2 Reasons Why Most Indonesians Find The IELTS or IBT Test Difficult

 

*I have written something that generally explains what the IELTS test is. If you want to read it, you can go here. You can also visit the official IELTS page for more information. I've also uploaded a 5-min YouTube video talking about this over here, check it out.

When students sign up with Ambassador Language Course for an IELTS class, one of the very first thing they have to do is take an IELTS placement test. This particular test is a shortened form of the test, something that would last roughly 90 minutes. More often that not, after the placement test, these students would tell me that they were surprised that the IELTS test was so difficult, too difficult, even. I then tell them that, while it is a tough test, it's not an insurmountable one, provided they get themselves a good teacher *wink* who could help them understand all the different aspects of the test, and at the same time focus on improving their base English skills.

Honestly though, I think I understand why so many of my students find IELTS slightly overwhelming at first.

So, problem number one:

1. The only standardized English language test that we know is TOEFL PBT / ITP.

A bit of background information: TOEFL made its debut in the 60s as the first standardized English test in the United States. It was then adopted by a variety of international institutions, including those in our country. The IELTS test came much later at the end on the 80s, and was used primarily for entrance into British universities. TOEFL was the more popular test in Indonesia, and in fact became the only test that people then associate with English proficiency tests.

Why is this a problem? Well, the TOEFL test that Indonesians have now become quite familiar with is the PBT TOEFL test, which is, to put it quite bluntly, an incomplete test. There were four major sections in the test, but speaking wasn't one of it. Instead, there's a structure section which generally tests how familiar you are with the rules of English grammar, but does little to check if you could actually communicate using the language.

In about 2005, the organisation behind TOEFL, ETS, released the TOEFL iBT which gradually replaced the PBT test globally. This also meant that PBT tests would no longer be valid. Instead of adopting the new IBT Tests, which does have speaking sections, Indonesian institutions instead opted to acquire the TOEFL ITP system, which was basically the same as the PBT test, but with the writing section being optional.

When their understanding of what a language proficiency test is this toned down version of an already incomplete PBT TOEFL test, it is no wonder they find tests like IELTS or IBT, which does test their speaking and writing capabilities, especially difficult.

2. The ineffectual English education curriculum at schools.

The English classes given in Indonesian schools are simply, I'm afraid, not good enough. The focus is largely on reading and grammar concepts, but very little attention is given on getting students to actually use those concepts in speech or writing. And even then most teachers fumble through their explanations because most of them haven't truly understood the grammar concepts themselves. 

Thankfully, newer generations of English teachers who have received much better training have now stepped into the arena, and my hope is that they are able to undo the years of misleading instructions.

So this immense focus in grammatical structure is probably why our education institutions felt so at home with the old TOEFL PBT (and now ITP) test which has the structure section, and why we still won't wholly embrace the new iBT system, which has removed the structure questions completely.

What this does is create a language education system where students are drilled with inaccurate rules and not guided to develop their language production skills, which would be why they then see IELTS's speaking and writing sections intimidating.

How can they feel confident about writing or speaking if the haven't been trained to do those things? So how to remedy, that is, to fix this?

The answer is actually quite short and simple, but will, unfortunately, require quite a bit of work.

We Indonesians grow up with this strange understanding that tests can be "subdued" as long as we learn the "keys" or "tricks" to the test. We often see a test, any test, as though they were a puzzle. That is unfortunately not the way to look at language proficiency test like IELTS or even IBT.

These tests measure your actual capability in the use of English. How well you speak in conversations with an English speaker, for example. Are you fluent? How well is your pronunciation? How much can you understand in a lecture? Do you miss important details because you couldn't hear some words? Can you write in academic language? Are you able to comprehend texts that are meant for use in a academic setting, say, in a university classroom, for example?

In other words, if you're truly interested in achieving a good IELTS band score, the most logical thing to do is to start looking at English differently. You should no longer look at it as a series of grammatical rules to learn. Instead, you should look at it as something to use. If you learned a new word, you shouldn't feel satisfied just knowing the meaning of the word, but you should also try to use it in daily conversations and in writing. If you love watching English movies or TV series, you should start looking at them as not just sources of entertainment, but also as sources from which you can learn new words or sentences, and you should try to imitate how the actors speak. (Obviously don't just get excited over swear words, or other inappropriate phrases). Focus on real sentences that you can use.

To close, let me just try and give you a word of encouragement. Language mastery really doesn't depend on your IQ, or GPA. There are many people who think that it requires a lot of brainpower to master a language, and I can readily testify that this is really not true. Ultimately, it's hard work that really matters. Therefore, practice, practice, practice. Don't hold back. 

Peace!