Language Testing Principles
Testing ESL speaking/listening ability for Reading Company bus drivers

A brief definition of the construct(s) assessed

What TLU Tasks and domains are identified

How many tasks will be included in the test and how they relate to the different aspects of the
construct

What criteria are considered for assessing the language skills

A discussion of the task you have developed
 The task itself (input, expected output, time, etc.)
 Rubrics (instructions)
 Criteria for assessment
 Scoring plan

A discussion of anything you find relevant and/or important (e.g., why you have focused on X
and not Y)
A brief definition of the construct:
(what is it that you are going to test;
skills, language function, linguistic
elements, etc.)
You should check the CEFR document
for this.
What topical or contextual knowledge
is needed
What TLU Tasks and domains are
What to test: The candidate’s ability to communicate in
situations as a bus driver
Language skills: Listening comprehension, speaking
Language function:
1. Providing information (e.g. route, timetable, tickets)
2. Giving instructions (e.g. ticket sales, onboard)
3. Reporting incidents (e.g. emergencies,
manager/police)
4. Information processing (e.g. comprehending and
following traffic information and directions)
Linguistic elements: Vocabulary, fluency and comprehension
related to the situation (directions, time, ticket prices…)
1. Providing information (e.g. route, timetable, tickets)
2. Giving instructions (e.g. ticket sales, onboard)
3. Reporting incidents (e.g. emergencies,
manager/police)
4. Information processing (e.g. comprehending and
following traffic information and directions)
TLU tasks:
1. showing directions, answering questions about directions
involved
providing information about routes and timetables, tickets
types, prices, payment methods
2. selling tickets
giving instructions to passengers (move to the back, leave
space for disabled people, deny passengers when the bus
is full)
3. handling unexpected situations (emergencies onboard e.g.
accidents, fighting) and reporting to their office and police
4. being able to listen and comprehend to follow traffic
information and satnav directions
How many tasks will be needed (and
Speaking: warm-up and 1 task
Warm-up: Personal information
Role play: recreating situations on the bus (with passengers,
colleagues, emergency personnel, e.g. police & paramedics)
for 5 minutes
Listening: 2 tasks (5 questions each, 5 minutes to listen and 5
minutes to give answers)
Fill in the gaps with information (about traffic, redirections)
Mapping (follow directions)
what things to measure in each task)
What salience to be given to each part
What the pass/fail criteria are
Things to measure:
- Ability to listen and understand
- Fluency
- Accuracy in pronunciation and word choice
- Vocabulary related to the situation (range: communication
as a bus driver)
-Speaking is more important and carries twice the weight
than Listening (2:1).
Pass level: A2+ (CEFR)
Can interact with reasonable ease in structured situations
and short conversations, provided the other
person helps if necessary. Can manage simple, routine
exchanges without undue effort; can ask and
answer questions and exchange ideas and information on
familiar topics in predictable everyday
situations.
Can communicate in simple and routine tasks requiring a
simple and direct exchange of information on
familiar and routine matters to do with work and free time.
Can handle very short social exchanges but is
rarely able to understand enough to keep conversation going
of their own accord.
Fail: the candidate cannot understand questions / cannot
involve in meaningful conversation.
Marking scheme
Pass: the candidate can follow the conversation and
discussion. / the candidate can start a conversation and keep
it going.
1 scorer with rubrics for Speaking (holistic) and answer keys
to Listening questions (objective)
Speaking: Grading scheme should include 3 criteria: fluency,
pronunciation, vocabulary
Listening: 10 questions, 1 point for each question
Speech
1. Title & Slide 1 (Miki)
Hi everyone, this is a group presentation by Fatema, Miki, Mokhira, Nadia and Thang on the
Testing ESL speaking/listening ability for Reading Company bus drivers.
We will discuss the test construct, TLU domains, test tasks and criteria for scoring.
The definition of the construct
This is a proficiency test to determine the candidate’s communicative language ability as a bus driver.
Based on a CEFR A2 level, the speaking and listening comprehension skills in interactions with
passengers, colleagues, and external personnel will be tested in 3 Speaking tasks and 2 Listening
tasks. It will assess the test-taker's vocabulary, fluency and comprehension of simple and routine
phrases and sentences in a short and direct exchange (CEFR, 2020).
2. Slide 2 (Fatema)--- 40 seconds
TLU Tasks and Domains
Next, I will be talking about TLU tasks and domains. As you can see our first section provides
information for the passengers such as routes, timetables, ticket types, and prices, as well as
answering questions about directions. The second section is giving instructions to passengers
onboard when needed such as leaving space for disabled people and denying passengers when the
bus is full. The third and final section is handling unexpected situations such as sudden emergencies
or accidents and reporting to their office and police.
3. Slide 4 (Mokhira)---- 50 seconds
Listening task
Listening task includes: 2 tasks, 5 questions each, 5 minutes to listen and 5 minutes to give answers.
Two tasks are given to the candidates: Fill in the gaps with information about traffic and Mapping
(follow directions). Correct answers in the Listening paper are worth 1 mark each. Candidates who
get above 8 points pass the listening task and have the following:

Effective command of English but also has some errors;

Can understand complex language quite well but best in familiar situations