Re: IELTS standards sham!
 

i pissed mean passsseed theee exam me english and all thaat stufff is oarful
:)
there is talk now of us english taught folk not having to do the ielts but i dont think even the nursing body is sure on that, mind you you may well not be a nurse.
i participated in the test and it was not the easiest thing that i have had to do, and the waiting for the results was well , fraught.
good luck in the second opinion, or resit
sean

Re: IELTS standards sham!
 

I am a aussie who has a nursing qualification from the UK or I hope to have it next month and even I have to go through this process before I practice nursing in Australia. I did all my primary and secondary schooling in Oz so do not know how I will go with IELTS here in the UK as even in my exams as a student I have come across problems with tutors.:confused:

Re: IELTS standards sham!
 

As an Aussie do you have to do the ielts
Didn't you do your secondary Ed in oz
In the English Lang
The new rules are confusing me
I give up:o

Re: IELTS standards sham!
 

You and everyone else my friend!

Re: IELTS machine rolls on
 

Yes Vash I can, obviously without naming names there are a couple of foreign nationals that we know of in the health profession who have passed the IELTS who have a lower understanding of the English language than that of my OH for example. And to answer your second question, my reason for believing this is the case is that when you fill out your IELTS application form is that you need to put your country of residence and your first language code on it, I am just wondering if this because they expect a native English speaker to answer some sections of the IELTS in a lot more detail (ie writing) than somebody who doesn't have English as their first language, I wonder :confused:

Re: IELTS machine rolls on
 

Hi Sandra

You need to fill out an appeal form downloadable in a pdf, and then take it to the testing centre where your OH did his test as this also needs to be filled out by the IELTS administrator. They will then send it away with your original IELTS certificate to be remarked by a senior examiner, the fee for this is £60 but this is refundable if they mark it higher, but this can only be done up to 6 weeks after your original result, hope that helps :)

Re: IELTS standards sham!
 

Bermudashorts,

I think if you run a quick search on the IELTS results people get on these forums, you WILL find that most native speakers of the English language do not get a 9 in speaking (nerves on the day, the quick fire questions that try to catch you out etc) so try not to be too amazed ;)

Just out of interest have you ever done a IELTS exam?

Re: IELTS standards sham!
 

Hi Sean, yes apparently unless there has been a change in rules I was told last year that even though I was australian I would have to prove that I could speak, read and write english. Recently there was an Irish chap who went to the newspapers with it, he had done 3 degrees in Oz and then had to prove that he could get level 7 in the IELTS but after a few days it was again reported that he could practice as a nurse without doing this IELTS testing, which I feel is unfair, if I have to do it so should he.
I have not done it yet but have the 3 books of guidance because I get very tense when in an exam.

Re: IELTS standards sham!
 

Pigonthefly, I have got better things to do that research IELTS scores, but I daresay I have read around the forum a lot more than you have and this is my perception.

And yes I have done an IELTS test. There are no "quick fire" questions in the speaking part, they are not trying to catch you out, they just have a little chat.

And wind your neck in, my comment was that the marking seems harsh as whilst I accept that many English speakers cannot write good English, I doubt that there are many that cannot speak it well enough to get a 9.

Re: IELTS standards sham!
 

They've not been failed on the whole thing. The wife got 6.5 for writing. She can go for a remark or just redo that section and how you can be sure the wife's English is fine I've no idea unless you know her.

To the OP, I'm sorry but I think it's kind of irrelevant what your wife 'thinks' of her standard of work, she's not the examiner and doesn't know what she was marked down on. There are many English and English speaking people who honestly believe their spelling and grammar skills are excellent and are totally amazed when mistakes are pointed out to them. I also don't get how, just because a few (compared to how many take the tests) get a result they don't like, makes the system a sham.

Appeal and quite possibly the mark will go up.

Re: IELTS standards sham!
 

I am French and only learnt English in my teens. My written English is miles better than my OH's who is a born and bred English speaker...

I don't make any spelling or grammatical mistakes because I care about spelling and grammar. He can't be asked to differentiate between its and it's, or between your and you're, among others, and doesn't care to use them properly. It drives me crazy!

And as others have pointed out, if you go off topic, you'd probably be penalised.

Re: IELTS standards sham!
 

i got a 9 in my speaking and for the most part i talk a lot of shit,well in my OH opinion that is:)

Re: IELTS machine rolls on
 

This IELTS requirement is not about making Australia full of proper english speaking people. Many people from other nationalities who dont speak a word of english dont need to do this test as they could make up the points elsewhere (unless the points system has changed since I did it).

Its, I guess, another way of achieving points to get you in. However, when you can prove to have been working in an occupation thats on the SOL list for enough years in an english speaking country AND hold a UK/Irish/US passport, you should automatically get those points in my opinion.

Another money spinner if you ask me. I did it twice as I had the same problem as the OP.

Re: IELTS machine rolls on
 

Not true, everyone from other nationalities have to take the IELTS test to qualify for a skilled migrant visa, regardless of their point score.

Re: IELTS machine rolls on
 

Well that maybe the case, unless they have a british/irish passport. If they do and can make up the points based on experience in another non english speaking country and, in fact only spent the early years of their life in Britain/Ireland, they dont have to prove their langauge skills. If it was a strict requirement, everyone would have to sit the test.