British council 2006 annual report pdf

The authors look at language education from different perspectives: the teaching and learning of foreign or second languages; the role of literacy, oracy and language across the curriculum; the part played by different stakeholders in educational policy; and the current state of language teacher education and the ways in which language is addressed in the education of teachers of all subjects.

Drawing on their extensive experience of language education, and on case studies and data from around the world, the authors consider how a different approach to language in education might help students to develop the language awareness and linguistic and communicative competences they need in order to participate fully and confidently in our increasingly diverse societies.

Introduces business managers and real estate managers to the changing role of real estate in corporate business. The aim is point up the importance of real estate, not in isolation but as an integral part of corporate strategy.

The book shows how new technologies are affecting the ways that businesses look upon their real estate needs and make provision for them. Specific features, such as tenures and the problems of obsolescence are addressed. Practical help is provided to assist managers in developing, presenting and implementing corporate strategy incorporating real estate. There are seven case studies that illustrate contemporary practice. Despite the impressive performance of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in representing the UK's interests across the globe with what is, in Governmental terms, a particularly small budget, the Foreign Affairs Committee believes that the FCO is under-funded.

This situation has been exacerbated by the Spending Review and the lack of detail provided by the FCO and the BBC World Service as to exactly how the spending reductions target will be met is disappointing. There are concerns about the steps taken by the FCO to adjust to its reduced budget: reductions in the deployment of UK-based staff overseas and the optimistic planned programme of property sales will have a detrimental impact on the ability of the UK to protect its interests overseas.

The Committee welcomes the appointment of Lord Williams of Baglan to the post of "International Trustee" with responsibility for the BBC World Service, but reiterates its belief that a formal concordat governing the World Service's budget and output should be drawn up setting out the World Service's independence from budgetary pressures elsewhere in the BBC. The budget cuts faced by the British Council will lead to the Council becoming a substantially different organisation by the end of the Spending Review period.

The greater emphasis that the British Council will place on commercial activity risks a diminution of the UK's influence and soft power. In the Comprehensive Spending Review the Coalition Government announced its decision to achieve the internationally agreed target of providing 0.

This will involve spending an additional 2. There will be a large increase in spending on fragile and conflict affected states and it will be difficult to ensure that every pound is well spent in such war-torn environments.

If achieved, this would make DFID the most cost-efficient development organisation in the world. The International Development Committee supports the proposals to make savings in back office staff, but the MPs are warning that Ministers must ensure that reduced administration budgets do not affect the ability to deliver aid programmes on the ground. While declining as a share of total costs, running costs will increase in real terms over the next four years because the total budget will rise so much.

When the coronavirus pandemic took hold early in , charities were among the first to respond to the resulting social and economic distress. But recent scandals and a more critical climate have overshadowed the vital role they play. It also sets the historical context, examines cases that have attracted criticisms, analyses the political response and considers how the governance, transparency and independence of charities could be improved. Charities at their best are the conscience of society and benefit most people at some point in their lives.

This book brings to life the breadth and depth of their work and the contribution they make to social progress. This report is the Committee's annual review of how the FCO is managing its resources, examining the departmental annual report for Cm. Chapters cover: new strategic framework; performance measurement; global network; essential services; FCO Services; personnel issues; transparency and openness; financial management; public diplomacy and communication; the British Council; the BBC World Service.

The Committee is concerned that the FCO is facing serious financial pressures in this financial year due to the Treasury's withdrawal of its support for the Overseas Pricing Mechanism OPM which used to protect departments from the weakening of sterling. There is a risk that the FCO may not be able to meet higher international subscriptions over the next two financial years, causing its performance against Public Service Agreement targets to suffer. The likely increase in the UN Regular Budget and other international subscriptions will push this figure even higher.

The FCO should have to shoulder the financial burden from within its already tight budget to pay for subscriptions which also benefit other Government departments. The Committee recommends that additional nondiscretionary costs should properly be met by the Treasury. This judge had no difficulty following the arguments put forward by this man.

I refer to figure IELTS simultaneously extorts massive financial surpluses from global exam fraud. Ahern, ; Al-Issa, They also violate international law. It is imperative that these institutions act with compassion and set the highest standards of ethical behavior.

At present, they fall far short of these moral standards. Market power When determining what is a business racket and extortionate business practices, the courts take context into consideration. They also consider the market structures of where the business conducts its operations.

