IELTS | Media Centre
English proficiency rises in Indonesia
English proficiency in Indonesia is increasing according to new
data from the world’s most popular high stakes English language
test, IELTS (the International English Language Testing
System).
The results achieved by Indonesian IELTS test takers in 2011
show that proficiency in three of four areas of English language –
writing, speaking and listening – has increased since 2010.
The IELTS partners said the results reinforced IELTS as the
world’s premier English language test.
“Results from 2011 show Indonesian test takers are committed to
English studies and improving their proficiency in the language,”
British Council’s Angela Hennelly said.
“More and more people each year in Indonesia are choosing to sit
IELTS and increase their global education and employment
opportunities. IELTS results can open doors for people to study in
the USA, UK or Australia, or obtain a visa to live and work in
places such as Canada or Australia,” John Belleville, IDP: IELTS
Australia, added.
“We undergo an extensive range of test research and test
development so candidates and recognising organisations alike can
be confident all results are accurate and reliable. IELTS is
designed to encourage test takers to enhance their real world
English effectively,” Cambridge ESOL’s Mike Milanovic
concluded.
The average IELTS score in Indonesia increased from 6.2 to 6.4
on the IELTS scale from 1 to 9 in 2011.
Listening, writing and speaking all increased with listening
identified as the strongest skill among people in Indonesia taking
the test in 2011. Data is taken from test takers who sat the IELTS
Academic test.
There are 31 IELTS test centres located across Indonesia
including Bandung, Denpasar, Jakarta, Medan, Semarang and
Surabaya.
IELTS test results are requested by more than 7,000 education
institutions, governments and employers around the globe to provide
accurate and reliable measurement of English language
proficiency.
More than 1.7 million IELTS tests were sat in 2011, a 12%
increase compared to 2010.
View the full analysis of 2011 test
data.
English proficiency rises in India
English proficiency in India is increasing according to new data
from the world’s most popular high stakes English language test,
IELTS (the International English Language Testing System).
The results achieved by Indian IELTS test takers in 2011 show
that proficiency in three of four areas of English language –
writing, speaking and listening – has increased since 2010.
The IELTS partners said the data reinforced IELTS as the world’s
premier English language test.
“Results from 2011 show Indian test takers are committed to
English studies and improving their proficiency in the language,”
British Council’s Sarah Deverall said.
“More and more people each year across India are choosing to sit
IELTS and increase their global education and employment
opportunities. IELTS results can open doors for people to study in
the USA, UK or Australia, or obtain a visa to live and work in
places such as Canada or Australia,” John Belleville, IDP: IELTS
Australia, added.
“We undergo an extensive range of test research and test
development so candidates and recognising organisations alike can
be confident all results are accurate and reliable. IELTS is
designed to encourage test takers to enhance their real world
English effectively,” Cambridge ESOL’s Mike Milanovic
concluded.
The average IELTS score in India increased from 6 to 6.1 (on the
IELTS scale from 1 to 9) in 2011 while the biggest improvement was
in speaking skills, which increased to 6.2. Listening was the
strongest competency amongst Indian people taking the test in 2011.
Data is taken from test takers who sat the IELTS Academic test.
There are 64 IELTS test centres located across India including
Jaipur, Trivandrum and Amritsar.
IELTS test results are requested by more than 7,000 education
institutions, governments and employers around the globe to provide
accurate and reliable measurement of English language
proficiency.
More than 1.7 million IELTS tests were sat in 2011, a 12%
increase compared to 2010.
View the full analysis of 2011 test
data.
Demand for IELTS increases around the world
The International English Language Testing System (IELTS)
reinforces its position as the world’s most popular high stakes
English proficiency test, hitting a new record of more than 1.7
million tests sat around the world in 2011.
In the face of changing economic and migration conditions, IELTS
has enjoyed 12% growth in number of tests sat in 2011 as compared
to 2010. The latest figures marked the seventeenth year of
continual growth in test numbers, with the number of tests taken
tripling since 2005.
