IELTS through test takers’ eyes
Insights into academic impact and Global Englishes integration
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 22299556 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Yusop Boonsuk (0000-0002-3923-6163, Prince of Songkla University), F Fang (0000-0002-4210-9042, Education University of Hong Kong) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Publication date | 2026-05-05 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | ITL - International Journal of Applied Linguistics (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0019-0829 • E-ISSN: 1783-1490 |
| Publisher | John Benjamins Publishing Company (PUBLISHER • NL) |
| DOI | 10.1075/itl.25003.boo |
| OpenAlex | W7160304652 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 58 |
The global spread of English has led to its status as a lingua franca, facilitating communication across diverse linguistic and cultural boundaries. With the enhancement of English as a medium of instruction (EMI) in higher education, English proficiency is a requirement for students aspiring to study abroad. This paper examines test takers’ perceptions of the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) from a Global Englishes (GE) perspective with a focus on Chinese and Thai students. Through a questionnaire and interviews, the findings revealed that while test takers value the IELTS for its global recognition and role in facilitating international education, they also raised concerns about its alignment with the diverse linguistic realities they encounter in EMI environments. Participants highlighted the need for more inclusive assessment practices that recognize the plurality of English. These insights suggest that incorporating GE elements into the IELTS could enhance its relevance and fairness in order to prepare students for real-world communication challenges; however, such incorporation requires better understanding of the future needs of language assessment. The findings offer practical implications for the development of more inclusive, GE-informed language assessments that align more closely with the communicative demands of EMI environments and better support students’ academic and social integration during study abroad
Language assessment · Language proficiency · Lingua franca · Perception · Perspective (graphical) · Relevance (law) · Test (biology) · World Englishes · EFL/ESL Teaching and Learning · Multilingual Education and Policy · Second Language Learning and Teaching
Understanding Language Teaching
Qualitative Content Analysis in Practice
Literacy as Translingual Practice
Language Testing and Validation
Principles and Practices of Teaching English as an International Language
Global Englishes for Language Teaching
Translanguaging
Questionnaires in Second Language Research
Repositioning English and multilingualism in English as a Lingua Franca
Language education policy and multilingual assessment
Developing students’ awareness of Global Englishes
The predictive validity of the Academic IELTS test
‘Walking out from the flat’
Re-envisaging English medium instruction, intercultural citizenship development, and higher education in the context of studying abroad
“IELTS-out/Toefl-out”
Thai study abroad students as intercultural citizens
Global Englishes as a complement to traditional instruction
The statistics of English in China
The craze for English-medium education in China
Examining the effects of different English speech varieties on an L2 academic listening comprehension test at the item level
Global Englishes and language teaching
From intercultural to transcultural communication
English is important, but perfect English is not”
Chinese students' multilingual identity constructions after studying abroad
English Medium Instruction (EMI) lecturer support needs in Japan and China
Are students prepared and supported for English medium instruction in Chinese higher education to promote educational equality
Additional languages learning and use in a multilingual study abroad context
From mythical ‘standard’ to standard reality
Treating Cronbach’s Alpha Reliability Coefficients as Data in Counseling Research
Translanguaging as a Practical Theory of Language
Policies of global English tests
International Students' Lived Experiences with Intercultural Competence in a Southwest Florida University
English in Southeast Asia
Whose Norms? International Proficiency Tests in English
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |