The Dilemma of IELTS Test Takers at Preparatory Programs in the UAE: A Call for Lexical-Structural Syllabus Design

- Doctorate of Education Theoretical Perspectives on Materials and curriculum Design in TESOL(DED609) Title The Dilemma of IELTS Test Takers at propaedeutic Programmes in the UAE A Call for lexical-Structural Syllabus Design. By Mohammed A. Molhim Module tutor Dr. Yasmin yildiz No. of words 000 words Essay Outline * Introduction * Conceptual fashion model * IELTS Marking Rubrics Lexical Resources & surface-formed concatenation * Lexical Syllabus * Structural Syllabus Selection of Lexical and Grammatical Items in Lexical-structural Syllabus * Structural Syllabus Drawbacks * The Structural Syllabus and Grammar Teaching * Suggested Steps to design a Lexical-Structural Syllabus * Conclusion Introduction Standardized test preparation courses such as the internationalistic English wording Testing System (IELTS) in preparatory programmes at government and private universities in the United Arab Emirates (The UAE) prepargon students to meet their exit urinate requirement. plan read iness has been driven towards these tests. virtually research studies (Read and Hayes, 2003) warned against that display case of curriculum in that it is restricted to those areas that are to be tested with no balance or corporate skills course design. course of focal point designers therefore depend heavily on materials geared to recitation for the demand exam. Moreover, Alderson and Hamp-Lyons (1996) argue that these type of curriculum are characterised by instruct to the test and even text-book slaves.On the early(a) hand, this essay will argue that designing and implementing curriculum that is supported by materials that reflect and meet the test pass types and objective lenss bunghole be beneficial to students preparing for standardised tests in the UAE. This paper will be outlined as follows After introducing the conceptual framework of the essay, it will highlight the IELTS grading criteria of Lexical Resource and Grammatical Range in the hope to establish the s tatement that half of the IELTs marking criteria is establish on lexical and well-formed power points.Then, the type of lexical and structural political program that can be proposed to meet students learns in enhancing the aspect of English talking to accuracy will be described. Some practical guidelines will then be provided for designing a lexical-structural syllabus. Conceptual Framework This essay falls within the conceptual framework of critical surmisal and critical program line.From a friendly reconstructionism perspective, critical theory and critical pedagogy call for critically re-addressing status quo issues in education. Paolo Freire (1972), a critical theorist, believes that in roughly education systems there exists a hidden curriculum that underlines the status quo supported by the dominant culture and thus repressing minority subcultures. Curriculum planning should undergo a constant progressive change due to the progressive nature of the orbit and education al systems in the UAE.Curriculum change at the level of preparatory programmes is an inseparable part of this change since it is observed that research has provided enough turn up see published annually (IELTS, 2011) that in the UAE and other Arab countries where the majority of students and IELTS test takers struggle to reach a level of proficiency matching crisscross band 5. 0 that enables them to proceed to their major.This judgment is supported by professional and imposing information provided in Table 1 below which is adapted from the IELTS Annual Review of 2011. These records include a comparison of IELTS results by mother tongue candidates and by country of origin for the many countries using the IELTS tests. Table 1. Mean band score for the most back up countries or regions of origin Country The UAE Listening Reading typography harangue Overall Academic Module 4. 9 4. 8 4. 7 5. 4 5. 0 General Module 4. 3 3. 5 4. 3 4. 9 4. 