Mr.Rocco，他是一名资深雅思考官，对雅思考试的出题方法，考试技巧等有着非常深入的研究，除此之外，Mr.Rocco在课堂上还是一个风趣幽默，教学严谨的老师。Mr.Rocco拥有TESOL(Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages)证书，是国际公认的英语教师资格证书和英语教学行业职业资格权威证明。他曾在五个不同的国家任教，有着近20年的教学经验。这期我们一起来听听关于Mr.Rocco和雅思的故事，以下为Mr.Rocco的自述。

 

1

 

2007年来到中国的Mr.Rocco

"I was first introduced to the International English Testing System: IELTS when I first arrived in China in 2007. At that time I was hired to teach EAP: English for Academic Purposes in a joint education program for South China Normal University and RMIT: Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology."

“2007年，我第一次来到中国，第一次接触到国际英语考试体系：雅思。当时我受聘于华南师范大学和墨尔本皇家理工学院（RMIT University)的联合国际留学项目，负责教授EAP（学术英语）。”

 

"RMIT at that time had an offshore program known as REW: RMIT English Worldwide. Foreign students would attend a two year college preparatory program learning EAP and some basics of their major. The bulk of REW’s program was preparing these students to take IELTS with a target band of 5.5,this later was increased along with other Australian programs."

“当时墨尔本皇家理工学院有一个海外项目REW：墨尔本皇家理工学院全球英语部。留学生须参加为期两年的大学预科课程，学习EAP和一些专业基础知识。REW的大部分课程都是为这些学生准备雅思考试，目标分是5.5分，后来该联合办学项目和澳方其他项目均提高了雅思分数要求。”

 

"We had several cohorts who were assessed to their levels with REW’s version of IELTS bands marking criteria. Essentially, REW had changed enough of the IELTS content so they could use and market it as their own. Most of the features were the same, with only some minor changes in band scores, IELTS is from 0-9 while REW converted theirs to regular percentages the same way Pearon would later do for the GSE: or Global Standard of English as a redo of CEFRs: Common European Frameworks."

“我们有几批留学生均接受REW的雅思评分标准，以测试学生的英语是否达到他们认可的水平。从本质上来说，REW已经对雅思的内容做了很大修改，因此他们可以将其用作自己的内容来使用和推广。两个体系的大部分内容都大同小异，只是分数评定上有一些改变，雅思是从0-9分，而REW把他们的分数换成常规的百分比，就像Pearson后来推出GSE（全球英语水平测试标准）考试取代旧的CEFRs（欧洲共同语言参考标准）体系一样。”

 

"These cohorts or classes were broken down into beginner, upper beginner, intermediate, upper intermediate, and advanced with each module running between 9 and 16 weeks depending on the local calendar, enrollment, and pass and fail rates. Essentially a beginner would study at least one semester to a year before being asked to take official IELTS tests and if they hit their OA: over all band of 5.5 they could focus on their major studies."

“这几批学生被分为初级、初高级、中级、中高级和高级，根据大学的日程表、入学人数及通过率，每个级别的授课时间为9-16周。基本上，如果是初级者，至少要学习一个学期到一年的时间才能参加正式的雅思考试，如果他们达到了综合评分5.5以上，他们才可以开始专业课程的学习。”

 

 

2

 

为更多的考生提供帮助

 

"After a few years of teaching in China and with my academic qualifications I was able to become an IELTS Examiner and after three and a half years, 2000+ Cambridge standard interviews and marking more than 15,000 Task 1 and Task 2 essays I took a much needed break and returned to teaching EAP and IELTS Prep. Using my experience to give candidates the much needed help they require to get higher bands in a fast and effective way. "

“在中国教书几年后，凭借我的学术背景，我成为了一名雅思考官，在3年半时间里，我参与了2000多场标准雅思口语测试，为15000份Task1和Task2的雅思作文评分。我休整了一段时间后，后来重新开始教授EAP和雅思，利用我丰富的经验给更多的考生提供他们所需的帮助，使他们能够快速有效地获得更高的分数。”

 

