IELTS......not good
Mar 17th 2008, 8:42 pm
#91
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Re: IELTS......not good
I found the test material from www.scottsenglish.com to be extremely useful, it really helped to get into the mindset of the answers required. You really need to understand what they are looking for in the questions/answers.
I subscribed to the site yesterday, and it does seem to be very helpful, especially the Practice Lab.
Mar 17th 2008, 8:55 pm
#92
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Joined: Jan 2008
Location: still in the UK!!!
Posts: 1,104
Re: IELTS......not good
I found the test material from www.scottsenglish.com to be extremely useful, it really helped to get into the mindset of the answers required. You really need to understand what they are looking for in the questions/answers.
Mar 18th 2008, 9:25 am
#94
Forum Regular
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 34
Re: IELTS......not good
It's best to use the official practice materials from IELTS 
http://www.ielts.org/candidates/find...rticle259.aspx
http://www.ielts.org/candidates/find...rticle259.aspx
Mar 18th 2008, 12:38 pm
#95
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Posts: 10
Re: IELTS......not good
Another thing that disturbed me about the IELTS was that, when I sat down for the speaking part, I was told by the examiner, 'since you're a native speaker, you're going to have to go into a LOT of detail.'
I must have gone into enough detail because I did well on this section, but the attitude really annoyed me, as it implied that we native speakers were being penalised for happening to be native speakers, that in order to get a 9 we'd have to deliver flowing oratories, whereas a non-native speaker could just sputter out any old coherent answer to earn the same score. I'm afraid that, as more native speakers sit the IELTS due to these absurd migration rules, two sets of scoring may emerge: one for natives and one for non-natives, and since the IELTS is supposedly designed to compare English ability to that of a native, this defeats the purpose of the entire test.
True, the speaking part shouldn't be a problem for most native speakers, since it is pretty straightforward. You just talk. But there are quite a few people who are shy, get test anxiety, or may be preoccupied about something else (e.g., an ill family member, an argument with a spouse...); they may give perfectly correct answers but not exactly have the gift of the gab. Should these people be penalised just because they're native speakers?
To use an analogy, someone whose parents are race car drivers isn't expected to perform better on a driving test than someone who may be the first person in his/her family to get behind the wheel. If you meet the standard (regardless of who you are), you should get the score. Enough said.
I must have gone into enough detail because I did well on this section, but the attitude really annoyed me, as it implied that we native speakers were being penalised for happening to be native speakers, that in order to get a 9 we'd have to deliver flowing oratories, whereas a non-native speaker could just sputter out any old coherent answer to earn the same score. I'm afraid that, as more native speakers sit the IELTS due to these absurd migration rules, two sets of scoring may emerge: one for natives and one for non-natives, and since the IELTS is supposedly designed to compare English ability to that of a native, this defeats the purpose of the entire test.
True, the speaking part shouldn't be a problem for most native speakers, since it is pretty straightforward. You just talk. But there are quite a few people who are shy, get test anxiety, or may be preoccupied about something else (e.g., an ill family member, an argument with a spouse...); they may give perfectly correct answers but not exactly have the gift of the gab. Should these people be penalised just because they're native speakers?
To use an analogy, someone whose parents are race car drivers isn't expected to perform better on a driving test than someone who may be the first person in his/her family to get behind the wheel. If you meet the standard (regardless of who you are), you should get the score. Enough said.
Mar 18th 2008, 12:42 pm
#96
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Joined: Jul 2007
Location: Sydney
Posts: 4,404
Re: IELTS......not good
Another thing that disturbed me about the IELTS was that, when I sat down for the speaking part, I was told by the examiner, 'since you're a native speaker, you're going to have to go into a LOT of detail.'
I must have gone into enough detail because I did well on this section, but the attitude really annoyed me, as it implied that we native speakers were being penalised for happening to be native speakers, that in order to get a 9 we'd have to deliver flowing oratories, whereas a non-native speaker could just sputter out any old coherent answer to earn the same score. I'm afraid that, as more native speakers sit the IELTS due to these absurd migration rules, two sets of scoring may emerge: one for natives and one for non-natives, and since the IELTS is supposedly designed to compare English ability to that of a native, this defeats the purpose of the entire test.
True, the speaking part shouldn't be a problem for most native speakers, since it is pretty straightforward. You just talk. But there are quite a few people who are shy, get test anxiety, or may be preoccupied about something else (e.g., an ill family member, an argument with a spouse...); they may give perfectly correct answers but not exactly have the gift of the gab. Should these people be penalised just because they're native speakers?
To use an analogy, someone whose parents are race car drivers isn't expected to perform better on a driving test than someone who may be the first person in his/her family to get behind the wheel. If you meet the standard (regardless of who you are), you should get the score. Enough said.
