TESTING ORAL ABILITY

Paola Enríquez D.

3.17.14

ORAL ABILITY

Interact successfully

Comprehension

Production

PROBLEM IN TESTING ORAL ABILITY

Representative sample of oral tasks

Elicit behavior which truly represents the candidate’s ability

Score validly and reliably

REPRESENTATIVE TASKS

Specify all possible content

Functions•Expressing, directing, describing, eliciting, narration, reporting

Skills• Informational,

interactional, in managing interactions

Types of text

Addressees

Topics

Dialect, Accent, Style

Include a representative sample of the specified

content

Content validity

People will be better at some tasks than at

others

ELICIT A VALID SAMPLE OF ORAL ABILITY

Choose the appropriate techniques

Formats

Interview

Interaction with fellow

candidates

Responses to

audio/video recorded

stimuli

Format 1 - Interview

Traditional form

Relationship tester-candidate

One style of speech is elicited

Questions and requests for information

Try Avoid

Requests for

elaboration

Appearing not to

understand

Invitation to ask

questions

Interruption &

abrupt changes of

topic

Yes/No questions

Pictures

Elicit descriptions

Role play

Elicit other language functions

Does it really elicit natural language?

Interpreting

Test production and comprehension

What do you think? Is it always feasible?

Prepared monologue

Should be used only when the candidate needs the ability to make prepared presentations

Reading aloud

Should be used only when the reading ability is a course objective

Format 2 – Interaction with fellow candidates

- Elicit language appropriate to exchanges between equals- Better performance- More confidence

The performance of one candidate is likely to be affected by that of the others- Avoid more than

groups of two people

- Pairs should be carefully matched

Discussion

Role play

Format 3 – Responses to audio/video recordings

- Uniformity of elicitation- Everybody receives the same information

Inflexible

Described situations

Remarks in isolation to respond to

Simulated conversat

ion

You are walking through town one day and you meet two friends who you were sure had gone to live in the USA. What do you say?

The candidate hears, ‘I’m afraid I haven’t managed to fix that cassette player of your yet. Sorry’.

The candidate is given information about a play which they are supposed to want to see, but not by themselves. The candidate is told to talk to a friend, Ann, on the telephone, and ask her to go to the theatre. The candidate hears a what Ann would say in the conversation.

Plan & structure the testing carefullyTime of the

test: as long as feasible

Have a pattern to

follow

Give as many “fresh starts” as possible

Avoid reminding candidates they

are in a test

Use second tester for interviews

Set tasks & topics that cause no

difficulty in the candidates’ first

language

Carry out the test in a

quiet room

Put the candidates at their ease so that the can show what they are capable of

Collect enough relevant

information

ENSURE VALID AND RELIABLE SCORING

Create appropriate scales for scoring

Calibrate the scale to be

used

Trains scorers

Follow acceptable

scoring procedures

http://www.slideshare.net/rect/how-to-test-oral-production

American Foreign Service Institute

References

Hughes, Arthur. Testing for Language Teachers.