National Consumer Complaint Forum India, IELTS are aware of their colossal global market power. IELTS routinely boasts that it maintains around 1, test centers in over countries. Figure 57 offers an example of these websites. United Nations, c. The ABC is a respected, not- for-profit public institution.

Figure 58, overleaf, documents this claim. It is exceptionally rare for the ABC to use such confronting accusatory language. The ABC has the authority to quote or omit any statements provided by interviewees.

Table 14, overleaf, summarizes these business practices and supports these claims with a description of the logic that I use to draw these conclusions. I also offer a current primary source to support all claims. Fatima has invested most of her life savings to sit one IELTS test so that she can migrate to Canada as a skilled worker. Fatima receives scores of: 8.

Fatima is surprised by this score of 6. Fatima is convinced that the score of 6. Fatima explains her story multiple times and her calls are never returned. This illustration vignette is not theoretical. IELTS staff routinely ignore messages left via their local customer service number e. Magoosh, b. There is ample evidence available from public testimonies that IELTS use its appeals remarking process to deliberately extort further profits from the estimated hundreds of thousands of people which it has repeatedly failed using fake marginal fail scores of 6.

Moreover, it does so, on a global scale, to extract maximum monopoly rents i. Figure 59 supports this claim. IELTS willfully target a vulnerable demographic and exploit their colossal market power to enforce a fake, unnecessary service that it repeatedly imposes on its clients to earn millions of dollars in revenue and profit each calendar year.

As shown in Figure 60, Burger reports that he is not aware of a successful outcome from an Enquiry on Results application. Figure 61, overleaf, captures this claim. Most persons affected by the two-year expiry date of the Test Report Form are international students. Figure 63 illustrates the very high cost that IELTS willfully imposes on most of these fraud victims.

The Candidate from India graduates with a B. Com from Macquarie University in and is eligible for skilled migration to Canada. To slow down immigration to Canada and to maximize profits, Monash University IELTS test center determines in advance that this candidate will be awarded fake 6. This claim is false. Cambridge English test certificates which are not related to IELTS do not expire and may be used for migration and professional registration purposes.

For example, a Doctor of Medicine Degree and a Master of Linguistics Degree remains perpetually valid at these universities. The University of Cambridge and IDP Education cynically profiteer to their maximum advantage from a highly vulnerable demographic.

This youthful demographic, who are mostly citizens of developing nations, are very easy and highly profitable to defraud. Exploitation shall include, at a minimum, the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labour or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs.

Figure 65 shows that there are three elements to human trafficking crimes UN, b. Figure 65 Three elements of human trafficking crimes Source: United Nations b My research concludes that the collaborative activities of IELTS and its sponsors meet the three criteria of human trafficking.

Table 15 summarizes the logic that underpins this conclusion. Means Fraud, deception, abuse of power and vulnerability. Purpose Exploitation: slavery and other types of exploitation i. Nursing in their countries. Means: Fraud and Deception Canadian and Australian Governments deceitfully impose mandatory language tests on international student graduates who aim to earn a residency visa for either country.

Canadian and Australian Governments offer IELTS favorable legislative conditions to manage their Governments' international student migration programs.

IELTS use examiner fraud to fail most international student graduates. Purpose: Other types of exploitation Australian and Canadian Governments target vulnerable citizens of developing nations in Asia and the Middle East who aim to migrate to a developed country.

Both Governments deceitfully fleece billions of dollars in tuition fees and other revenues e. Moreover, it has been established that IELTS use systemic examination fraud to earn repeat exam sales from their vulnerable client base. They are criminal global business operators.

On average, it takes these persons approximately one month to earn enough income to pay for one IELTS test. IELTS repeatedly fail most foreign worker and permanent residency visa applications multiple times via examination fraud. The IELTS consortium willfully imposes modern day slavery on mostly non- white citizens of developing nations and they do so on a massive global scale.

Canada The Canadian Government has willfully and persistently offered IDP Education and IELTS Canada immunity from prosecution as these corporations serve as a covert proxy agent that expels international students from Canada after they complete their studies in Canada. Furthermore, IELTS have repeatedly acted negligently by authoring secretive examination content and assessment policies that purposefully sets most test-takers up to fail. A quantification of funds collected by IELTS via extortion, racketeering and examination fraud is the subject of a separate project.

A relatively small percentage of applicants opt to undertake the French language test to earn a skilled work visa for Canada. This country aims to maximize fees collected from international students and minimize the number of onshore graduates who are eligible for a permanent residency visa.

