Testing Speaking Fatma BADEM Merve BOZBIYIK 1 Speaking

Testing Speaking Fatma BADEM Merve BOZBIYIK 1

Speaking Tests § The most challenging: § Why? • Where to begin the task of evaluation spoken language? • What criteria to choose in evaluating oral communication? 2

Speaking Tests § Grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation ingredients § Other factors: listening comprehension, correct tone, § Fluency: • quickness of response? • amount of information conveyed per minute? • simply a general impression of fluency? § The elements are numerous and not always easy to identify. reasoning ability 3

§ How to weight each factor? § How to get students to speak? § How to evaluate so many things at once? § And practical problems of having to test each students individually. 4

Testing Speaking A. LIMITED RESPONSE B. GUIDED TECHNIQUES 1. Directed Response 2. 1. Paraphrase 2. Picture Cues 2. 2. Explanation 3. Reading Aloud 2. 3. Guided Role Play Alternate forms of limited response: 1. Mimicry 2. Directed-response role play 3. Variations on visuals C. ORAL INTERVIEW D. SCORING PROCEDURES 5

A. LIMITED RESPONSE To simplify the evaluation of spoken language, limit the range of speaking activities tested. –limited response § Controlled testing methods 3 of the most useful ways are: 1. directed responses 2. questions about pictures communication. 3. All of them appear in everyday reading aloud 6

1. Directed Response § Quite artificial – very close to imitation - (cue) «Tell me he went home. » - «He went home. » § Can be adapted to the student - (cue) «Tell me that you speak Spanish. » - «I speak Spanish. » 7

1. Directed Response § (cue) «Tell me that you aren’t planning to attend • Handling longer sentences • Changing the subject and the verb • Keeping the normal speed, stress, and rhythm of the original summer school English classes in this city next year. » 8

1. Directed Response § Having the student give a message to the other person - (cue) «Tell her I can see her at noon. » - «Pardon me, Maria. Mr. Nolan says that he can see you at noon today. » - «Remind him what time it is» . - «Excuse me, Mr. Evans. It’s now a quarter to twelve. » 9

1. Directed Response - Directed requests «Ask her what time it is. » Instructions would - «Pardon me. What time is it? » indicate that - «Could you tell me the time please? » appropriate social phrases should be used. 10

1. Directed Response § «Your friend here has just brought you one of your jackets. But the color is terrible for what you are wearing. As kindly as possible, get her to bring another jacket instead. » • providing more context • demanding more students initiative in answering Thanks a lot, Kay. But could you please get my tan jacket instead? I’m afraid it’ll be too cool for this red one. • problem solving 11

2. Picture Cues § pictures and objects can be used with - young children - adults who have limited skills in English. 12

2. Picture Cues - Tell me about this picture. What is happening here? - She is talking on the phone. - She is working in the office. ü Phrasing the question - What is she doing? - talking, working one-word vocabulary answer 13

2. Picture Cues - Where are they? - At the barber shop. § a short form answer 14

2. Picture Cues § Action pictures allow us to ask several questions. - « What did they do? » - « What do you think is going to happen now? » ü Cuing the response - Pointing at the ball - Possible answer « They threw the ball. » 15

2. Picture Cues § A picture sequence more extended speech and transition can be produced. § By beginning the story, illustrating what students are to say. 16

ü Be prepared to provide additional cues when necessary. «When Tom finished swimming, what did he look for? » When using pictures, ü Prepare your questions ahead of time. ü Write them down and read them aloud as the students move through the test. - improves the quality of your questions 17

2. Picture Cues § Using a map § Suitable for students who cannot read very well § Giving an example by starting the narration 18

2. Picture Cues § Charts and graphs § - can be used with mature students - Literate in their second language - Advanced students 5 4 3. 5 3 2. 5 2 1. 5 1 0. 5 0 category 1 category 2 category 3 serial 1 serial 2 3 19

3. Reading Aloud 2 types of reading aloud a group of sentence connected prose score - permits easy scoring diagnose errors a passage of - more difficult to - often used to 20

