IELTS Research Reports

Gaynor Lloyd-Jones, Charles Neame and Simon Medaney8.3.1 Relationship between test scores and academic progressAs well as the two Course Directors quoted in section 8.2.3, opinions about the extent to whichEnglish proficiency test scores could be relied upon to indicate that an individual student was capableof successful study, uncompromised by linguistic problems, were contentious. Whilst some CourseDirectors appeared satisfied with institutional requirements and current selection procedures, otherswere unconvinced. The many stories of dissonance between the English test scores and subsequentacademic progress chime with the inconclusive results of the research literature seeking associationsbetween English language proficiency and academic outcomes and reflects Course Directors’ beliefsthat academic success depends on a complex array of factors and circumstances.Several Course Directors stressed the importance of immersion into the UK educational culture as anessential prerequisite for linguistic and academic advancement. The diversity of Cranfield’s studentbody is a help here because English is the common language in an international student body. Despitethis, some Masters programmes may have significant numbers of students who share a first languageother than English. Directors expressed concern about NNES students who live with other compatriotswhilst in the UK, since it can compromise the degree to which NNES students use and practise Englishand hence limit the potential for linguistic development. However, it is considered inappropriate tointervene in a student’s extracurricular affairs and so it remains a difficult area over which neither theinstitution nor Course Directors can exert any control. Immersion in the English language will appearlater in connection with the Summer Programme students (Section 9.2.3)8.3.2 Speaking skillsExploring Course Directors’ views of the development of NNES students’ language skillsdemonstrated that the main issue lies with writing skills. Although skills in speaking may be initiallylimited, the majority of students overcome these difficulties within the first two to three months suchthat they are able to converse satisfactorily for course purposes. Only rarely were there stories ofstudents whose pronunciation was so poor that they were unable to complete the course. In Extract 14,a NNES lecturer comments on students’ spoken English.Extract 14“Spoken English generally, in the beginning perhaps, may be a little more difficult butstudents adapt very quickly and therefore I think spoken English is not the biggest problemactually. I never saw any big problems with spoken English.”NNES Lecturer, SAS, focus groupSpeaking as a student in class, however, is overlaid with cultural references and this can sometimescause problems for a lecturer trying to assess an individual student’s linguistic progress. In Extract 15,a Course Director muses on the interaction between culture and language for Chinese students onhis course.Extract 15Interviewer: “How long does it take before the Chinese students’ spoken English isreasonably good?”Course Director: “Well, they can be very quiet but equally you can get some people whostand out, who are prepared to put themselves forward. I think it’s more of a cultural thingbut maybe it’s not, maybe it’s that they’re not comfortable in English. If they were morecomfortable in their English, they’d stand out more. I’m not sure which one it is.”158 www.ielts.org