Ahern, Eligible international students who graduate in Australia are required to pass an English language test to qualify for permanent residency Australian Government, IELTS repeatedly use examiner fraud to cull the number of international students who are eligible to immigrate to Australia after they complete their onshore studies and are no longer profitable to exploit.

It should also desist from its hypocritical behavior of criticizing human rights violations that are ostensibly perpetrated by other nation-states. At present, the Australian Government is an Arch human rights criminal under the auspices of international law. Accessed 27 November Al-Issa, A.

Allen, D. Accessed 23 November Accessed 15 April Accessed 20 November Bagshaw, E. Accessed 28 November Accessed 17 March Bell, C. Blackie, D. Accessed 20 November Accessed 19 November Accessed 24 November Accessed 12 March Accessed 18 December Burger, L. Accessed 22 November Assessment 24 November Cached , Accessed 24 November Accessed 18 November Demetriou, T.

Accessed 17 November Accessed 20 December Gittins, R. Accessed 16 March Graham, S. Accessed 15 November Accessed 21 November Accessed 25 November Accessed 1 February Ingram, D. Jericho, J. Louis, R. Accessed 10 November Massachusetts Institute of Technology , What is common knowledge? We need fair and transparent evaluation! Accessed 2 February Accessed 14 November Prokhovnik, R.

Suss, M. Accessed 30 November Taylor, L. Available open-access via Google Scholar. Accessed 14 July Accessed 22 July Accessed 31 March Accessed 30 December Uysal, H. Van der Craats, A. Visentin, L. Winkler, P. Sc Syd jay educate. The scope of this project discusses the pedagogical design and the administrative regime of global English language examinations such as the IELTS.

Table 1 summarizes the service-delivery structure of these three entities. Table 2, overleaf, shows the fees schedule in six selected countries as at March, This data set contains a member nation from each continent, including the Indian subcontinent.

A literal reading of this assessment rubric suggests that an examiner may award a band score of zero for all four criteria if in their subjective opinion an answer has been memorized for Writing Task 1. According to the rubric British Council, e, p. It is possible for any person to assess their reading and listening skills at home. It is impossible to prepare fully for any exam if the examiners use a marking system that is not disclosed in full and in a timely manner.

This lack of transparency in turn may increase the anxiety levels of those required to prepare for an academic assessment e. Reynolds-Keefer, The use of secretive business practices in educational settings defies the spirit of fairness, transparency and accountability which the public expects from educational service providers that trade in the exchange of truth and knowledge e.

Furthermore, the use of secretive business practices does not reflect a customer-oriented service delivery model. Such practices are indicative of a monopoly business model whereby one party aims to preserve its dominance as the gatekeeper of knowledge in a narrow field e.

Zoellner, , such as English language testing. Education Minister, United Kingdom. Commercialization, competition, and secrecy in the entrepreneurial university.

Reynolds-Keefer, L. Zoellner, D. Table 3, overleaf, summarizes the major similarities and minor differences between the General and Academic versions of the writing task 2 component of the IELTS.

Topics for essay Similar General questions tend to focus on common issues. The Academic test examines a wider range of topics. This data set illustrates the breadth of general knowledge required for writing task 2 for both versions of the IELTS exam.

It also illustrates the strong similarities between each version of this scholastic aptitude test. Old-fashioned values, such as children to go to school. Discuss the advantages of both methods and give your own opinion. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this opinion?

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own Give reasons for your answer and include any knowledge or experience. Write at least words. Nuclear power provides cheap problem. Some say the government should and clean energy. The benefits of nuclear care for old people. Others say that it is the technology far outweigh the disadvantages. Discuss both these what extent do you agree or disagree?

Give views and give your own opinion. Examinees may be subjected to a general knowledge examination on an extremely broad range of topics from specialist sub-fields within Arts and Sciences disciplines.

It is therefore essential that IELTS develops a new topic variable that is fair and accessible for those from diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds e. Uysal, , p. In its current form, the writing task imposes excessive demands on non-native English language speakers.

This absence of a public guideline document that outlines topic variables makes it extremely difficult for those who plan to sit for the IELTS exam to devise a strategy to prepare for writing task 2. Reynolds- Keefer, , pp. This lack of transparency in turn may increase the anxiety levels of those required to prepare for an academic assessment.

The lack of a syllabus to guide instructors and students to prepare for the IELTS exam is problematic. Scientific teaching materials will change the current exercise- dominated classroom, increase learner's interest, accelerate teacher student interactions, optimize learning efficiency and virtually improve their performance in real test. Generally, in joint education program, to prepare students with best designed teaching materials, professional teachers should form a panel to select from existing teaching materials, including those imported from abroad, re- arrange them according to a specific syllabus [emphasis added], whether a function-notional, or a task-based, or more possible, a communicative syllabus.

