Testing Listening

Group 4
Members: 1/ 646981 - Tran Quynh Anh
2/ 64 - Bui Thi Thuy Diep
3/ 646133 - Tran Thi Lien Hong
 Table of Contents

Specifying what the Setting criterial

I candidate should be able
II levels of
to do performance

III Setting the tasks IV Scoring the

listening test
1. Operations 3. Interactional

I. Specifying
what the
candidate should
be able to do

2. Informational
4. Texts
1. Operations:
♠ Obtain the gist;
♠ Follow an argument
♠ Recognizethe attitude of the speaker.
 2. Informational
1. Obtain factual information; 10. Follow justification of opinions;

2. Follow instructions (including directions 11. Understand comparisons;

3. Understand requests for information 12.Recognizeand understand suggestions;

4. Understand expressions of need 13.Recognizeand understand comments;

5. Understand requests for help 14.Recognizeand understand excuses;

6. Understand requests for permission 15.Recognizeand understand expressions of

preferences;
7. Understand apologies;
16.Recognizeand understand complaints;
8. Follow sequence of events (narration);
17.Recognizeand understand speculation;
9. Recognise and understand opinions;
 3. Interactional
1. Understand greetings and introductions; 12. Recognise and understand corrections by speaker (of
2. Understand expressions of agreement; self and others);
3. Understand expressions of disagreement; 13.Recognise and understand modifications of
4. Recognise speaker’s purpose; statements and comments;
5. Recognise indications of uncertainty; 14.Recognise speaker’s desire that listener indicate
6. Understand requests for clarification; understanding;
7. Recognise requests for clarification; 15.Recognise when speaker justifies or supports
8. Recognise requests of opinion; statements, etc. of other speaker(s);
9. Recognise indications of understanding; 16.Recognise when speaker questions assertions made
10. Recognise indications of failure to understand; by other speakers;
11. In declarative form, etc., interpretation of sentence 17. Recognise attempts to persuade others.
stress.
3. Interactional
Some problems includes:
● Discriminate between vowel phonemes;
● Discriminate between consonant phonemes;
● Interpret intonation patterns (recognition of sarcasm, questions in
declarative form, etc., Interpretation of sentence stress.
 4. Texts
 Text type might be first specified as monologue, dialogue, or multi-participant, and
further specified: conversation, announcement, talk or lecture, instructions, directions,
etc.
 Text forms include: description, exposition, argumentation, instruction, narration.
 Length may be expressed in seconds or minutes. The extent of short utterances or
exchanges may be specified in terms of the number of turns taken.
 Speed of speech may be expressed as words per minute or syllables per second.
Reported average speeds for samples of Bristish English are:
wpm sps
 Dialects may include standard or non-
- Radio monologues 160 4.17
standard varieties. - Conversations 210 4.33
- Interviews 190 4.17
 Accents may be regional or non-regional. - Lectures to non-native 140 3.17
speakers
II. Setting criterial
levels of
performance
 Setting criterial levels of performance

Set an appropriate level As with reading A near perfect

Set of response May be required for a ‘pass’

 III. Setting the tasks

01 02 03

Selecting samples off Writing items Posible techniques

speech (texts)
 01. Selecting samples of speech (texts)
 Passages must be chosen with the test specifications in mind.

 It is better to base the passage on a genuine recording, or a transcript of one.

+ If an authentic text is altered, it is wise to check with native speakers that it still
sounds natural

+ If a recording is made, care should be taken to ensure that it fits with the
specifications in terms of speed of delivery, style,…

 Suitable passages may be of various lengths, depending on what is being tested. A

passage lasting ten minutes or more might be needed to test the ability to follow an
academic lecture, while twenty seconds could be sufficient to give a set of
directions.
 02. Writing items
 For extended listening, such as a lecture, a useful first step is to listen to the passage
and note down what it is that candidates should be able to get from the passage. We
can then attempt to write items that check whether or not they have got what they
should be able to get .
 Candidates should be warned by key words that appear both in the item and in the
passage that the information called for is about to be heard.
 Ex : an item may ask about “ the second point that the speaker makes “ and candidates
will hear “ My second point is… “
 Other than in exceptional circumstances( such as when the candidates are required to
take notes on a lecture without knowing what the items will be), candidates should be
given sufficient time at the outset to familiarise themselves with the items.
 03. Possible techniques

Short Gap Informatio Note

Multiple
Answer filling n transfer taking

Partial Moderatin Presenting

Transcription g the items
Dictation the texts
 Multiple Short
choice answer
 The advantages and disadvantages of using
 This technique can work well,
multiple choice in extended listening tests are
similar to those identified for reading tests. If provided that the question is
short and straightforward, and
multiple choice is to be use, then the
correct, preferably unique,
alternatives must be kept short and simple.
response is obvious.
 Multiple choice can work well for testing lower
level skills, such as phoneme discrimination.
Ex : The candidate hears bat and chooses
between pat – mat - fat - bat
Gap filling
 This technique can work wll where a short answer question with a unique
answer is not possible
Example:
Woman : Do you think you can give me a hand with this ?
Man : I’d love to help but I’ve got to go round to my mother’s in a minute.
(?) The woman asks the man if he can____her but he has to visit his____.
 Information Note taking
transfer
 Where the ability to take notes while
 This technique is as useful in testing
listening to, say, a lecture is in
listening as it is in testing reading,
question, this activity can be quite
since it makes minimal demands on
realistically replicated in the testing
productive skills
 It can involve such activities as the situation.
 It is essential when including note
labelling of diagrams or pictures,
taking as part of a listening test that
completing forms, making diary
careful moderation and, if possible,
entries, or showing routes on a map.
trialling should take place.
Partial Dictation
• Providing a ‘rough and ready’ measure of
listening ability.
• Can be used diagnostically to test Students’
ability to cope with particular difficulties.
• To avoid score unreliability, it is better to use
partial dictation.
• Correct spelling should probably not be
required, but can cause scoring problems.
• If the answer is more than a single word, it
does make the scoring even less
straightforward.
 Transcription

● To transcribe numbers or words which spelled

letter by letter
● The letters should not already be able to spell.
 Moderating the items

• The moderation of listening items is

essential.
• The moderators begin by ‘taking’ the
test and then analyze their items and
their reactions to them.

The moderation checklist used for

moderating Reading & Listening items.
 Uniformity, listened to in language lab,
Use recordings
Presenting the recording should be qually clear
the texts
(Live or
Recorded)
A single speaker to get uniformity and
reliability, should have a good command of
To be live the language of the test, highly reliable,
trustworthy individuals
IV. Scoring the listening test

Receptive skill:

No need to deduct points for errors in grammar or spelling

Thank you for
attending!!!