IELTS Writing Preparation Course Expectations and Outcome: A Comparative Study of Iranian Students and Their Teachers’ Perspectives

Abstract

The writing module of the IELTS has proven to be a challenging section for test takers. Part of this difficulty may stem from the divergence between what test takers expect to learn in such courses and what is delivered by instructors. To address this issue, a 24-item questionnaire (Student Questionnaire A) relating to IELTS writing preparation course expectations was distributed among 64 Iranian students attending such classes at course entry. A slightly modified version of the same questionnaire (Student Questionnaire B) was given to the students at course exit to measure their after-the-course perceptions. Moreover, a third questionnaire (Teacher Questionnaire) was administered to seven teachers instructing the very classes at course exit, allowing the researchers to compare the students and the teachers’ perceptions of the course content and outcome at the course exist. Interviews were also conducted with the seven instructors at the end of the course to further explain any possible divergence in the learners and teacher’ perceptions. The results showed little change in the students’ expectations at course entry and their retrospective perceptions at course exit. Furthermore, the teachers’ perceptions (of the course content and outcome) did not indicate much difference compared with those of the students at course exit. Despite the similarities, the instructors enumerated some factors as the possible causes of such divergence in perceptions of the course content and outcome.