ASSESSING SPEAKING

Ayu karismawati
Prasetyo Asyogi
 Introduction

The aspects of speaking that are considered part of its

assessment (Kitao & Kitao, 1996):

grammar, pronunciation, fluency, content, organization,

and vocabulary
 Micro – and Macroskills of
Speaking
(To select what will become the objective)

Microskills: smaller chunks of language.

Phonemes, morphemes, words, collocations, phrasal
units.

Macroskills: larger elements.

Fluency, discourse, function, style, cohesion, nonverbal
communication, strategic option.
 Assessment Tasks: Imitative

 It is simply the ability to parrot back (imitate) a

word or phrase or a sentence.
 Phonepass Test

 It elicit computer- assisted oral production

over a telephone.
 Test-takers read aloud, repeat sentences, say
words, and answer questions.
 Scores are calculated by computerized scoring
and reported back to the test-takers within
minutes.
 Assessment Tasks: Intensive

It is the production of short stretches of oral language.

(limited/ controlled response)
Examples of the tasks:
Directed response tasks
reading aloud
sentence and dialogue completion
limited picture-cued tasks
Translation
 Directed response tasks

 It requires minimal processing of meaning in order to

produce the correct grammatical output. Examples:
 Tell me he went home.
 Tell me that you like rock music.
 Tell me that you aren’t interested in tennis.
 Tell him to come to my office at noon.
 Remind him what time it is.
 Reading-Aloud Tasks
 Test-takers read aloud the passage.

 Pronunciation:
Points:
 0.0—0.4 frequent errors and unintelligible.
 0.5—1.4 occasionally unintelligible.
 1.5—2.4 some errors but intelligible.
 2.5—3.0 occasional errors but always intelligible.
 Reading-Aloud Tasks

• Fluency:
Points:
• 0.0– 0.4 slow, hesitant, and unintelligible.
• 0.5– 1.4 non-native pauses and flow that
interferes with intelligibility.
• 1.5--2.4 non-native pauses but the flow is intelligible.
• 2.5—3.0 smooth and effortless.
Variations of Read-Aloud Tasks

 Reading a scripted dialogue.

 Reading sentences containing minimal pairs. Examples:
Try not to heat/ hit the pan too much.
 Reading information from a table or chart.
Advantages
Comparisons between students are
quite simply.
Tests are easy to prepare and to
administer.
Predictable output, practicality, and
reliability in scoring.
Disadvantages
It is inauthentic, except in situations
such as parent reading to a child,
sharing a story with someone, giving
a scripted oral presentation.
It is not communicative in real
contexts
Advantages Disadvantages

Moderate control of the output of the Reliance on literacy and an ability to

test taker transfer easily from written to spoken
English
 Picture- cued Tasks
Picture-cued elicitation of minimal pairs
Test-takers see:
Picture-cued elicitation of comparatives
Picture-cued elicitation of future tense
Picture-cued elicitation of nouns, negative responses, numbers, and location
Scoring responses on picture- cued intensive speaking
tasks varies depending on the expected performance
criteria. Some can be evaluated simply as “ correct” or
“incorrect” and some others as three- point rubrics, and
finally some others may be more complicated to be scored
like opinions about paintings or directions on a map.
 Translation
 Translation is meaningful communicative device in
English
 It is well-proven communication strategy for Second
language learners
 Under certain constraints, it is not far-fetched to
suggest translation as device to check oral production
Assessment Tasks: Responsive

 include interaction and test comprehension but at

the somewhat limited level of very short
conversations, standard greetings and small talk,
simple requests and comments, and the like.
 Question and Answer
From simple to complex question

 Examples:
 1. What is this called in English?
 ( to elicit a predetermined correct response) 2. What are
the steps governments should take, if any, to stem the
rate of de-forestation in tropical countries? ( given more
opportunity to produce meaningful language in
response)
Questions Eliciting Open-Ended Responses

1. What do you think about the weather today?

2. Why did you choose your academic major?
3. a. Have you ever been to the U. S. before?
b. What other countries have you visited?
c. Why did you go there? What did you like
best about it?
 Elicitation of questions from the test-takers
 Paraphrasing a story or a phone message

Note: The integration of listening and speaking is more, it is

needed to determine the task objective clearly
 DESIGNING ASSESSMENT
Interactive:
-Interviews
-Role plays
-Discussion

Extensive:
-Oral Presentations
-Picture-cued Story Telling
-Retelling a Story
-Translation (of Extended Prose)
Transactional (dialogue)

T: What is the main idea in this essay?

S: The United Nations should have more authority.
T: More authority than what?
S: Than it does right now.
T: What do you mean?
S: Well, for example, the UN should have the power to
force a country like Iraq to destroy its nuclear
weapons.
Interpersonal (dialogue)

• a casual register;
• colloquial language;
• emotionally charged language;
• slang;
• ellipsis, etc.
 Interactive
Interview
 Role Plays

As an assessment device, role plays opens some windows of

oppurtinity for test-takers to use discourse that might otherwise
be difficult to elicit.
 Discussions and Conversations

Discussions may be especially appropriate tasks through which to

elicit and observe such abilities :
•Topic nomination, maintenance, and termination
•Attention getting, interrupting, floor holding, control
•Clarifying, questioning, paraphrasing
•Kinesics, eye contact, proxemics, body language.
 Extensive

Oral Presentations
Picture-Cued Story Telling
 Retelling a Story

The test-takers hear or read a story or a news event that they are
asked to retell.
 Translation

The advantage of translation is the control of the content,

vocabulary, and, to some extent, the grammatical and discourse
features.
The disadvantage is that translation of longer texts is a highly
specialized skill for which some individuals obtain.
 Conclusion

Teaching speaking is a very important part of

language learning. The ability to communicate
clearly and efficiently contributes to the success of
the learner in school and success later in every
phase of life. It makes students more active in the
learning process and at the same time makes their
learning more meaningful and fun for them.
S : Social environment is the important one in our real-life
P : People have to interaction with another people to create a
good relantionship
E : Example, English is a language that we learn and we use
everywhere (class) sometimes
A : Actually we should to keep our speak in any situation, don’t
make another people offended to you
K : Keep your dicipline to use English everytime, it doesn’t
matter how slow you learn, as long as you don’t stop

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