Predictability of the IELTS in a high-stakes context : a mixed methods study of Chinese students’ perspectives on test preparation
Date
10/01/2022Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
High-stakes language tests are used around the world as a gatekeeping tool under the internationalization of higher education. However, the predictable aspect of the high-stakes language tests is seldom discussed, especially from students’ perspectives. This study aims to address this gap by aiming to better understand how certain factors and conditions contribute to the predictability issue of IELTS from students’ perspectives within a high-stakes context. This study used a mixed method approach to investigate the views and experiences of students within a Sino-UK joint college. The data collection was in two concurrent strands: online survey and group interviews. Findings suggested that IELTS can impact students negatively by narrowing their English learning scope, driving them into self-isolated way of study, doing repeated test-taking and buying predicted answers. Implications related to language test preparation are discussed in light of the findings.
Citation
Ma , H & Chong , S W 2022 , ' Predictability of the IELTS in a high-stakes context : a mixed methods study of Chinese students’ perspectives on test preparation ' , Language Testing in Asia , vol. 12 , 2 . https://doi.org/10.1186/s40468-021-00152-3
Publication
Language Testing in Asia
Status
Peer reviewed
ISSN
2229-0443Type
Journal article
Rights
© The Author(s). 2022 Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder.
Collections
Items in the St Andrews Research Repository are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.