In this edition:
-
Introduction
-
Pronunciation - How the limited number of bands impacts your Speaking score
-
IELTS Tips - Listening
-
Book Review
Introduction
Welcome to the October 2005 edition of the
Your IELTS Guide
newsletter.
This month our IELTS tips cover the Listening module. Read them to find out how to avoid losing marks in the IELTS Listening test.
In the last issue we told you where to find the IELTS Writing and Speaking band descriptors that IELTS examiners use to assess you. Did you notice that for the Speaking module there are only
four
possible scores for pronunciation?
This month we discuss how this can effect you final band score.
This month's review looks at a book that will help you improve your vocabulary.
Use these links to read previous issues: April 2005 May 2005 June 2005 July 2005 August 2005 September 2005
Please feel free to forward this newsletter to your friends!
Pronunciation - How the limited number of bands impacts your Speaking score
Last month we told you that IELTS have made their band descriptors for the Writing and Speaking modules available to the public - or, at least, a version for public consumption.
By now we expect you have had a good look at them. Did you notice something odd about the Speaking descriptors? In particular the band descriptors for pronunciation?
If not, look again and you will see there are only
four, rather the usual nine (the zero bandscore only applies if a candidate doesn't attend).
IELTS examiners have to sign a confidentiality agreement so are not able to discuss such things as module marking band descriptors.
However, now that these have been made publicly available we will not be in breach of any confidentiality agreement by pointing things out to you, such as this peculiarity of marking the Speaking module.
So how does having only four bands available for marking affect your Speaking score - or even your final band score?
First you must remember that your Speaking score is calculated by averaging your scores for each of the four criteria.
The maximum scores are therefore:
Fluency and coherence: 9, Lexical resource: 9, Grammatical range and accuracy: 9, Pronunciation: 8
A simple calculation will show you that to get a 9 overall you have to score full marks for each criteria.
If you get a bandscore of 8 in just one of the other criteria you will get an 8; only full scores are given in the Speaking module and an average of 8.5 becomes an 8.
This means that for excellent speakers, because you can't score higher than an 8 in pronunciation even if your pronunciation is perfect, a slight problem in just one of the remaining criteria will reduce your score to an 8.
Compare this with the Writng module where, because all criteria have a maximum of 9, an excellent writer would have to get a lower than maximum score in two criteria to drop to a bandscore of 8.
Not many IELTS candidates get a bandscore of 9, nor do many actually need it. However, certain institutions might, in some circumstances, require a bandscore of 9 in Speaking.
Although rare, this is not unknown - just ask IELTS what they require from their non-native speaker IELTS examiners...
Those of you who need a 9 in Speaking have very little margin.
The majority of candidates don't need such a high mark. It is probably fair to say that the majority need no more than a 7. So how does this affect them?
Well, an 8 for pronunciation is difficult to get - just have a look at the criteria for that level and compare it with that for a 6.
If the examiner is not able to give an 8 they have to give a 6 (or lower). There is no band 7.
Again, a simple calculation will show you that if you get, for example, two 7s and a 6 for the remaining criteria, a 6 in pronunciation will drop you to an overall Speaking score of 6, whereas a 7 would have given you a 7.
Put yourself in the position of the examiner. Given a candidate with less than perfect pronunciation what score would you give?
Those of you who need a lower score, say a 6, may even be at an advantage from the limited number of bands available.
Unless your pronunciation causes 'severe strain for the listener' you are more likely to get a 6 than a 4.
This can help pull your Speaking score up to a 6 if your true level is 5+.
And, of course, your overall Speaking band score will affect your overall IELTS band score.
If your Speaking score drops because you got a 6 for pronunciation, rather than an 8, it can pull down your overall IELTS band score.
A drop of one band in your Speaking could pull your overall IELTS score down half a band.
To put this in perspective, if you require a high score in the Speaking module (some institutions have minimum requirements for each module) the limited number of pronunciation bands can have a significant influence.
The impact is less if you require a lower score but this limitation in pronunciation band scores could affect your overall IELTS band score by half a band - up or down.
However, the effect is more likely to be down for high scorers and up for low scorers.
Those of you requiring a band score higher than 6 should not underestimate the importance of pronunciation; a pronunciation score of 8 rather than 6 could pull you up one band in Speaking and half a band overall.
