The use of technologies in teaching IELTS at naturally english speaking language center (NES) teachers and students perspectives master of TESOL

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING
BA RIA VUNG TAU UNIVERSITY

--------------THESIS

TRAN THI THUY DUNG

THE USE OF TECHNOLOGIES IN TEACHING
IELTS AT NATURALLY ENGLISH SPEAKING
LANGUAGE CENTER (NES): TEACHERS’ AND
STUDENTS’ PERSECTIVES

BA RIA VUNG TAU 2022


MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING
BA RIA VUNG TAU UNIVERSITY

--------------THESIS

THE USE OF TECHNOLOGIES IN TEACHING
IELTS AT NATURALLY ENGLISH SPEAKING
LANGUAGE CENTER (NES): TEACHERS’ AND
STUDENTS’ PERSPECTIVES
Submitted to the Postgraduate Institute in partial fulfilment of the Master’s
degree in TESOL
Course code: MTSOL18K2
By

TRAN THI THUY DUNG
Student’s code:

18110101
Supervised by: NGUYEN HOANG TUAN, Ph.D.

BA RIA VUNG TAU 2022

2


MASTER’S THESIS REPORT
Ba Ria Vung Tau, 20th March 2022

Student name: TRAN THI THUY DUNG
Date of birth: 30 January 1982
Major:

Sex:

Female

Place of birth: Vung Tau

Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL)

Student code: 18110101
I- Thesis title: “The use of technologies in teaching IELTS at Naturally English
Speaking Language Center (NES): Teachers’ and Students’ Perspectives”

II- Objectives:
This study aims to closely and thoroughly inspect teachers’ and student’s
perspectives of using technologies in teaching IELTS with knowledge-based

approaches at the context of Naturally English Speaking Language Center (NES). The
research objectives are as follows:
-

To investigate the teachers’ self-efficacy, attitudes and ICT utility toward use of

technologies in teaching IELTS at the context of NES.
-

To investigate students’ Perceived of Easy to Use (POEU), Perceived Usefulness

(PU), attitudes, behavior towards ICT use, as well as contextual factors of ICT use to
learn IELTS at NES.
To answer the two below thesis’ question:
1. From teachers’ perspectives, what are benefits and challenges when using ICT to
teach IELTS at NES?
2. From students’ perspectives, what are students’ benefits and challenges when using
ICT to learn IELTS at NES?
This study was conducted at the context of Naturally English Speaking Language
Centre (NES). Participants were 25 IELTS teachers and 200 students from classes from
Preparation-IELTS and IELTS classes of 4 Vung Tau branches of the system. They
participated in surveys designed with system of questionnaires and semi-structured


interviews which focused on plenty of factors. Firstly, these questionnaires are about
teacher’s and students’ perspectives on ICT use for IELTS teaching and learning.
Secondly, five elements to consider when studying for the IELTS utilizing IT tools: ICT
Utilizing, English Environment, Interactive ability and means, Strategic and
organizational learning and knowledge-based approach. In addition, a statics of
technology tools used for teaching IELTS also made for a reference and comparison on

the technology need of teachers and students so that the researcher makes any
conclusion or and suggestion on how the teachers and students at NES use ICT. Orderly,
there are many technology-based facilities such as self- study rooms, smart classrooms,
multimedia rooms to assist students to study English. As a result, in order to learn
properly, learners must assume responsibility.
III- Starting date:

June 1st 2020

IV- Completing date:

March 30th 2022

V- Academic supervisor: Nguyen Hoang Tuan, Ph. D.

ACADEMIC SUPERVISOR

SCHOOL DEAN

ii


CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY

I certify my authorship of the Master’s Thesis submitted today entitled:
“THE USE OF TECHNOLOGIES IN TEACHING IELTS AT NATURALLY ENGLISH
SPEAKING LANGUAGE CENTER (NES): TEACHERS’ AND STUDENTS’
PERSPECTIVES”
Ba Ria Vung Tau, March 2022
TRAN THI THUY DUNG

iii


RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS

I, TRAN THI THUY DUNG, a candidate for the Master of TESOL degree, thus
declare that I accept the University's rules for the keeping and use of Master's Theses
deposited in the library.
In accordance with these terms, I agree that the original of my Master's Thesis
deposited in the library should be available for study and research purposes, in
accordance with the Librarian's regular rules for the care, lending, and replication of
theses.

