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hereinbeijing
Joined: 24 Dec 2007
Posts: 101
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 Posted: Wed Sep 13, 2017 2:06 pm Post subject: Is the IELTS speaking test scripted? |
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Hello,
Is part three of the IELTS speaking test scripted, meaning that the Examiner can only choose from a list of questions or are they free to come up with questions?
Thanks in advance |
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Tudor
Joined: 21 Aug 2009
Posts: 339
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| Posted: Thu Sep 14, 2017 1:52 am Post subject: Re: Is the IELTS speaking test scripted? |
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| hereinbeijing wrote: |
Hello,
Is part three of the IELTS speaking test scripted, meaning that the Examiner can only choose from a list of questions or are they free to come up with questions?
Thanks in advance |
There is a list of questions, but examiners are expected to paraphrase these and grade their language to the candidate's level. They are also expected to ask 'follow-up' questions based on the listed questions, which are to get the candidate to clarify, justify or elaborate on their answer. Alternatively, they may be used to get a candidate back on track in case of tangential answers. |
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hereinbeijing
Joined: 24 Dec 2007
Posts: 101
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| Posted: Thu Sep 14, 2017 2:54 am Post subject: Thanks Tudor |
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Tudor,
I greatly appreciate your help.
Have a good day. |
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theoriginalprankster
Joined: 19 Mar 2012
Posts: 895
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| Posted: Thu Sep 14, 2017 4:06 pm Post subject: |
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When dealing with candidates in the 4-6 range I was usually asleep by Part 3.
Sad, but true. When you've heard the same garbled nonsense for the 1150th time you can afford to go into auto-examiner mode.
Most examiners have made up their mind about the speaking score by the end of Part 1 or 2. |
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papuadn
Joined: 19 Sep 2016
Posts: 131
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| Posted: Thu Sep 14, 2017 6:54 pm Post subject: |
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| theoriginalprankster wrote: |
When dealing with candidates in the 4-6 range I was usually asleep by Part 3.
Most examiners have made up their mind about the speaking score by the end of Part 1 or 2. |
So...4-6, that's a third of the range. Is it true the IELTS disposes with auditing procedures unless challenged? Does a statistically improbable batch of scores flag an examiner for audit?
| Quote: |
| Sad, but true. When you've heard the same garbled nonsense for the 1150th time you can afford to go into auto-examiner mode. |
A charitable read indicates you were over-worked, yet a meaningful discrimination is what the test is designed to do, what you were paid to do (underpaid), and what the client paid for-- garbled nonsense notwithstanding.
An implication of your account is that proficiency is a binary proposition and it most certainly is not.
It is true experienced examiners can accurately suspect an outcome early on as proficiency exams have an advantage in terms of the number of indicators, but neglecting auditing procedures is irresponsible given the stakes of these exams. |
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airapets
Joined: 22 Jul 2007
Posts: 78
Location: The Middle Kingdom
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| Posted: Tue Sep 19, 2017 2:44 pm Post subject: |
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Actually, part one is clearly scripted as is part two. Only part three allows deviation. There is plenty of auditing done of examiners' marks. As for a previous poster's comment about having a difficult time to focus, most answers for parts one and two are canned responses, that is they are memorized answers, and the English quality is mediocre to say the least. If both part 1 and part 2 are like this, and the plurality are in China, then the candidate's mark will nearly always be between 4 and 5.5.
You do not see nearly as much memorization of answers in other countries or among students who are not from China, thus making IELTS examining more interesting in other countries. |
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Trevor Wadlow
Joined: 14 Oct 2007
Posts: 103
Location: china
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| Posted: Tue Oct 17, 2017 5:05 am Post subject: Re: Is the IELTS speaking test scripted? |
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| hereinbeijing wrote: |
Hello,
Is part three of the IELTS speaking test scripted, meaning that the Examiner can only choose from a list of questions or are they free to come up with questions?
Thanks in advance |
Part three contains Headings which the Examiner uses to form questions. It is this part where the Examiner really makes his/her assessment. |
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theoriginalprankster
Joined: 19 Mar 2012
Posts: 895
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| Posted: Tue Oct 17, 2017 7:21 am Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
| Part three contains Headings which the Examiner uses to form questions. It is this part where the Examiner really makes his/her assessment |
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Honestly, by the end of Part 2, even Part 1, we've more or less got a score figured out within our head. The candidate would have to really shine, or bomb, for the score to change more than a band either way. |
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Trevor Wadlow
Joined: 14 Oct 2007
Posts: 103
Location: china
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| Posted: Tue Oct 17, 2017 9:00 am Post subject: |
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| theoriginalprankster wrote: |
| Quote: |
| Part three contains Headings which the Examiner uses to form questions. It is this part where the Examiner really makes his/her assessment |
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Honestly, by the end of Part 2, even Part 1, we've more or less got a score figured out within our head. The candidate would have to really shine, or bomb, for the score to change more than a band either way. |
This hasn't been my experience at all. A candidate can easily prepare for and recite for parts 1 and 2, giving the impression of fluency at least. As they cannot prepare for Part 3, such candidates come unstuck. I have seen many a candidate appear to be 6, only to plummet to 5 by part 3. |
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papuadn
Joined: 19 Sep 2016
Posts: 131
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| Posted: Tue Oct 17, 2017 10:10 am Post subject: |
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| papuadn wrote: |
| Does a statistically improbable batch of scores flag an examiner for audit? |
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