Since the launch of the IELTS test in 1989, the number of
candidates taking the IELTS test has continued to grow with an
increasing number sitting the test for reasons other than it was
originally designed for ...
Researcher: Brent Merrylees, LTC Language and Testing
Consultants Pty Ltd, Australia
This study was undertaken to investigate candidates'
interpretation of prompts and to compare the written responses of
English background speakers with those of IELTS intending
candidates, who were not English background speakers ...
Researchers: Peter Mickan, Adelaide University,
Australia; Stephen Slater, Heian Jogakuin University,
Japan
This paper reports on a study into task difficulty in the IELTS
Academic Writing Task 1. The study examined firstly, the extent to
which the difficulty of the task is affected by the amount of
information provided to the candidate and secondly, the extent to
which the difficulty of the task is affected by the presentation of
the information to the candidate ...
Researchers: Kieran O'Loughlin, The University of Melbourne,
Australia; Gillian Wigglesworth, Macquarie University,
Australia
Handwriting and neatness of presentation has long been seen as a
contaminating factor in the assessment of writing ability. In
particular it has been invoked as a possible reason why girls tend
to perform better in relation to boys on free-response writing
tests than they do in forced-choice formats in tests of first and
second language proficiency ...
Researcher: Annie Brown, The University of Melbourne,
Australia
This article reports an investigation of the impact of IELTS on
the preparation of international students for tertiary study in New
Zealand. The research was carried out in two phases, moving from a
broad overview of the national scene to a specific focus on two
particular IELTS preparation courses ...
Researchers: John Read, Victoria University of Wellington,
New Zealand; Belinda Hayes, Auckland University of
Technology, New Zealand
This exploratory study examines the relationship between
intensive English language study and band score gains on the IELTS
(International English Language Testing System). Specifically, it
investigates the progress of a sample of 112 students from non
English-speaking backgrounds enrolled in intensive English language
courses at one of four different language centres in Australia and
New Zealand ...
Researchers: Catherine Elder, The University of Auckland,
New Zealand; Kieran O'Loughlin, The University of
Melbourne, Australia