3. Reading Aloud § He said he didn’t care? § That’s the sixth striped suit she’s sold today. (consonant cluster) ü Limit (intonation) words use familiar ones ü Limit the number of points to look for (from 1 to 3 is typical). 21

§ The reading passage could be taken from a reader (a level below the one being studied at the time) 22

Advantages of Reading Aloud ü Good control same way. All students respond in the quite simple comparisons ü Easy to prepare and administer ü Easy to check sound-symbol relationships 23

Advantages of Reading Aloud üA good direct way to measure oral reading ü Provides idea how well our students have mastered grammar ü Helps in checking fluency 24

Limitations of Reading Aloud X cannot be used with young children who haven’t yet learned to read English X cannot be used with young people or adults whose speaking skills are much more advanced than their reading skills Xa tendency using the reading-aloud approach to focus almost exclusively on pronunciation X not measure interaction skills or appropriateness of 25

Alternate Forms of Limited Response 1. Mimicry 2. Directed-response Role Play 3. Variations on Visuals 26

1. Mimicry - highly controlled elicitation technique - provides an additional advantage to reading aloud - Students can imitate what they hear without having to know how to read. - No apparent connection between communicative speech and the ability to imitate 27

1. Mimicry § Mimicry evaluates other skills at the same time, such as short-term memory and listening § If you use passages with sentences under 10 or 12 word long, you can simply read a complete sentence aloud and then have the students repeat it. 28

2. Directed – Response Role Play § having the students talk to someone else in a role-play situation 29

3. Variations on visuals: ü physical objects ü mock-ups ü student-drawn maps ü living room 30

Advantages of limited response items ü useful techniques for those with limited language skill ü helpful ways of getting the specific responses that you want ü not threatening ü interesting ü good and lifelike face validity 31

Limitations of Limited Response Items X some important features of speaking -> not adequately measured X not a direct relationship between speaking proficiency and ability to read aloud X responses difficult to evaluate 32

B. GUIDED TECHNIQUES § Less control of spoken utterances intermediate to for advanced students § Consistency helps us to compare the students’ performance and skills 33

A directed-response item: § (controlled) - «Tell him that it’s ten o’clock. - «It’s ten o’clock. § (guided) - «Remind him politely of the time. » - «Excuse me, Mr. Evans. It’s almost ten o’clock. » 34

Using Visuals (controlled): - «What did they just do? » - «They threw the ball. » (guided): - «Take about a minute and explain some of the main activities in this picture. » - «Well, some children are playing with a ball, and it’s about to hit a man who is reading a newspaper. And nearby a man is sleeping…» 35

§ modifying controlled questions § three guided-response techniques üparaphrase üexplanation üguided role play § Limit the number of factors being evaluated! 36

1. Paraphrase § Combines speaking with either listening or reading § Listening + speaking can be used at almost any level 37

1. Paraphrase § To save time, - Students read the story silently - They would tell their oral paraphrase § Using simple drawings reduce the memorization 38

2. Explanation § Explanation and description beginning level beyond the § having the students read something silently § interpreting or explaining the facts to the teacher orally rather advanced 39

2. Explanation § Have students explain something not technical § Explaining: • How Americans celebrate Thanksgiving • How the British celebrate Boxing Day • How Moslems observe Ramadan • How to get from one location to another • How to use a vending machine 40

2. Explanation § An explanation task – the task of describing something from memory Eg: familiar physical objects or location 41

3. Guided Role Play Open-ended role play § Lots of talk from highly imaginative students with outgoing personalities Or; § Unproductive with shy or unimaginative persons 42

3. Guided Role Play – The teacher takes a fixed role – Students respond as prompted § Explain the situation briefly before the role play begins. 43

ü The teachers line should be spoken at normal speed. • with only occasional glance at their notes ü Adapt to what the student says. - «My name is Lin. » - «I see. And what can I do for you? » 44

Guided Techniques Limitations Advantages § § Allow greater freedom of response Help to get at higher-level matters • Cognitive expressions (explanation) • Appropriate to response § Rather difficult to score § Other factors can interfere with scores • Memory • Reading ability • Personality 45