Ba Ria Vung Tau, March 2021

iv


ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First and foremost, I want to express my sincere gratitude and appreciation to
my Supervisor, Dr. Nguyen Hoang Tuan, for his professional guidance, efforts, and
support he provided me during the many stages of completing my Master Thesis. His
unwavering encouragement, counsel, and patience have been essential to me. His
leadership abilities, teaching quality, true compassion, and academic integrity have
taught me a great deal about what counts most in lecturer education and in life.

I would like to take this occasion to thank the examiners for reviewing my
proposal and providing detailed remarks and recommendations during the thesis

defense.

I am particularly grateful for the active engagement of students and teachers in
this study project, as well as the assistance of teachers and students at Natural English
School. Without the crucial information they contributed, this study would not have
been feasible.

Finally, I want to express my thankfulness to my family for their unfailing
support and encouragement. Without them, I might not have gotten as far in my
academic career as I have.

v


ABSTRACTS
The research aimed to investigate teachers’ self-efficacy, attitudes and ICT
utility toward use of technologies in teaching IELTS at the context of NES and to
investigate students perceived of easy to use (POEU), Perceived Usefulness (PU),
attitudes, behavior towards ICT use, as well as contextual factors of ICT use to learn
IELTS at NES. A descriptive qualitative method, surveys and interviews were used as
instruments. The quantitative data from questionnaires were processed by SPSS, while
the qualitative data from interviews were analyzed using the content analysis approach.
The result of this research shows that the teachers used kinds of technologies
including informative constructive tools, communicative tools, resignation devices and
constructive tools. Teacher preferred use of technology because students motivated,
interested and surrounded by English environments for gaining knowledge for IELTS
strategies. Also, ICT helped teachers displaying materials, send assignments and give
notification very conveniently motivate students to learn. This study also shows that
students are interested in using ICT in learning IELTS and be motivated to learn. In
addition, various aspects of technology used in Ielts teaching by developing innovative

curricula that take advantage of recent scientific and technological developments.
Training teachers in technological skills was to ensure effective and quality subject
delivery. Providing technical media such as audio-visual and modern technical
programs, and establishing student-teacher platforms that maximize positive language
learning outcomes.
Some previous relevant literature has been studied. The correlation with modern
teaching skills has been completely evaluated for the goals of this study. Accordingly,
the researcher discusses the main research question, clarifies the importance of the
research objectives and hypotheses, and summarizes the findings. The study was
finished by making a number of recommendations that could help to improve teaching
methods even further by promoting the wider use of current technologies.

Keywords: knowledge-based approach; impacts of technology; ICT; IELTS
learning; English learning environments effectively; benefits; challenges.
vi


vii


TABLE OF CONTENTS

Certificate of originality

iii

Retention and use of the thesis

iv

Acknowledgements

v

Abstracts

vi

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

3

1.1

3

Background of the study

1.2. Statement of the Problem

6

1.3. Aims of the Study

6

1.4 Research Questions

7

1.5. Scope of the Study

7

1.6. Significance of the Study

7

1.7. Definitions of the Terms

8

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

10

2.1 Introduction

10

2.2 Concepts related to the study

10

2.2.1 Knowledge-based approach in teaching and learning IELTS

10

2.2.2 The Use of ICT in Teaching and Learning IELTS

13

2.2.3 Benefits and Challenges in using ICT in teaching and learning IELTS from
teachers’ and students’ perspectives’

15

2.2.4 Organizational Learning

17

2.3. Previous Studies on the Benefits and Challenges of Technology in Improving
Language Skills

19

2.4. The Conceptual Framework

19

CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.1. Research Site

23
23


3.2. Research design

23

3.3 Research implements

24

3.4. Sample and Instrument

26

3.4.1 Questionnaire

26

3.4.2 Interviews

26

3.5 Data Collection Procedure

27

3.6 Data Analysis Procedure

27

3.7 Reliability and Validity Testing

28

3.8 Chapter Summary

28

CHAPTER 4: RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
4.1. Results and Findings

