IELTS widens its reach
G. KRISHNAKUMAR
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The popularity of the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) exam is on the rise. Kevin McLaven, First Secretary, Educational Services, British High Commission, speaks on a range of issues related to the exam.
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“As the job market becomes more competitive in an economic downturn, more people start thinking of getting better qualifications.”
Good show: Over 6,000 institutions across the world recognise IELTS, says Kevin McLaven
Demand for the prestigious International English Language Testing System (IELTS) exam seems to be growing rapidly across the world. According to Kevin McLaven, First Secretary, Educational Services, British High Commission, 1.4 million people have taken the test globally. Stating that IELTS has recorded growth in India too, he said that over 2.3 lakh candidates took the test in the country last year.
In an interview to The Hindu EducationPlus in Kochi, Mr. McLaven elaborated on a wide range of topics related to IELTS. Excerpts from the interview:
How do you rate the popularity of the IELTS exam especially in the wake of the economic downturn experienced across the world?
Within the last 12 months, 1.4 million people have taken the IELTS exam globally. It’s the fastest growing test of English in the world. It is not only the most popular test, it is also the most widely recognised test.
In India as well, it has seen incredible growth. Over 2.3 lakh candidates took the test in the country last year. If you compare IELTS with TOEFL, it is far ahead in terms of the numbers. There are over 6,000 institutions across the world recognising IELTS. It has certain advantages over competing tests such as TOEFL. One of the key advantages is the face-to-face speaking test.
The other positive aspect about the speaking test is that the tasks that the candidate requires to perform are very close to real life oral communication tasks.
As a result, it has also a positive impact on learning. Because, to prepare for the IELTS exam, you have to undertake real life tasks. We very much call it a real life test for the real world.
In terms of statistics, take south India. In the last five months, even though we have been going through global recession, we have actually seen year-on-year growth of 32 per cent.
It is an interesting factor during the time of economic recession. What tends to happen with a qualification like IELTS is that as the job market becomes much more competitive in an economic downturn, more people actually start thinking that they should get better qualifications.
It is not the first time that IELTS has actually seen significant growth during an economic downturn. People who otherwise would have gone into the job market are postponing that and focusing on improving their qualifications, hoping that they would be better positioned to get a good job when the economy improves.
There have been some reports that the IELTS qualification is not required for studying abroad, triggering doubts among the candidates.
Essentially, the requirements for IELTS have not changed. Anybody wishing to study in Australia or immigrate to that country has to take IELTS. There has been some confusion regarding the U.K. requirement since the introduction of the new points-based student visa system in May 2009. The U.K. board authority, responsible for issuing visas, stated that there has been no change in the English language requirement. What we are seeing is perhaps some professional education consultants misleading the students in their publicity promotion by saying that they can study in the U.K. without having to demonstrate English language competence.
The U.K. board authorities themselves don’t state that the student must have English language requirement. What they say is that it depends upon the receiving institution. The majority of colleges and universities in the U.K. still require evidence of English language ability.
Some colleges and universities, however, waive the requirement for an IELTS score if an Indian student has been studying in the English medium environment and if he has a certain minimum score in the 12th Standard.
Every year, British Council organises an exhibition of U.K. universities across India. There are international officers from the largest U.K. universities at those exhibitions. And they have an opportunity to interact with prospective Indian students. If, during that exchange, it is obvious to them that the students’ English is perfectly fluent, they may ask them not to take an English test.
Essentially, it is dependent on the requirement of the receiving institution. But all institutions will require some evidence of English language ability. Unfortunately, what has happened is that through a certain degree of slightly unscrupulous marketing, some Indian students whose English is not very good have been led to believe that they will get a place on a course in U.K. even though their English is not good. What we tell any Indian student looking to apply to the U.K. is that there is no problem in using the services of an education agent.
But independently, the students should check the website of the university or college in which they wish to study. Because, there have been a few cases where the education consultant has said something whereas the university is saying something else.
And the worst thing is a young Indian student handing over a large amount of money to the agent who is helping him. They pay for the visa and then the visa is rejected because they have not given the evidence for English language ability.
It naturally prompts the question why the British Council is not able to regulate those people who mislead the students. Across India, literally there are thousands of education consultants. The British Council interacts with a relatively small number of them.
Unfortunately it is not the role of the British Council to manage, these organisations. We do have agents with whom we work closely; we have listed them on our website. If we feel that some agents are misleading students through their advertisement or through their information, we cease to work with them.
Do you have systems in place to check malpractices during the exam?
One of the reasons why IELTS is the global leader today is that the recognising institutions trust IELTS. They are aware that the actual systems in place are very watertight.
Having said that, we do, from time to time, find candidates who are trying to commit some form of malpractice or another.
Occasionally, we find candidates trying to swap papers in the room, sometimes they would pay for another person to sit for the test for them. We do have elaborate processes in place to ensure that these people are caught. We also have a database of impostors. We circulate that among all the cities in the India where we are running the IELTS test.
The actual processes under which IELTS is managed are incredibly watertight. Unfortunately, we are not in a position to take any legal action against those trying to cheat. We also have a database of candidates who have committed malpractices.
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