ORAL INTERVIEW § interview procedure a kind of framework for using different speaking activities § simple series of questions and answers A: What is your name? Mehmet, B: My name is A: How old are you? B: I’m twenty-four years old. , etc. § a constant interaction of the interviewer and the students § co-constructed 46

ORAL INTERVIEW § Good interview can provide a genuine sense of communication. § rapport or good relationship between interviewer and interviewee § open-minded, supportive and sincere interviewers § A guided oral interview is mostly recommended. § more natural and relaxed atmosphere 47

ORAL INTERVIEW § some personal information about the students’ profile Ex: 48

§ simple ORAL INTERVIEW and familiar information § avoiding explicit personal information such as religion, marital status, age, etc. § ignoring focused truth factor and language 49

ORAL INTERVIEW § Yes/No Questions § Questions with either or § Intonation Patterns 50

ORAL INTERVIEW 51

ORAL INTERVIEW § avoiding sudden topic shift § The main objective of the guided oral interview the students to speak on their own § the use of statements § some information that we need revising, correcting or to get qualifying 52

ORAL INTERVIEW § from easier to more difficult § relieving the tension and increasing the self-confidence of the students § phrases+sentences+more expanded explanations § In terms of the subject matter and language of the question, the difficulty of these content items can vary. 53

ORAL INTERVIEW § the level of the difficult items maintaining students’ confidence § for teachers to see how qualified the students are § no limit the interviews from the scope of the questions and answers § visuals and paraphrase § flexible time 54

ORAL INTERVIEW Advantages of Oral Interview § one of the most communicative examinations § remarkably flexible in terms of item types that can be included § the scoring more consistent and simple than the other types of guided oral interviews Limitations of Oral Interview § time-consuming, if it’s taped and scored § deceptively easy for it to become a simple question-answer session 55

SCORING PROCEDURES § on a speaking test, 2 main points: 1. to initiate your students to speak 2. to manage to scoring the test equally § the discrete objectified scores § holistic grading 56

SCORING PROCEDURES § The scoring speaking test in terms of 2 important phonemana: 1. how well trained we are to evaluate oral communication 2. what factors we choose to evaluate § Ilyan Oral Interview or the Bilingual Syntax Measure for discrete or objectified testing procedures § FSI Oral Interview for holistic approach 57

SCORING PROCEDURES § holistic approach for evaluating various language tools and skills at the same time § objectified scoring by both inexperienced and experienced teachers, as very easy and consistent to use § these speaking tests formally or informally § formal speaking evaluation test for not only a consistent spoken sample of student speech, but also a way to quantify and score every person’s utterance 58

SCORING PROCEDURES 1. § Holistic Scoring ALIGU Test - comprehension - pronunciation - grammar and word order - vocabulary - general speed of speech and sentence length 59

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SCORING PROCEDURES § FSI Oral Interview having dual rating system: 1. overall proficiency scale including six function levels 2. checklist involving rating on accent, grammar, vocabulary, fluency and comprehension § The holistic scoring focuses on the communication skills, not overlooking the component of the speech § Evaluating different things simultaneously can be very confusing. § Rating scales can be adapted for most of the 61

SCORING PROCEDURES 2. Objectified Scoring § logically acceptable appropriate and comprehensible response § partial credit for scoring speaking as a productive skill – any serious language error like pronunciation mistake affecting mutual understanding 62

SCORING PROCEDURES § If there is any grammatical mistake that don’t obstruct the meaning of the sentence, it can be given full points. - I’m needing more English. § not only vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation mistakes, but also the lack of fluency and inappropriate utterances (role play or oral interview tests) § simple modification for the content questions 63

SCORING PROCEDURES § good to indicate very general impresssion of a student’s performance like high, mid or low § using scoring sheet § scoring the speaking test as soon as possible (another teacher or volunteer by noticing paralinguistic items such as gestures or body language) § modified system of objectified scoring § 2 -1 -0 4 -3 -2 -1 -0 5 -point scale § speaking tests on the communicative and language-skill exams 64

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