30
30

4.1.1 From teachers’ perspectives, what are benefits and challenges when using
ICT to teach IELTS at NES?

30

4.1.2 From students’ perspectives, what are benefits and challenges when using
ICT to learn IELTS at NES?

36

4.2. Discussions

60

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

46

5.1. Introduction

46

5.2. Conclusions

46

5.3. The Implications of the Research

49

5.4. Limitations of the Research

50

5.5. Recommendation for Further Research

51

REFERENCES

52

APPENDIX

61

ii


LIST OF TABLES
Table 4.1. Demographic findings from teachers

Table 4.2. Demographic findings from teachers
Table 4.3. Demographic findings from teachers
Table 4.4: The frequency ICT used, the kind of ICT and the ways/reasons/purpose to
use ICT integration in teaching and learning IELTS
Table 4.5 Teachers’ perspective in using ICT tool
Table 4.6. The benefits of using ICT – teachers’ perspectives.
Table 4.7. Demographic findings from students
Table 4.8. Demographic findings from students
Table 4.9. Demographic findings from students
Table 4.10: Means of students’ perspective in ICT use
Table 4.11. Students’ perspective in using ICT tool
Table 4.12. The challenges in using ICT to learn IELTS – Students’ perspective


LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1: “Technology Acceptance Model” (Davis et al. 1989)
Figure 2: A Conceptual framework modified of TAM 2 and TPACK (Source:
Venkatesh & Davis, 2000, Schmidt, Baran, Thompson, Mishra, Koehler, & Shin 2009)
Figure 3: Sequential explanatory design (Creswell, 2009, p. 209)

ii


LIST OF ABREVIATIONS

TBLL

Technology-based Language Learning

CALL

Computer-Assisted Language Learning

NES

System of Natural English Centers

ICT

Information and Communication Technology

MALL

Mobile-Assisted Language Learning

TAM

Technology Acceptance Model

TPACK

Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge Model

PEOU

Perceived ease of use

PU

Perceived usefulness

….

….



CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the study
The International English Language Testing System (IELTS) is an English
proficiency exam which measures candidate’s English proficiency for higher
academic study in the four basic English language skills – listening, reading and
writing. This certificate has become widely accepted in the UK, Australia, New
Zealand, USA, and Canada.
As a result of the increased demand for IELTS preparation, several IELTS
preparation courses have been offered in various regions around Vietnam in various
formats, including official instruction at public schools, private language centers,
and one-on-one tutoring lessons at home. However, little is known about the
viewpoints of teachers and students in the country's IELTS courses (preparation
courses and IELTS courses). IELTS and other high-stakes language assessments
have long been thought to have a direct impact on educational procedures and
stakeholders. To date, the majority of language testing and assessment research has
focused on determining how these examinations affect instructional practices (e.g.
teaching methodology, lesson content, and materials). Test effect has been
considered as a reflection of how teachers modify their teaching approaches in order
to prepare students to fulfill the test's criteria.
This phenomena is commonly referred to as 'washback' or 'backwash,' implying
that course materials and teaching methods are altered in response to the results of
the assessments (Alderson, 2004; Bachman, 1990; Bachman & Palmer, 1996;
Hawkey, 2006; Hughes, 1989; McKinley & Thompson, 2018). And, to some extent,

past research has effectively explored the benefits and challenges or difficulties that
IELTS teachers students have, their potential causes, and solutions to these
problems. Time constraints, a lack of background knowledge, an enthusiastic
learning atmosphere, modern technology tools for learning, and a lack of interactive
capacity and means were identified as the five most pressing issues. The interference
of Vietnamese, worry, a lack of exposure to the English language, and the cultural


