Mainland Chinese students taking IELTS English test make greater gains than Hong Kong candidates over past decade
- Mainland test takers had an overall mean score of 6.1 on 9-band scale, ranking 15th in Asia
- Veteran English teacher attributes progress to students’ diligence and China opening up to world
But the English level of Hong Kong’s test takers was still better than that of the mainland’s. The mean score for candidates from the city last year stood at 6.7 on a 9-band scale, while those from the mainland received 6.1.
A veteran English teacher, who has taught mainland students, and a human resources expert both attributed the progress to the candidates’ diligence in preparing for the test and China opening up to the world.
The IELTS, a standardised test to assess English language proficiency, recently announced the results of last year’s test takers from 39 nationalities who are non-native speakers.
Candidates are rated on a 9-band scale, with 1 indicating a “non-user” of the language, 6 a “competent user” and 9 an “expert user”.
The test comprises four sections – reading, listening, writing and speaking – each of which is graded separately.
Hong Kong candidates’ English proficiency ranked third in Asia last year, behind test takers from Malaysia and the Philippines, according to the latest report. They performed best in listening with a mean score of 7.1.
