1. Testing speaking
Workshop by Michel Fandel, Christiane Klein and Romy Schmit
18 October 2012
2. What are the challenges?
• Time consuming
• Costly in terms of man-power
• Difficult to administer
• Design
• Documenting the performance
• Assessing
• Marking criteria
3. Why test speaking?
• We are required to test speaking by the
authorities.
• We have to give marks for speaking and want to
be able to justify our marks.
• Speaking is an important skill: we want to
encourage learners to practice speaking and to
give them meaningful feedback on their
performances.
4. Why test language learning? (1)
‘Tests are also important instruments of public
policy. National examinations, for example, are
used to ensure that learners at educational
institutions across the country are held to the
same standards.’
Douglas, D. [2010:2]
5. Why test language learning? (2)
‘Tests also allow other stakeholders, including
programme administrators, parents, admissions
officers and prospective employers, to be assured
that learners are progressing according to some
generally accepted standard or have achieved a
requisite level of competence in their second
language’.
Douglas, D. [2010:1-2]
6. Why test language learning? (3)
‘Perhaps the most important reason is fairness.
We like to make sure all students are treated the
same, to give each of them equal opportunity to
show us what they’ve learned and what they can
do with the language they’ve learned. Tests allow
us to present all our students with the same
instructions and the same input under the same
conditions.’
Douglas, D. [2010:1]
11. What do we test?
What is ‘speaking’?
Interactive Productive
Informal Informal
Spontaneous Rehearsed
Interactive
Productive
Formal
Formal
Spontaneous
Rehearsed
Rehearsed
12. What do we test?
What is ‘speaking’?
A1 C2
Formulaic Interactive Productive Entertaining
Informal Informal
Spontaneous Rehearsed
Interactive
Productive
Informal
Formal
Spontaneous Professional
Rehearsed
Professional Rehearsed Academic
C2 C2
13. What is the place and the use of a
scale like the CEFR?
• Theoretical model = simplification of reality
• Identifies levels of performance
• Presents these levels in a logical order
• No representation of individual language
learners actual progress
• Cf.: language scales.pdf
14. How do we test? Higly standardized tests
How do we assess? e.g. Certifying tests
Warm up Main tasks
“Long” monologue (description, presentation)
Vocabulary,& structure
Organisation
Pronunciation
Interview (can be prepared & rehearsed)
Short turns, basic simple language and issues
First impression:
Maybe pronunciation
More complex, in-depth exchange:
Interactive speaking
15. How do we test? Regular classroom observations
How do we assess? Electronic portfolio
Issues
• Fairness
• Number of observations or samples
• Documentation and administration
• Getting the whole picture
• Giving feedback and justifying mark
17. Bibliography and Sources (1)
• Csépes, I. & Együd, G. (2003) Into Europe – The
Speaking Handbook. British Council – Teleki
László Foundation
The Into Europe series can be downloaded from:
http://www.lancs.ac.uk/fass/projects/examreform/
• Douglas, D. (2010) Understanding Language
Testing. Hodder Education
• Luoma, S. (2004) Assessing Speaking. CUP
CHALLENGES – WE ARE AWARE OF THEM; WE HAVE NO PERFECT SOLUTIONS; WE PROPOSE IDEAS; INVITE YOU TO SHARE YOUR EXPERIENCE AND EXPERTISE WITH UStime consuming: 25 students x 7 minutes = 175 minutes (+/- 4 lessons)costly in terms of man-powerdifficult to administer whilst being in charge of a whole classinterlocutingassessingdesign => what are we testing? how is supposed to be tested?documenting the performance: justification for the markassessing real timelatermarking criteria => how objective are they?
LAWThese marks are of interest to various stakeholders apart from the test takers: parents, prospective employers …How frequently do you use your foreign languages and which skills do you use the most?
LAWTestssetstandardse.g. Final examse.g. Épreuvescommunes
TESTS SET STANDARDS => FAIRNESSe.g. Proficiency tests => topredictwhatlearnerswillbeableto do withthelanguage in communicativesituationsoutsidetheclassroome.g. Achievement tests => todetermineiflearnersaremakingadequateprogress (syllabusbased tests)
TESTS SET STANDARDS => FAIRNESSReliabilitySecond opinion (evaluation vs. assessment)
InteractiveInformalSpontaneous
ProductiveInformalPrepared
InteractiveFormalSpontaneous / prepared
ProductiveFormalPrepared
Number of observations or samplesDocumentation and administrationrecordingscanweaskstudents to do thishow authenticisspeaking to berecordedGetting the wholepicture => several observations (5-6)Giving feedback and justifying mark => markinggrids