3It is shocking to square up that the UAE with all of its progressive trends in economy and education, coupled with billions of dollars supporting the educational system where ministries of Higher education and Education let approximately 22 % of the total budget in the UAE (Ministry of Finance, 2011), is ranked at the bottom of the ranking list in IELTS scores (See Appendix A). This inexplicable accompaniment urgently calls for critical pedagogy in education and in curriculum design in come in to problematise the issue and arrive at proper and sustainable solutions.This is why this essay adopts a critical pedagogical approach. Within critical pedagogy paradigm, curriculum perspective emphasizes the posts schools and learners can and should play in addressing social injustices and inequality. Curriculum development is non seen as a neutral process. (Richards, 2001 118). Similarly, Freire (1972) and Apple (1986) contend that schools do not present equal opportunities so learners and teachers must be industrious to add ress important social and personal problems and seek learners empowerment.Morris (199510), further more(prenominal), argues Social injustices and inequality would be central issues in the curriculum. Accordingly, curriculum designers in the UAE should study at the scope in which learners are taught and start to constantly problematise current issues in order to improve their designs. In Applied linguistics, Pennycook (2001 5) asserts that applied linguistics from a critical pedagogy perspective is always concerned how the classroom, text, or conversation is related to broader social cultural and political relations,.This paper is intended to problematise the issue of curriculum design in the UAE contest in that it seeks to establish that solid fragments of lexical-structural syllabus can lead to a better success rate in IELTS. IELTS Marking Rubrics Lexical Resources & Grammatical Range While ample IELTS research studies in university environments is available (see research report s in IELTS. org), there appears to be less research on the impact of Speaking and Writing assessment criteria or IELTS band descriptors on syllabus design.IELTS measures both test candidates abilities to produce different sentence structures, and the range and appropriateness of expression. Consequently, lexical resources and well-formed range are regarded as significant constituents of the speaking and paternity assessment, since they determine the level of vocabulary and grammar in speaking and musical composition the test candidates use. Test candidates are rated using detailed descriptors in IELTS. In the Speaking test, these describe spoken performance according to four different criteria Fluency and Coherence, Lexical resources, Grammatical Range and Accuracy, and Pronunciation.In the Writing test, the descriptors assess candidates in terms of Task achievement or response, Coherence and cohesion, Lexical Resources, and Grammatical Range and Accuracy (IELTS handbook, 2004 1 8-23). It is clear from the speaking and writing assessment criteria that lexical resources and grammatical range constitute half of the assessment. They describe test takers level in grammar and vocabulary in the speaking and writing staffs in detail. They should therefore occupy a big part of any curriculum design for IELTs preparation syllabus.Accordingly, this essay argues that a balanced lexical-structural syllabus can uphold in meeting the course objectives and students sine qua nons of any IELTS preparation course. Lexical Syllabus Empowering students Lexical Resources in IELTS Historically, syllabuses were not lexical but structural. With the advent of the communicatory Approach, pertly ideas in syllabus design agree been introduced with a focus on functions. In 1990, when Willis wrote The Lexical Syllabus, a large amount of attention to the Lexical syllabus surfaced. Willis (1990, P. vi)) identified tierce major aspects for lexis in lexical syllabus.First, the addres s to be learned should be somehow graded to defy it easier for the learners to understand. Second, the manner of speaking should be selected carefully without random exposure. Thirdly, the wording syllabus should be itemised Over the past thirty years the Communicative Language Teaching (CLT), however, has not emphasized machinate instruction of vocabulary or grammar (Laufer 2006). CLT should therefore be regarded as inappropriate for IELTS preparation exam courses and more explicit instruction of lexis and grammar could help students achieve their in demand(p) score in IELTS.In fact, according to Zahar, Cobb and Spada (2001), three periods of direct English instruction every week would lead to the incidental training of unless 70 new words a year. Therefore, attainment of vocabulary through study must be supplemented by direct instruction, which can be supported by incorporating a lexical syllabus. In addition, the lexical syllabus can make academic