I must have gone into enough detail because I did well on this section, but the attitude really annoyed me, as it implied that we native speakers were being penalised for happening to be native speakers, that in order to get a 9 we'd have to deliver flowing oratories, whereas a non-native speaker could just sputter out any old coherent answer to earn the same score. I'm afraid that, as more native speakers sit the IELTS due to these absurd migration rules, two sets of scoring may emerge: one for natives and one for non-natives, and since the IELTS is supposedly designed to compare English ability to that of a native, this defeats the purpose of the entire test.
True, the speaking part shouldn't be a problem for most native speakers, since it is pretty straightforward. You just talk. But there are quite a few people who are shy, get test anxiety, or may be preoccupied about something else (e.g., an ill family member, an argument with a spouse...); they may give perfectly correct answers but not exactly have the gift of the gab. Should these people be penalised just because they're native speakers?
To use an analogy, someone whose parents are race car drivers isn't expected to perform better on a driving test than someone who may be the first person in his/her family to get behind the wheel. If you meet the standard (regardless of who you are), you should get the score. Enough said.
Anyway, I'd say (and perhaps I'm wrong) that a person looking for a score of 6 would be required to go into less detail.
Mar 18th 2008, 1:43 pm
#97
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Joined: Oct 2006
Location: Adelaide
Posts: 1,256
Re: IELTS......not good
Another thing that disturbed me about the IELTS was that, when I sat down for the speaking part, I was told by the examiner, 'since you're a native speaker, you're going to have to go into a LOT of detail.'
I must have gone into enough detail because I did well on this section, but the attitude really annoyed me, as it implied that we native speakers were being penalised for happening to be native speakers, that in order to get a 9 we'd have to deliver flowing oratories, whereas a non-native speaker could just sputter out any old coherent answer to earn the same score. I'm afraid that, as more native speakers sit the IELTS due to these absurd migration rules, two sets of scoring may emerge: one for natives and one for non-natives, and since the IELTS is supposedly designed to compare English ability to that of a native, this defeats the purpose of the entire test.
True, the speaking part shouldn't be a problem for most native speakers, since it is pretty straightforward. You just talk. But there are quite a few people who are shy, get test anxiety, or may be preoccupied about something else (e.g., an ill family member, an argument with a spouse...); they may give perfectly correct answers but not exactly have the gift of the gab. Should these people be penalised just because they're native speakers?
To use an analogy, someone whose parents are race car drivers isn't expected to perform better on a driving test than someone who may be the first person in his/her family to get behind the wheel. If you meet the standard (regardless of who you are), you should get the score. Enough said.
I must have gone into enough detail because I did well on this section, but the attitude really annoyed me, as it implied that we native speakers were being penalised for happening to be native speakers, that in order to get a 9 we'd have to deliver flowing oratories, whereas a non-native speaker could just sputter out any old coherent answer to earn the same score. I'm afraid that, as more native speakers sit the IELTS due to these absurd migration rules, two sets of scoring may emerge: one for natives and one for non-natives, and since the IELTS is supposedly designed to compare English ability to that of a native, this defeats the purpose of the entire test.
True, the speaking part shouldn't be a problem for most native speakers, since it is pretty straightforward. You just talk. But there are quite a few people who are shy, get test anxiety, or may be preoccupied about something else (e.g., an ill family member, an argument with a spouse...); they may give perfectly correct answers but not exactly have the gift of the gab. Should these people be penalised just because they're native speakers?
To use an analogy, someone whose parents are race car drivers isn't expected to perform better on a driving test than someone who may be the first person in his/her family to get behind the wheel. If you meet the standard (regardless of who you are), you should get the score. Enough said.
I think that they meant that to get a 7 or above you need to say more than the most basic answers that the non-natives use to get a 4 or 5 I suppose.
Mar 18th 2008, 3:46 pm
#98
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Re: IELTS......not good
Perhaps you're right. It sounds logical except that I hadn't told the examiner that I needed to get a certain score. I'd simply sat down and opened my mouth. He asked whether I was a native speaker, and when I replied in the affirmative, he simply said that I needed to go into a lot of detail because without it he wouldn't have anything to compare me to (given that I'm a native speaker). If anything, I may have just had a quirky examiner.
Mar 18th 2008, 4:03 pm
#99
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Location: Adelaide
Posts: 1,256
Re: IELTS......not good
Perhaps you're right. It sounds logical except that I hadn't told the examiner that I needed to get a certain score. I'd simply sat down and opened my mouth. He asked whether I was a native speaker, and when I replied in the affirmative, he simply said that I needed to go into a lot of detail because without it he wouldn't have anything to compare me to (given that I'm a native speaker). If anything, I may have just had a quirky examiner.