The Speaking Module Band Descriptors
You can download the IELTS Handbook from our online IELTS resources page or visit the official IELTS website.
IELTS Tips - Listening
Don't lose marks unnecessarily in the IELTS Listening module. These tips will make you aware of how easy it is to lose marks by failing to properly complete the Listening test.
Answer ALL questions - guess if necessary
It is important to try to answer all the questions. You do not lose marks for getting an incorrect answer so it is definitely worth guessing those you don't know. While some answers may not be easy to guess, others have a limited number of choices. If the question is multiple choice you should certainly make a guess. Often there are just three options, A, B or C, or True, False, Not Given.
If you guess right it could be enough to increase your Listening score by half a band. Indeed, if you manage to guess three correctly you will almost certainly get a half band increase over not guessing at all.
Read the instructions carefully - and follow them
Time to read the instructions is pre-recorded as silence on the recording. Make sure you read the instructions carefully. For example, you may be told to write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS. If you write more you will be marked wrong, even if the meaning is correct. Taking an example from
"The IELTS Candidate Information Booklet", a candidate answering 'coat of black leather' when the correct answer should be 'black leather coat' will be marked incorrect even though the meaning is correct because they have used too many words.
It goes without saying that, in multiple choice questions, if you are told to write A, B or C, writing 1, 2 or 3 will be marked incorrect.
Concentrate - don't allow yourself to be distracted
The recording is played once only, with all gaps and pauses included. You will not get chance to listen a second time - nothing is repeated. For this reason it is essential that you don't let your concentration wander. Don't try to answer questions you missed earlier while the recording is playing or you'll miss even more.
Know the current and following question
While listening to the recording be aware of the current
and following
questions. It is very easy to miss a question, perhaps because you don't fully understand it or what is being said. You will continue to listen for the answer to
that
question and can become completely lost, missing all other questions in that section. If you know what the following questions are you are likely to be become aware that you have missed one when you hear the answer to the next allowing you continue, thus minimising the number of marks lost.
Write down your answers clearly
In the listening test you are required to write your answers in the question booklet. You then transfer your answers to the answer sheet during the ten minutes allowed at the end of the test.
It might seem obvious but be sure to write your answers clearly in the question booklet. If you can't read your own writing at the end of the test you will not be able to transfer them accurately and they will be marked wrong.
Of course, when you transfer your answers to the answer sheet you should also make sure they are written clearly. If the marker can't read an answer it will be marked wrong.
Transfer answers to the correct number
Again, it might seem obvious, but if you don't transfer your answers to the correct numbers on the answer sheet they will be marked wrong. It is easy to make this mistake if you haven't been able to answer all the questions and you have a few gaps.
Be careful of your spelling and grammar
Incorrect spelling and grammar will be penalised. Check you spelling carefully - sometimes the word is already on the question paper.
In the case of gap fill questions be sure the complete sentence or phrase is grammatically correct once you have inserted your
complete
answer. To take another example from
"The IELTS Candidate Information Booklet", if a candidate has to complete
'in the...'
and the correct answer is
'morning'
the answer
'in the morning'
would be incorrect as it would then read
'in the in the morning'
which is grammatically incorrect. This is marked wrong even though the candidate was simply trying to show they understood the question.
For more information on the Listening test check out our
IELTS Listening Module,
IELTS Listening Tips
and
IELTS Listening Preparation
pages.
Book Review
Check Your Vocabulary For English For The IELTS EXAMINATION by Rawdon Wyatt, Peter Collins Pub 2001
This workbook is suitable for both the General and Academic modules of the IELTS test. It is packed with exercises, word games and puzzles and includes an answer key. There is both general and topic specific vocabulary; all highly useful for increasing vocabulary and candidates can use space at the end of the book to record words they specifically want to learn.
Although the book is fairly dense, there are some very good sections such as comparing graphs or charts. It is certainly a book that can be used for self study, in particular for learning vocabulary in context.
The vocabulary is fairly advanced so we suggest this book is probably more suitable those aiming for at least a 7 in the test.
We can recommend this book as a good supplementary resource for higher level candidates at under £8.00 or $10.00 + p&p.
For more information on this book:
More info (US)
|
More info (UK)