English vocabulary ind ispensable in IELTS more learnable to lower-level learners.There is also a well established connection between vocabulary knowledge and successful academic reading (Corson 1997 Nation 2001144-149). Thus, the significance of incorporating lexical syllabus is significantly clear for big high-stakes tests such as IELTS that assess the range of vocabulary exhibited in a students writing and speaking (See Appendix A). It should be admitted that producing satisfactory IELTS writing and speaking responses is not achieved by just accomplishment individual vocabulary and grammatical structures.However, lexical items can lead to further enhancing students overall proficiency in IELTS. Some research ((Laufer, 2005 Nation 2001) has proven that lexical resources are the rump for comprehending grammar and lexical lowlyings. It is also the most important predictor of writing production (Read, 2002) and reading comprehension (Beck et. al. 1987147). In the IELTS speaking test, a similar lexical diversity would also be necessitate as suggested by Read (2005) who found that several(a) lexical resources with some sophistication are rated higher.Regarding the adequate vocabulary range for academic success in international standardised tests, researchers (Laufer, 1992 Nation, 2001) argued that students, depending on the genre, need close 3,000 words in order for them to be able to read ungraded academic text and that the minimum word family level is the 3,000 word level needed for reading an unsimplified text. For IELTS reading texts, about 4,000 word families might be needed, 2,000 of General Service List (GSL) and about 570 words from the Academic Word List (AWL) (Coxhead, 1998) and about 1,000 technical words, proper nouns and low oftenness vocabulary (Nation, 2001147).Accordingly, commercially-produced syllabi such as Headway do not provide the wide range of lexical resources needed by the students (Horst, 2005 Lee, 2007) in order for them to develop their lexis repert oire and to hence get the score required to pass IELTS. Moreover, there is enough suggestive research evidence (See Beaton, Grunederg and Ellis, 1995 in Nation, 2001) that would indicate that the more vocabulary range manifested in speaking, the higher the score a student would get in writing.This shows that direct learning is in fact both effective and efficient and that the AWL can provide a reasonable seat vocabulary for IELTS preparation courses and syllabi. In terms of the relation of grammar and vocabulary, David Wilkins (cited in Lewis, 2000 8) noted that Without grammar little can be conveyed, without vocabulary nothing can be conveyed. This statement brings to focus the significance of incorporating lexical with a grammatical element when designing a syllabus aiming at enhancing students structural lyric system and accuracy and hence achieving a higher score in IELTS.The sideline segment will shed some light on the significance of developing students accuracy through g rammatical structures in structural syllabi. Structural Syllabus Revisiting grammatical syllabus The structural syllabus comprises of a group of grammatical items that are selected and graded according to simplicity and complexity (Nunan, 1988). A structural-lexical syllabus principle objective is to help the learners acquire the grammatical structures and vocabulary of the language they are learning.The grammatical structures are usually presented in a certain sequence, for example, present followed by past, or in contrasting pairs, for example, simple present versus simple past (Long and Crookes, 1993). Wilkins (1976) describes this type of syllabus design approach as synthetic in which the various part of language are separately taught and there is a gradual accumulation of the parts until the whole structure of the language has been built up. (p. 2) Wilkins suggests language is structured into smaller items and units in a structural syllabus and then it is presented discretely .Wilkins argues that this exposes learners to particular samples of language in which star grammatical feature dominates each lesson in the syllabus. This is primarily based on the hypothesis that grammatical and lexical reigns are learned in an additive process, by which learners gain complete mastery of each item before a new one is taught (Nunan, 1988). It is hence the learners task to re-synthesize the grammatical and lexical items that have been presented in a separate way (Wilkins, 