This modification would morph the IELTS writing task 2 into a system that is more reflective of society-at-large. For comment I welcome members of the public to provide constructive feedback on this Research Communique.

Yu, Q. Accessed 15 March Objective This Research Communique aims to stimulate public discussion about factors that are not made public about IELTS appeals and remark procedures. There is very little official guidance from IDP and the British Council on when you should do this, so I have given you some advice below.

This request must be made within six weeks of the test date on the Test Report Form. The Enquiry on Results will be processed within six to eight weeks. You will receive a letter via email confirming your final score from your test centre after this time. How much will it cost? How can I apply for a remark? You can download this from here. Source: British Council, a, p. I certify that the information in my application is complete, true and accurate. I understand that if the details on this form are not completed my application may not be processed.

Argument I argue that IELTS should not firmly request vast quantities of irrelevant personal and demographic data from candidates as a condition of enrolment. IELTS have a legitimate need to identify a candidate.

To illustrate this point, please consider this illustration example comparative data set shown in Table 3, overleaf. Fleming, ; Malouf et al. The use of blind-marking at all stages during IELTS internal marking process may reassure the public that all forms of conscious and subconscious assessor bias have been removed. The use of non-disclosed business practices in educational settings defies the spirit of fairness, transparency and accountability which the public expects from educational service providers that trade in the exchange of truth and knowledge e.

Furthermore, the use of undisclosed business practices does not reflect a customer- oriented service delivery model.

Accessed 22 March Scholarly references Fleming, N. Glasner Eds , Assessment matters in higher education: choosing and using diverse approaches, pp. Hong, W. Pell, C. This argument is evident from the name of this examination, i. Every test is recorded. Part 1 - the examiner will ask you general questions about yourself and a range of familiar topics, such as home, family, work, studies and interests.

This part lasts between four and five minutes. Part 2 - you will be given a card which asks you to talk about a particular topic. You will have one minute to prepare before speaking for up to two minutes. The examiner will then ask one or two questions on the same topic. Part 3 - you will be asked further questions about the topic in Part 2. These will give you the opportunity to discuss more abstract ideas and issues.

This part of the test lasts between four and five minutes. A personal narrative The experiences that I discuss below are honest personal anecdotes that draw on a diverse sample to draw inferences. Readers may reflect on their own experiences and logic and form their own conclusions. The intention of this Research Communique aims to encourage those who have been involved with IELTS to discuss their personal experiences so that data may be collected and analyzed in a systematic and scientific manner on a global basis.

During this time, I have taught IELTS to around 30 candidates whose advanced English language skills have been independently verified by credible educational institutions. Furthermore, these persons have also completed high school and university studies that were conducted mostly or exclusively via the English language. I have personally encountered advanced English language speakers who are university graduates from an English-speaking university struggle to answer multiple sub-parts of official IELTS speaking exam practice questions.

In multiple instances, these students remained silent when I have asked them a question during a mock exam, using official IELTS exam practice resources under exam conditions. These include references to objects, places, environmental landscapes, natural phenomena, living beings, thoughts, personal experiences, ideas, occupations and other social constructions that do not exist in their homeland or their place of residence. Official exams Multiple students have told me that they remained silent in response to one or more questions that an examiner put forward during an official IELTS exam.

When I have asked them why they remained silent, most students explained to me that one or more Problem overviewrequired them to discuss a topic that they have never been exposed to, exam questions such as references to objects, ideas, human positions e. Persons who have not spent many years living in a developed country such as Canada or Japan may struggle to grasp the topics they are required to discuss under strict exam conditions.

This document shows how candidates may be required to discuss issues such as modern housing arrangements and digital media that do not exist in isolated communities such as Indigenous townships and rural communities in developing nations. Core problem 2: Authenticity The IELTS speaking test does not replicate real-life conditions that most people experience in social, educational and work spheres of society where choices abound.

Candidates may be required to discuss topics that have no relevance whatsoever to their lifestyle, life-course and their English language abilities.

IELTS do not publish a curriculum or syllabus document that narrows the field of questions that a candidate may be required to discuss. IELTS have stated publicly that their official exam practice resources aim to replicate the types of questions that appear in official exams Cambridge University Press, , p. IELTS is a notoriously secretive entity and it does not publicly disclose this information. I speculate that multiple persons who have undertaken an IELTS exam have experienced exam testing bias for reasons that are not their fault.

