In this edition:
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Introduction
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Comparisons Between Bands In The IELTS Test
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IELTS Test performance 2004
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Book Review
Introduction
Welcome to the last issue of the Your IELTS Guide newsletter for 2005. As we move forward into 2006 Your IELTS Guide would like to wish you all a Happy New Year and the best possible result in your IELTS test!
Last month we completed our series of 'IELTS Tips' with the Reading module. This month we are starting a new series "Comparisons Between Bands In The IELTS Test".
It's all very well knowing you need, say, a Band 7, but what exactly does this mean?
The most common requirement is for somewhere between 5 and 7, depending on what you are applying for, so this month we compare Bands 5 and 7 in the Speaking module.
It is important that the IELTS test accurately reflects a candidate's English ability. IELTS have published results of test performance for 2004 on their website and we discuss it in this newsletter.
Our book review, this month, is particularly suitable for those of you aiming for higher scores in the IELTS test.
Use this link to read back issues.
Please feel free to forward this newsletter to your friends!
Comparisons Between Bands In The IELTS Test - Bands 5 & 7 in the Speaking test
Now that IELTS have provided public descriptors on their website, it is worth having a look at the differences between some of the band grades. This month we will look at the differences between Bands 5 and 7 in the Speaking test, but excluding pronunciation.
Look at the table below:
FLUENCY & COHERENCE
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BAND 7
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BAND 5
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- speaks at length without noticeable effort or loss of coherence
- uses a range of connectives and discourse markers with some flexibility
- may demonstrate language-related hesitation at times, or some repetition and/or self-correction
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- usually maintains flow of speech but uses repetition, self-correction and/or slow speech to keep going
- may over-use certain connectives and discourse markers
- produces simple speech fluently, but more complex communication causes fluency problems
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Fluency is not a matter of speaking quickly, which is something language learners fail to understand in some cases. It is a matter of being able to speak for a reasonable period without the language breaking down. Native speakers hesitate to find the right words and repeat by saying the same thing a different way sometimes. What native speakers don't do is speak slowly whilst searching for the correct grammar or vocabulary. What is a discourse marker? Phrases and mumblings such as … er, mmm, you know, you see, I think etc. Language learners often use the same ones all the time. It's a natural way of helping you think before speaking, but native speakers generally use a wider variety compared with language learners.
LEXICAL RESOURCE
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BAND 7
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BAND 5
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- uses vocabulary resource flexibly to discuss a variety of topics
- uses some less common and idiomatic vocabulary and shows some awareness of style and collocation with some inappropriate choices
- uses paraphrase effectively
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- manages to talk about familiar and unfamiliar topics but uses vocabulary with limited flexibility
- attempts to use paraphrase but with mixed success
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There is a big jump between Bands 7 and 5 as far as vocabulary is concerned. Being able to use idiom in a natural way and knowing some less common and maybe newer vocabulary can make all the difference to your score. What is paraphrase? Being able to explain what you mean using alternatives if you are not sure of the right word is paraphrasing. Native speakers sometimes paraphrase using the word 'thingy', for example.
GRAMMATICAL RESOURCE
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BAND 7
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BAND 5
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- uses a range of complex structures with some flexibility
- frequently produces error-free sentences, though some grammatical mistakes persist
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- produces basic sentence forms with reasonable accuracy
- uses a limited range of more complex structures, but these usually contain errors and may cause some comprehension problems
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Being able to produce a range of sentence types with good grammatical accuracy is necessary for a Band 7. What is a complex structure? This is all to do with clause types, and it is worth revising this area of grammar if you are aiming for a higher band score. Listeners are generally very forgiving of language learners whose grammar is faulty since communication is usually more important than grammatical accuracy. When an IELTS candidate needs a better than average score (7 or higher), then getting the grammar right in more complicated sentence types becomes very important.
For more information on the Speaking test check out our
IELTS Speaking Module,
IELTS Speaking Tips and
IELTS Speaking Preparation
pages.
IELTS Test performance 2004
We notice that IELTS.org has just put a page on their website analysing IELTS test data. We'll ignore the fact that it's already 12 months out of date and just mention that, for anyone who is not a statistician, it's virtually impossible to understand. What happened to 'plain English'? We are given the data without any real explanation of what it means - unless you happen to have a PhD. in statistics, of course.
We've had a good look at the page on 'Test performance' but have struggled to understand it. The reliability and accuracy of the IELTS test is of paramount importance to anyone who needs to get a particular score to emigrate or study abroad, as it is for the receiving institutions. So what does this page tell us?
Here is our understanding of what the data means but, as we said before, we are not statisticians. If you understand it better than we do, please put us right.
The first thing we should point out is that this analysis compares results between tests. As we understand it, this means that the average score for one test should be close to the average score for another. This information is used to determine if tests are consistent. Not knowing what Cronbach's alpha is and just what an alpha of 0.9 constitutes, means we can't put any real meaning to the data. However, it does appear that the Listening and Reading modules, with a Cronbach's alpha of around 0.88, are more reliable than the Speaking and Writing modules which have reliability ratings of about 0.81; assuming the two figures are actually comparable. This is what you might expect as the Speaking and Writing are subjectively marked.
One further point to note is that IELTS say they analyse the test data "to ensure any variation is within the acceptable limit of 0.5 of a band". As a candidate would you say that a variation of 0.5 of a band was acceptable? Especially if you realise that this only looks at "comparability of different test versions" and doesn't take into consideration variation between examiners. Just how accurate is your IELTS score? We know from experience that candidates taking the exam more than once can get different scores for the modules while retaining approximately the same overall score. This is particularly annoying for candidates who need minimum scores in each module but each time it's a different module that fails to reach this minimum.
If anyone out there can shed some light on what these figures really mean, please reply to this email and let us know.
You will find the information here: Test performance 2004
Book Review
Rediscover Grammar by David Crystal. Publisher: Longman 2004
"Rediscover Grammar" is an excellent paperback which explains the complexities of English grammar in a clear and concise way. There is an in depth chapter on clauses, essential for those needing grammatical accuracy in both speaking and writing.
Suitable for candidates aiming for Band 7 or higher in the IELTS test.
For more information on this book: More info (US) |
More info (UK)