Mar 18th 2008, 6:31 pm
#100
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Re: IELTS......not good
now, do i say yes or not to that? i'm malaysian but have been speaking english all my life (near enough)... but my english would still be different to UK-born people, if i make any sense..?
or looking at it another way, they might "try" to mark native speakers 7 or above just to get them through..? LOL
Mar 18th 2008, 6:38 pm
#101
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Location: Adelaide
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Re: IELTS......not good
but i think its bad they have that presumption even before you speak!! so i guess they'll be more lenient with non-native speaker?
now, do i say yes or not to that? i'm malaysian but have been speaking english all my life (near enough)... but my english would still be different to UK-born people, if i make any sense..?
or looking at it another way, they might "try" to mark native speakers 7 or above just to get them through..? LOL
now, do i say yes or not to that? i'm malaysian but have been speaking english all my life (near enough)... but my english would still be different to UK-born people, if i make any sense..?
or looking at it another way, they might "try" to mark native speakers 7 or above just to get them through..? LOL
One thing that did stand out for me was, when the lady asked to see my passport, she said "a lovely BRITISH passport" with an emphasis on british. But I'm not sure whether they have to make it clear to the tape or not if you see what I mean.
Mar 18th 2008, 11:41 pm
#102
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Joined: Feb 2008
Location: Brisbane (Manly West)
Posts: 167
Re: IELTS......not good
My examiner for the speaking section at Aston was a nice lady who had lived in Australia so we had a bit of a chat about that before and after the actual recorded part. She said that the scoring system is to compare people to fluent native speakers so by being one I should score 9.
I think that the examiner marks you directly at the time of the test and the recording is only made in the event of an appeal so that your score can be re-assessed. It was quite noticable during the day that everyone involved in the administering of the tests had english as a second language except the examiners for the speaking part.
Took mine on the 8th so results any time now
I think that the examiner marks you directly at the time of the test and the recording is only made in the event of an appeal so that your score can be re-assessed. It was quite noticable during the day that everyone involved in the administering of the tests had english as a second language except the examiners for the speaking part.
Took mine on the 8th so results any time now
Mar 19th 2008, 12:05 am
#103
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Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 15
Re: IELTS......not good
Hello all ielts boffins and congrats on passing the exam,
please could you answer a few quick questions for me?
i've just applied yesterday to sit ielts on 19/4 and wondered if i have time to order the official study pack as it said it can take 28days to be delivered?? did anyone get it sooner? and is it better to order from nearest site or from cambridge?
any help appreciated
cheers PMTx
please could you answer a few quick questions for me?
i've just applied yesterday to sit ielts on 19/4 and wondered if i have time to order the official study pack as it said it can take 28days to be delivered?? did anyone get it sooner? and is it better to order from nearest site or from cambridge?
any help appreciated
cheers PMTx
Mar 19th 2008, 12:12 am
#104
Forum Regular
Joined: Mar 2008
Location: Sydney, NSW
Posts: 39
Re: IELTS......not good
I'd recommend doing a lot of practice for this test. I got 9s and 8.5s across the board, apart from the writing test, where I got a 7. . . So I just scraped through.
I write numerous reports and technical essays as part of my job, and have grade A GCSEs in both English Language and Literature, so this was a tough one to understand as the criteria for level 7 are fairly low on first reading.
Like the Murphys I'm not bitter, but my message is don't take passing the test for granted. Do some research, and give it 100%
I write numerous reports and technical essays as part of my job, and have grade A GCSEs in both English Language and Literature, so this was a tough one to understand as the criteria for level 7 are fairly low on first reading.
Like the Murphys I'm not bitter, but my message is don't take passing the test for granted. Do some research, and give it 100%
Mar 19th 2008, 1:43 am
#105
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Posts: 25
Re: IELTS......not good
It all depends on the type of questions you were being asked in the 4 areas, especially for Reading. If you are lucky enough, you'll get the "Fill in the blanks" questions in some of paragraph, the speed of speakers, what kind of quetions being asked in essays and speaking. Just my thought.
I'd recommend doing a lot of practice for this test. I got 9s and 8.5s across the board, apart from the writing test, where I got a 7. . . So I just scraped through.
I write numerous reports and technical essays as part of my job, and have grade A GCSEs in both English Language and Literature, so this was a tough one to understand as the criteria for level 7 are fairly low on first reading.
Like the Murphys I'm not bitter, but my message is don't take passing the test for granted. Do some research, and give it 100%
I write numerous reports and technical essays as part of my job, and have grade A GCSEs in both English Language and Literature, so this was a tough one to understand as the criteria for level 7 are fairly low on first reading.
Like the Murphys I'm not bitter, but my message is don't take passing the test for granted. Do some research, and give it 100%