1976). An important question raised here is the set of criteria teachers used to select which lexical and grammatical were to be used in the structural syllabus.This will be reviewed in the following sections. Selection of Lexical and Grammatical Items in Lexical-structural Syllabus Mackey (1965) takes the stance that the lexical items in a structural syllabus are to be selected on the basis of criteria of frequency, coverage, availability, and learnability (White 198849-50). In the 1990s, the lex ical approach in tenet and learning started to gain clump prominence among many researchers (Willis, 1990 Willis, 1996). As proposed by the lexical approach, a physical object reservoir of vocabulary is suggested to be learned at a specific level (Willis, 1990 Willis, 1996).These target vocabulary are derived from old corpus analysis of written and spoken English, but this could be regarded now as old-fashioned with the advancement of computerized corpus. However, one view, suggested by Richards (2001154) is that lexical syllabuses were among the early types of syllabuses to be designed in language teaching. Regarding grammar structure, Mackey also (1965) proposes four criteria for the selection grammatical structures simplicity, regularity, frequency, and contrastive bar.The last item, contrastive difficulty, means that learning some items at an early stage should resemble the corresponding item acquired in L1 (cited in Wilkins 1976 6). These views of language selection have been challenged (e. g. , Ellis 2001). due to its neglect of empirical experiments. Thus to determining the level of complexity, simplicity, regularity, etc. is almost just based on language teachers and syllabus designers common sense judgments. This dilemma, addressed in the following section, is one of the major shortcomings of the structural syllabus.Structural Syllabus Drawbacks A progeny of limitations have been identified with the structural syllabus. The rootage shortcoming is drawn from Corders (1967) built-in syllabus concept in which learners acquisition of different grammatical items is based on a internal order. This notion is supported by many researchers (for example, Hyltenstam and Pienemann, 1985). Within the framework of a built-in syllabus, grammatical complexity of a structure is not the reason for the difficulty of learning a structure of a language item.For instance, a common example of Arab Learners support mistakes is the acquisition of third person s m orpheme (Hajjaj, 1999). Even though an average teacher can explain this item very well to Arabic learners, it always poses a challenge to them, which means difficulty or simplicity of language structure doesnt always guarantee proper learning. This should be taken into spartan consideration when designing a lexical-grammatical syllabus for IELTS preparation courses and thus adding meaningful activities that make the structures more memorable and relevant to learners needs and levels.The second main negative aspect of the structural syllabus is its lack of language functions. The structural syllabus is a reliable tool for assisting language learners to perfect common grammar rules. However, in terms of sociolinguistics, structural syllabus can repair learners to be grammatically competent but communicatively incompetent (Johnson, 1982). A learner who replies Yes, I do. to Do you mind if I open the window? is a true example of a learner whose command of English grammar might be i deal yet they are not capable of producing socially appropriate utterances.In other words, the structural syllabus helps learners produce instances of language system rather than language use (Widdowson, 1978). Accordingly, syllabus designers who consider implementing lexical-structural syllabus need to promote both usage and use in order to avoid turning the language introduced into something meaningless. Socially contextualised and relevant language items introduced appropriately within interactive technique can straddle the gap between use and usage and make grammar teachable and learnable. This will be discussed in the following section. The Structural Syllabus and Grammar TeachingBefore advocating a lexical-grammatical syllabus, it is necessary to first establish the significance of explicit grammar teaching and learning. One debate in second language pedagogy has been about the teachability of grammar. Some scholars have argued against teaching grammar since it leads to only minimal achievement in the