"The most common question I often get is, 'How do I improve my English?' Honestly, I sometimes roll my eyes if I am serious mood and caught off guard by some stranger. Most of the time, I realize that many people are actually very serious with their request and that after many hard fought years are really struggling with this issue. They may have taken IELTS before many times with poor results. They may have tremendous pressure placed on them from their family, friends, teachers, and school. This is actually where I can help the most, with my vast experience of IELTS as an examiner but as a senior teacher. "

“然而我常常遇到学生问我这个问题是：‘如何提高自己的英语水平？’说实话，如果我心情不好，被陌生人突然问这个措手不及的问题，我有时会翻白眼。很多时候，我意识到大部分的人是真诚请教，他们经过多年英语学习摸索爬滚之后，真的在努力解决这个问题。他们可能以前多次参加雅思考试，成绩很差；他们可能受到来自家庭、朋友、老师和学校的巨大压力。这也是雅思考试中我能发挥自己用处的地方，作为一名资深教师，我拥有丰富的雅思应考经验，可以帮助他们。”

 

"The shortest answer is what I have called 'The Nike Method.' Yes, 'just do it.' "

“用最简短的话来回答这个问题，我称作‘耐克方式’，对的，‘just do it.’”

     

"I know it sounds flippant and sarcastic but really what I am saying is, 'practice'. I also mean that you have to practice the way a champion athlete would, with total and full commitment. IELTS is very unforgiving in the way it measures candidates/students ability. Too often students have been given wrong or false information about IELTS. "

“我知道这听起来轻率和讽刺，但实际上我说的是‘实践’。我的意思是你必须要像冠军运动员那样去练习，百分百的投入进去。雅思考试衡量考生的英语能力是非常严苛的。而考生却经常被告知有关雅思考试的错误信息。”

 

"This is also where I can help, I really see myself as a Coach for IELTS candidates. My role is to not only improve the students performance but to give them the much needed support and commitment that is often lacking in big classes and with inexperienced teachers. A good coach is tough and knows how to push you to achieve and when to give you a hug when you’re down. A coach will believe in you, even when you don’t believe in yourself. "

“这也是我可以帮助大家的地方，我真的认为自己是雅思考生的教练。我的职责不仅是训练考生的表现，而且给他们所需的支持和投入，这是大班教学中或不幸碰到缺乏经验的老师所无法做到的。一个好的教练是严格的，他知道如何督促你去实现目标，在你沮丧时给你一个拥抱，即使你不相信自己，教练也会充分信任你。”

 

"It’s really why I prefer being on the side of candidate rather opposed to them as an examiner. I became a teacher to help people, not ruin their confidence or even their fate by marking them down in an IELTS exam. I understand why Cambridge is the standard that most other language tests are based on because of it’s rigid and cold way of saying who is worthy or not. "

“这就是为什么我喜欢站在考生这边，而不是站在考官的角度去审视他们。成为一名教师是为了帮助更多人，而不是在雅思考试通过打分来毁掉学生的信心，甚至是未来的命运。我明白为什么雅思是大多数其他语言测试所遵循的标准，因为它直截了当、用僵硬冷漠的方式去评判谁好谁坏。”

 

 

3

 

口语测试的例子

 

"Now let me give you a few examples that can help you."

“现在让我举几个可以帮助大家的例子。”

 

"IELTS Speaking and Writing measures what you can do with your language or Lexical Resource (LR) and not just what you know. Poorly informed or naive candidates will take this to mean that memorizing and repeating a lot of vocabulary or key phrases is important. The problem arises when candidates are unable to use the vocabulary or phrases they have memorized flexibly or able to paraphrase when necessary. So often times their word formation is incorrect and this also affects their Grammar and sentence structure."

“雅思口语和写作测试你是否能灵活运用语言或词汇资源，而不仅仅是记住这些语言或词汇资源（Lexical Resource)。对雅思缺乏了解或者天真的考生会认为，这意味着记忆和重复大量的词汇或关键短语。当考生不能灵活地使用他们脑海里的词汇或短语，或者无法在必要情形下对句子进行释义时，问题就出现了。所以很多时候，很多考生学习单词方法是错误的，这也影响了他们的语法和句子结构。”

 

Example: 

Examiner asks, “Do you think exercise is an important way to keep healthy?

