IELTS | Media Centre
Demand for IELTS increases around the world
The International English Language Testing System (IELTS)
reinforces its position as the world’s most popular high stakes
English proficiency test, hitting a new record of more than 1.7
million tests sat around the world in 2011.
In the face of changing economic and migration conditions, IELTS
has enjoyed 12% growth in number of tests sat in 2011 as compared
to 2010. The latest figures marked the seventeenth year of
continual growth in test numbers, with the number of tests taken
tripling since 2005.
USA was the fastest growing market worldwide in 2011 with more
than 50 test centres now open to candidates, while Canada also
observed a significant rise in the number of tests taken in the
past twelve months.
The East Asia region of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri
Lanka was the second most significant growth market for IELTS in
2011.
Demand in China, India and Australia remained strong with these
countries again administering the highest number of tests. IELTS
also noted a significant increase across United Arab Emirates
(UAE), Saudi Arabia and Turkey.
IELTS is now recognised by more than 7,000 organisations
including educational institutions, employers, professional
associations and governments, in 135 countries around the
world.
Director of IELTS for IDP: IELTS Australia John Belleville said
that reasons cited by test takers for taking the IELTS test were
entry into an academic institution, followed by migration
purposes.
“For many, IELTS is a requirement for migration to Australia,
New Zealand, Canada and the United Kingdom and the test can be
taken in any one of 800 locations worldwide,” Mr Belleville
said.
“Demand for IELTS in China remains very impressive, with students
taking the test for entry to educational institutions in Australia,
Canada, the United Kingdom and USA amongst many other
destinations,” explained John Gildea, Head of IELTS at British
Council.
IELTS test content is developed by an international team of
experts and undergoes extensive research to ensure the test remains
fair and unbiased for any candidate regardless of nationality,
background, gender, lifestyle or location.
Caroline Clapham IELTS Masters Award
announced
The IELTS Research Committee, comprising representatives of the
British Council, IDP: IELTS Australia, and University of Cambridge
ESOL Examinations, is pleased to announce the awarding of the 2011
Caroline Clapham IELTS Masters Award to Kellie Frost, for her
dissertation submitted to The University of Melbourne entitled
“Investigating the validity of an integrated listening-speaking
task: A discourse-based analysis of test takers’ oral
performances.” The dissertation was supervised by Prof Catherine
Elder.
The award, which carries a prize of £1000, will be formally
presented to the winner at the annual Language Testing Research
Colloquium (LTRC) in April 2012.
The Caroline Clapham IELTS Masters Award is presented annually
to the Master’s-level dissertation or thesis in English which makes
the most significant contribution to the field of language testing.
Qualified individuals who would like to join the 2012 competition
are invited to visit the grants page for details of the competition
and submission guidelines.
Congratulations to Ms Frost!
IDP: IELTS Australia awards research grants for
2012
IDP: IELTS Australia has announced the 2012 grant recipients of
its independent academic research program which continues to build
the evidence base that underpins IELTS.
The IDP: IELTS Australia funded research program is part of a
wider joint-funded scheme involving all three IELTS partners; IDP:
IELTS Australia, British Council and the University of Cambridge
ESOL Examinations, and is part of a comprehensive and coherent
framework for research and validation of IELTS.
John Belleville, Director of IELTS for IDP: IELTS Australia,
said: “The research program reflects our commitment to be at
the
forefront of English language testing.”
“Outcomes from the research studies will ensure the test
maintains its relevance and usefulness for all organisations around
the world requesting IELTS results as proof of English language
skills,” Mr Belleville said.
This year a total of AUD $215,000 was made available in funding
for IELTS-related research projects.
The first IDP: IELTS Australia funded research study,
Stakeholder perceptions of IELTS as a gateway to the
professional workplace: the case of employers of overseas trained
teachers, will aim to enhance understanding of the use and
interpretation of IELTS scores by examining perceptions of
employers in Australia and New Zealand.
The project will be undertaken by Dr Jill Murray (Dept of
Linguistics, Faculty of Human Sciences, Macquarie University),
Associate Professor Ken Cruickshank (Faculty of Education and
Social Work, Sydney University) and Dr. Judie Cross (Languages,
Randwick TAFE NSW Sydney Institute) in agreement with Macquarie
University in New South Wales, Australia.
The second grant was awarded to Dr Tim Moore (Faculty of Higher
Education, Swinburne University of Technology), Janne Morton
(School of Language and Linguistics, The University of Melbourne)
and Chris Wallis (Swinburne College) through an agreement with
Swinburne University of Technology in Victoria, Australia.
The project, Literacy practices in the professional
workplace: Implications for the IELTS General Training Reading and
Writing tests, will investigate literacy practices in a range
of professional workplace settings, and consider the implications
these have for the design of the IELTS General Training Reading and
Writing tests.
Researchers and institutions with expertise in language learning
and assessment are invited to apply for funding to undertake
IELTS-related research projects by 30 June each year. Further
information is available on the IELTS
website.
Proposals for 2012 were received by researchers from around the
world including Australia, USA, Germany, Russia, Vietnam, Hong
Kong, Taiwan, Iran, United Arab Emirates (UAE) and
Egypt.
The findings of these funded projects are published in IELTS
Research Reports which is available both in print and
online, with
the latest research (Volume 13) released in March 2012.
IELTS has cemented its position as the world’s most popular high
stakes English language test by providing a reliable measure of a
candidate’s ability across the four skills of listening, reading,
writing and speaking.
Representing more than 15 consecutive years of global growth,
the number of tests taken has increased year-on-year annually since
1995. Latest figures reveal a record 1.7 million tests were taken
around the world.
