República Bolivariana de Venezuela

Universidad Pedagógica Experimental Libertador

Instituto Pedagógico de Caracas
Maestría en Enseñanza del Inglés como Lengua
Extranjera
Estrategias de Evaluación

Authors: Maite Sangroniz

María Aurora Ovalles
Nairuby Mata,
Professor: Rosa Virguez de Olivo

1 Sep-19
Assessing Speaking

Authors: Maite Sangroniz

María Aurora Ovalles
Nairuby Mata,
Professor: Rosa Virguez de Olivo

June, 2011
 Teaching speaking
 What is Speaking?
¨Speaking is an interactive process of constructing
meaning that involves producing and receiving and
processing information¨ (Brown, 1994; Burns & Joyce,
1997).

According to Kramsch (1986) cited in O´Malley and

Valdez (1996) ¨Speaking means anticipating the
listener´s response and possible misunderstandings, and
arriving at the closest possible match between intended,
perceived, and anticipated meanings¨.

3 Sep-19
 Assessing Speaking
Characteristics of Spoken language
Spoken language is different from written language for many reasons.
One important reason is that it usually has to be understood
immediately whereas written language can be read many times. For
that reason, spoken language has many different features.
 Spoken language has the following characteristics (Halliday, 1989, p.
31):
 Variation in speed (generally faster than writing)
 Loudness or quietness
 Gestures - body language
 Intonation
 Stress
 Rhythm
 Pitch range
 Pausing and phrasing

4 Sep-19
 Assessing Speaking
Imitative

Extensive Intensive

Basic
Types of
Speaking

Interactive Responsive

Source: Brown, D (2004) Sep-19

5
 Assessing Speaking
Imitative: Word repetition Task (repeat after me…)
PHONEPASS TEST
Intensive: Directed Response Tasks, Read-Aloud Tasks,
Sentence Dialogue completion tasks and oral questionnaires,
Picture-Cued Tasks, translation (of limited stretches of
discourse).

Responsive: Question/answer, giving instructions and

directions, Paraphrasing, Test of Spoken English (TSE)

Interactive: Interview, Role Play, Discussions and

Conversations, Games, Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI)

Extensive: Oral presentations, Picture-Cued Story-Telling,

Retelling a Story, News Event, Translation (of Extended Prose)

Source: Brown, D (2004) Sep-19

6
 PICTURE-CUED STORY TELLING (intermediate level sample)

Source:http://www.google.co.ve/search?hl=es&biw=1259&bih=573&gbv=2&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=sequenced+pictures+for+story+telling&btnG=Buscar&oq=sequenced+pictures+for+stor
y+telling&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&gs_sm=s&gs_upl=54413l75052l0l31l30l2l0l0l3l905l6206l0.2.11.4.1.1.1
PICTURE – CUED STORY TELLING
(OBJECTIVE: SIMPLE PAST)

Source: Brown, H., 2004. Language Assessment Principles and Classroom Practices.
 Assessing Speaking:
Interactive Speaking
Choosing the best test format

Structured Unstructured
interview Interviews

ROLE PLAY
ROLE PLAY
Structured role
Unstructured
play (information
role play
gap)

9 Sep-19
 Assessing Speaking: Interactive Speaking
 Interviews: (stages)
Warm up: 1. small talk
Level check: the test taker
2. answers Wh-questions
3 produce a narrative without interruptions
4 reads a passage outloud
5 Tells how to make something or do something
6 engages in a brief, controlled, guided role play
 Probe: The test-taker:
7 responds to interviewer´s questions about something the test taker doesn´t know and
is planning to include in an article or paper.
8 talks about his or her own field of study or profession.
9 engages in a longer, more open-ended role play (e.g. simulates a difficult of
embarrassing situation) with the interviewer.
10 gives an impromptu presentation on some aspect of test-taker´s field.
Wind down:
11 feeling about the interview, information or results, further questions

10 Sep-19
Role Plays
Discussions and conversations
 Assessing Speaking:
Extensive Speaking

Oral Picture-cued
Presentations Story Telling

Retelling a Translation of
story an extended
prose

Source: Brown, 2004

13 Sep-19
 Oral Presentations

 Specify the criterion

 Set appropriate tasks
 Optimal output
 Practical, reliable scoring
ORAL PRESENTATION CHECK LIST

Source: Brown, H., 2004. Language Assessment Principles and Classroom Practices.
 Conclusions
 Speaking assessment is very difficult.
 It is important to determine what criteria to use to assess whether
accuracy or fluency. Such criteria can be based upon created models
or adapted ones.

16 Sep-19
 References
 Brown, D. (2004). Language Assessment, Principles and Classroom Practices.
Longman

 O Malley, M. and Valdez L. (1995). Authentic Assessment for English

Language Learners. Practical Approaches for Teachers. Addison-Wesley Publishing Company.

 Weir, C. (1990). Communicative Language Testing. Prentice Hall.

 Bailey, K.M., & Savage, L. (1994). "New ways in teaching speaking." Alexandria,VA:Teachers of
English to Speakers of Other Languages.

 Brown, H.D. (1994). "Teaching by principles: an interactive approach to language pedagogy.“

Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall Regents.

 Burns, A., & Joyce, H. (1997). "Focus on speaking." Sydney: National Center for English Language
Teaching and Research.

 Carter, R. & McCarthy, M. (1995). Grammar and spoken language. "Applied Linguistics, 16" (2),
141-158

17 Sep-19