University of Sydney: Human Trafficking Criminal wwww.ielts.agency 44
The IELTS Research Report series is funded, stage-managed, edited, published and disseminated
by IELTS’s head office. This research series is another example of how IELTS purchase the loyalty
of potential critics. Academics who receive an IELTS grant may be permitted to use this cash to
fund release from their classroom teaching duties. It is common knowledge among academics
that many of their colleagues prefer to use their research grants to fund release from teaching
duties, attend overseas conferences and pay for associated costs such as hotels.
This sycophantic business-academic structure likely explains why case studies published by the
IELTS Research Report series focus on narrow aspects of the IELTS exam. Most of these studies
read as interesting trivia concerning topical aspects of the IELTS exam. They do not offer an
impartial, deep global critique. For example, I cite a recent IELTS Research Report study authored
by David Allen (2017) to illustrate the typical narrow focus of the IELTS Research Report series.
The title of this paper is “Investigating Japanese undergraduates’ English language proficiency
with IELTS: Predicting factors and washback” (Allen, 2017).
This report aims to fill this critical gap in the existing research. The author of this research report
is independent, self-reflexive and self-funded. He has never received payment, resourcing or
technical support from IELTS’s competitors or other parties.