acquisition of linguistic competence in English (Krashen, 1982 Krashen and Terrel, 1983 Prabhu, 1987). Others have contended that explicitly teaching formal grammar plays a significant role in the development of the L2 learners interlanguage system (Rutherford, 1987 Ellis, 1990, 1993).This paper supports the grammarians arguments in favor of formal grammar instruction that enhances IELTS UAE students and test takers accuracy. The first argument is based on studies on the emergence of immersion programs in Canada where many English L1 students study French and thus have been immersed in meaning- focused stimulant drug in French ( confrere, 1985 Swain and Lapkin, 1995). The results of research studies revealed that the majority of students have developed native-like receptive skills, but their productive ones are still far from native-like norms.This has therefore suggested that meaning-focused input instruction, which is devoid of any formal grammar teach ing, is more promising to result in fossilization. The second argument defending formal grammar instruction derives from research (e. g. , Felix, 1985 White, 1987 Schachter, 1989) that suggests that adult L2 learners cannot have full access to the analogous acquisition resources as children with L1 do. This makes haughty evidence such as formal instruction and corrective feedback.White (1987105) finds that French learners of English as a second language tend to make sentences like John drank slowly his coffee (John buvait lentement son cafe). These types of sentences are grammatically incorrect in English, but acceptable in their language. Those learners receiving positive evidence cannot notice that there are certain rules for adverb position within a sentence in English unless they are taught so by formal grammar instruction, which implies that lexical-structural syllabus can play a decisive role in some formal aspects of L2 learning and thus in IELTs preparation courses.The th ird argument has been proposed by Ellis (1990, 1993) who argues that formal grammar instruction develops explicit consciousness of grammatical elements which hence helps learners acquire implicit knowledge. Ellis believes that the explicit knowledge of grammar instruction facilitates learning in three methods (199398). First, it encourages them to monitor their language before and after production. Terrell (199161) observes that monitoring can apparently interact with acquisition, resulting in learners acquiring their own output which shows the importance of monitoring in formal language instruction.Second, explicit teaching and learning support the factor of noticing certain elements in the input. Therefore, if learners know that plural nouns have an s, they are more likely to notice the s on the ends of nouns they hear or read in input and also more likely to associate the s morpheme with the meaning more than one. (Ellis,199398). This example illustrates how specific features o f grammar are best learned explicitly.Third, formal and explicit grammar knowledge assists learners in noticing some gaps in their language production. Thus if, for instance, Arab learners learn that verbs take an s in the third person singular form, they are more likely to notice the gap when adding the third person singular s or not, which leads to more accurate production later as they produce similar structures. Furthermore, Celce-Murica (1991 467-468) suggests that formal lexical and grammar teaching can enhance meaning and social function.For instance, drawing attention to the different spatial denotation of the prepositions in and on the learner will find it useful to know quite explicitly that in favors the placement of objects in three-dimensional containers and on favors the placement of objects on two-dimensional flat surfaces if provided with formal instruction. Second, in an example of grammar enhancing social functions, Celee-Murcia discusses that learners need to be a ware of the different modal auxiliaries uses in polite requests such as the difference between Can you open the door? and Could you open the door? . Celce-Murcia and Hilles (19884) believe that learners need to study grammar because many of them are to take part in international tests such as IELTS and that Typically, a major component of such exams is grammar. Therefore, to give these students an unelaborated grounding in grammar, regardless of ones conviction about teaching it, is to do them a great disservice. Students have to