This is probably the king of bullshiting probe. This guys haven't ever heard about of efficiency of language? Why the hell do you need 2 minutes to say something that you could say in 30 seconds? Do they ever thought of people who actually do not like to talk in vain, just for the sake of doing something? Here's a sample of stupidity from my exam, speaking theme 2.
"Describe something you would like to learn."
"Explain why is this useful for you."
"Tell the examiner where you will find the information you need."
"You should talk between 1 and 2 minutes on this task."
I judged this in terms of reality, so I answered that I had enough learning in this lifetime and I will do my best to avoid being put in another situation of learning something again. Guess what, that took about 30 seconds and for another minute the examiner looked at me like a stupid, without saying one word. Is honesty wrong in this exam? Obviously yes, if I could made up a story, like that I would love to learn how to pilot an F-16 airplane, or how much I would like to learn how to jump with the parachute, maybe I would talked a little bit longer, but I am not a creative guy. Speaking has nothing to do with creativity. Maybe the only thing that was coming into my mind at that point, was how much I would like to learn how to be a porn star, would have been better if I talked about it? Isn't this task wrong in every way, just because my answer to the first question cancelled any possible answer to the other remaining 2 questions? This is not an exam of speech development guys, the purpose of this exam is to figure out how much English I am able to speak, dear geniuses from Cambridge University.
"Explain why is this useful for you."
"Tell the examiner where you will find the information you need."
"You should talk between 1 and 2 minutes on this task."
I judged this in terms of reality, so I answered that I had enough learning in this lifetime and I will do my best to avoid being put in another situation of learning something again. Guess what, that took about 30 seconds and for another minute the examiner looked at me like a stupid, without saying one word. Is honesty wrong in this exam? Obviously yes, if I could made up a story, like that I would love to learn how to pilot an F-16 airplane, or how much I would like to learn how to jump with the parachute, maybe I would talked a little bit longer, but I am not a creative guy. Speaking has nothing to do with creativity. Maybe the only thing that was coming into my mind at that point, was how much I would like to learn how to be a porn star, would have been better if I talked about it? Isn't this task wrong in every way, just because my answer to the first question cancelled any possible answer to the other remaining 2 questions? This is not an exam of speech development guys, the purpose of this exam is to figure out how much English I am able to speak, dear geniuses from Cambridge University.
I am an IELTS speaking examiner. In answer to your question, yes, you would have been better off talking about how you'd like to learn to be a porn star. Such is the dubious logic of the exam.
ReplyDeleteI can assure you that the entire organization is opaque and suffers from a general culture of unaccountability, so any logical criticisms of the exam will be duly ignored.
I had a similar experience. I answered all the questions and it apparently took me less than a minute to do so. Not knowing that I haven't made it to the 1 minute mark (since there was no clock or any time-reference I could look to), I stopped, and the examiner sat there looking at me, not saying a word for a good 5 seconds. The test is forced, unnatural, and useless in terms of testing language skills. And oh, the questions I was asked in the test would have been more appropriate for somebody running the President of a country. The topic you are speaking about DOES affect how you speak. I had to talk about what the government should do to improve the nation's education system, and overall progress of the country for almost the entire time of the test, without an option to tell them I can't comment on the issue. Not realistic at all.
ReplyDeleteIELTS is a language exam, so they don’t care about your real thoughts or opinions. They want to make sure you’ve achieved a particular range of vocabulary or grammar. The relatively long time to answer simple questions, that in real life would take seconds to answer, is intended to check your range of vocabulary, and, what’s more important, your range of idioms and all sorts of clichés. I guess, they just want you to put some detail to your narration, saying some more facts or thoughts that would show off how many cool and advanced expressions you know))) From what I’ve read about the IELTS on the Internet it’s more about expressions and linking words, like “first”, “on the one hand”, “however”, etc. than actual language skills that are practical for the real life communication. I’d even go further to assume that those language exams are taken more effectively by those who can just drill long lists of “most advanced phrases you need to pass Ielts or TOEFL” and just speak them out in the test. Plus, we should consider the act that unlike adequate English-as-a-foreign-language exams, IELTS allows none-native speakers as examiners, since the UK is such a tolerant country))) That’s the most anecdotic thing about the test – they screw up their own language in the sake of political correctness, we have absolutely inadequate criteria as a results, when it’s absolutely unknown how they make the conclusion of how many scores to grant. If a none-native speaker examines in an English test, logically he or she will probably base their judgment on technical and formal criteria.
