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How are IELTS examiners trained to assess listening and reading skills?

IELTS.WORK IELTS FAQ # 1711685709

IELTS examiners receive thorough training in order to assess listening and reading skills effectively. Here's a general overview of their training process:

1. Initial Training: New examiners undergo an intensive initial training program, which includes learning the specific criteria for assessing each skill (listening and reading), understanding the assessment rubrics, and becoming familiar with the test materials and formats. This training is typically conducted by experienced trainers or senior examiners.

2. Assessment of Examiners' Skills: After initial training, new examiners' listening and reading skills are assessed through mock tests and peer evaluations to ensure that they can accurately evaluate the test takers' performance. They may also be asked to provide feedback on other examiners' assessments to enhance their understanding of the assessment process.

3. Familiarization with Test Materials: Examiners are thoroughly familiarized with the variety and complexity of test materials, including listening passages and reading texts from different sources, genres, and difficulty levels. They need to understand the context and content of these materials in order to assess the skills accurately.

4. Regular Refresher Training: Examiners receive regular refresher training sessions or workshops to keep them updated on any changes in the assessment criteria, rubrics, or test formats, as well as to refresh their understanding of the listening and reading skills assessment process.

5. Quality Assurance and Monitoring: IELTS examiners' performance is monitored through periodic evaluations, peer reviews, and quality assurance processes. This ensures that they maintain high standards in assessing listening and reading skills consistently and fairly.

6. Ongoing Professional Development: Examiners are encouraged to engage in ongoing professional development activities such as attending conferences, workshops, or webinars related to language assessment, test design, and English language teaching methodologies. This helps them stay updated with the latest trends and best practices in assessing listening and reading skills.

7. Feedback and Continuous Improvement: Examiners receive feedback from their peers, senior trainers, or quality assurance teams to identify areas of improvement. They are encouraged to reflect on their assessment practices, learn from constructive feedback, and make continuous improvements in their assessments.

In summary, IELTS examiners undergo a comprehensive training process that includes initial training, assessment of their skills, familiarization with test materials, regular refresher training, quality assurance and monitoring, ongoing professional development, and continuous improvement through feedback. This ensures that they can accurately and fairly assess listening and reading skills in the IELTS exam.

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