Research project

Voices from Chinese IELTS Retaking Test-takers

Project overview

This study investigated two IELTS retake options—full-test retakes and one-skill retakes (OSR)—with a particular focus on the speaking test. Data from OSR-speaking retakes (n = 892) and full-test retakes (n = 352) were analysed to examine score changes across multiple attempts. The study also explored test instructors' perceptions of test preparation, alongside repeat test-takers' experiences and strategies for test-taking and preparation.

Staff

Lead researchers

Dr Ying Zheng PhD

Associate Professor

Research interests

  • Psychometrics and test validation; Human scoring vs. machine scoring; Statistics in applied linguistics; Comparative Judgement in language testing
  • Mandarin exams in the UK school system, including A-Level and GCSE exams; Mandarin Chinese teachers’ professional development
  • Learner motivation and language teaching pedagogy; ESL/EFL learner characteristics and test performance
Connect with Ying

Research outputs