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Abstract
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There’s no disguising the fact that the ever-increasing use of speaking tests to make high-stake recruitment and educational decisions is an ongoing social reality alongside a more current phenomenon namely immigration. With the purpose of obtaining submission to schools, colleges, and universities overseas as well as to job opportunities in other countries and advancement in workplace environment many test-takers, ranging from elementary levels to adult education study for these examinations. As Kim argues, recently, English speaking tests have been used to evaluate applicants’ speaking proficiency in work place settings as well as in academic contexts, through commercial tests such as the International English Language Testing System (IELTS), the TOEFL Internet-based Test (iBT), the Test of English for International Communication Speaking (TOEIC Speaking) and the Oral Proficiency Interview-computer (OPIc) (2016). Among the most all the above-mentioned tests worldwide, the International English language Testing System (IELTS) is particularly popular with Iranian students. This very issue has led to the emergence of an increasing number of test preparation schools. It’s not difficult to notice long lines of potential test-takers at language institutes, cram schools, private tutors to sign up for test preparation courses ranging from pre-IELTS, IELTS and post-IELTS courses in well-known institutions with expensive teachers. The more applicants flock to the institutes, the more intense the competition between the institutes become; More and more institutes in Iran claim to deliver high scores and success in the shortest time possible than ever before. In the meantime, nobody really knows how the applicants are taught. What needs to be focused on is whether the approaches and methods adopted by these institutes create any pressure on students and teacher to raise scores. Moreover, it’s maintained that frequent tension negatively influences both teaching and learning pr
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