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TM<br />
Expressions: The IELTS Newsletter<br />
Fifteenth Edition<br />
Message from the Director<br />
Have you ever wondered why an organisation called IELTS Australia runs test centres as far as Canada, Columbia or Kenya? Just a<br />
glance at this edition of Expressions and you’ll notice contributions from IELTS teams as far and wide as Russia, Cambodia and Taiwan...<br />
In 2010, the demand for IELTS was greater than ever. IDP: IELTS Australia’s busy test centre network now reaches across 49 countries, in<br />
six continents.<br />
The IELTS test is not only international in terms of its name, but also in terms of the partnerships behind it. Along with IDP: IELTS Australia,<br />
IELTS is jointly owned by the British Council and the University of Cambridge ESOL Examinations. The IELTS test <strong>com</strong>bines the world<br />
renowned language and research expertise of Cambridge ESOL and the international delivery, evaluation and security expertise of IDP:<br />
IELTS Australia and British Council.<br />
This ethos of international relevance and fairness is also reflected in IELTS test content and its approach to assessment. IELTS includes<br />
test material developed by item writers from a wide variety of countries. Most significantly, IELTS does not discriminate between North<br />
American, British and Australian varieties of native speaker English.<br />
Over the past few weeks we have enjoyed meeting IELTS candidates, teachers, researchers and recognising organisations at conferences<br />
in the UAE, Cambodia, Taiwan and Hong Kong. The <strong>com</strong>ing months present an array of opportunities for you to meet and interact with the<br />
IELTS Australia team as we participate in events around the world including the up<strong>com</strong>ing NASFA in Vancouver.<br />
John Belleville<br />
IELTS Director, IDP:IELTS Australia<br />
If you would like any of your colleagues or contacts to receive Expressions ask them to email us at ielts.<strong>com</strong>munications@idp.<strong>com</strong>
Could this be the most remote IELTS test location in the world?<br />
On October 30th, Student International’s (SI) Moscow-based test centre ran a test in what we believe<br />
to be the most far-flung location in the history of IELTS — Yakutsk.<br />
Yakutsk is the world’s biggest city in the permafrost zone, at a latitude of 62 degrees north. It’s the<br />
capital of the Republic of Yakutia, the largest state in the Russian Federation, and has a population of<br />
over 300,000. Freezing fog and poor visibility are <strong>com</strong>mon hazards, as are spectacles frozen to your<br />
face in winter, when the temperature can drop below minus 60C.<br />
Yakutsk also has the dubious claim of being the city in the world with the highest recorded<br />
temperature range as the summer maximum can reach over 40C, a difference of over 100C! On test<br />
day, however, it was a mild minus 27C, writes SI IELTS Director Andrey Mikheev.<br />
Winter wonderland — Yakutsk, Moscow<br />
With the Moscow office being 8,468km and six time zones away from Yakutsk, the logistics of organising the test there are mind-boggling.<br />
The 21 candidates were delighted the test had been brought to them, rather than having to travel to the nearest off-site locations of either<br />
Khabarovsk (2,400km and an USD$800 airfare); or Irkutsk (2,900km and a USD$1,100 airfare away).<br />
What better example could there be of IELTS putting people first?<br />
Have your say<br />
Does your workplace have an interesting story, insight into the international education sector or up<strong>com</strong>ing event planned? Perhaps there<br />
is a staff achievement you would like to share, or a new staff member on board? Email Bethany Marett ielts.<strong>com</strong>munications@idp.<strong>com</strong> to<br />
submit stories for consideration.<br />
Flagship IELTS activity in Asia<br />
IELTS Australia is delighted to have once again provided platinum<br />
sponsorship of the <strong>2011</strong> CamTESOL Conference, recently hosted<br />
in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.<br />
The sponsorship incorporated funding the IELTS Australia<br />
Outreach Program, which assists over 40 full-time teachers<br />
of English to attend the conference whilst providing financial<br />
assistance to presenters of papers with their travel,<br />
ac<strong>com</strong>modation and visa expenses. In addition, IELTS Australia<br />
was delighted to support attendance at the conference for<br />
teachers of English from Indonesia and Vietnam who hold a<br />
current IELTS bandscore of 7.0 or higher.<br />
“CamTESOL has inspired me with new ideas and techniques for teaching. It is like a breath of<br />
fresh air — meeting and speaking with colleagues from around the world. I can’t wait until next<br />
year!” Kathy Hong Oanh Nguyen, Nha Trang, Vietnam — one of 25 delegates sponsored by<br />
IDP: IELTS Australia.<br />
Organised by IDP Education, the conference has a strong research focus, wel<strong>com</strong>ing presentations on language testing, including IELTS. An<br />
ELT Research Forum was offered as a pre-conference activity by IELTS Australia - Read more on this forum in the next edition of Expressions.<br />
The conference itself attracted close to 1,500 delegates from 28 countries.<br />
Primarily focusing on ELT, the majority of the <strong>2011</strong> conference delegates attended from Japan, Vietnam, Thailand and Australia as well as over<br />
400 delegates from the Middle East, Northeast Asia, China and South Korea. “Some of the most impressive and innovative research papers<br />
presented this year came from Iran and several institutions in Turkey,” said Paul Mahony, IDP Country Director for Cambodia.<br />
Papers from CamTESOL may be submitted to an Editorial Board for publication in Language Education in Asia, published by IDP Education. You<br />
can access this resource for a limited time on the CamTESOL website. - http://www.camtesol.org/language_education_in_asia.html.<br />
Cambodia wel<strong>com</strong>es guests from near and far to its thriving CamTESOL Conference<br />
IELTS Australia congratulates 25 delegates proudly sponsored to attend CamTESOL in Phnom Penh, Cambodia in February. The<br />
recipients travelled from Iran, Turkey, Vietnam and across Cambodia to further their careers in English language teaching and research.