ReplyDeleteWould you give 8 band scores to this taker of Ielts?
www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVAfsHjV_Q4
This comment has been removed by the author.
Deletei dont think that is an 8 pointer, if only that can be band 8 in speaking. Then probably i'm gonna be 10 pointer with far more good grammar and pronunciation.
DeleteI don't... I'm going to be a....far *better* grammar...
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteokay so here is my story. I sat ielts exam last month, during the speaking test, i was asked if i have got any outdoor activity during winter back in my home country. Since i'm from the far east Asia, Winters in my home town were always extremely cold and below zero Celsius. So i gave the examiner an answer like: no, winter in my area was cold, and we have not got so many outdoor activities. But personally i feel like it is warm and cozy to stay at home, since we have got radiators installed in rooms. To my surprise, the examiner seemed not satisfied with my answer and kept asking me: If any possibility, what would you do outdoor in your home town in Winter. The fuck was she trying to get from me????!! The winter is freezing cold and nobody wants to go out for activities. So i replied: maybe buying groceries. Then she kept going with question like: Then what were you doing outside for fun during winter?!! OMG this is fucking stupid. And i've never expected Ielts to be lame at this level.
ReplyDeleteThe examiner cannot change the script/rubric or topic they have been given. It is up to the candidate to talk in English and explain why they do not do any outdoor activities. If the examiner continued asking questions about winter, it was because these were her backup questions for candidates who fail to speak the allotted time, or who do not understand the question. It's an exam, not real life, the candidate has to prove they are able to converse on a topic for up to two minutes. Yes, it's long but in RL if you were working for a company you might be asked to do a PowerPoint presentation, in which case that is certainly longer than a two-minute monologue and, possibly, more terrifying!
DeleteMy suggestion with this is to send all these problems concerning this exam directly to the House of Commons, They have already received complaints regarding these exams from fluent English speakers with proof of their good skills in English from other sources, therefore inconsistent with the test's results.
ReplyDeleteThey can be contacted here:
http://www.parliament.uk/mps-lords-and-offices/standards-and-interests/pcfs/contact-us/
Also, it would be important to request feedback under the Data protection Act 1998, specially if there are concerns that there could be something fishy going on.
IELTS have created a system for failing people and making money, specially in the reading part, where they can apply very subjective criteria. Moaning wont stop them and they are becoming stronger and stronger, therefore the UK parliament must be aware of this circumstance.
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Well, I remember preparing myself to IELTS, choosing what book do I love (I mostly read tech books) what movie do I like, what is good about my town, what person has mostly influenced my life etc. I mostly found myself unable to stay talking on most of expected IELTS topics even in my native language (sic!), as I am used to talk only about the things which are really interesting for me at the moment or in case when I have something valuable to say. This test is extremely biased toward chatterboxes - I can say that because I usually have no much problem speaking in real life or on English lessons, but it was much harder for me to speak on IELTS test.
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Interesting opinion xD
ReplyDeleteagree 100%--exam sucks!!! the idea of putting people under such stress is wrong in the first place. When I was doing it, all the participants -150 of them -- were staying in one hall for almost 4 hours straight without break. why?? I needed to go to the bathroom 3 times and was allowed to do that at the expense of my writing and reading time and the guy escorted me to the bathroom as if had been a criminal. Also time pressure and unrealistic stupid questions of a speaking part and superiority of the exam make it looking like a conspiracy against non-speakers who need it
ReplyDeleteI also want to point out the absolute illegality of exam's policy which doesn't allow me to see the assessment of MY exam--I mean, I cannot see either my writing mistakes or any of my answer sheets unless I officially appeal which means PAYING THE AMOUNT OF EXAM'S WORTH. HOW FAIR IS THAT? I also cannot grasp how could I score 7.5 for speaking knowing pretty well my answer was flawless
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can help you get a higher score in IELTS!