USA was the fastest growing market worldwide in 2011 with more
than 50 test centres now open to candidates, while Canada also
observed a significant rise in the number of tests taken in the
past twelve months. The East Asia region of India, Pakistan,
Bangladesh and Sri Lanka was the second most significant growth
market for IELTS in 2011. Demand in China, India and Australia
remained strong with these countries again administering the
highest number of tests. IELTS also noted a significant increase
across United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia and Turkey. IELTS
is now recognised by more than 7,000 organisations including
educational institutions, employers, professional associations and
governments, in 135 countries around the world.
Director of IELTS for IDP: IELTS Australia John Belleville said
that reasons cited by test takers for taking the IELTS test were
entry into an academic institution, followed by migration purposes.
“For many, IELTS is a requirement for migration to Australia, New
Zealand, Canada and the United Kingdom and the test can be taken in
any one of 800 locations worldwide,” Mr Belleville said.
“Demand for IELTS in China remains very impressive, with
students taking the test for entry to educational institutions in
Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and USA amongst many other
destinations,” explained John Gildea, Head of IELTS at British
Council. IELTS test content is developed by an international team
of experts and undergoes extensive research to ensure the test
remains fair and unbiased for any candidate regardless of
nationality, background, gender, lifestyle or location.
English proficiency increases in France
English proficiency in France is increasing according to new
data from the world’s most popular high stakes English language
test, IELTS (the International English Language Testing
System).
The results achieved by French IELTS test takers in 2011 show
that proficiency in two areas of English language – writing and
speaking – has increased since 2010.
The IELTS partners said the results reinforced IELTS as the
world’s premier English language test.
“Results from 2011 show French test takers are committed to
English studies and improving their proficiency in the language,”
British Council’s Helga Stellmacher said.
“More and more people each year in France are choosing to sit
IELTS and increase their global education and employment
opportunities. IELTS results can open doors for people to study in
the USA, UK or Australia, or obtain a visa to live and work in
places such as Canada or Australia,” John Belleville, IDP: IELTS
Australia, added.
“We undergo an extensive range of test research and test
development so candidates and recognising organisations alike can
be confident all results are accurate and reliable. IELTS is
designed to encourage test takers to enhance their real world
English effectively,” Cambridge ESOL’s Mike Milanovic
concluded.
The average IELTS score in France increased from 6.7 to 6.8 on
the IELTS scale from 1 to 9 in 2011. The biggest improvement was in
speaking skills, which increased to an average score of 6.8, and
was the strongest competency amongst people in France taking the
test in 2011. Data is taken from test takers who sat the IELTS
Academic test.
There are eight IELTS test centres located across France
including Bordeaux, Lyon and Strasbourg.
IELTS test results are requested by more than 7,000 education
institutions, governments and employers around the globe to provide
accurate and reliable measurement of English language
proficiency.
More than 1.7 million IELTS tests were sat in 2011, a 12%
increase compared to 2010.
View the full analysis of 2011 test
data.
Caroline Clapham IELTS Masters Award
announced
The IELTS Research Committee, comprising representatives of the
British Council, IDP Australia, and University of Cambridge ESOL
Examinations, is pleased to announce the awarding of the 2012
Caroline Clapham IELTS Masters Award to Veronika Timpe, for her
dissertation submitted to Lancaster University entitled “Strategic
decoding of sociopragmatic utterances: A think-aloud validation
study.” The dissertation was supervised by Luke Harding. In
addition, the Committee issued a certificate of commendation to
Anne-France Pinget for the high quality of her dissertation on
fluency and accent in L2 speech.
The award, which carries a prize of £1000, will be formally
presented to the winner at the annual Language Testing Research
Colloquium (LTRC) in July 2013.
The Caroline Clapham IELTS Masters Award is presented annually
to the Master’s-level dissertation or thesis in English which makes
the most significant contribution to the field of language testing.
Qualified individuals who would like to join the 2013 competition
are invited to visit
http://ielts.org/researchers/grants_and_awards/ielts_masters_award.aspx
for details of the competition and submission guidelines.
Congratulations to Ms Timpe and Ms Pinget!
New
U.S. CEO for world-leading language test
The world's No.1 test of English for international higher
education and migration is set for a major boost in the USA
following the appointment of a new CEO to head up its operation in
the United States.