gap between the two languages in question were also highlighted as four linked
causes on which the majority of the participants agreed.
Furthermore, despite the fact that different problems, reasons, and suggestions
for learners participating in the described endeavor were highlighted, no real
relationship was formed between the presented issues and their sources, as well as
the resulting recommendations. To sustain high levels of excellence in vocations
and highly satisfying everyday lives in an ever changing and diversified society,
continuous learning is required. The fast spread of information and communication
technology (ICT) is hastening job insecurity and requiring everyone to renew
professional knowledge and competence, which is frequently their responsibility.
All teachers wish for their students to embrace responsibility. The responsible
student is eager to work with the teacher and other members of the learning group
for the greater good of everyone. If you're looking for something to do, you've come
to the right place. The responsible student is eager to work with the teacher and
other members of the learning group for the greater good of everyone. In the mood
to discover solutions to the issues, causes, and recommendations that are thought
the most urgent, acute, and useful.
And the purpose of the study is to try to figure out what the issues, reasons, and,
as a result, recommendations are for such a concept. As a result, the study's goal is
to conduct a more in-depth, empirical investigation of the issue. To this purpose, the
study enlisted the help of 200 IELTS students and 25 teachers from four NES
facilities in Vung Tau City, who were asked to give their impressions via

convenience interviews and surveys. Next, the analysis was conducted with the
comparing the means of the items listed in the questionnaire based on the Ielts band
descriptors managed to discover a series of problems, causes, and suggestions
considered the most relevant to the NES’s teachers and learners, concerning Ielts
teaching and learning. The result is to serve as a foundation for Ielts teachers and
students to identify recurring challenges and propose relatable solutions.
According to Ertmer & Ottenbrat (2010), teaching with technology necessitates
teachers developing their knowledge of pedagogical approaches in a variety of parts
of the planning, implementation, and evaluation processes. Teachers, for example,
4


must be able to build plans for teaching students software, select appropriate
computer applications to meet the curriculum's instructional needs and their
students' learning needs, and manage computer hardware and software, including
the use of technology in education, particularly in the teaching and learning process..
Any application of a tool strategy, according to the study, is more relevant and
effective when the user has a solid understanding of the conceptual foundation and
understands the benefits of employing the strategy tool. In this regard, the researcher
considers the respondents' comprehension of the concept of Technology Integration,
as well as their identification of the advantages or benefits of using Technology
Integration, to be critical to the effective use of technology in education.
Furthermore, the method teachers teach the students has a big impact on the factors
that cause ups and downs in student learning motivation. For example, in order to
keep students' attention and interest when using technology in the classroom,
teachers must be familiar with technological tools and skills. NES has employed
ICT to assist teachers in teaching students, particularly in the area of English.
One of the most difficult tasks for an ielts teacher is to encourage students to take
use of all of the options available to them and to take greater responsibility for their
own learning. While learning is a dynamic process, Vietnamese students are

notorious for being passive learners. Vietnamese students expect their teachers to
teach them rather than going out and discovering things for themselves. While the
communicative approach and learning-centeredness are being introduced and
applied into pedagogy of institutions in Vietnam as well as in some other Asian
countries, little attention is paid to the idea of raising the learner’s awareness of a
more independent learning style through the use of technology. Technology will
provide learners with new options for language acquisition; it will ensure a life-long
learning process for those who understand how to take advantage of all that
technology has to offer. At recent years, technology has been employed to teach
English in a number of Vietnamese high schools, private English centers, and
colleges. In Vietnam, the development and implementation of Information and
Communication Technology (ICT) has had a significant impact on language
learners' autonomy. In Vietnam, the increased usage of ICT has clearly altered
5


English learning approaches. English learners in Vietnam may control their own
learning process and access to a wealth of important information, such as English
online resources, English study tools, and online dictionaries, by utilizing
technology to learn English language better and faster. Many students in the context
of NES use these NES technologies outside of the classroom on a regular basis, and
their English language skill has improved significantly. However, in order to
determine its true usefulness, a thorough examination of the images is required,
followed by the provision of solutions for NES and students to better incorporate
into the training program and learning plan.

