speaking tests in the context of language learning

SPEAKING TESTS IN THE CONTEXT OF LANGUAGE

LEARNING

WHY SPEAKING?

• Skills have been a central focus in language teaching and there have been attempts to identify the microskills underlying the use of the four macroskills of reading, writing, listening, and speaking as a basis for syllabus design.

(Richards, 2003, p. 160)

ADVANTAGES

• Skills-based syllabuses have the advantage of focusing on performance in relation to specific tasks, and therefore provide a practical framework for designing courses and teaching materials.

(Richards, 2003, p. 161)

POSSIBLE DISADVANTAGES

• Skills-based syllabuses have been criticized on the following grounds:

-There is no serious basis for determining skills.-They focus on discrete aspects of performance rather than on developing more global and integrated communicative skills.-(Richards, 2003, p. 161)

SPEAKING TEST

Independent Task - 2 Speakers, 2 Questions

SPEAKING TEST

What are the benefits of studying this course? Give examples to support your answer. (You have 15 seconds to prepare).

SPEAKING TEST

• What steps would you take to improve this course? Provide details to support your answer. (You have 15 seconds to prepare).

EVALUATION

• What criteria would you use to rate their speech?

ARTICLE FOR ANALYSIS

• Ockey, G., Koyama, K., Setoguchi, E., & Sun, A. (2015). The extent to which TOEFL iBT speaking scores are associated with performance on oral language tasks and oral ability components for Japanese university students. Language Testing, 32(1), 39-62.

OVERVIEW

• Purpose was to discover how TOEFL speaking scores correlate with overall English speaking ability• Japanese university students – English majors in a Japanese

university (sample size = 226) • TOEFL speaking scores are good overall indicators of academic

oral ability, especially pronunciation, fluency and vocabulary/grammar

METHOD

• Participants were enrolled in the English department of a Japanese university specializing in foreign language study• Students were from various regions of Japan (226 in total), 169

indicated they hoped to study abroad where English is the primary language• Test-takers have plenty of formal and informal exposure to

English, most likely an ideal sample for this study

MATERIALS/ PROCEDURE

• 3 university oral tasks• Group oral discussion• Picture and graph description• Oral presentation

Purpose of these oral tasks is to provide an objective measure of academic oral proficiency Many institutions now rely on their own testing instruments

NEXT STEP

• Administer TOEFL speaking test (students were compensated for taking this portion of the test) • To ensure high ethical standards, all students were allowed to

opt out of this portion of the test (none chose to do so)

RATING CRITERIA

• Pronunciation• Fluency• Lexis/grammar• Presentation delivery skill• Descriptive Skill (picture and graph description)• Question answering (Oral presentation)• Interactional competence: participation and smoothness of interaction,

ability to sustain a discussion based on an assigned topic

RESULTS

• Score reliability was estimated using the Cronbach Alpha formula.• Preparation was logged prior to TOEFL test, showing minimal impact on test

results.• Scores on interactional competence for group oral discussion and the picture

and graph description tasks were “substantially less related to TOEFL iBT scores than pronunciation, fluency, and vocabulary/grammar”.

• Similar results for oral presentation task

DISCUSSION

• Scores on the TOEFL speaking section may be more associated with unprepared than prepared tasks

• Aim of TOEFL iBT is to “assess iBT oral ability to communicate immediately.”• “The findings suggest that TOEFL iBT speaking scores measure interactional

competence, descriptive skill, and presentation delivery skill to a lesser extent than they do the oral ability components of pronunciation, fluency, and vocabulary/grammar common to the three oral ability tasks.”

(Ockey, G., Koyama, K., Setoguchi, E., & Sun, A., 2015)

INTEGRATED SPEAKING TASK

• What are the main points or ideas of this video?• What are the main

3RD PARTY LANGUAGE TESTS – IMPLICATIONS FOR IMMIGRATION

• What third-party language tests will CIC accept as proof I have adequate knowledge of English or French when I apply for citizenship?

• A third-party test is a test done by an organization that is not CIC.• We will accept third-party test results as proof of your language ability if it is from one of

the following organizations:• CELPIP General (Canadian English Language Proficiency Index Program General test)• CELPIP General-LS - a two-skills (listening and speaking) version of the CELPIP General test• IELTS - General training - General training (International English Language Testing System)• Test d'Évaluation de Français (TEF) (in French)• Test d'Évaluation de Français (TEFAQ) (in French) or TEF pour la naturalisation – a two-skills

(listening and speaking) version of the TEF• http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/helpcentre/answer.asp?q=572&t=5

REFERENCES

• Bachman, L. F., & Palmer, A. S. (2010). Language Assessment in the real world. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

• Bridgeman, B., Powers, D., Stone, E., & Mollaun, P. (2012). TOEFL iBT speaking test scores as indicators of oral communicative language proficiency. Language Testing, 29, 91–108.

• Hill, K., & Sabet, M. (2009). Dynamic speaking assessments. TESOL Quarterly: A Journal for Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages and of Standard English as a Second Dialect, 43, 537-545.

• Ockey, G., Koyama, K., Setoguchi, E., & Sun, A. (2015). The extent to which TOEFL iBT speaking scores are associated with performance on oral language tasks and oral ability components for Japanese university students. Language Testing, 32(1), 39-62.

YOUTUBE VIDEOS

Dr Richards – Communicative Language Teachinghttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SwMii_YtEOw

Cambridge TV – Measurementhttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnXqRankqlC47qzXcYMazKA

LINKS

• Main article http://journals1.scholarsportal.info.proxy.bib.uottawa.ca/pdf/02655322/v32i0001/39_tetwtiacfjus.xml