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What happens when you fail in the job you got on false qualifications because you could not speak the language properly? You might get the sack, but what will happen to everyone else is that employers will stop believing that IELTS is a good qualification, and the people who have worked hard and earned their marks will find that no-one believes their results mean anything. All because some fraudsters made false documents! If you have any respect for other people, you will realise that the people selling these unearned qualifications are the ones who are grabbing money.
DeleteFree advice to anyone who's taking the test. Do not try to take it personally. Make up stories, even ridiculous ones, have fun, humor the poor shmuck in front of you and, if this is who you are and if you can afford it, be aggressive, abusive and arrogant but ONLY if your language is flawless and they have absolutely nothing left to pick up on! Fuck those suckers!
ReplyDeleteI don't understand the logic neither. I just had the experience!:)) Am I supposed to solve an environmental issue within 5 seconds to think and 20 seconds to talk? What if I have no idea about the pollution that tourism causes? The examiner asked me if reducing tourism would help! What the fuck?! How can I know?? This is not my area of expertise and I have no idea!! I just said it wouldn't (thinking how stupid the question was). This was one of the last 2-3 questions. I felt like I talked a lot and fast so she had to ask more questions to finish the test in time. But because of this answer, she couldn't continue and her face stressed me. She was staring at me with eyes wide open:)) And the test ended.. I don't remember even if I said I didn't know. I might say "bacause.. umm.. because..umm" :))
ReplyDeleteI will write my scores if I have time to visit this website again but the score of my speaking test can't be above 7.5 I presume..
There is a very simple answer to this. IELTS exists to give you an opportunity to have your language level assessed. It is not possible to give an accurate assessment of your level if you choose to give brief, undeveloped answers. If you do so, your score will be limited. The onus is on the test-taker to take the opportunity provided to give evidence of your range, accuracy and fluency. If you choose not to take that opportunity, then you will score poorly. It is not reasonable to expect the examiner to guess how good your English is. You have to prove it. The topics are very simple and don't require specialist knowledge. You are not expected to have great, insightful answers, and it's perfectly acceptable to say 'I don't know', if asked for an opinion, as long as you can at least say something related to the topic. You will never be marked down for a lack of topic knowledge.
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I did my IETLS speaking test today, and I'm a native English speaker. Nevertheless, I was stuck for something to say in answer to questions I had not really considered before. The questions are completely random. This should not be a test of how well you can answer a question on a totally new topic under pressure, but should be a test of comprehension, conversation skills, speaking fluency, and grammar. This can be tested through a normal dialogue, not a one way static conversation where the examiner gives no feedback whatsoever. How would you answer the following effectively in ten seconds?
ReplyDelete"Do you think governments influence families?"
I was thinking, what kind of question is that? OK if I had to write a thesis, I could research the topic and come up with some points, but as a question in a speaking test - how does it help me to demonstrate my English language ability. This test is just terrible.
Dear chat community,
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ReplyDeleteThe IELTS 9 project.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yFdx1NqMwM&list=PLFIWRX1bpbm1CN6EzeT_lRA8grqbIAcmf
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Man, I am just sucked d r y with that IELTS preparation. Has been listening to an essay analysis on ieltspodcast, and they comment on all the stuff that I am sure not even native speakers know. Like, writing "Obviously" is your essay is like one inch to being rude. How the f I was supposed to know that? They don't teach things like this. Or, smth like, use collocations, but use them naturally. Man, you don't use collocations n a t u r a l l y unless you've been doing it since childhood. Or, like, use linking words but not too much. What exactly is too much?? Or that you can't ask for a spare sheet before you have the first one filled. So if your handwriting only allows you 200 words per sheet, well, then you have to spend time on asking an additional one. I am so pissed.
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IELTS is indeed a garbage test and more specifically the speaking part where depending on the subject and question asked you can score either band 9 or 5 as sometimes you do not have anything to reply to a stupid question such as: When was the last time you took care of a kid? I mean do I look like a kindergarten teacher or something? I DON'T GIVE A F ABOUT KIDS I hate the sh out of them! Ask me questions about anything else including nuclear fusin and I would get band 9 f degenerate!
ReplyDelete