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Advice from teachers: too much emphasis on IELTS from institution

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  1. #11

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    Possibly the institution is using IELTS to compare its students to other tertiary institutions in Hong Kong. If the average band is around 6, then the institution is not doing as well as HKU for example, where the average is around 7.

    Students who are entering university in Hong Kong on a degree programme has a DSE level 3. This is something like an IELTS band 5. Those who enter HKU humanities courses (such as Law) probably have DSE 5* or above, and they would be getting Band 7 or higher in IELTS.

    While the highest band in IELTS is Band 9, many native speakers would not get that, with international school kids often getting Band 7 or 7.5 - often their range of vocabulary is not wide enough, and their writing skills are weak.


  2. #12

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    Quote Originally Posted by hullexile:
    I've taught plenty, some of them fluent. Heck I am married to someone who passed IELTS who is damn near fluent.

    I have also taught some who have passed IELTS who could barely speak a word so I assume cheated the system.

    P.S. you can't actually pass or fail you just get a grade.
    You can not pass an IELTS test. It is a measurement not a pass or fail situation.

  3. #13

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    Does IELTS measure reading ability ...


  4. #14

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    Quote Originally Posted by Rooster:
    You can not pass an IELTS test. It is a measurement not a pass or fail situation.
    Ah yes, the sweet irony. I wonder if they test reading comprehension on as part of the IELTS.

    Quote Originally Posted by hullexile:
    I have also taught some who have passed IELTS who could barely speak a word so I assume cheated the system.

    P.S. you can't actually pass or fail you just get a grade.

    Quote Originally Posted by PillowCase:
    Yes, there is no such thing as "passing" -- it's just a grade to show your level.
    hullexile likes this.

  5. #15

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    Quote Originally Posted by drumbrake:
    Does IELTS measure reading ability ...
    Yes but some clearly get a lower grade than others
    shri likes this.

  6. #16

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    The IELTS test is a joke. My Korean friend went for some IELTS classes in Australia some time back to try to get a score of 7.0 for his visa. There was a certain formula for all the starting and ending of the essay section no matter the subject. This is because of the marking scheme which forces examiners to give them points whenever they use certain phrase types or words. Of course, this did not improve his English whatsoever.


  7. #17

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    Quote Originally Posted by quantzie:
    The IELTS test is a joke. My Korean friend went for some IELTS classes in Australia some time back to try to get a score of 7.0 for his visa. There was a certain formula for all the starting and ending of the essay section no matter the subject. This is because of the marking scheme which forces examiners to give them points whenever they use certain phrase types or words. Of course, this did not improve his English whatsoever.
    so cheating the system... this is why you have demands for English teachers who know how to prepare students to take IELTS. It's not to actually get better in English skills, its to get a good enough score to just get into university or get a job.

  8. #18

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    Quote Originally Posted by quantzie:
    The IELTS test is a joke. My Korean friend went for some IELTS classes in Australia some time back to try to get a score of 7.0 for his visa. There was a certain formula for all the starting and ending of the essay section no matter the subject. This is because of the marking scheme which forces examiners to give them points whenever they use certain phrase types or words. Of course, this did not improve his English whatsoever.
    Do you mean starting with an introduction and ending with a conclusion?
    MerMer and hullexile like this.

  9. #19

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    Quote Originally Posted by quantzie:
    The IELTS test is a joke. My Korean friend went for some IELTS classes in Australia some time back to try to get a score of 7.0 for his visa. There was a certain formula for all the starting and ending of the essay section no matter the subject. This is because of the marking scheme which forces examiners to give them points whenever they use certain phrase types or words. Of course, this did not improve his English whatsoever.
    So he studied IELTS for a few hours a day in an English speaking country and hid English didn't improve? So what was he doing in the, say, 20 remaining hours of the day? You can't just pay money, sit in a classroom and magically acquire a language. A lot of marketing departments at language schools make unrealistic claims and leave out the part about the student needing to put in the hard yards.

  10. #20

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    Quote Originally Posted by lighthse003:
    Students in HK need to focus on their HKDSE English first, HKDSE English is accepted by overseas universities as equal to IELTS. After students enter HK's universities, they are required by universities to achieve a certain level of IELTS before graduation. It is not difficult for the students if their English were already good before they entered university, and special tuition from teachers should not be required. Employers in HK may look at applicants' English test results.

    Just take the test yourself at home or pay to take the test and see how you do as a teacher or student.

    I think PGCE (English Language Education) in the UK or HK does not include anything about preparing for IELTS. This has more to do with TEFL. IELTS is the most common English test of adult students, working or studying in HK.
    The universities in Hong Kong doesn't require students to have IELTS as prerequisite for graduation.

    The main reason universities student take IELTS while doing the degree is because of the scheme to reimburse IELTS exam fees. Almost all UGC funded Univ has a government sponsored scheme that will reimburse the exam fees if you score more than band 6. So most students take advantage of this, irrespective of whether they are going to use IELTS scores.

    The Univs even has a CEF course where in the whole prep course fee and exam fee is reimbursed through the CEF.