The inclusion of these data tables aims to serve two purposes. To demonstrate that these problems exist in official exam preparation resources published prior to , I list examples in this section that appear in official IELTS exam preparation commercial publications dated prior to You should say who this child is and how often you see him or her.

Cambridge University Press, , p. This question also assumes that the examinee sees this child in person or via virtual reality media such as Skype. Problem 2: Hidden curriculum - general knowledge Practice test 1, part 3 What kind of jobs have the highest salary in your country? Why is this? What do you think about that?

The candidate is required to offer an opinion, which may not necessarily be their own, on a topic that concerns political economy concepts such as free-market capitalism, planned economies and Marxist political thought.

Problem 4: Lack of universality Practice test 2, part 2 Describe a shop near where you live that you sometimes use. Examples may include those who live hunter-gatherer lifestyles and self- sufficient rural agriculturalists who do not participate in a barter or cash economy. The question does not state the time and place parameters that the candidate is required to discuss. Many esteemed PhD-qualified social sciences research scholars do not speculate about future unknowns.

It is difficult to predict the future due to the large number of variables and factors involved in forecasting human behavior e. Goldthorpe, ; Taleb et al. Problem 7: Vast extent of questions with no supporting syllabus document Practice test 1, part 3 Why do people choose to become teachers? There are thousands of professions. Examples include electricians, politicians, musicians, truck drivers and nurses.

It appears that IELTS expects an examinee to have an opinion on any profession during the speaking exam. Problem 8: Deeply personal questions Do you think that owning lots of things makes people happy? This question is deeply personal. Problem 9 - Logical incoherence Practice test 3, part 1 Do you enjoy travelling? Have you done much travelling? The examinee may never have travelled anywhere. If a candidate has never travelled, it is illogical to ask them if they enjoy doing something that they have never experienced.

Problem 10 — using abbreviations that are not defined Test 1, part 1 Do you watch cooking programs on TV?

I do not cite this criticism as a major point. A correct way to state this question is as follows: Are there any benefits to society that are realized from people wanting to get new possessions? Writing English language, examinations is not a simple process and no system is perfect. Achieving universality in a set of questions is near-impossible. These questions could be written down on paper and the candidate could be allotted one minute to select a set of questions that caters for their unique life-course.

I argue that the current format of the IELTS exam is unfair as it requires some, most or all candidates to improvise to some degree to respond to exam questions. When you visit other places, do you take photos or buy postcards?

Cambridge University Press , p. Premise 1: the examinee went to school. Premise 2: the examinee has a best friend. Possible alternative Possible alternative 1. Offer a choice of questions. Invite the candidate to talk about any 2. Invite the candidate to talk about their persons that they know from any context. Premise 1: the examinee thought that a day Premise 1: the examinee has watched a was perfect. Premise 2: there is a reason why an Premise 2: the examinee found a television examinee thought that a day was perfect.

Invite the candidate to talk about their 2. Invite the candidate to talk about their experience of any type of weather. Why is that? Not all This question unfairly assumes that a persons live in regions where there are candidate has been exposed to the houses and apartments. Examples include dominant mindset that prevails in their inhabitants of indigenous nations and country of residence.

Such questions are regions. Invite the candidate to discuss their opinion on any type of housing. Accessed 4 April Jakeman, V. Scholarly references Goldthorpe, J. Taleb, N. Moreover, it does so from the perspective of the cultural practices that are dominant in developed nations, in particular, Western developed nations Jericho, a.

I do this by conducting an in-depth analysis of reading test 1 extracted from the following official IELTS Academic test preparation publication: Jakeman, V. IELTS Academic test - this includes three long texts which range from the descriptive and factual to the discursive and analytical. These are taken from books, journals, magazines and newspapers. They have been selected for a non-specialist audience but are appropriate for people entering university courses or seeking professional registration.

Jericho a; b. Write no more than three words from the passage for each answer. A figure of USD , equates to around 26 years of earnings in China for those who earn the average wage. It is not clear if IELTS accept other answers or award half-marks for answers that are imperfect but suggest that the candidate is able to comprehend the reading passage and most likely knows the correct response.

Questions 6, 7, 8, 9: Grammar These questions repeat grammar violations discussed in question 5. Assessment text Alternative Q6. The average student A student at a four year college spends on average The average student A student at a two-year college spends on average The spelling conventions used in this subsection are inconsistent.

