Vietnamese candidates can retake a skill they are not satisfied with.

The official IELTS website suggests that the One Skill Retake feature may be rolled out in some northern provinces.

Allow retaking a skill?

Recently, the IELTS test preparation community in Vietnam has been buzzing with the news that it is possible to retake an IELTS skill. Because, on the official IELTS website, when choosing to register for the test in Vietnam, candidates can see the One Skill Retake (OSR) line noted in some test centers in the northern region, including Hanoi, Hai Phong, Quang Ninh and Thanh Hoa.

On the other hand, on IDP's official website, the organization said that the IELTS OSR feature is currently available in 112 countries, including some Southeast Asian countries such as Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia, and the Philippines, "and will expand to all remaining countries that administer the IELTS test in early 2024."

"Regarding Vietnam, IELTS partners are working with relevant parties to be able to deploy IELTS OSR," a representative of IDP Vietnam confirmed to Thanh Nien on the evening of January 23, adding that a specific announcement will be made when this feature is ready to be introduced to candidates.

According to the IELTS co-organizers, OSR was first introduced in Australia in November 2022. This feature allows candidates to retake one of the four skills of listening, speaking, reading, and writing if they do not achieve a satisfactory score on the first attempt, instead of having to retake the entire test as before. And regardless of which skill they choose to retake, the fee is the same.

After completing the OSR test, candidates will receive a new test result form showing the skills they have retaken, along with the new results of the retaken skill and the results of the 3 previous skills in the first test. The time to receive this new test result form is from 3 to 5 days, according to the IELTS co-organizers.

New score report after retaking an IELTS skill

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.

IDP Vietnam representative added that the IELTS OSR test is widely recognized and accepted by schools, governments and relevant organizations around the world. "OSR is professionally and academically designed to provide candidates with the necessary tools to achieve their educational and career goals, providing the most flexibility and convenience for candidates' needs," this person said.

Stop paper-based exams, why?

Another notable move by the co-organizers is to stop the paper-based IELTS test in some countries and only operate the test on computers, such as Malaysia. Specifically, according to information from the British Council, this unit, IDP and Cambridge Assessment English will stop the paper-based IELTS test in Malaysia from the beginning of March, but did not give a specific reason.

Notice to stop IELTS paper-based test in Malaysia from early March 2024

Previously, from early August 2023, IELTS co-organizers in another Asian country, Iran, also suspended paper-based testing and only allowed registration for the computer-based test. Some candidates were informed that the decision to suspend the test was due to concerns about cheating at testing centers, according to TOEFL Resources.

"The cancellation of the paper-based IELTS test is an inevitable move and will bring many benefits to candidates. The only disadvantage is that it will take more time to get used to the computer-based test format. And in my opinion, Vietnam will soon follow this trend, maybe around the end of 2024 or in 2025," predicted Mr. Dinh Quang Tung, Academic Director of YSchool.

According to Mr. Tung, an important benefit of taking the test on a computer is to eliminate the problem of buying "real" IELTS test papers before the test date. Because, buying papers only applies to paper-based tests, when all candidates take the same test and this test must be designed and printed in advance. "With the computer-based test, each person will be randomly 'rolled the dice' for a test, no two are the same and there is no way to memorize it," the expert explained.

"In addition, taking the test on a computer also reduces the use of paper and gives results sooner, and the test time is also more flexible than taking the test on paper," Mr. Tung added.

Source link: https://thanhnien.vn/ielts-thi-sinh-viet-nam-co-the-thi-lai-mot-ky-nang-chua-ung-y-185240123195623375.htm