IELTS and Cambridge exams - Computer-based or Paper-based?
Is the computer-based format better for IELTS and Cambridge exams? All teachers who have worked in the field of English exam preparation know this scenario. Your student comes back from their exam looking a bit glum and you ask them what went wrong. They complain that they couldn’t concentrate because people were coughing and sneezing or there was building work going on outside. Moreover, typically, they say the sound system at the venue was poor quality and they couldn’t hear the audio recordings properly. Furthermore, the tables weren’t close enough together so it was almost impossible to cheat. Well, ok, I made up that last one! When students complain about exam conditions I usually reassure them that it probably won’t have had a big effect on their overall performance, and maybe I privately think they are getting their excuses in early. However, at the back of my mind I do feel a lot of sympathy as regards the quality of the audio. It really c...