The next post in the Better Learning Conference series 2018 focuses on research by Niall Curry and Tony Clark. They discuss best practices for exam preparation.
Niall is a Lecturer at the Centre for Academic Writing at Coventry University and a co-editor of the Journal of Academic Writing. Niall previously held posts in industry research at Cambridge University Press, conducting research on language and language pedagogy to inform materials development.
Tony Clark is Senior Research Manager at Cambridge English Language Assessment, working on the IELTS exam and IELTS related projects. Tony has also worked on research projects about admissions testing, language acquisition and test development with Bristol University, Swansea University and Assessment Europe.
In this talk, Niall and Tony discuss research on exam preparation and how it usually aims to prepare students technically for specific language exams.
However, research on the psychological characteristics of learners and the role of concepts like emotions, beliefs and anxiety in exam preparation can offer distinct and valuable insights. This talk centres on IELTS exam takers in China, and demonstrates how equipping students technically may not help with issues of stress and anxiety. Based on a meta-analysis, it would appear that teachers and students would also benefit from knowledge of the more human side of test-taking and we offer some practical, research-informed recommendations for the exam classroom.
Watch the full recording of this talk from the Better Learning Conference 2018 here: