To be successful in Cambridge Speaking Test

1. UNIVERSIDAD TECNICA DE
AMBATO
TEFL MASTER’S PROGRAM
TESTING SPEAKING
BY SANDRA AMAGUAYA

2. TO BE SUCCESSFUL IN CAMBRIDGE SPEAKING
TEST…
 TAKE INTO ACCOUNT THE FOLLOWING…

3. SPEAKING : DIFFICULT TO
SCORE!
- It is quite subjective.
- Not strong candidate’s confidence.
- Nerves!!! Candidates need to take care about it!
- Anxiety
- Pronunciation
- Difficult to see it fair.

4. WHAT FEATURES OF SPEAKING THEY TEST
Simple reproduction of language.
When test takers just listen and repeat what they
have listened. Or read aloud what they see in the
screen.
Monologue speech.
Find out and describe the differences between
two pictures on test takers own.
Monologue speech.
Discussing a topic in a pair or a group.
Go beyond just reproducing language but
interacting among test takers.
More challenging!

5. SPEAKING
SUBSKILLS
Generate ideas.
Non-verbal ideas
Conceptualization of ideas.
Ideas converted into language through:
Grammar and vocabulary.
Ideas converted into sounds: Articulation
Self-monitoring of ideas
To tell a story you need to:
All of them must be produced flexible and spontanous
In other words: automatically!

6. TYPES OF TASKS
TALK ABOUT A TOPIC
Monologue
DESCRIBE/COMPARE
PHOTOGRAPHS
Monologue
TELL/SUMMARIZE A
STORY
Monologue
QUESTION & ANSWER
Interaction
DISCUSSION
Interaction
INFORMATION GAP
ACTIVITIES
Interaction
ROLE PLAYS
Interaction
Talk about yourself
or your hobbies

7. SPEAKING TASKS
ADVANTAGES
- Offer more interaction.
- More brainstorming.
- Communicative
- Test takers are familiarized with this task
because it is very common in classroom
and it is quite similar to real life speaking.
LIMITATIONS
- One candidate might be monopolizing the
conversation.
- He or she might dominate the
conversation.
- One candidate might talk too shy.
- Partners may depend on each other.
- Language ability could affect interaction.

8. TASK DIFFICULTY: TOPIC & TYPE OF INFORMATION
- Pair interaction task.
- Concrete task in a familiar context.
- B1 level task.
- Personal, familiar, concrete.
EASIER
- Pair interaction task.
- Needs more complex grammar and vocabulary
knowledge.
- Test taker needs to present an argument.
- Task is more abstract.
- Open-ended.
- C1 level topic. Giving opinions.
- Non-personal, unfamiliar, abstract.
MORE DIFFICULT

9. TASK DIFFICULTY: SPEECH FUNCTIONS
- INFORMATIONAL FUNCTIONS: expressing
opinions and comparing.
EASIER
- INTERACTIONAL FUNCTION : agreeing,
asking for opinion, Persuading.
- INTERACTIONAL MANAGEMENT FUNCTION:
starting to speak, interrupting
MORE DIFFICULT

10. OTHER FACTORS WHICH AFFECTS TASK
FAIRNESS
CLEARNESS
 The task must be clear. Ex. “Talk about” is
less clear that “talk together” or “talk on
your own”
 The purpose of the task must be clear. Test
takers need to know if they have to describe
or compare something, to tell a story, or to
answer a question, etc.
TIMING AND MARKING CRITERIA
 “How long each task is” may be demandable
at the time of taking a test.
 It is important to tell the students how they
are going to be marked on the test.

11. OTHER FACTORS WHICH AFFECTS TASK
FAIRNESS
RANGE OF TASK
 Question types have different
strengths and limitations.
 Including a range of tasks could
minimize limitations and optimize
their strengths.
ORDER OF TASKS
 Tasks and ítems arranged in a
justifiable order.
 Easier to difficult. Ex. Question
and answer tasks may be easier
than interaction tasks.

12. ASSESSMENT SCALES
Assessment scales are the links between the tasks are generated and the score.
Assessment criteria must be explicity stated what the test aims to measure.
Ex. Fluency, pronunciation, or grammar.
Criteria: Quality of ideas, interaction skills, pronunciation, interaction.

13. ANALYTIC SCALES
 Privides diagnostic information, it is useful
in training.
 It is also good because it fits very good
when the students do not have the same
level of English.
 HOWEVER
 It is time consuming
 And cognitively demanding for the grader.
HOLISTIC SCALES
 Faster
HOWEVER
 Single score
 Difficult when students are not in the same
level.

14. INTERESTING IDEAS
WHAT IS FLUENCY?
How automated is your language ability.
How many pauses you make.
How faster or slow you speak.
It is crucially important
to have more or less to
have language ability in
order to perform pair tasks.
To improve conceptualization,
it is useful to use mind maps,
Pictures, everything that can
help to make ideas up.
To suppor students who are shy, it is important to
Develop familiarity with the tasks. Practice makes
The master.

15. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIzUcZ7BBDk