Resume_ LAnguage testing (assessing speaking) by Brown, H. Douglas

CHAPTER 7

ASSESSING SPEAKING

Assessment is often considered as an important instructional step (Bachman, 1990). The way learners are taught and activities carried out in the classroom are greatly influenced by assessment. Further, Fulcher (2003) said that the success of a learning program is commonly determined by the result of assessment.

There are many challenges in the assessment of oral skills in a second– language including defining language proficiency, avoiding cultural biases, and attaining validity (Sánchez, 2006). Assessment of speaking skills often lags far behind the importance given to teaching those skills in the curriculum (Knight, 1992).

Before assessing speaking, we need to acknowledge five basic types of speaking. Brown and Abeywickrama (2010, p. 184-185) propose five types of speaking as explained in the following.

A.    Basic types of speaking

1.      Imitative

This type of speaking requires the test takers to copy a word, phrase, or a sentence. Pronunciation is the main aspect of the assessment although grammar also takes part as the scoring criteria. What needs to be highlighted in imitative speaking is that the communicative competence of the language is not essential. They need to acquire some information, and then reproduce it orally without having to add extra explanation. What comes out from them is solely the information they hear.

2.      Intensive

Unlike imitative, intensive speaking does not emphasize on pronunciation or phonological aspect. Understanding meaning is needed to respond certain tasks but the interaction with the counterpart is minimal. The activity sample is reading aloud, sentence and dialogue completion.

3.      Responsive

Authenticity in a conversation is important. Therefore, the speaker is stimulated to speak promptly. To response a short conversation, making a simple request comment is a kind of activity that belongs to this type of speaking.

4.      Interactive

The load and complexity of the sentences is the major different between responsive and interactive speaking. The number of the speakers also matter as sometimes it needs more than two people in the conversation.

5.      Extensive

Extensive speaking involves a wide range of speech production. Also, the speaker will need to interact with the counter speakers, which could be answering question, making discussion. It can be said that extensive speaking is the ultimate speaking skill that requires strong language components.

B.     Micro and macro skills of speaking

Assessment on speaking can be a very judgmental issue, in which people tend to relate on native/nonnative speakers on the basis of pronunciation (Luoma, 2004). Additionally, Nunan (1999) viewed that speaking requires someone to be linguistically competence in term of well articulating the sound, having sufficient vocabulary, and mastering structural or grammatical components. To speak also needs functional competence which means answering questions completely and logically.

1.      Micro- skills: phonemes, words, collocations, phrasal units
They include production English stress patterns, reduced forms, production of fluent speech, use of strategic devices (pauses, fillers).

a.      Micro-skills of oral production

1)      Produce differences among English phonemes and allophonic phonemes.

2)      Produce chunks of language of different lengths.

3)      Produce English stress patterns.

4)      Produce fluent speech at different rates of delivery.

5)      Express a particular meaning in different grammatical form.

2.      Macro- skills: fluency, discourse, function, style, cohesion, nonverbal communication. They include the appropriate accomplishment of communicative functions, use of appropriate styles, registers, conversation rules, etc.

C.    Assessment of Speaking

1.      Grammar

Test takers are assessed on how to control its usage within sentences, to construct, to use it appropriately and accurately and to avoid grammatical errors in speaking.

2.      Vocabulary

The range, precision, and the usage of vocabulary features in a conversation used by test takers indicate the level of how proficient they are.

3.      Comprehension

Understanding the context of the conversation and able to give appropriate response according to the question.

4.      Fluency

The language fluency indicates that the production of speech in a conversation is well delivered. Have confidence in delivering the speech and able to responds specific theme without many hesitation in choosing words.

5.      Pronunciation

Pronunciation deals with how often errors in pronunciation occur and how the pronunciation aspect interfere the communication are the criteria of the assessment.

6.      Task

Task deals with finishing the command given during the speaking test.

Like all test scores, speaking scores must be dependable, fair, and above all useful for the intended purposes (Luoma, 2004). To ensure speaking skill assessment is trustworthy, there are factors that should come into consideration (Hughes, 2003; Luoma, 2004; Nunan, 1999):

a.      Practicality

The first principle of making language assessment is practicality. Before deciding a test, we need to analyze how practical the test is to
be used considering the time constraint of running and interpreting the scoring of the test, budget limitation, and facilities.

b.      Validity

Consistently accurate measurement must be provided to assign a valid test. It has to measure what should be measured by excluding all irrelevant variables to be tested. When speaking skill is tested, making essay is not a valid test as it fails to provide information of the test takers speech production. In result, it may not bring about the real test takers’ ability.

c.       Reliability

The need of consistent scoring measurement is very important to make a test reliable. In addition, clear rubric and scoring criteria is also a must. Sometimes a reliable test may not be a valid test. However, a test designer should struggle to keep a reliable test as valid as possible.

d.     Authenticity

It refers to a contextual language or language in use. Students are asked to represent something related to their values. In that case, the language produced is authentic.

One goal of language testing is its backwash effect. It tells both teacher and learners of the effect of the learning and teaching (Hughes, 2003, p.53). As it is important, therefore, this issue should also be explored in designing a test.

Bibliography

Bachman, L. F. (1990). Fundamental considerations in language testing.

Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Brown, H. D. (2007). Teaching by principles: an Interactive approach to language

pedagogy (3rd ed.). New York: Pearson Education Inc.

Nababan, P. W. J. (1991). Language in education: the case of Indonesia.

International Review of Education, 37(1), 115- 131.

Nunan, D. (1999). Second language teaching and learning.

USA: Heinle.