April 2011 - Idp.com

Could this be the most remote IELTS test location in the world?
On October 30th, Student International’s (SI) Moscow-based test centre ran a test in what we believe
to be the most far-flung location in the history of IELTS — Yakutsk.
Yakutsk is the world’s biggest city in the permafrost zone, at a latitude of 62 degrees north. It’s the
capital of the Republic of Yakutia, the largest state in the Russian Federation, and has a population of
over 300,000. Freezing fog and poor visibility are common hazards, as are spectacles frozen to your
face in winter, when the temperature can drop below minus 60C.
Yakutsk also has the dubious claim of being the city in the world with the highest recorded
temperature range as the summer maximum can reach over 40C, a difference of over 100C! On test
day, however, it was a mild minus 27C, writes SI IELTS Director Andrey Mikheev.
Winter wonderland — Yakutsk, Moscow
With the Moscow office being 8,468km and six time zones away from Yakutsk, the logistics of organising the test there are mind-boggling.
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
Khabarovsk (2,400km and an USD$800 airfare); or Irkutsk (2,900km and a USD$1,100 airfare away).
What better example could there be of IELTS putting people first?
Have your say
Does your workplace have an interesting story, insight into the international education sector or upcoming event planned? Perhaps there
is a staff achievement you would like to share, or a new staff member on board? Email Bethany Marett ielts.communications@idp.com to
submit stories for consideration.
Flagship IELTS activity in Asia
IELTS Australia is delighted to have once again provided platinum
sponsorship of the 2011 CamTESOL Conference, recently hosted
in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
The sponsorship incorporated funding the IELTS Australia
Outreach Program, which assists over 40 full-time teachers
of English to attend the conference whilst providing financial
assistance to presenters of papers with their travel,
accommodation and visa expenses. In addition, IELTS Australia
was delighted to support attendance at the conference for
teachers of English from Indonesia and Vietnam who hold a
current IELTS bandscore of 7.0 or higher.
“CamTESOL has inspired me with new ideas and techniques for teaching. It is like a breath of
fresh air — meeting and speaking with colleagues from around the world. I can’t wait until next
year!” Kathy Hong Oanh Nguyen, Nha Trang, Vietnam — one of 25 delegates sponsored by
IDP: IELTS Australia.
Organised by IDP Education, the conference has a strong research focus, welcoming presentations on language testing, including IELTS. An
ELT Research Forum was offered as a pre-conference activity by IELTS Australia - Read more on this forum in the next edition of Expressions.
The conference itself attracted close to 1,500 delegates from 28 countries.
Primarily focusing on ELT, the majority of the 2011 conference delegates attended from Japan, Vietnam, Thailand and Australia as well as over
400 delegates from the Middle East, Northeast Asia, China and South Korea. “Some of the most impressive and innovative research papers
presented this year came from Iran and several institutions in Turkey,” said Paul Mahony, IDP Country Director for Cambodia.
Papers from CamTESOL may be submitted to an Editorial Board for publication in Language Education in Asia, published by IDP Education. You
can access this resource for a limited time on the CamTESOL website. - http://www.camtesol.org/language_education_in_asia.html.
Cambodia welcomes guests from near and far to its thriving CamTESOL Conference
IELTS Australia congratulates 25 delegates proudly sponsored to attend CamTESOL in Phnom Penh, Cambodia in February. The
recipients travelled from Iran, Turkey, Vietnam and across Cambodia to further their careers in English language teaching and research.