Abstract
There now exists an established body of work outlining the challenges
international students can face as part of the acculturation process,
including a range of academic and non-academic pressures to overcome.
For many, writing essays in academic English for the first time is
problematic. This paper considers pedagogical approaches for IELTS
writing test preparation prior to university admission, and the potential
for introducing academic writing skills at an earlier stage of students’
learning. Noting implications of test constructs, we investigate
pedagogical support for candidates preparing for the writing section of
IELTS. Conducted at a test preparation centre in China, observational
data from courses across three proficiency levels provided the basis for
inquiry, alongside interviews with teachers (N=2), students (N=20), and
collating homework essays (N=50).
Results indicate that teacher cognition highly influenced pedagogical
practice for writing test preparation at the centre involved. It was also
evident that (despite variations) overall test preparation objectives were
broadly similar. Additionally, higher proficiency learners appeared to be
more receptive to - and capable of - learning about early-stage academic
writing skills. We suggest a series of tentative recommendations for
instructors and areas for future research, including looking at other
major university entrance tests, newer ‘digital first’ tests, and the
implications of online test preparation.
international students can face as part of the acculturation process,
including a range of academic and non-academic pressures to overcome.
For many, writing essays in academic English for the first time is
problematic. This paper considers pedagogical approaches for IELTS
writing test preparation prior to university admission, and the potential
for introducing academic writing skills at an earlier stage of students’
learning. Noting implications of test constructs, we investigate
pedagogical support for candidates preparing for the writing section of
IELTS. Conducted at a test preparation centre in China, observational
data from courses across three proficiency levels provided the basis for
inquiry, alongside interviews with teachers (N=2), students (N=20), and
collating homework essays (N=50).
Results indicate that teacher cognition highly influenced pedagogical
practice for writing test preparation at the centre involved. It was also
evident that (despite variations) overall test preparation objectives were
broadly similar. Additionally, higher proficiency learners appeared to be
more receptive to - and capable of - learning about early-stage academic
writing skills. We suggest a series of tentative recommendations for
instructors and areas for future research, including looking at other
major university entrance tests, newer ‘digital first’ tests, and the
implications of online test preparation.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Number of pages | 25 |
| Journal | Language Teaching Research |
| Early online date | 29 Jan 2022 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | E-pub ahead of print - 29 Jan 2022 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This work was supported by the Newton Fund Partnership and the ESRC.
Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2022.
Keywords
- academic writing
- IELTS
- teacher cognition
- test preparation