know and apply the rules of English grammar in order to do well on such tests. A relatively recent argument proposed by Ellis (2001) argues that it is a mistake to suppose that learning foreign languages in schools is entirely to promote communication among speakers of different languages. Learning foreign languages has a more valuable end, i. e. promoting intellectual growth. (Ellis 2001172) thus views learning a foreign language as a means to develop cog nitive abilities and that grammar contains knowledge that contributes to learners cognitive skills.If one considers all the arguments discussed earlier in this essay claiming that formal teaching of lexical and grammatical items should be an indivisible part of any English classes, structural-lexical syllabus seems indispensible for students preparing for international examination such as IELTS and TOEFL. This is, however, only my conviction within my teaching context and does not entail that curriculum designers and teachers are to revert to old traditional language teaching methodologies such as grammar-translation method. I elieve that adopting a save lexical and/or structural syllabus has not survived in language education because they overemphasized the aspect of grammar teaching through many tedious structural drills. I believe that it is unfair to judge that grammar and lexical instruction should be eliminated simply because of insufficiencies of audio-lingual or grammar-tra nslation methods. A well-balanced lexical-structural syllabus can be safely employed, especially in IELTS preparation courses, provided that it is supplemented by motivating and communicative tasksSuggested steps to design a Lexical-Structural Syllabus According to Stern (1983339-340), there are major differences between English as a second language (ESL) and English as a foreign language (EFL). Accordingly, EFL and ESL students are positioned in different learning conditions. ESL students learn Target Language (TL) in a more supportive setting in that they are more exposed to TL in its natural environment EFL. Considering needs and motivation, ESL students are more required and motivated to communicate with foreigners than EFL students.Thus, ESL students learning needs are definitely not centered on one factor or need. As previously discussed, the majority of Arab students in the UAE are EFL learners who study English in order to pass national exams, such as IELTS. This educational structure of teaching applies in the EFL environment in the UAE. Based on my observations and experience, I found that students in Emirati high schools are also required to learn specific discrete items such as vocabulary and grammatical items without any exposure to communicative tasks that enable them to use these items meaningfully.Unfortunately, only those who wish to stick with their higher education strive to master the grammatical and vocabulary items of their course books in order for them to achieve the required score of the university entrance exams. When taking these conditions into serious consideration, I have come to realize the reason why lexical and grammar instruction can, and perhaps should, be an essential component of any curriculum in the Emirati EFL educational system in schools, and this can be possible through the lexical-structural syllabus proposed in this essay.It is argued that (Richards, 2001) old and traditional language teaching methods did not chas e not because they adhered to a structural or lexical syllabus but because the implementation process was too mechanical through dull drills of discrete language items. I believe that a well-designed lexical-structural syllabus proposed in this essay can survive through two types of tasks consciousness-raising and communicative tasks. Consciousness-raising activities can develop explicit knowledge and communicative tasks improve the implicit knowledge of lexical and grammatical structures (Ellis, 2001).As defined by Ellis (1993109), consciousness-raising is a deliberate attempt on the part of the teacher to make the learners aware of specific features of the L2. The following task in Table 2 (Ellis, 2001173) is a straightforward sample of a consciousness-raising (CR) activity that is designed to help learners be conscious of the difference between the prepositions for and since. Table 2. An Example of a CR Problem-solving Task 1. Here is some information about when three people get together the lodge they now work for and how long they have been working there.Name Date Joined Length of Time Ms Regan 1945 45 yrs Mr provide 1970 20 yrs Ms Thatcher 1989 9 mths Mr Baker 1990 (Feb) 10 days 2. Study these sentences about these people. When is for used and when is since used? a. Ms Regan has been working for her company for most of her life. b. Mr Bush has been working for his company since 1970. c. Ms Thatcher has been working for her company for 9 months. . Mr Baker has been working for his company since February. 