There is no obvious logic for this lack of consistency. It is not fair to assume that students will conclude that the absence of such an instruction means that they cannot use the same option twice. Smaller is not the only correct answer that a candidate may insert. It is not clear if IELTS accept other answers or award half-marks for answers that are imperfect but suggest that the candidate had understood the reading passage and seems to know the correct response.

Because orcas are the top predator in the ocean and are at the top of several different food chains in the environment, they tend to be more affected by pollutants than other sea creatures. Pollution is not the only correct answer that a candidate may insert. It is not clear if IELTS accept other answers or award half-marks for answers that are imperfect but suggest that the candidate understands the reading passage and seems to know the correct response.

Too many questions for 60 minutes In my capacity as an IELTS tutor, I have taught dozens of candidates whose advanced English language skills have been independently verified by credible educational institutions. Examples of these candidates includes adults who have spent their entire lives living in a country where English is an official language or the official language.

Several candidates who are members of the demographic described above have told me that they always struggle to finish more than three quarters of the Academic reading passages under exam conditions. This includes degrees in accounting, economics, education and a Doctorate in Sociology earned at English-speaking universities.

Furthermore, he has been speaking English since birth. He has also spent more than 40 years living in countries where English is an official language: Australia, New Zealand, Canada, England and Ireland. They must navigate questions that use flawed grammatical syntax and they must do so under very strict exam conditions such as a tight time limit.

I argue that this problem must be reformed as a matter of urgency. This in turn may cause examinees to feel compelled to read each question and reading passage carefully and do so multiple times under strict test conditions. Accessed 14 April Accessed 18 April Objective This Research Communique compares the mandatory data that IELTS collects on its application form from its fee-paying clients during its registration processes against other major English language testing providers.

Country of nationality name 2 3. First language name 2 4. Occupation sector 2 5. Occupation level 2 6. Why are you taking the test? If other, please specify 2 8. Where are you currently studying English if applicable? What level of education have you completed?

How many years have you been studying English? Examples of intended purpose include Immigration, which normally requires a higher score than applications to study a Bachelor Degree course.

Immigration, code 5. I understand that the IELTS Test Partners have a responsibility to all candidates and Recognising Organisations to ensure the highest confidence in the accuracy and integrity of test results and that the IELTS Test Partners therefore reserve the right to withhold test results temporarily or permanently, or to cancel test results which have been issued, if they consider those results to be unreliable for reasons of suspected malpractice or any other irregularity in the test process [emphasis added].

Where are you currently studying No No No English if applicable? To illustrate this point, please consider this illustration that uses theoretical comparative data set shown in Table 5, overleaf. For comment I welcome members of the public to provide feedback on this Research Communique. You may provide this feedback in confidence or request to have this uploaded online.

Table 2, overleaf, shows the fees schedule in six selected countries as at March This interviewer may fairly assume that the IELTS exam demonstrates that the interviewee has average English language listening skills.

This research series does not adopt a theoretical applied linguistics academic approach to frame discussion. This project aims to make my discussion accessible to a wider audience beyond the academic domain. This idiom may refer to a situation where it is very difficult for a subordinate to achieve high success, even if a worker is suitably qualified, highly skilled and acts in good faith. It may not necessarily convey the literal meaning that someone is doomed e.

I argue that the current design of the IELTS listening exam makes it very difficult for a certain percentage of listeners who possess advanced English language skills to achieve their required band score, even if they diligently prepare for their IELTS exam.

However, there are flaws in their listening task that are relatively easy to improve or eliminate. In real-life situations, it is not uncommon for native and fluent speakers of the English language to ask a speaker to clarify or rephrase a word, sentence, theme or argument that that has been spoken in the English language.

There are numerous reasons why a person with advanced listening skills may require clarification. Examples include background interference and momentary losses in concentration that are normal part of human nature. IELTS does not allow test-takers to stop the listening tape and hear any section of the audio twice British Council, g.

It is simplistic and false to argue that a listener can simply ignore a message that they did not understand and move onto the next question. During the listening exam, candidates can never be entirely sure which parts of the audio align to the written questions and answer options on the exam papers. Nowadays, many people use audio-visual interactive communications such as Facetime and Skype to communicate via telephone technologies.

I welcome this variety as it is an authentic replication of spoken forms of global English. Some speakers sound like they are native English language speakers from the South of England e. Hertfordshire who are faking an accent for the purposes of creating diverse exam preparation content.