林正昀 Adam, 李燕俞 Amber, 李季樺 Gina, 徐家慧 Alice

 IELTS, the International English Language Testing
System , is designed to assess the language ability of candidates who need to study or work where
English is the language of communication.

 A variety of accents and writing styles have presented in test materials in order to minimise linguistic bias.
 IELTS tests the ability to listen, read, write and speak in English.
 Band scores used for each language sub-skill
(Listening, Reading, Writing, and Speaking). The
Band Scale ranges from 0 ("Did not attempt the test") to 9 ("Expert User").

 All candidates must complete four Modules -
Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking - to obtain a band score, which is shown on the IELTS Test
Report Form (TRF).
 All candidates take the same Listening and
Speaking Modules, while the Reading and Writing
Modules differ depending on whether the candidate is taking the Academic or General Training Versions of the Test.

 The module comprises four sections of increasing difficulty.
 Each section, which can be either a monologue or
dialogue, begins with a short introduction telling the candidates about the situation and the speakers.
 Then they have some time to look through questions. The first three sections have a break in the middle allowing candidates to look at the remaining questions.

 In the Academic module the reading test comprises three sections, with 3 texts normally followed by 13 or 14 questions for a total of 40 questions overall.
 The General test also has 3 sections. However the texts are shorter, so there can be up to 5 texts to read.

 In the Academic module, there are two tasks: in Task 1 candidates describe a diagram, graph, process or chart, and in Task 2 they respond to an argument.
 In the General Training module, there are also two tasks: in Task 1 candidates write a letter or explain a situation, and in Task 2 they write an essay.

 The first section takes the form of an interview during which candidates may be asked about their hobbies, interests, reasons for taking IELTS exam as well as other general topics such as clothing, free time, computers and the internet or family.
 In the second section candidates are given a topic card and then have one minute to prepare after which they must speak about the given topic.

 The third section involves a discussion between the examiner and the candidate, generally on questions relating to the theme which they have already spoken about in part
2.

 The total test duration is around 2 hours and
45 minutes for Listening, Reading and
Writing modules.
-
-
-
-
Listening: 40 minutes
Reading: 60 minutes.
Writing: 60 minutes
Speaking: 11–14 minutes.

 Band score: 1~9
Listening
0, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 2.5, 3.0, 3.5,
4.0, 4.5, 5.0, 5.5, 6.0, 6.5, 7.0, 7.5,
Reading 8.0, 8.5, 9.0
Writing
Speaking
0, 1.0, 2.0, 3.0 ,4.0 ,5.0 ,6.0, 7.0,
8.0, 9.0
Since 2007/07/01
→ 0, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 2.5, 3.0, 3.5,
4.0, 4.5, 5.0, 5.5, 6.0, 6.5, 7.0, 7.5,
8.0, 8.5, 9.0

Listening & Reading
Number of Correct Answer
20
21~25
26~28
29~30
31~33
34~35
36~38
39~40
Score
5.5
6.0
6.5
7.0
7.5
8.0
8.5
9.0


= (Listening + Reading + Writing + Speaking) ÷ 4 e.g. (6+5.5+6+6.5) ÷ 4= 6
 5.75~6.25(not include 6.25) → 6
6.25~6.75(not include 6.75) → 6.5
6.75~7.25(not include 7.25) → 7

 9 Expert user
Has fully operational command of the language: appropriate, accurate and fluent with complete understanding.
 8 Very good user
Has fully operational command of the language with only occasional unsystematic inaccuracies and inappropriacies.
Misunderstandings may occur in unfamiliar situations. Handles complex detailed argumentation well.
 7 Good user
Has operational command of the language, though with occasional inaccuracies, inappropriacies and misunderstandings in some situations. Generally handles complex language well and understands detailed reasoning.

 6 Competent user
Has generally effective command of the language despite some inaccuracies, in appropriacies and misunderstandings.
Can use and understand fairly complex language, particularly in familiar situations.
 5 Modest user
Has partial command of the language, coping with overall meaning in most situations, though is likely to make many mistakes. Should be able to handle basic communication in own field.
 4 Limited user
Basic competence is limited to familiar situations.
Has frequent problems in understanding and expression. Is not able to use complex language.

 3 Extremely limited user
Conveys and understands only general meaning in very familiar situations. Frequent breakdowns in communication occur.
 2 Intermittent user
No real communication is possible except for the most basic information using isolated words or short formulae in familiar situations and to meet immediate needs. Has great difficulty understanding spoken and written English.
 1 Non user
Essentially has no ability to use the language beyond possibly a few isolated words.
 0 Did not attempt the test
No assessable information provided.

 It is impossible to produce tests which are 100% reliable.
 According to Cronbach’s alpha, a reliability estimate which measures the internal consistency of the 40-item test, we can know that if the coefficient were over 0.7
, the test would have a greater reliability.

 The IELTS homepage (2009) showed:
Listening coefficient
Reading coefficient
Speaking coefficient
2007
0.89
2009
0.91
0.88
0.90
0.86
0.91
Writing coefficient 0.85
0.90

IELTS seem to be a relatively reliable measure of language proficiency.

Correlations between IELTS and TOEFL iBT Section and Total Scores score correlation
0.63
IELTS Listening & TOEFL Listening
Correlations between IELTS and TOFEL iBT
IELTS Speaking & TOEFL Speaking
IELTS Reading & TOEFL Reading
IELTS Writing & TOEFL Writing
IELTS Total & TOEFL Total
0.57
0.68
0.44
0.77

IELTS Score
5.5
5
4.5
＜＝ 4
9
8.5
8
7.5
7
6.5
6
TOEFL Score
30
29
28
27
24-26
20-23
12-19
7-11
4-6
3
0-2
IELTS Score
7.0
6.5
6.0
5.5
5.0
4.5
＜＝
4
9.0
8.5
8.0
7.5
TOEFL Score
30
28-29
26-27
24-25
23
20-22
18-19
16-17
14-15
12-13
0-11

IELTS Score
7
6.5
6
5.5
9
8.5
8
7.5
5
4.5
＜＝ 4
TOEFL Score
30
29
29
27-28
24-26
19-23
13-18
8-12
4-7
3
0-2
IELTS Score
7.0
6.5
6.0
5.5
9.0
8.5
8.0
7.5
5.0
4.5
＜＝ 4.0
TOEFL Score
27-28
24-26
21-23
18-20
30
30
30
29
14-17
12-13
0-11

IELTS Score
6.5
6
5.5
5
9
8.5
8
7.5
7
4.5
0-4
TOEFL Score
118-120
115-117
110-114
102-109
94-101
79-93
60-78
46-59
35-45
32-34
0-31