1.2. Statement of the Problem
At NES, besides a great deal of benefits gaining from ICT’s use there are
numerous challenges in teaching and learning Ielts. As a result, both teachers and
students must accept responsibility for learning proficiently and independently. Despite

this, students continue to have significant challenges studying Ielts for a variety of
reasons. To begin with, some students may dislike using technology in their English
language studies. Second, they might not be self-taught. Finally, they may face a variety
of challenges in learning English. Fourth, they may not be able to properly learn English
using technology-based solutions. As a result, in order to find plausible solutions to
such problems, the purpose of this study, as defined by the scope of this paper, is to
investigate English teachers' and learners' attitudes and strategies toward technologybased language learning in the context of the Naturally English Speaking Language
Center (NES).
1.3. Aims of the Study
This study aims to closely and thoroughly inspect teachers’ and student’s
perspectives of using technologies (ICT) in teaching Ielts with knowledge-based
approaches at the context of Naturally English Speaking Language Center. The
requirements are as follows:
-

To investigate the teachers’ self-efficacy, attitudes and ICT utility toward use

of technologies in teaching Ielts at the context of NES.
6


-

To investigate students’ POEU, PO, attitudes, behavior towards ICT use as well

as contextual factors of ICT use to learn Ielts at NES.

1.4 Research Questions
In order to achieve the aforementioned objectives, the following research questions
must be addressed:

1. From teachers’ perspectives, what are benefits and challenges when using ICT to
teach IELTS at NES?
2. From students’ perspectives, what are students’ benefits and challenges when using
ICT to learn IELTS at NES?

1.5. Scope of the Study
This study will look at how teachers use technology (ICT) as a tool or as an application
for teaching, as well as how they use technology (ICT) to overcome challenges in teaching
IELTS at NES. Otherwise, the current study uses a mixed methods approach to determine
student demand for ICT and satisfaction with ICT use to overcome problems in acquiring the
four Ielts abilities of hearing, speaking, reading, and writing. The participants in this study are
25 Ielts teachers and 200 Ielts students from four NES branches. The questionnaire and semistructured interview, as well as statics of ICT tools, were used as research instruments in this
study. To determine the NES stakeholders' tasks to improve the efficacy of Ielts teaching and
learning via ICT at NES, quantitative and qualitative data were analyzed using SPSS and
content analysis, respectively.

1.6. Significance of the Study
The following is the outcome of this study for instructors, students, and
researchers: Theoretically, the research aims to learn about the technology (ICT) that
has been used in the classroom, particularly in teaching Ielts, as well as the ways in
which teachers use various types of (ICT) in teaching English. Practically, the research
can contribute to future research by gathering information or data about the use of
technology information and communication in teaching and learning English.
Instructors can also become more conscious of their own assumptions and habits in the
classroom when it comes to learner autonomy. Finally, all of these may contribute to
increased use of technology-based autonomous language learning methodologies not
7


only at NES but also in other Vietnamese English centers. By supporting the provision

of infrastructure and performing professional development autonomous language
learning courses in NES, the study can also assist English teachers in using ICT into
their instruction. The research may also assist NES students and stakeholders in
promoting perspectives and developing the required attributes and skills for
implementing technology-based autonomous language learning methodologies outside
of the classroom.
1.7. Definitions of the Terms
The definitions of terms were used for this study.

