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Testing
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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.