Unpacking the challenges and accommodation strategies of Omani English-Major students on IELTS academic reading tests

Abstract

IELTS is used as a screening gatekeeper and plays a crucial role in Omani students to meet job requirements. This paper reports on Omani English-major undergraduate students’ reflections on their experience of the reading section of Academic IELTS. The main aim of the study was to elucidate their difficulties and coping strategies with a view to informing EFL/ESL teachers and IELTS examiners and researchers. An IELTS mock reading test, under exam conditions, was administered to 45 Omani students majoring in English, and the participants were asked to write a reflective essay in response to the following prompts: “What were the difficulties that you encountered in your IELTS Academic Reading test, and how did you handle those challenges?” Their answers touched upon their experience and challenges with the test (e.g. difficulties pertaining to cognition, content area knowledge, and the lack of familiarity with the test reading genres) as well as their strategies to address the challenges. The data were coded and analysed thematically and inductively. The findings showed that students reported a range of cognitive and metacognitive challenges and numerous coping strategies. This paper unravels some of the pedagogical implications and ideas that surfaced through the analysis of the students’ responses.

Keywords

• accommodation strategies
• challenges
• experiences
• English-major Omani students; IELTS Academic Reading tests

Kaynakça

1. Ahmadian, M., Poulaki, S. and Farahani, E. (2016). Reading strategies used by high scoring and low scoring IELTS candidates: A think-aloud study. Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 6(2), 408-4016.Doi: 10.1570ltpls.0602.25
2. Alderson, J.C. (2000). Assessing reading. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. Doi: 10.1017/ cbo9780511732935
3. Alghail, A.A.A. (2016). Academic reading difficulties encountered by international graduate students in a Malaysian university. Issues in Educational Research, 26(3), 369-386.
4. Al-Issa, A., Al-Bulushi, A. and Al-Zadjali, R. (2017). Perceptions of the selection criteria of Omani English language teachers: Implications for policy reconsideration. Journal of Language and Linguistic Studies, 13(2), 235-259.
5. Al-Issa, A., Al-Bulushi, A.H., & Al-Zadjali, R. (2016). Arab English Language Teaching Candidates Climbing the IELTS Mountain: A Qualitatively Driven Hermeneutic Phenomenology Study. The Qualitative Report, 21(5), 848-863. Retrieved from https://nsuworks.nova.edu/tqr/vol21/iss5/4
6. Al-Issa, A. (2020). The language planning situation in the Sultanate of Oman, Current Issues in Language Planning, 1-68. Doi: 10.1080/14664208.2020.1764729
7. Al-Mahrooqi, R. and Denman, C. (2016). Establishing a Reading Culture in Arabic and English in Oman. Arab World English Journal (AWEJ), 7(1), 5-17.
8. Alshammari, M.M. (2016). IELTS Academic Reading module test: Validity and Reliability. British Journal of English Linguistics, 4(2), 26-37.