o Teachers’

and

of thinking about

Students’

perspectives

something, especially one

means
that

a

particular

way

is influenced by

your beliefs or experiences.
o Teaching-Learning means the process of transmission of knowledge,
imparting skills and formations of attitudes, values and behaviors between
teacher and student
o Technology-based facilities are effective tools including CALL, ICT, MALL,
web-based … to support learners and teachers in learning and teaching Ielts at
NES.
o Self-evaluation is a method for methodically observing, analysing, and valuing
your own professional actions and outcomes in order to enhance or stabilize
them. Self-evaluation is the process of examining and evaluating one's own
professional performance.
o Self-learning is described as a means of gathering information, processing it,
and retaining it without the assistance of another person. It is the learner's
obligation to learn and retain knowledge without the assistance of another
human resource.
o Technology-based language learning (TBLL) includes the Internet, intranets,
satellite broadcasts, audio and video conferencing, bulletin boards, chat rooms,
webcasts, e-books, and CD-ROMs. TBL also includes phrases like online
learning and web-based learning, which solely refer to learning that takes place

8


via the Internet, and computer-based learning, which is limited to learning that
takes place on computers.
o Strategies: Brown (2001: 124) describes the strategies as “the specific attacks
that we make on a given problem”.
1.8. Organization of the thesis

This thesis includes 5 chapters as follows:
Chapter 1: Introduction: Some initial overview of the thesis which set the general
context of the research. They are “Background of the study”, “Statement of the problem”,
“Research objectives of the study”, “Research questions”, “Scope of the study”, “Significance
of the study”, “Definitions of the key terms” and “Organization of the thesis”.
Chapter 2: Literature review: This chapter shows the theoretical background of some
previous studies and it is composed of 2 main sections: theoretical foundation of Ielts teaching
and learning and previous studies relating to integrate the use of technology-based language
learning and knowledge-based approaches in light with the thesis questions of teacher’s and
students’ benefits and challenges when using ICT in teaching and learning IELTS.
Chapter 3: Research Methodology: The research methods used to perform this study
are described in this chapter. This chapter detailed the strategies for gathering, evaluating, and
presenting data in order to answer the research questions. Questionnaires are the most used
study tools. This chapter is divided into four sections: research design, instruments, data
collecting, and data analysis.
Chapter 4: Results and Discussions: This chapter reveals the study's findings and
conclusions, as well as the study's conclusions' remarks. The findings are arranged according
to the study's questions. The findings of research question 1 are presented first, followed by the
findings of research questions 2 and 3, and finally, the findings of research question 4.
Following that, the findings are discussed in detail.
Chapter 5: Conclusion:
The last chapter contains a summary of study findings, as well as an explanation of the
thesis' inescapable limits and recommendations for future field-related research. Finally,
recommendations for future research are made. It also finishes the study by recommending
some theoretical and pedagogical implications.

9


CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Introduction
This chapter examines scholars' definitions of the IELTS, including General
IELTS and The Use of Technology in teaching and learning IELLTS. The chapter starts
with IELTS definitions, then moves on to technology theories of TPACK, and TAM for
technology integrating in teaching and learning, and focus on theories defining teachers’
and learners’ perspectives on using ICT in teaching and learning IELTS. The following
is a discussion of various ways, such as knowledge-based approaches, technology-based
learning, and viewpoints to encourage and improve learners' learning with the use of
technology in English language teaching and learning, with an emphasis on ICT
integration. The next part, based on theoretical framework, are focused to the benefits
and challenges on teachers’ perspectives in ICT’s use in teaching Ielts. The next step is
to look into students' self-learning methodologies, as well as their attitudes,
responsibilities, and decision-making abilities in learning Ielts, as well as their
motivation and real language learning activities outside of the classroom. In the final
sections, previous studies and a conceptual framework are presented.
2.2 Concepts related to the study
2.2.1 Knowledge-based approach in teaching and learning IELTS
✓ IELTS and IELTS’ features
The International English Language Testing System (Ielts) is well-known as a
high-stakes English test and one of the most popular English proficiency assessments
in the world. Ielts ( is a testing system that assesses language
competency for the purpose of studying or working in English-speaking countries
where English is the primary language of communication. There are two kinds of
IELTS: Ielts Academic and Ielts General. As a result, Ielts might be called a proficiency
test. Also, Hughes (2003), Achievement examinations, on the other hand, are directly
tied to how individual students and groups do in language classes. G. Fulcher (2010),
Similarly, accomplishment assessments primarily test learners' knowledge at the time
of the test, independent of previous language abilities. Final achievement exams and
progress achievement tests are the two types of achievement assessments. In general,
dependable examinations can accurately assess a person's ability regardless of when or