Online education specialist Zachary Johnson has taken on the
role of Chief Executive Officer at IELTS USA, which promotes and
delivers the IELTS International English Language Testing System,
taken by over 1.7 million people in 2011 in over 130 countries.
Zach has over twenty years of leadership and management
experience, including senior roles in global education companies,
most recently at Blackboard Inc. where he held various leadership
positions across the U.K. and Europe, Asia Pacific and the U.S.
over the past 7 years. He will be responsible for increasing the
number of institutions across the U.S. which recognize the test as
proof of English language skills, and for working with the growing
network of test centers in the country to increase opportunities to
take the test. Already over 3,000 institutions and programs
recognize IELTS in the U.S. and candidates can choose from regular
test dates at over 50 locations in 29 states.
Johnson explains the special appeal of IELTS “It is a truly
international test, covering all the main varieties of English so
that students coming to study in the U.S. are accustomed to a wide
variety of accents and ways of speaking English. The test covers
four language skills - speaking, listening, reading and writing -
in different contexts, meaning learners aren’t just ready for
American English in the classroom but have the flexibility to deal
with English in all kinds of contexts.”
IELTS is jointly owned by the British Council, IDP: IELTS
Australia and University of Cambridge ESOL Examinations.
IDP: IELTS Australia awards research grants for
2012
IDP: IELTS Australia has announced the 2012 grant recipients of
its independent academic research program which continues to build
the evidence base that underpins IELTS.
The IDP: IELTS Australia funded research program is part of a
wider joint-funded scheme involving all three IELTS partners; IDP:
IELTS Australia, British Council and the University of Cambridge
ESOL Examinations, and is part of a comprehensive and coherent
framework for research and validation of IELTS.
John Belleville, Director of IELTS for IDP: IELTS Australia,
said: “The research program reflects our commitment to be at
the
forefront of English language testing.”
“Outcomes from the research studies will ensure the test
maintains its relevance and usefulness for all organisations around
the world requesting IELTS results as proof of English language
skills,” Mr Belleville said.
This year a total of AUD $215,000 was made available in funding
for IELTS-related research projects.
The first IDP: IELTS Australia funded research study,
Stakeholder perceptions of IELTS as a gateway to the
professional workplace: the case of employers of overseas trained
teachers, will aim to enhance understanding of the use and
interpretation of IELTS scores by examining perceptions of
employers in Australia and New Zealand.
The project will be undertaken by Dr Jill Murray (Dept of
Linguistics, Faculty of Human Sciences, Macquarie University),
Associate Professor Ken Cruickshank (Faculty of Education and
Social Work, Sydney University) and Dr. Judie Cross (Languages,
Randwick TAFE NSW Sydney Institute) in agreement with Macquarie
University in New South Wales, Australia.
The second grant was awarded to Dr Tim Moore (Faculty of Higher
Education, Swinburne University of Technology), Janne Morton
(School of Language and Linguistics, The University of Melbourne)
and Chris Wallis (Swinburne College) through an agreement with
Swinburne University of Technology in Victoria, Australia.
The project, Literacy practices in the professional
workplace: Implications for the IELTS General Training Reading and
Writing tests, will investigate literacy practices in a range
of professional workplace settings, and consider the implications
these have for the design of the IELTS General Training Reading and
Writing tests.
Researchers and institutions with expertise in language learning
and assessment are invited to apply for funding to undertake
IELTS-related research projects by 30 June each year. Further
information is available on the IELTS
website.
Proposals for 2012 were received by researchers from around the
world including Australia, USA, Germany, Russia, Vietnam, Hong
Kong, Taiwan, Iran, United Arab Emirates (UAE) and
Egypt.
The findings of these funded projects are published in IELTS
Research Reports which is available both in print and online, with
the latest research (Volume 13) released in March 2012.
IELTS has cemented its position as the world’s most popular high
stakes English language test by providing a reliable measure of a
candidate’s ability across the four skills of listening, reading,
writing and speaking.
Representing more than 15 consecutive years of global growth,
the number of tests taken has increased year-on-year annually since
1995. Latest figures reveal a record 1.7 million tests were taken
around the world.
