accommodation strategies of Omani English-Major students on IELTS academic reading tests

Ali

Washahi

Alhassan

2020

Dil Ve Dilbilimi Çalışmaları Dergisi

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IELTS is used as a screening gatekeeper and plays a crucial role in Omani students to meet job requirements. This paper reports on Omani English-major undergraduate students' reflections on their experience of the reading section of Academic IELTS. The main aim of the study was to elucidate their difficulties and coping strategies to inform EFL/ESL teachers and IELTS examiners and researchers. An IELTS mock reading test, under exam conditions, was administered to 45 Omani students majoring in English, and the participants were asked to write a reflective essay in response to the following prompts: "What were the difficulties that you encountered in your IELTS Academic Reading test, and how did you handle those challenges?" Their answers touched upon their experience and challenges with the test (e.g. difficulties pertaining to cognition, content area knowledge, and the lack of familiarity with the test reading genres) as well as their strategies to address the challenges. The data were coded and analysed thematically and inductively. The findings showed that students reported a range of cognitive and metacognitive challenges and numerous coping strategies. This paper unravels some of the pedagogical implications and ideas that surfaced through the analysis of the students' responses.

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Critical perspectives on the IELTS test

Cited by 27 publications

References 10 publications

Teachers’ and Students’ Perceptions of the Effect of Cultural Background in the IELTS Listening Test

Teachers’ and Students’ Perceptions of the Effect of Cultural Background in the IELTS Listening Test

Equality & Diversity Perspectives for the Proficiency in English Assessment for IMGs

Unpacking the challenges and accommodation strategies of Omani English-Major students on IELTS academic reading tests

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