10


where the exam is given. According to Chalhoub-Deville and Turner (2000), the more
extensive the testing technique and maker variability is realized, the more reliable a test
is.
Aside from the first quantitative characteristic of test usefulness, reliability, there
is another linked notion in language testing. It's also worth looking into validity. Quaid
(2018), dependability is a criterion for validity because inaccurate test scores do not
guarantee valid interpretation and application. Furthermore, reliability is concerned
with the smallest effect of measurement error, whereas validity is concerned with the
highest effects of the language skill measured, Bachman, L.F. (1990). Furthermore,
validity is "an integrated evaluative evaluation of the degree to which empirical data
and theoretical rationales support the sufficiency and appropriateness of conclusions
and actions based on test scores," Messick. Fulcher, G. (2010)
In Ielts, the washback is recognized impact on the educational process, and thus
on society as a whole, has been confirmed. The washback refers to the consequences
that could be beneficial or unexpected bad, and the impacts are related to teaching
practice, learning outcomes, and courses. Because the number of English speakers is
rapidly increasing, international examinations such as Ielts and its effects necessitate
careful academic consideration, including the above-mentioned difficulties of reliability
and validity. This is because the tests are well-known and have a high cash-in value.
Such an impact is frequently felt on two levels: at the macro level, which involves social
structures, and at the micro level, which concerns individuals, Green (2007). The
washback refers to the impacts of teaching practice, learning outcomes, and courses,
which can be good or unintended negative. Because the number of English speakers is
rapidly increasing, worldwide examinations such as Ielts and its effects necessitate
careful academic consideration, including the difficulties of reliability and validity
mentioned above.
✓

A knowledge-based approach

A knowledge-based approach is one that adapts theories, information, and
traditions from a variety of fields and applies them to coaching engagements as and
when necessary. Learning is more relevant to real life when it is based on knowledge
11


that students already possess and knowledge that they will acquire. The first stage in
implementing knowledge-based learning is to ensure that you have a good
understanding of what pupils currently know. You can achieve this by chatting to
pupils, looking at their previous work, or having them explain what they know to you.
The final phase in knowledge-based learning is to assess how far pupils have
progressed. Teachers must be involved in comprehending the fundamental principles
that they have been teaching, as well as work with students to ensure that learning has
occurred. Knowledge-based learning necessitates evaluations. The finest assessments
allow students to demonstrate what they've learned, such as through presentations or
group work. Tests and exams can also be employed, but they should not be used to
evaluate students.
✓ Knowledge-based approaches in teaching and learning IELTS is
considered as following:
Under various social, economic, and political conditions, Brandt (2003)
proposed that a learning organization should have characteristics such as an
"institutional knowledge base and processes for creating new ideas," "system for
obtaining feedback on products and services," "ability to refine basic processes," and
an "open system sensitive to the external environment." "Two fundamental forms of
knowledge are tacit knowledge and explicit knowledge," according to Edvinson and
Malone (1997). The former is acquired through firsthand experience and is difficult to
convey orally or verbally, whereas the latter is acquired through formal education and

training as well as on-the-job experience. As a result, being able to monitor language
learning. The findings and conclusions of the study, as well as the study's final remarks,
are revealed in this chapter.
✓ Why to use Knowledge-based approach in teaching Ielts?
Only those who know how to make the best use of their skills will be able to
survive in the dynamic and even stormy successor market. The majority of Ielts courses
are offered by educational institutions. The use of the approach is, however, limited to
the classroom. Unlike typical teaching and learning for other professions, which rely on
one-way directional instruction, Ielts preparation necessitates a greater level of
12