Candidate replies, “I am greatly convinced that prevention is better than a cure.”

 

"Granted, that is a great phrase but without further context the response seems unnatural, out of place, and with a mono-tone delivery with little word stress, like something a robot or android would say. The Examiner in Part 3 would ask a follow up question to see if the Candidate can justify or extend their response. This is done to check the validity of the Candidate’s ability to fully understand what they are saying and confirm rather or not that they are 'parroting' or using memorized answers. "

“的确，这是一个很棒的短语，但如果没有进一步的语境，这个回答就显得不自然，不合时宜，加上语气平平缺乏单词重音，就像机器人或安卓在说话。口语的第三部分考官会问一个后续问题，看看考生是否可以进一步证明或延伸之前的回答。这样做是为了检查考生是否真正具备能力完全理解自己所说的内容，并确认他们是否在‘鹦鹉学舌’或使用背诵的答案。”

 

Follow Up:

Examiner, “What do you mean by that?”

Candidate gets nervous, “Uhm, I mean that exercise is prevention is better than a cure for healthy.” 

 

"So without being able to flexibly adjust their vocabulary and word formation, their sentence structure becomes faulty. These types of responses are what causes Candidates to be marked down. The initial response would have been better served by using parts of the Examiner’s own question with a direct position, which allows for better control of the interview on the Candidates part and does not require memorizing a bunch of cliche and overused phrases that most Examiners in China are exhausted from hearing too often.  So let’s see a better way to do this…"

“因此，如果不能灵活地调整词汇和构词法，他们的句子结构就会出现问题。这些类型的答案是导致考生被打低分的原因。一开始的回答最好是直接用考官问题的部分内容再加上一个鲜明的立场，这样考生便能更好地主导口语考试，而不需要死记硬背那些大多数考官早就听厌烦的陈词滥调。让我们来看一个更好的方法来解决这问题...”

 

Better Example: 

Examiner asks, “Do you think exercise is an important way to keep healthy?

Candidate replies, “Do I think exercise is an important way to keep healthy? Yes, I do.  I think exercise can help us to stay healthier longer.”

Examiner follow up, “So how does that work?”

Candidate confidently says,”Exercise is a great and fun way to move our body. Most people would agree that those who don’t get enough exercise or movement tend to get sick more often. So I believe exercise is a natural cure for many diseases, like heart disease.”

 

"Notice that the vocabulary is not overly complex, but the structure of the response is much more cohesive and fluent. This response is more natural and reflects the scope and aim of the Examiner’s line of questioning. "

“请注意，词汇表达并不会太复杂，但这个回答的句子结构衔接和流畅度更好。这个回答更自然并涵盖了考官提问的范围和目的。”

 

"It’s only through direct conversation practice that Candidates can become comfortable with their range of Lexis or language and that is one of the key things Examiners are trained to mark for: a demonstration of a range of LR (Lexical Resource). So aside from all the technical and linguistic terminology, candidates who have the unique chance to practice with former Examiners do better by a full to 1.5+ band on their Speaking and Writing tests as they are given the correct information and coached to put it into practice through a series of fun learning activities and mock testing. If you are still uncertain I always welcome serious candidates to stop by and sit in on a class or take a mock test with us and find out what your real ability is versus your weakness. "

“只有通过直接的对话练习，考生才能更好地使用自己掌握的词汇和语言。这正是雅思考官接受官方培训，评判考生的关键部分：考生是否展示掌握了丰富的词汇资源（Lexical Resource)。所以，抛开这些技术和语言学术语不说，那些有机会和前雅思考官一起练习的考生，在口语和写作中表现得更优异，成绩会有1到1.5+的提升，因为他们得到了正确的指导，并通过一系列有趣的学习活动和模拟测试将其付诸实践。如果你仍然不确定，我非常欢迎联系我们，旁听我们的课程或参加模拟测试，找出你真正的能力和弱点。”

 

"Please be sure to add and follow us  for more IELTS related content and examples. "

“请确认添加并关注我们更多的雅思相关内容和例子。”

 

Mr. Rocco AKA  Dr. IELTS