3. Which of the following sentences are ungrammatical? Why? a. Ms Regan has been working for her company for 1945. b. Mr Bush has been working for his company for 20 years. c. Ms Thatcher has been working for her company since 1989. d. Mr Baker has been working for his company since 10 days. 4. Try and make up a rule to explain when for and since are used. 5. Make up one sentence about when you started to learn English and one sentence about how long y ou have been studying English.Use for and since. It is my argument that if this exercise is supported by a communicative task where learners interact in pairs or with the classroom teacher it would enable them to internalise the target structure and use it in real-life communication. Designing a lexical-structural based syllabus is not a very hard task. There are many resources based on well-established research that can help syllabus designers build up their course (Lewis, 1997a,1997b). This essay offers some suggestions on how to build a lexical-structural activities and syllabus.First, syllabus designers need to settle a relevant set of structures, vocabulary and different types of collocations (Lewis,1997a) and organise them according to their increasing complexity, starting from simple structures to complex ones. Second, syllabus designers should choose categories of vocabulary items to be learned and sequence the categories according to situational and functional characterist ics such as vocabulary related topics such as environment, health, internet, education and so on since IELTS module is commonly based on globally social topics.Third, syllabus designers should integrate the group of vocabulary and structures together into learning objectives to base the units of lexical-structural syllabus. Although this essay advocates the implementation of a lexical-structural syllabus in IELTS preparation course at preparatory programmes in the UAE, it is necessary to admit that an eclectic and multi-focus syllabus which includes a wide range of components, specifically vocabulary, structures introduced through functions and, situations can allow for a two-sided approach.This can emphasise the importance of systematically learning specific vocabulary and structures and building up linguistic knowledge, and at the same time it can focus on meeting immediate language communicative needs and sociolinguistic and pragmatic competence. Conclusion In my essay, I only pr opose that lexical-structural syllabus can safely be employed in EFL settings, particularly in the UAE. Previously, it was argued that the majority of EFL students in the UAE must score reasonably high in their university entrance English exams. This condition requires them to learn many grammatical and lexical structures.It is my suggestion that a lexical-structural syllabus can efficiently serve this purpose. Nevertheless, this argument should not be interpreted as a call for a return to old approaches such as the grammar-translation method. What I have attempted to proposed in this essay is two-fold. First, designing a well-balanced external syllabus that adequately matches the learners internal syllabus and second, empowering this potential syllabus with innovative learning ideas and tasks discussed earlier, such as consciousness-raising and communicative tasks.I hope my recommendations will breathe fresh life into the body of the proposed lexical-structural syllabus. Reference s Apple, L. 1986. Teachers and texts. New York Routlege and Kegan Paul. Beck, I. L. , McKeown, M. G. , and Omanson, R. C. (1987). The effects and uses of diverse vocabulary instructional techniques. In M. McKeown and Curtis, M. E. (eds. ) (1987). 