Washback of IELTS on the Assumption College English Program

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Volume one, Issue two

July 2011

Washback of IELTS on the Assumption College English Program SUCHADA SANONGUTHAI Assumption College Thonburi, Thailand Bio Data: Suchada Sanonguthai, is the head of the English Program Academic Department at Assumption College Thonburi. In 2005, she was selected to represent Thailand in the AFS (American Field Service) Visiting Teacher Program at Montpelier High School in Montpelier, Vermont. Abstract This paper reports and discusses how the IELTS test has brought its impact to Assumption College Thonburi English Program (ACTEP)’s exit testing, English courses offered and foreign teachers’ teaching. Two different methods of data collection apply; an interview with the ACTEP Academic Head and questionnaire for Grades 10-11 students and foreign teachers. It has been found that in order to assure Grade 12 performance on the IELTS test, other well-known achievement tests have been put into the ACTEP academic policy. IELTS preparatory courses have been listed into the Grades 10- 12 ACTEP curriculum. The findings show that the foreign teachers, both Native-English speakers and Non-Native English speakers teaching staff in the ACTEP, need more insights to the IELTS test format. It is also well worth recommending that students need to practice more during their high school years as their Grade 11exit test, the CU-TEP test, cannot reflect all strategies needed in the IELTS test. Keywords: IELTS, English Program, exit testing, ESOL, CU-TEP Introduction Assumption College Thonburi (ACT), a private school officially established in 1961, has been serving 5,208 students altogether from Grades 1-12 with a variety of academic programs. In the academic year 20101 there are 294 Thai                                                              1

Thailand’s academic year starts in the middle of May and ends in early March of the following year.

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Language Testing in Asia  

Volume one, Issue two

July 2011

teachers and 60 foreign teachers working for ACT. The two main programs at ACT are as follows: Program 1: Bilingual Program which offers three core subjects including English, Science and Mathematics; partly taught in English by foreign teachers and partly taught in Thai by Thai teachers. Program 2: English Program which offers English, Mathematics, Science, Music, Basic Vocational, Physical Education and Health Education taught in English by foreign teachers, accompanied by Thai teachers. Assumption College Thonburi English Program (ACTEP) was established in the academic year 2006, starting with Grade 1, Grade 4 and Grade 7. In the academic year 2009 ACTEP Grade 10 was begun for Grade 9 students of that year. Currently in the academic year 2010, Grades 1- 11 are being operated, and ACTEP will have its completion of Grade 12 in May 2011. English is used as the medium of teaching in the six subject groups; namely, Mathematics, English, Science, Health and Physical Education, Career and Technology and Music based on the Ministry of Education Curriculum 2554 B.E. Numbers of Classes, S

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