对雅思的认知变化：从雅思考生到雅思培训教师
Changes in Perceptions towards IETS: From Student Test Taker to IELTS Teacher

雅思考试衡量的语言能力水平与考生在未来学术研究中取得潜在成功之间的关联性已经在研究领域引起了极大的关注。现有的研究表明，雅思考试体现的语言能力水平与在大学教育当中潜在的学术成功之间存在积极的联系，尤其在阅读、听力和写作方面，具备很高的预测价值。但是雅思考生对于雅思的看法却鲜被提及。因此本研究旨在探索雅思考试者从雅思考生到雅思培训教师身份转变过程中对雅思考试发生的认知变化。四位参与研究的雅思教师现执教于中国大陆，且均在英国取得硕士学位。采访录音会转换成文本，用于分析。研究结果表明，第一次对雅思产生的认知变化发生在雅思考生参加完考试并获得成绩之后，且四位研究参与者对雅思产生了相对一致的整体印象，即认为雅思考试具备挑战性且有别于中国大陆的英语考试，第二次对雅思产生的认知变化发生在四位研究参与者的海外学习生活开始之后，对于雅思考试以及取得学术成功所需的语言能力(即学术英语)均产生了更为深入的思考，他们一致认为雅思考试有别于学术英语，且雅思阅读最有益于学术学习。未来的研究应该去探索雅思考生的语言能力在高等教育的学习当中是否得到了发展与提升，而英语能力的提升多大程度上会影响他们对于雅思考试所代表的语言能力与取得学术学习成功所需的语言能力之间差异性的理解。
The correlations between the language proficiency measured by IELTS and future potential success in academic studies have drawn great attention in the literature. Previous studies have shown that there is a positive association between the language proficiency measured by IELTS and potential academic success in tertiary education with high predicting value in terms of reading, listening, and writing. However, test-takers’ perceptions toward IELTS have been rarely addressed in this field. Therefore, this study set out to explore changes in perceptions towards IELTS from test-taker to IELTS teachers. Four teachers who currently teach IELTS courses in Mainland of China after earning their Master’s degree were interviewed, then the recorded interview was put into transcript for analysis. The findings show that the first perception change happened after they finished their first IELTS test-taking and got the results, and their impressions were relatively identical, they all agreed that IELTS was challenging and different from any English test they had in Mainland of China; the second perception change happened after they began their postgraduate studies. They all had deeper understandings of IELTS and the language proficiency required by academic success (academic English): the language proficiency measured by IELTS is different from that required by academic success, and IELTS Reading is most helpful to the future academic studies. Future research could be taken to investigate whether the language proficiency of test-takers has developed during their postgraduate studies and to what extent the improvement they made in the language proficiency will influence their perceptions of the gap between IELTS language proficiency and potential success in academic studies.