Some test preparation may indeed be fluff, but solid communication strategies can be taught and are useful for responding to tests and, more importantly, for real-life communication. Communication strategies can include organization of responses, organizational markers, audience awareness, and the importance of stress and tone. Scores are inflated when examinees score better than their actual skills indicate. If the scoring rubric of a test focuses on important aspects of communication, there is no reason to think that an examinee will sound organized, cohesive, and fluent on a test but not in other real- life settings. Improving communication skills, which allows learners to score better, is an appropriate goal for test preparation.
Test preparation destroys spontaneous speech .
Spontaneity refers to responding from a natural feeling from within. Native speakers have access to written and subconscious templates for all varieties of communication, from letters and memos to introductions and speeches. A person communicating in a second language and culture should not be assumed to have knowledge of these templates. Keeping these templates hidden or requiring nonnative speakers to discover them on their own does not seem fair. The key here is understanding that communicative strategies and spontaneity are not mutually exclusive.