'IELTS Speaking Test Reform' Is Not True

Thông báo sẽ — The announcement that the IELTS speaking test will be "reformed" is fake news, according to a representative of IDP Vietnam.

On the evening of April 19, the IELTS test preparation community in Vietnam was abuzz with the news that the organizing units will "reform the IELTS speaking test" from May 2024.

Specifically, a photo with the IELTS exam logo was shared on social media with the content that instead of being renewed every 4 months, the topics will now change every month, and increase to more than 100 topics for IELTS examiners to randomly select to "test natural speaking ability" and avoid "cheating".

The above information immediately attracted the attention of many IELTS test prep teachers and candidates. Because, as Thanh Nien Newspaper reported, social networks have always been bustling with the buying and selling of "forecast/predict" questions, in which the speaking test has 30 topics. Although the accuracy has never been verified, many teachers and candidates still trust this type of document. The increase to 100 questions per month will therefore have a huge impact on this "market".

Speaking to Thanh Nien Newspaper reporters on the morning of April 20, a representative of IDP Vietnam, one of the IELTS test organizers in Vietnam, confirmed that the image circulating on social media is fake. Most likely, this is just a rumor on IELTS groups, so the information cannot be verified. "Candidates should find information about the IELTS test on IDP's official website," the representative of IDP Vietnam noted.

Previously, IDP and the British Council, the two co-organizers of the IELTS test in Vietnam, launched the One Skill Retake (OSR) feature, allowing candidates to retake any IELTS skill instead of having to retake the entire test for a fee of VND 2,940,000. Candidates who choose to retake a skill will receive a new score report form including the updated OSR score along with the scores of the remaining 3 skills in the first test.

However, if you want to register for the OSR exam, you must also meet all three requirements: you have taken the exam at a testing center that provides OSR services; you have taken all four skills in the computer-based format and have received official results; and you must only register for the OSR feature within 60 days of your first attempt. You can only retake the exam once, not four times for four different skills.

IELTS is an international English language assessment system, currently recognized by more than 12,000 organizations worldwide. In Vietnam alone, more than 100 higher education institutions accept the conversion of IELTS test results into English subject scores for admission. The Ministry of Education and Training also allows candidates with IELTS scores of 4.5 or higher to be exempted from the high school graduation exam in foreign languages. And according to IELTS statistics, the average test score of Vietnamese people in 2022 is 6.2, ranking 23rd in the world.

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