IELTS Research Reports

Gaynor Lloyd-Jones, Charles Neame and Simon MedaneySchool Sampling code Total number ofstudentsNumber ofNNES studentsNumber of studentsinterviewed by CDCH CH 14 4 0SAS SAS1 49 20 1SAS SAS2 30 12 1SAS SAS3 32 24 4SAS SAS6 4 4 1SAS SAS7 19 11 2SOE SOE1 36 26 1SOE SOE2 42 20 9SOM SOM1 42 34 7SOM SOM2 30 13 0Table 3. Numbers of recorded interviews conducted by Course Directors in the selection ofNNES students in 10 Masters programmes (taken from Registry data)Although the IELTS test is the most frequently used test of English proficiency amongst the sample(50) it is only slightly more popular than the TOEFL test (41). The search showed that an acceptableoverall score could mask discrepancies in sub-scores. Of 24 students with overall scores of 6 or 6.5,nine students had at least one sub-score of 5.5 or less and six of these were in writing (see Table 4).In an unusual example, a student with an overall score of 6.5 had a sub-score in Writing of 4 and twoother students with overall scores of 6 had 2 sub-scores below 6 in Writing and Speaking.In summary, the findings from the pilot study confirmed initial assumptions that selection practicesand procedures differed between Schools and Masters programmes. In relation to the first aim of thestudy, the findings pointed to differences between individual Course Directors, and hence Mastersprogrammes, in their preference for the use of a selection interview. The findings were specificallyincorporated into the next stage of the enquiry by including the topic in the interview schedule forCourse Directors, as was the topic of sub-scores. Consequently, and as intended, the pilot study shapedthe subsequent enquiry.However, the diverse measures employed to assess English language proficiency for entry to theinstitution held implications for the second aim of the study. At the start of the research, it wasassumed that the great majority of, if not all, NNES students would enter with an English test score butthe pilot study showed this was not the case. The lack of a general baseline measure of NNES students’English language proficiency at entry meant comparisons on a scale initially envisaged for the researchwould be logically insecure. In addition, the small numbers of students with English test scores forwhom a comparison might be attempted would probably render any statistical technique invalid. Forthat reason, we sought alternative means of fulfilling the second aim.146 www.ielts.org