IELTS Research Reports

Glenys MerrifieldEvidence of English language competency is required from potential registrants from non-Englishlanguage backgrounds and those qualified offshore. Applicants professionally trained within Canadaare generally exempt. Numbers of applicants for nursing registration have reportedly increasedsignificantly in recent years from approximately a hundred and fifty per year to over four hundred,which is attributed to an open door policy by Canadian immigration, coupled with active recruitmentof healthcare workers, particularly in Manitoba. Ninety percent of applicants for registration arerequired to provide evidence of an acceptable English language fluency assessment.The college officially accepts a suite of tests including TOEFL, the MELAB, the TOEIC andthe CELBAN. As an alternative, it also accepts satisfactory completion of the Academic EnglishProgram for College and University Entrance (AEPUCE), a course offered by some universities inWinnipeg. While other evidence of fluency may be put forward by applicants, a formal assessmentresult is preferred by the college, and an IELTS Test Report tends to be the most commonly presenteddocument.It is not known how long IELTS has been accepted by the college. Acceptable band scores are an overallscore of 6.5, with a minimum of 7.0 in Speaking. Applicants for registration may provide this evidenceby presenting an amalgam of assessment outcomes achieved in successive tests over a two-year period.4.1.1.2 College of Registered Nurses of British ColumbiaThe College of Registered Nurses of British Columbia (CRNBC) is a self-regulatory body with amandate under Canadian Health Professions legislation to protect the public through regulation ofregistered nurses. It tends to deal with large numbers of new applicants for nurse registration, withapproximately 1,200 international applicants in 2008.It operates under bylaws which describe “fitness to practice”, and evidence of language fluency is aprerequisite to registration.Evidence of English language competency is required by all applicants for registration, regardless oftheir country of origin. The minimum overall score accepted in IELTS is 6.5, with a minimum of 7.0in Speaking and no less than 6.0 in the other three macroskills. A candidate may combine two testoutcomes if they have satisfactory scores in Speaking in one test and the other three skills in another.The association representatives were unclear on the reasons for this, saying that the minimum scoreshad been decided upon many years ago.Also accepted are the various modes of the TOEFL (plus the TSE where applicable), the CanadianEnglish Language Benchmark Assessment for Nurses and the Michigan English Language AssessmentBattery. There is a preference for the CELBAN because it was specifically designed for nurses and hasoccupation-specific content, a perceived short-coming in each of the other accepted tests.As with some other associations, there was the opportunity in the past for applicants to plead theircase rather than sitting for international assessments in English language. However, this is no longerpractised because it was considered to be open to subjective judgments, whereas an internationalassessment score is not.The majority of applicants present an IELTS Test Report.36 www.ielts.org