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Invigilators alert
March 27, 2006, 12:14
jerry thomasInvigilators alert
When you were much younger, and the adults inquired as to your career goals, if you said, "I wanna be an
invigilator, here's your opportunity.
March 27, 2006, 13:35
Richard EnglishWell, I already am, and my team and I will have invigilated around 9000 candidates between August 2005 and September 2006.
But I wouldn't say it's a major career aspiration - just a contract I bid for and won.
Richard English
March 27, 2006, 13:55
<Asa Lovejoy>I've never heard the word! Sounds as if one keeps a vigil, but the context sounds as if one who invigilates is a proctologist - er, I mean proctor.
March 27, 2006, 15:17
Erik JohansenWell, if I was any good at photoshop- I'm not!- I would have combined Richard's picture with the one of Arnie's the other one,not ours!-cover of 'The Terminator' video. I can see Richard clutching a Desert Eagle automatic- he shot at Bisley, remember- as 'The Invigilator'!
March 27, 2006, 20:40
KallehThe only time I've heard the word is in emails from Richard where he talks about his
invigilating.
March 27, 2006, 23:18
Richard EnglishThe only meaning I have ever heard for the term is "...Someone who watches examination candidates to prevent cheating..."
What other meaning does it have in the USA?
Richard English
March 28, 2006, 01:35
BobHaleIt's a common enough term here defined as Richard defines it above.
"No man but a blockhead ever wrote except for money." Samuel Johnson.
March 28, 2006, 02:27
CaterwaullerI don't think it has any other meanings, RE. Just "to keep watch" or "monitor" or "supervise".
It just sounds like "The Terminator" . . . which brings up vivid images for most Americans.
Invigilator is not a word we use here.
*******
"Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own actions.
~Dalai Lama
March 28, 2006, 13:48
Richard Englishquote:
It just sounds like "The Terminator"
But it sounds like many other nouns ending in "...ator" as well - so what's so funny about invigilator? Many verbs can be turned into a noun by the simple device of using the "...ator" ending.
Excavate; ruminate; flagellate; correlate...
Richard English
March 28, 2006, 20:13
shufitzquote:
It just sounds like "The Terminator"
I think that's because the sound of in
vigilater brings to mind
vigilant and
vigilante.
March 28, 2006, 20:30
KallehI was thinking more of in
vigorate.
Richard, we would call those people
proctors, but that isn't a job in itself. In academia often a faculty member or even a receptionist or secretary can proctor the exams. However, during a licensure exam or other high-stakes exam, the proctors may be trained as such. I am not certain, though I could find out.
March 30, 2006, 08:54
Richard EnglishInvigilation is a serious issue here and likely to become more so as awarding bodies are using examinations more and more, and course work assessment less and less. Thus invigilators (proctors is a synonym but not used much in England) have to be competent and there are recognised training courses for them
Richard English
March 30, 2006, 18:37
KallehSo there's no difference between invigilator and proctor?
March 31, 2006, 04:56
Richard EnglishAccording to Wordweb:
Proctor:
Someone who supervises (an examination.
Invigilator:
Someone who watches examination candidates to prevent cheating.
There is maybe an implication that the duties of a proctor could be wider than those of an invigilator, but my invigilators are responsible for the entire conduct of the examination on the day, and I would consider their duties to be the same as a proctor's.
I would regard the two terms as meaning the same.
Richard English
March 31, 2006, 14:25
jerry thomas Dictionary.com says nothing about the pronunciaton of
invigilator, which is a brand-new addition to my vocabulary.
Is it
in-VIGIL-ator, emphasizing the practioner's watchfulness, or is it
in-VIGGLE-ator, suggesting his observation of body language symptomatic of the examinees' restlessness?
March 31, 2006, 23:27
Richard EnglishIt's inVIGilator. I suspect its root is "vigil", one meaning of which is "A purposeful surveillance to guard or observe".
It's a very common word in UK English amongst the academic fraternity.
Richard English