ASSESSING SPEAKING

By Shanny Glaston

Hours after we are at the hotel  thinking about  our  trip.  We have the reservation and the clerk is very nice, by having a conversation and  filling out the registation card we wil accomodate rapidly in our room. All this situation were able, thnaks to use of communication abilities.

Speaking is an important channel of communication.  ESL programs should stimulate real activities to engage free conversation between students.  According to the topics developed in the CONARE´S course, teachers should take in acount the following aspects to ensure valid and reliable of their speaking assessments:

• Start with a warm up activity to reduce ansiety.
• Conduct test  with another teacher, one an interlocutor and the other as assessor.
• Choose appropriate techniques.
• Personalize test by using student´s names.
• Never mark the test in front of the student.

CLASSROOM SPEAKING ASSESSMENT TECHNIQUES

• Oral Presentation: It designed to get students talking about familiar topics.

• Debates on a Controversial Topic: formal speaking activity between to groups that will argue about a topic.
• Reading Aloud: Read aloud to practice pronunciation 
• Retelling Stories:  make a report of a given  topic.
• Verbal Essay. students speak for three to five minutes about a prepared topic.
• Extemporaneous Speaking: Prepare to speak about topic .

SPEAKING ASSESSMENT RUBRICS:
Speaking assessment rubrics should carry the following categories:

• Grammar: Refers to the communication of ideas.
• Vocabulary: Selection of words and idioms.
• Fluency: No hesitationts at all.
• Pronunciation: clear communication and a native-like pronunciation.

Here there is an example of reading aloud assessment technique.

Assessing listening

          

September 22nd, 2011 

Meanwhile travellers are waiting for their transportation they sit into the boarding room. Listen carefully to the hour for each flight departure and number of gate. At this point travellers need to pay much attention mostly when they at another country with a different language.

In an ESL classroom students require to learn how to listen and understand what is heard before he or she can speak. For that reason there are fundamental aspects to consider:

1. Model Listening.

a- Bottom-up processing which stands for the comprehension listener obtains from braking down information.

b- Top-down listening: in this process listener uses personal background knowledge of a specific situation to make sense what is heard.

         2.Approaches to Listening Assessment

A- Discrete point approach: listen information and carry it down to components, assess it separately

B- Integrative approach: Assess listener ability to use several components same time.  

C- Communicative approach: Assess listener ability to comprehend and use components in a specific context.

 Consideration in Designing Listening Task

A. Background Knowledge.Listener´s prior knowledge.

B. Test Content. Specification of the Test.

C. Texts. Convert script in oral material.

D. Vocabulary. List of words to understand a text.

E. Test Structure. The outset of the test.

F. Formats. Teach the situation then introduce it in the test.

G. Items Writing. Refer to formats and text to be included 
in a test. 

H. Timing. Length of the test includes pre-reading. 

I. Skill Contamination. Use of other language skills 
to answer question.