APAIE Conference prize draw — winner announced<br />
Thank you to everyone who recently entered the IELTS prize<br />
draw at APAIE conference in Taipei, Taiwan. It was great to see<br />
this year’s conference, themed ‘Asia-Pacific Education: Impacting<br />
the World’, attract many international delegates from countries<br />
including the US, Canada, UK, France and Italy as well as<br />
regional delegates from Taiwan, Korea, Japan, China and beyond.<br />
Congratulations Lilian Hallstrom from Hawaii Pacific University. You are the lucky recipient of an<br />
IELTS prize pack<br />
Congratulations to the winner of the IELTS prize pack — Lilian<br />
Hallstrom from Hawaii Pacific University in the US. Lilian<br />
described IELTS as an excellent option for students entering<br />
Hawaii Pacific.<br />
Did you know?<br />
In the last 50 years the average working vocabulary of a 15 year old has decreased from 25,000 words to just 10,000 words.<br />
Yulia Chelyakova’s IELTS journey<br />
For Yulia Chelyakova, proving her English language ability through IELTS opened the door to what<br />
she describes as “a whole new world of opportunity.”<br />
After graduating in 2005, with a Masters in Linguistics from the South Ural State University, Russia,<br />
Yulia recalls her excitement upon discovering the opportunities that lay ahead, in terms of working<br />
abroad, travelling, gaining international experience and meeting new people.<br />
“I applied to a large <strong>com</strong>pany in North America for a position that required English language<br />
proficiency. Having achieved an acceptable IELTS score in 2006 I was able to prove my true-to-life<br />
ability to <strong>com</strong>municate in English for my first international employment opportunity,” Yulia explained.<br />
“I have since worked in Bermuda and now live in Singapore, working for one of the most famous hotel<br />
brands in the world, holding the position of Conference Services Floor Manager.”<br />
Recently <strong>com</strong>pleting a Diploma in Sales and Marketing with Cornell University, Yulia once again relied<br />
on IELTS to demonstrate her English proficiency.<br />
Yulia’s career has taken her from Russia to the US<br />
and now Singapore<br />
In the short-term, Yulia hopes to travel within the <strong>com</strong>pany to various locations, including the Middle<br />
East or Europe to further advance her career and English skills.<br />
“In a few years time I see myself back in Russia close to my family. With the invaluable experience that I have gained and will continue to gain<br />
working overseas, IELTS has made a priceless contribution to progress my career and my life,” Yulia concluded.<br />
IELTS Research Grants <strong>2011</strong>/2012 — Call for applications<br />
Individuals and education institutions with relevant experience are invited to apply for funding to undertake applied research projects<br />
in relation to English language testing, specifically IELTS related. Funding of up to AUD$36,000 per research project is awarded to a<br />
selected number of proposals each year.<br />
Applications must be submitted by 30 June <strong>2011</strong>.<br />
For more information visit http://www.ielts.org/researchers/grants_and_awards/call_for_research_proposal.aspx.<br />
Please forward the link to colleagues and faculties who may be interested in applying.
IELTS test takers in Taipei are wel<strong>com</strong>ed by the IDP team (pictured left to right Dana, Tina,<br />
Lucas and Wen-Lei).<br />
Facilities at the Taipei IDP offices are designed to encourage young people to utilise the<br />
many magazines and books on offer with information on US universities, Australian tertiary<br />
education and IELTS preparation.<br />
Victor Ng (pictured) and Patrick Wan (IELTS Administrator), from IDP in Hong Kong were in<br />
high demand on Saturday 12 March at a University exhibition.<br />
Approximately 500 young people plus their families sought information on Australian study<br />
opportunities at the IDP exhibition held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre.<br />
You are invited to information sessions across Australia and New Zealand<br />
Have you and your team joined the information sessions for Managers and Administrators who are involved in setting IELTS band scores<br />
or assessing overseas qualifications and student applications?<br />
• Gold Coast: Thursday 5 May <strong>2011</strong><br />
• Brisbane: Friday 6 May <strong>2011</strong><br />
• Melbourne: Wednesday 18 May <strong>2011</strong><br />
• New Zealand: Week <strong>com</strong>mencing Monday 20 June<br />
More information sessions are planned from July <strong>2011</strong>.<br />
These sessions are ideal for education providers, assessing authorities and <strong>com</strong>mercial organisations which recognise and rely on IELTS<br />
results.<br />
Please email Bethany Marett at ielts.<strong>com</strong>munications@idp.<strong>com</strong> to register your interest in attending the above sessions.<br />
Is there something - a story, information or even a question - you would like to see featured in Expressions: The IELTS Newsletter?<br />
Email your suggestions or feedback to ielts.<strong>com</strong>munications@idp.<strong>com</strong><br />
IELTS is jointly managed by British Council, IDP: IELTS Australia and<br />
the University of Cambridge ESOL Examinations (Cambridge ESOL)
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