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Your IELTS Guide Newsletter

In this edition:

1. Introduction
2. About Your IELTS Guide
3. Changes in marking the writing module
4. The Speaking Test: How your fluency and coherence, and lexical resource can affect your IELTS score

Introduction

Welcome to the first ever edition of the Your IELTS Guide newsletter!

The idea behind this newsletter is to provide you with information, news, hints and tips about IELTS direct to your email box. We plan to constantly improve both the newsletter and the website, so please feel free to contact us with your feedback.

In this issue we explain how Your IELTS Guide came about, the recent changes in the marking of the writing module and have the first in a series of articles using what's in the IELTS handbook to help you improve your IELTS score.

Please feel free to forward this newsletter to your friends if you find it useful!

About Your IELTS Guide

Your IELTS Guide was started because of a concern that many IELTS candidates were failing to get the IELTS score they were capable of. Although IELTS is a good measure of a candidate's English language ability, it is easy for a candidate to 'flunk' the exam and thereby receive a lower bandscore than they are capable of.

The importance of IELTS to the candidate is often considerable. A person's ability to emigrate or study abroad may be dependent on them getting a high enough score. Receiving institutions are often very strict about the IELTS score they will accept - often insisting on minimum scores for individual modules.

The IELTS test is expensive, especially for those living in developing countries, yet many candidates end up taking the test multiple times.

Many candidates are ill informed about IELTS. Many aren't aware what score they need, others don't understand the format of the exam or what's expected of them. Others have been misled by what they have read on the many internet forums.

Your IELTS Guide is intended to address these issues. It won't improve your English, although we will give you study tips from time to time, but it will help you understand what the test is about, the potential pitfalls and even give advice concerning what you can do if you fail to get the result you need.

We have big plans for improving Your IELTS Guide. We genuinely want to make it the most useful site on the web for IELTS candidates.

Changes in marking the writing module

At the beginning of the year IELTS introduced changes to the way the writing module is marked. This was a major exercise resulting in the retraining of all IELTS writing examiners in the last quarter of 2004.

There is no need to be concerned about this. There are no changes to the exam from the candidates point of view. In fact, the changes should mean that marking is more accurate and results are a better reflection of a candidate's ability. The exam format itself is identical to previous years.

If you are still using the old IELTS Handbook the marking criteria are no longer correct. Make sure you have the new IELTS Handbook (2005). If you haven't got it, there is a link to download it on our online IELTS resources page.

The marking criteria are now:
Task 1 - Task Achievement, Coherence and Cohesion, Lexical Resource, Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Task 2 - Task Response, Coherence and Cohesion, Lexical Resource, Grammatical Range and Accuracy

We intend to write an article giving a fuller explanation of these criteria in the near future. Meanwhile, you will find more information about them in the IELTS Handbook (2005).

The Speaking Test: How your fluency and coherence, and lexical resource can affect your IELTS score.

Many candidates fail to use the information readily available in the IELTS Handbook to help them achieve the score they need. English learners frequently say they do not have good enough vocabulary because they are not fluent enough to express their ideas and they often assume that learning lists of words is the right way to improve in this area. What does the Handbook say about vocabulary?

"Lexical Resource refers to the range of vocabulary the candidate can use and the precision with which meanings and attitudes can be expressed. The key indicators are the variety of words used, the adequacy and appropriacy of the words used and the ability to circumlocute (get round a vocabulary gap by using other words) with or without noticeable hesitation."

From the above we can understand that it is not just the number of words you know but how appropriately you use them to get your ideas and opinion across. It is even OK to get stuck as long as you can still explain your meaning. If you think about it, sometimes you forget the correct word in your own language and have to say what you want to say differently, so not knowing the word will not necessarily affect your score during the IELTS test.

What then is fluency?

"Fluency and Coherence refers to the ability to talk with normal levels of continuity, rate and effort and to link ideas and language together to form coherent, connected speech. The key indicators of fluency are speech rate and speech continuity. The key indicators of coherence are logical sequencing of sentences, clear marking of stages in a discussion, narration or argument, and the use of cohesive devices (e.g. connectors, pronouns and conjunctions) within and between sentences."

Being fluent is all to do with how well you can continue speaking. This does not mean speaking slowly; nor does it mean speaking as fast as possible. "Normal levels of continuity" means as close to a native speaker would under the same circumstances. Coherence is as important as fluency. A native speaker might use a phrase such as 'you know' or 'erm', both of which give the speaker time to find the right word without slowing them down so much that they cannot be followed. A native speaker knows the rules of conversation in his or her own country and this means knowing when to pause to give the listener the opportunity to respond. The IELTS speaking test expects a candidate to know when to take or give up a turn.

It is therefore not enough just to have a wide vocabulary. A candidate must be able to have a discussion and express an opinion. From IELTS practice tests it can be seen that topics for discussion are many and varied and candidates have to be willing to respond to any question. Younger candidates are often at a disadvantage as they have little of their own experience to fall back on unless they have a background where discussion is encouraged. Such candidates have no alternative but to develop an interest in what is going on around them and in the world in general. Something for all IELTS candidates to consider is - if a person thinks that current affairs are boring in their own language, how can that person hope to speak fluently and convincingly in another language?

Reference: IELTS Handbook 2005

For more information on the speaking test check out our IELTS Speaking Module, IELTS Speaking Tips and IELTS Speaking Preparation pages.