Volume 5, 2003, Paper 4
Paper 4: The attitudes of IELTS stakeholders: student and staff
perceptions of IELTS in Australian, UK and Chinese tertiary
institutions
David Coleman, Sue Starfield, and Anne
Hagan
This report presents the findings of a three-nation study which
examined stakeholder attitudes to the International English
Language Testing System (IELTS). With research undertaken in
Australia, the People’s Republic of China and the United Kingdom,
the perceptions and perspectives of university staff and students
were measured via quantitative and qualitative methodologies. Staff
and student surveys were distributed, culminating in a total
respondent group of 624. To triangulate the data, 37 qualitative
interviews were conducted. The student group consisted of currently
enrolled tertiary degree students who had provided an IELTS score
in partial fulfilment of university admissions. The staff group
consisted of persons in academic and administrative positions at
the focal institutions.
As an inductive study, various themes were highlighted in the
research instruments. These included: knowledge areas;
perceptual/attitudinal areas; beliefs regarding the predictive
nature of IELTS vis-à-vis university demands; the appropriateness
of entry levels, and; perceptions of unprincipled activity. In
general, the greatest areas of difference existed between the staff
and student groups, irrespective of institutional location.
Students were, on the whole, more knowledgeable than staff on a
wide range of themes related to the IELTS test. Both staff and
students indicated that the purpose of the IELTS test is primarily
functional (ie. university entry), with a secondary learning/skill
improvement role.
Overall, respondents perceived the IELTS test to have high
validity, but staff and student respondents differed over the
predictive nature of the IELTS test score in relation to university
study. Students were generally satisfied with the IELTS entry
scores used by their institutions and were, on the whole, positive
regarding the relationship between English language skills
demonstrated by an IELTS score and language abilities necessary to
succeed in a university environment. In contrast, staff respondents
generally wished for an increase in their institution’s minimum
IELTS entry score, and were on the whole less satisfied with
English language abilities.
There were some perceptions of unprincipled uses of the IELTS
test. This related particularly to the admission of students with
IELTS scores below the institutional minimum entry cut-off
value.
Among the general conclusions, it is suggested that past IELTS
participants should be included in policy reviews of institutional
English language standards. Greater effort should be made to
educate tertiary staff about the form and function of the IELTS
test, and about the meaning of IELTS scores. Research into
the evolving nature of authentic classroom genres is suggested and
it is proposed that the washback effects of IELTS might be used to
better prepare students for the complex ‘real-world’ academic
language tasks they will encounter.