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Communicative competence Some roles of comprehensible input and comprehensible output in its development. In S. Gass and C. Madden (Eds. ), Input in Second language acquisition (pp. 235-253). Rowley, MA Newbury House.Swain, M. and Lapkin, S. (1995). Problems in output and the cognitive processes they generate a step towards second language learning. Applied Linguistics, 16, 371-91. Terrell, T. D. (1991). The role of grammar instruction in a communicative approach. Modern Language Journal, 75, 52-63. Van Patten, B. (1992). Second language acquisition research and foreign language teaching, Part I. ADFL Bulletin, 23, 52-55. White, L. (1987). Against comprehensible input The input hypothesis and the development of second language competence. Applied Linguistics, 8, 95- 110. White, R. V. (1988). The ELT curriculum. Design, innovation and management.Oxford Basil Blackwell. Widdowson, H. G. (1978). Teaching language as communication. Oxford Oxford University Press. Wilkins, D. (1976). Notional syllabuses. OxfordOxford University Press. Willis, D. (1990). The lexical syllabus A new approach to language teaching. London Collins. Willis. J. (1996). A framework for task-based learning. Oxford Longman. Yalden, J. (1983). The communicative syllabus Evolution, design and implementation. Oxford Pergamon. Zahar, R. , Cobb, T. and Spada, N. 2001. Acquiring vocabulary through reading Effects of frequency and contextual richness. The Canadian Modern Language Review, 57 (4), 541-572.Appendix A (Adapted from www. ielts. org) IELTS Researchers Test taker performance 2011 Band score information Place of Origin These figures show the mean overall and individual band scores achieved by 2011 Academic and General Training candidates from the top 40 places of origin. Mean band score for the most frequent countries or regions of origin (Academic) Academic Listening Reading Writing Speaking OVERALL Bangladesh 5. 9 5. 6 5. 6 5. 9 5. 8 brazil 6. 8 6. 9 6. 2 6. 9 6. 7 China (Peoples Republic) 5. 8 5. 9 5. 2 5. 3 5. 6 Colombia 6. 2 6. 4 5. 7 6. 4 6. 2 Cyprus 6. 4 5. 9 5. 7 6. 6. 1 Egypt 6. 3 6. 1 5. 8 6. 3 6. 2 France 6. 9 6. 9 6. 3 6. 8 6. 8 Germany 7. 0 6. 6 6. 4 7. 2 6. 8 Ghana 4. 8 4. 3 5. 7 6. 5 5. 4 Hong Kong 6. 7 6. 4 5. 9 6. 2 6. 4 India 6. 4 5. 6 5. 8 6. 2 6. 1 Indonesia 6. 6 6. 3 5. 9 6. 3 6. 4 Iran 5. 8 5. 4 5. 8 6. 3 5. 9 Iraq 5. 7 5. 2 5. 4 6. 2 5. 7 Italy 6. 2 6. 1 5. 8 6. 4 6. 2 Japan 6. 0 5. 6 5. 5 5. 8 5. 8 Jordan 5. 9 5. 5 5. 5 6. 3 5. 9 Kenya 6. 7 6. 1 6. 6 7. 2 6. 7 Korea, South 6. 2 6. 1 5. 4 5. 7 5. 9 Kuwait 5. 3 4. 9 4. 8 5. 6 5. 2 Libya 5. 2 5. 1 5. 1 5. 8 5. 4 Malaysia 7. 7. 0 6. 2 6. 6 6. 9 Mexico 6. 7 6. 8 5. 9 6. 5 6. 6 Nepal 6. 3 5. 8 5. 7 6. 0 6. 0 Nigeria 6. 1 6. 0 6. 2 7. 0 6. 4 Oman 5. 3 5. 1 5. 0 5. 7 5. 4 Pakistan 5. 8 5. 5 5. 6 6. 0 5. 8 Philippines 7. 0 6. 6 6. 2 6. 8 6. 7 Qatar 4. 8 4. 6 4. 5 5. 3 4. 9 Romania 7. 2 7. 0 6. 2 6. 8 6. 9 Russia 6. 6 6. 6 5. 9 6. 6 6. 5 Saudi Arabia 4. 9 4. 8 4. 7 5. 6 5. 1 Spain 6. 7 6. 9 6. 0 6. 5 6. 6 Sri Lanka 6. 6 6. 0 5. 9 6. 5 6. 3 Sudan 5. 9 5. 7 5. 5 6. 2 5. 9 Taiwan 5. 9 6. 0 5. 5 5. 9 5. 9 Thailand 5. 9 5. 9 5. 3 5. 7 5. 8 Turkey 6. 0 5. 5. 3 5. 8 5. 8 United Arab Emirates 4. 9 4. 8 4. 7 5. 4 5. 0 Uzbekistan 5. 7 5. 6 5. 0 5. 5 5. 5 Vietnam 5. 9 6. 1 5. 6 5. 7 5. 9 Mean band score for the most frequent countries or regions of origin (General Training) General Training Listening Reading Writing Speaking OVERALL Bangladesh 6. 1 5. 4 5. 8 6. 2 5. 9 Brazil 6. 4 6. 3 6. 1 6. 7 6. 4 China (Peoples Republic) 6. 3 6. 0 5. 7 5. 8 6. 0 Colombia 5. 7 5. 7 5. 6 6. 0 5. 8 Egypt 6. 3 5. 9 5. 9 6. 4 6. 2 France 6. 9 6. 8 6. 3 6. 8 6. 8 Germany 6. 9 6. 6 6. 4 7. 1 6. 8 Hong Kong SAR 6. 7 6. 4 5. 6. 2 6. 4 India 6. 3 5. 7 5. 8 6. 2 6. 1 Indonesia 6. 7 6. 2 5. 9 6. 3 6. 3 Iran 5. 7 5. 4 5. 8 6. 3 5. 9 Iraq 5. 7 5. 3 5. 5 6. 3 5. 8 Italy 6. 2 6. 3 5. 8 6. 4 6. 2 Japan 6 5. 6 5. 5 5. 9 5. 8 Jordan 6 5. 6 5. 5 6. 3 5. 9 Kenya 6. 8 6. 4 6. 7 7. 3 6. 9 Korea, South 5. 8 5. 4 5. 3 5. 4 5. 5 Lebanon 6. 3 5. 7 5. 9 6. 6 6. 2 Malaysia 7. 3 6. 9 6. 5 7. 0 7. 0 Mauritius 6. 5 5. 9 6. 2 6. 7 6. 4 Mexico 6. 3 6. 3 6. 0 6. 6 6. 3 Nepal 6. 3 5. 6 5. 9 6. 2 6. 1 Nigeria 5. 9 5. 9 6. 6 7. 1 6. 4 Pakistan 6. 2 5. 5 6. 0 6. 4 6. 1Philippines 6. 2 5. 7 5. 9 6. 3 6. 1 Romania 6. 5 6. 3 5. 9 6. 2 6. 3 Russia 6. 4 6. 3 6. 0 6. 4 6. 3 Saudi Arabia 4. 6 3. 8 4. 4 5. 0 4. 5 Singapore 7. 7 7. 3 6. 9 7. 5 7. 4 South Africa 7. 4 7. 0 7. 3 8. 4 7. 6 Sri Lanka 6. 3 5. 7 5. 8 6. 3 6. 1 Taiwan 6. 3 5. 8 5. 8 6. 2 6. 1 Thailand 5. 6 5. 2 5. 3 5. 6 5. 5 Turkey 5. 8 5. 5 5. 5 5. 8 5. 7 Ukraine 5. 8 5. 6 5. 5 6. 0 5. 8 United Arab Emirates 4. 3 3. 5 4. 3 4. 9 4. 3 United States of America 8. 0 7. 6 7. 7 8. 6 8. 0 Venezuela 6. 3 6. 3 6. 1 6. 4 6. 3 Vietnam 5. 8 5. 6 5. 7 5. 7 5. 8