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The Korean Association for the Study of English Language and Linguistics
[ Article ]
Korea Journal of English Language and Linguistics - Vol. 25, No. 0, pp.1719-1735
ISSN: 1598-1398 (Print) 2586-7474 (Online)
Print publication date 31 Jan 2025
Received 06 Nov 2025 Revised 20 Dec 2025 Accepted 22 Dec 2025
DOI: https://doi.org/10.15738/kjell.25..202512.1719

Long-Term Outcomes of High-Stakes English Test Preparation on Test-Taker Identity

Nahee Kim
Assistant Professor Yong Oreum College of General Education Yong In University jk52@yongin.ac.kr


© 2025 KASELL All rights reserved
This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons License, which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract

As the use of high-stakes English tests grows world widely, people have interest in how to attain good test results within a short time. However, little is known about the long-term outcomes of preparation on test-taker identity. This study aims to report a case of the long-term impacts of high-stakes English test preparation on adult learners, especially those who return to English study after leaving mainstream education. It focuses on how these test-takers prepare for the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) Academic exam to study abroad and how this process relates to their identity formation. Data consist of participants-interviews, documentation, field notes and research journal for six-months during the participants’ test preparation. The data analysis process followed Bryman’s (2004) qualitative analysis procedures. The study revealed a process of high-stakes outcomes involved in identity formation, showing how a potentially successful adult-learner becomes isolated and finally a dropout from test preparation: (1) life investment and professional identity; (2) English speaking and ashamed identity; (3) financial burden and unemployed identity; (4) student-alienation and test-score identity; (5) temptation and test preparation dropout. The findings suggest that test preparation may include not only acquiring methods for raising a score but also a process of forming test-taker identity. Also, students, instructors, policymakers, and other stakeholders should be informed of the long-term outcomes of high-stakes English test preparation, considering the issue of test-taker alienation.

Keywords:

high-stakes English test, test preparation, long-term outcomes, test-taker identity, IELTS

Acknowledgments

This article is based on data originally collected for the author’s doctoral dissertation.

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