9. Cambridge English IELTS 8. (2011). Cambridge English IELTS 8: Authentic examination papers from Cambridge ESOL. Cambridge: CUP.
10. Chalmers, J. and Walkinshaw, I. (2014). Reading strategies in IELTS tests: Prevalence and impact on outcomes. English Australia Journal, 30(1)24-39.
11. Charge, N. and Taylor, L.B. (1997). Recent developments in IELTS. ELT Journal, 51(4), 374-380.
12. Chowdhury, S. (2009). Gaining proficiency in the reading module in IELTS: A study on the efforts of Bangladeshi students. The Dhaka University Journal of Linguistics, 2(3), 125-140.
13. Çiftlikli, S. (2018). The relationship between perceptual learning styles and language learners’ success in reading tests. folklor/edebiyat, (4),173-190. Doi: 10.22559/folklor.310
14. Feng, Q. and Chen, L. (2016). A study on teaching methods of reading comprehension strategies by comparison between TEM-4 reading comprehension and IELTS Academic Reading comprehension. Journal of Language Teaching and Research, 7(6), 1174-1180. Doi:10.175507/jltr.0706.15
15. Grabe, W. (2009). Reading in the second language: Moving from theory to practice.
16. Green, A. (2019). Restoring the perspective on the IELTS test. ELT Journal, 73(2), 207-2015.
17. Green, A. (2007). Washback to learning outcomes: a comparative study of IELTS preparation and university pre-sessional language courses. Assessment in Education, 14(1), 75-97. Doi: 10.1080/09695940701272880.l
18. Guntur, L.M.F., and Pordanjani, S.R. (2019). Exploring the challenges of reading comprehension teaching for English proficiency test preparation class in Indonesia. ESL Journal on Interdisciplinary Studies on Humanities, 2(3), 321-330.
19. Hashemi, A. & Daneshfar, S. (2018). A review of the IELTS test: Focus on validity, reliability, and washback. IJELTAL (Indonesian Journal of English Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics), 3(1), 39-52.
20. Hellekjær, G.O. (2009). Academic English reading proficiency at the university level: A Norwegian case study. Reading in a Foreign Language Journal, 21(2), 198–222.
21. Hughes, A. (2003). Testing for language teachers. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
22. IELTS Handbook. (2007). Prepare for IELTS skills and strategies: Book two; Reading and Writing. Sydney: INSEARCH University of Technology Sydney.
23. Issitt, S. (2008). Improving scores on the IELTS speaking test. ELT Journal, 62(2), 131-138. Doi:10.1093/elt/ccl055
24. Kendeou, P.M., Krista, R. and Fulton, S. (2011). Reader and text factors in reading comprehension processes. Journal of Research in Reading, 34(4). Doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9817.2010.01436.x
25. Koda, K. (2007). Reading and language learning: Cross-linguistic constraints on second language reading development. Language Learning, 57(1), 1-44.
26. Kovalenko, M. (2018). The validation process in the IELTS reading component: Reading requirements for preparing international students. Journal of Language and Education, 4(1), 63-87. Doi: 10.17323/2411-7390-2018-4-1-63-78
27. Li, Y. (2018). A comparison of TOEFL iBT and IELTS reading tests. Open Journal of Social Sciences, (6), 283-309. Doi: 10.4236/jss.2018.68023
28. Lougheed, L. (2016). Barron’s IELTS the leader in test preparation. USA: Barron’s Educational Series:
29. Marzban, A., and Barati, Z. (2016). On the relation between critical thinking, languages learning strategies, and reading comprehension of male and female intermediate EFL university students. Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 6(6), 1241-1247.Doi:1016/j/tpls.0606.14.
30. Meneghetti, C., Carretti, B. and De Beni, R. (2006). Components of reading comprehension and scholastic achievement. Learning and Individual Differences Journal, 16(4), 291-301. Doi: 10.1016/j.lindif.2006.11.001
31. Mirzaei, A., Vincheh, H.M. and Hashemian, M. (2020). Retrofitting the IELTS reading section with a general cognitive diagnostic model in an Iranian EAP context. Studies in Educational Evaluation, (64), 1-10. Doi:org/10.1016/j.stuedu.2019.100817
32. Pearson, W.S. (2019). Critical perspectives on the IELTS test. ELT Journal, 73(2), 197-206.
33. Phakiti, A. and Li, L. (2011). General academic difficulties and reading and writing difficulties among Asian ESL Postgraduate Students in TESOL at an Australian University. RELC Journal 42(3) 227 –264. Doi: 10.1177/0033688211421417
34. Schoepp, K. and Garinger, D. (2016). IELTS and academic success in higher education: A UAE perspective. International Journal of Applied Linguistics & English Literature, 5(3), 145-151. Doi:org/10.7575/ijalel.v.5n.3p.145
35. Suacilli, C.I.M., Um, S.E., Velasuez, J.M., Villaflores, H.N.R., Ceuena, M.B. (2016). Critical reading strategies, reading comprehension and writing performance of ESL college students: A correlational study. International Journal of Advanced Research, 4(9), 610-623.Doi: 10.21474/IJAR01/1526
36. Templer, B. (2004). High-stakes testing at high fees: Notes and queries on the international English proficiency assessment market. Journal of Critical Educational Policy Studies, 2(1), 189-226.
37. Uysal, H.H. (2009). A critical review of the IELTS writing test. ELT Journal, 64(3), 114-330.
38. Wahyono, E. (2019). Correlation between students’ cognitive reading strategies and reading comprehension. Jurnal Studi Guru dan Pembelajaran, 2(2), 256-263.Doi. org/10.30605/jsgp.2.3.2019.61
39. Yang, Y. and Badger, R. (2015). How IELTS preparation courses support students: IELTS and academic socialisation. Journal of Further and Higher Education, 39(4), 438-465. Doi: 10.1080/0309877X.2014.953463
40. Ying, Z. (2011). IELTS preparation courses in China: The reading comprehension task. Kristianstad University, Sweden.
41. Zhengdong, G. (2009). IELTS preparation course and student IELTS performance: A case study in Hong Kong. Regional Language Centre Journal, 40(1), 23-41.Doi: 10.1177/0033688208101449