Beyond Linguistic Accuracy: What speaking tests must also evaluate
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This document discusses the evaluation of speaking skills and proposes that tests must consider more than just linguistic accuracy. It notes that speaking involves different genres like conversations and presentations. While most tests evaluate skills like presentations, conversations require interactive abilities that are rarely tested. The document suggests teaching and testing a variety of speaking genres, including making conversations a priority and evaluating interactive communication skills in addition to linguistic proficiency.
![“It [speaking] is the skill by which
they [learners] are most frequently
judged … It is the vehicle par
excellence of social solidarity, of
social ranking, of professional
advancement and of business.”
Martin Bygate (1987), p. vii](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/feelta2016novideo-160705022224/85/Beyond-Linguistic-Accuracy-What-speaking-tests-must-also-evaluate-7-320.jpg)
Beyond Linguistic Accuracy: What speaking tests must also evaluate
- 1. Beyond linguistic accuracy: What speaking tests must also evaluate John Campbell-Larsen Cameron Romney Kyoto Women’s University
- 2. This Presentation • Part one: What is speaking? • Part two: How do you teach conversation? • Part three: How is speaking (often) evaluated? • Part four: Ideas to take away.
- 4. What is speaking? Part one
- 6. Language in Use Conversation 85% Other 15% Daily language use
- 7. “It [speaking] is the skill by which they [learners] are most frequently judged … It is the vehicle par excellence of social solidarity, of social ranking, of professional advancement and of business.” Martin Bygate (1987), p. vii
- 8. Genres of speaking • Monologue (Lectures, Presentations, speeches etc.) • Power/rights differential dialogue (Interviews, Formal Debates/ Discussions, etc. ) • Transactional (Service encounters, etc.) • Conversation
- 9. How much time do you spend in each of these genres? Participant Question
- 10. Characteristics of Conversation Genuine conversation is characterized by the uneven distribution of information, the negotiation of meaning, … topic nomination and negotiation by more than one speaker, and the right of interlocutors to decide whether to contribute to an interaction or not. In other words, in genuine communication, decisions about who says what to whom and when are up for grabs. Nunan (1987), p.137
- 11. Characteristics of Conversation • It is not primarily necessitated by a practical task. • Any unequal power of participants is partially suspended. • The number of participants is quite small • Turns are quite short • Talk is primarily for the participants and not for an outside audience. Cook (1989), p. 56
- 12. Characteristics of Interviews • Pre-planned, highly structured with time limits • Often rehearsed • Uneven distribution of speakership rights • Topic controlled by task and/or examiner • Roles are (mostly) adhered to • Language is formal/neutral • Structure is Q/A adjacency pair
- 13. Interview or Conversation? Video Removed for Student Privacy
- 14. How do you teach conversation? Part two
- 15. Creating a Venue for Conversation • The classroom must be reconfigured as a social rather than institutional psychological space • The learners must orient to a social rather than institutional English language identity • The learners must be made aware of the purposes of the above • The leaners must be afforded TIME to do so
- 16. Creating a Venue for Conversation Video Removed for Student Privacy
- 17. How is speaking (often) evaluated? Part three
- 18. Common Forms of Evaluation • Written tests • Presentations • Task observations, e.g. role plays • Oral Proficiency Interviews (OPI)
- 19. Written Tests Positives • Easy to evaluate large groups of students • Student know what to do Negatives • Not speaking • Often receptive skills not productive and/or linguistic knowledge
- 20. Written Test Example • Before (1)________ down for a nap, the boy (2) _________ down the book. A: Lie B: Lay C: Laid D: Lay E: Laying F: Lying
- 21. Presentations Positives • Individual activity • Clear outcomes Negatives • Minor speaking genre • Rehearsed, often memorized • Vocalization of written English
- 22. Video of a Student Presentation Video Removed Please see: https://youtu.be/yRap1RlLMA0
- 23. Task Observations, a.k.a. Role-plays Positives • Concrete outcomes, i.e. did they accomplish the task? Negatives • Usually transactional in nature • Dependent on partner’s ability • Dependent on knowledge of the context
- 24. Issue with Role-plays “Role-playing ability can be compared with acting ability, and of course not everyone is a good actor. Nor is being a good actor equivalent to being a good communicator. Furthermore, role playing is a specialized kind of acting, requiring ad-libbing ability. Not every good actor is a good ad-libber.” van Lier (1989), p. 502
- 25. Video of a Student Role-play Video Removed Please see: https://youtu.be/pqoI7TlxKCE
- 26. Oral Proficiency Interviews Positives: • Students produce lots of language (ideally) Negatives: • Minor speaking genre • Highly structured with time limits • Controlled by interviewer • One-sided interaction
- 27. Example video Video Removed for Student Privacy
- 28. Example Audio Video Removed for Student Privacy
- 29. Example video Video Removed for Student Privacy
- 30. So, how do you evaluate speaking?
- 31. Ideas to take away Part Four
- 33. Speaking Genres • Just as teaching poetry doesn’t prepare a student to write a business letter, teaching a student how to give a presentation doesn’t prepare him/her to have a conversation. • The same for reading, writing, listening, grammar, vocabulary, etc.
- 35. Suggestions for teaching • Make conversation (real conversation) a priority • Raise student awareness of aspects of a good conversationalist • Correct bad conversation behaviors • Teach conversation/communication skills • Teach interactive skills
- 36. #3: Test what you teach AND teach what you test
- 37. Suggestions for evaluation • Make sure your evaluation matches classroom realities. • If you have a fixed evaluation method, include classroom activities to match the evaluation.
- 38. Beyond linguistic accuracy: What speaking tests must also evaluate John Campbell-Larsen Cameron Romney Kyoto Women’s University