Scores for each part of the test will still be reported on the scale from 1 to 9, but now the Writing and Speaking tests will be reported in whole or half bands in the same way as the Reading and Listening tests. Why is score reporting for the Writing and Speaking tests being changed? This is the latest in a series of enhancements to IELTS, based on continual consultation with test takers, teachers, Recognising Organisations and other stakeholders around the world. This range of scores - using whole and half bands - is already used for Listening and Reading. We have consulted a large number of organisations that use IELTS scores, and their feedback tells us that they find the half band scores very helpful as they allow them to specify required language levels more precisely. Many teachers and test takers have also told us that they would like more detailed information on performance in each skill. What will the benefits be? There will be three main benefits: * Recognising Organisations will be able to set their requirements for admission, recruitment, etc, more precisely, based on more detailed information about the test-taker's performance in each of the four skills. * The Test Report Form will give test takers more precise information on their strengths and weaknesses. * IELTS scores will be easier for everyone to understand because test taker performance in all skills will be reported in the same way. Does this change the way the Writing and Speaking tests will be assessed? No. Examiners will assess test takers' performance in exactly the same way as at present using the Writing and Speaking assessment criteria. The scores for each criteria will then be processed by the IELTS scores calculation system to produce a final Writing or Speaking band score which may be a whole or a half band. Since there will not be any change in the way examiners assess the test takers' performance, the meaning of the overall IELTS Band Score will remain unchanged. Therefore, Recognising Organisations do not need to change their IELTS score requirements unless they specify a Writing and Speaking band score in addition to the Overall Band Score. Should teachers and test takers change the way they prepare for the Writing and Speaking tests? No, because the tests and the way they are assessed will remain exactly the same. Can test takers get half band scores for tests taken before 1 July 2007? No, it is not possible to issue half band scores for Speaking and Writing for tests taken before 1 July 2007. Where can I get more information? Later this year, we will issue new versions of the Information for Candidates, IELTS Handbook, Official IELTS Practice Materials and the IELTS Scores Explained DVD. In the meantime, updates will be available on the IELTS website so that you can update older copies of these publications if you already have them, and we will be including printed updates with materials we send out.
ARTICLES
A Common Language
Review of 'The Adventure of English', Melvyn Bragg, Hodder & Stoughton
For a good, highly readable overview of how English developed and where it may be going, Melvyn Bragg's book, based on the TV series of the same name, does the job. Bragg traces the roots of English back to the Frisian and other Germanic languages of those who invaded Britain from the 5th century onwards - the Angles, the Saxons and the Jutes. He follows the growth of what have become the varied forms of modern English, not only through the familiar paths of the Norman invasion, Chaucer, Shakespeare and so on, but also through looking at other influences on English - the words of the Wild West in America, the Creole languages of the Caribbean, or the vocabulary the British brought from India. Indeed, the lists of words can become overwhelming at times.
His view of English is in some ways very democratic: the role of the ordinary people and particularly the oppressed is stressed, whether through the survival and transformation into Middle English of Anglo-Saxon under Norman French rule or the advance of Australian English. His account of Wycliffe...
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Online translators can hurt more than help
Online automated translators may be fairly accurate for translating languages of similar origin, but the line stops there. Certainly most of you are familiar with online translators such as Babel fish. However, from what I have read, it seems that quite a few people think that these automated translators do the perfect job. In some cases this is almost true...
Languages of similar origin usually follow the same sentence structure (Romance languages for example), and with Babel Fish you will be able to get a fairly good cross language translation. And by this I mean you will still have to go back over the translated piece and re-write it into the proper grammatical form.
It is when you try and use automated translators to translate languages of different origins where you can get into trouble. Being a native English speaker and working in Japan for a translation company, I often (just for a laugh) copy and paste a Japanese sentence onto such automated translators and then have them translated into English. It truly is a scary thought to think that people actually believe this will yield a true cross language translation to any degree.
First of all, most English speaking countries use an...
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