So I’m booked for next weekend’s IELTS examiner training (speaking). Thus the need for the suit.
I’ve been told by friends who passed the training that it’s quite tough, but they all passed first time. They said that the best tip they could offer was to go in as a blank slate, with no preconceptions of what I’m expected to do. ALso, they said, I shouldn’t think that I know how to ‘listen’ and grade accordingly, just because I’ve taught for eight years - the BC will train me according to their requirements.
Are any of y’all IELTS examiners? Any tips how to prepare myself (mentally) for the pre-training interview and the training days?
My understanding was that there is an IELTS examining club or clique which gets all the examining work. Other qualified people (I don’t mean me, I’m not an examiner) who’ve been here for some time are rarely called upon to help.
Apparently the qualification is worth having mainly to get IELTS classes.
Clique or club? There is a pool of examiners that do the tests, usually two or three times a month. I’ve been testing at BC for 7 years or so, and there are examiners who have been there even longer. There are busy times, like between jan and june, when the students are applying for unis overseas. As for the training, go in with an open mind, and just try and get into “the IELTS mindset” when it comes to grading the writing and speaking. In other words, dont question every score cos you’ll be there all day.
I’ve been told I have to do one weekend of examining per month to stay on the BC roll. Suits me fine.[/quote]
That sounds about right…and if you don’t do any examining for three months straight, you have to go into the BC and complete a self-standardisation and cannot examine again until you have completed it, so it’s worth your while to keep active.
It’s good extra money as well. I examined in Kaohsiung during my last few years in Taiwan and was called in two weekends a month on both Saturdays and Sundays (Sundays to do all of the writing) because there was a severe examiner shortage. In fact, there were a number of times when examiners were flown in from Taipei to help out because there weren’t enough of us in the south! It was a great supplement to my income to examine so much (even though it was tortuous at times, lol).
On a side note, IELTS examining experience is an awesome resume builder and will help a great deal if/when you move on from Taiwan. I ended up getting a pretty cushy university teaching job in the UAE and I don’t think I would have gotten it had it not been for my IELTS examining experience. I had the qualifications (Master’s in Applied Linguistics), but I had just gotten my Master’s and had no prior university teaching experience nor significant experience teaching in the Gulf, all of which were prerequisites for the job I have now.
when you take the training, don’t let the fact that you get half the sample questions wrong get you down. happens to most people who certify, well me anyway. and if you’re unsure about a test candidate, play ir safe when you grade them. You’ll see what I mean when you do the training.
[quote=“smithsgj”]My understanding was that there is an IELTS examining club or clique which gets all the examining work. Other qualified people (I don’t mean me, I’m not an examiner) who’ve been here for some time are rarely called upon to help.
Apparently the qualification is worth having mainly to get IELTS classes.[/quote]
never seemed like a clique. In fact, it seemed like they were always in need of new examiners, at the BC at least.
That’s cool. You’ll find there are times when you are testing less, like from Aug - Dec. Around now is the busiest period. I have done around 4 or 5 sessions this month. Still, it’s a nice little earner on the side.
I’ve been told I have to do one weekend of examining per month to stay on the BC roll. Suits me fine.[/quote]
That sounds about right…and if you don’t do any examining for three months straight, you have to go into the BC and complete a self-standardisation and cannot examine again until you have completed it, so it’s worth your while to keep active.
It’s good extra money as well. I examined in Kaohsiung during my last few years in Taiwan and was called in two weekends a month on both Saturdays and Sundays (Sundays to do all of the writing) because there was a severe examiner shortage. In fact, there were a number of times when examiners were flown in from Taipei to help out because there weren’t enough of us in the south! It was a great supplement to my income to examine so much (even though it was tortuous at times, lol).
On a side note, IELTS examining experience is an awesome resume builder and will help a great deal if/when you move on from Taiwan. I ended up getting a pretty cushy university teaching job in the UAE and I don’t think I would have gotten it had it not been for my IELTS examining experience. I had the qualifications (Master’s in Applied Linguistics), but I had just gotten my Master’s and had no prior university teaching experience nor significant experience teaching in the Gulf, all of which were prerequisites for the job I have now.[/quote]
Hi guys,
Sorry to bring this old thread back. I’m just curious (if I may be so bold in asking) how much IELTS examiners are paid for the work they do? I’ve heard payment is issued per corrected/assessed work. Can you share? Does compensation vary between certain types of examiners (i.e. speaking section examiners vs. written section examiners)?
I’m also planning to get into this work later this year. Thanks for any feedback!
