TESTING ORAL ABILITY
ORAL ABILITY
Comprehension
Interact successfully
Production
EVALUATION CRITERIA

Evaluation should be conducted when
students engage in their prepared
conversations.
PERFORMANCE LEVEL
OUTSTANDING
VERY GOOD
SATISTACTORY
LIMITED
VERY
LIMITED
Choose the appropriate techniques
Interview
Formats
Responses
to
audio/video
recorded
stimuli
Interaction
with fellow
candidates
Format 1 - Interview
Traditional
form
Relationship
testercandidate
One style of speech
is elicited
Questions and requests for
information
Try
Avoid
Pictures

Elicit
descriptions
Role play
Does it really elicit
natural language?

Elicit other
language
functions
Interpreting
What do you think?
Is it always feasible?

Test
production and
comprehensio
n
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
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.
Simulated
conversation
Described
situations
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?
Remarks in
isolation to
respond to
The candidate
hears, ‘I’m
afraid I haven’t
managed to fix
that cassette
player of your
yet. Sorry’.
Plan & structure the
testing carefully
Time of the test: as
long as feasible
Have a pattern to
follow
Use second tester for
interviews
Set tasks & topics that
cause no difficulty in
the candidates’ first
language
Collect enough
relevant information
Give as many “fresh
starts” as possible
Avoid reminding
candidates they are in
a test
Carry out the test in a
quiet room
Put the candidates at
their ease so that the
can show what they
are capable of
Do not talk too much
Select interviewers
carefully & train them
FLUENCY OF SPEECH:

Based upon the smoothness, not
speed, and take into account use of
hesitancy in conversation.
PHRASING:

The grouping of words in meaningful
phrases.
LISTENING COMPREHENSION:

This phase of evaluation is initially
tested
during
the
prepared
conversation section of the exam.
PRONUNCIATION:

Where it hinders
understanding.
communicative
EXPRESSION:

Use of tone, inflection, intonation, and
volume .
RATING SCALE TO TRACK ORAL
PARTICIPATION
PERFORMANC
E LEVEL
5. Outstanding
4. Very good
3. Satisfactory
2. Limited
1. Very limited
FLUENCY
PHRASING
COMPREHENSION
PRONUNCIATION
EXPRESSION
ORAL PRODUCTION
EVALUATE:

Content Evaluation: Knowledge of students.

Process Evaluation: Actions, behaviors, skills,
or strategies of students.

Product Evaluation: What students create to
demonstrate their understanding of language
content and processes.
MATCH TESTS TO THE CONTENT



Tests
will
measure
students'
achievement.
Test items should be based on the
content and skills.
To keep track of how well tests reflect
results, construct a grid.
TRY TO MAKE TESTS VALID,
RELIABLE, AND BALANCED




A test is reliable if it accurately and
consistently evaluates student's performance.
Ambiguous questions, unclear directions, and
vague scoring criteria threaten reliability.
Very short tests are also unlikely to be highly
reliable.
Oral production should be balanced.
“The learning products only
become aspects of the
intelligence when they are
organized, recoverable,
generalizable and transferable
to new problematic
situations.”
EYSENCK,H.J.(1983)