Assessing listening &

speaking skills
In Malaysian schools, oral assessment is
carried out to test learners oral abilities.
It is known as the School Based Oral
Assessment (SBOA)
SBOA is administered by the language
teachers formatively in schools.

assessment
1. multiple-choice questions (MCQs)
2. Short answers
- it requires listeners of a listening test to write
short
answers from brief items.
3. Information transfer
- labelling diagrams / pictures, completing forms /
showing routes on maps.
4. Note-taking
- to assess the ability to take notes while listening
to a lecture.

Types of Speaking
Assessment
1. Interview
- to test oral interaction & the proficiency of
the
test-takers in giving responses.
2. Interaction with peers
- two or more candidates required to discuss a
topic in a group.
3. Imitation
-candidates hear a series of sentences, each of
which they have to repeat in turn.

How are listening skills

assessed?
Listening tests typically resemble reading
comprehension tests except pupil listens to a
passage instead of reading it.
Pupil answers MCQs that address various levels of
literal & inferential comprehension.
Important elements in all listening tests are:
i. the listening stimuli;
ii. the questions;
iii.the test environment.

Cont
i.

the listening stimuli

-should represent typical oral language & not

the oral
reading passages designed to be written
material.
-material should model the language pupils
hear in the
classroom, in various media, or in
conversations.

Cont
-the passages should be interesting & short.
-topics should be based on pupils common
experience,
irrespective of gender, geographic, sosioeconomic, or
racial / ethnic background.

ii. the questions

Multiple-choice items should focus on the most
important aspects of the language-measure skills
from a particular domain.
Questions & response choices should meet
accepted psychometric standards for MCQs.
An alternative to multiple-choice test, a
performance test w/c requires pupils to select a
picture / perform a task-based on oral instructions
can be used.
E.g. Description of several geometric figures &
choose
pictures that match the description.

How are speaking skills

assessed?
Two methods of assessing speaking skills
i. Observational approach
-pupils behaviour is observed and assessed
unobstructively.
ii. Structured approach
-pupil is asked to perform one or more specific
oral
communication tasks, then to be evaluate.
-task can be administered in one-on-one
setting / in a
group / class setting.

Cont
In either setting, pupils should feel they are
communicating meaningful content to a real
audience.
Both observational & structured approaches use a
variety of rating systems.
A primary trait score-assesses pupils ability to
achieve a specific communication purpose-e.g. to
persuade the listener to adopt a certain point of
view.
Analytic scales-capture pupils performance on
various aspects of communication-e.g. delivery,
organisation, content, & language.

Cont
Rating systems-may describe varying degrees of
competence along a scale / may indicate the
presence or absence of a characteristic.
A major aspect of any rating system-raters
objectivity.
Is the rater applying the scoring criteria
accurately & consistently across time?
Should establish raters reliability during training
& check during assessment.

 The abilities to listen critically & to express

oneself clearly & effectively contribute to a pupils
success in school & later in life.

Teachers need methods to assess their pupils

progress. These techniques range from
observation & questioning to standardised
testing.

Cont

Even the most informal methods

must embrace the principles of
reliability, validity, and fairness.
The methods used should be
appropriate to the purpose of the
assessment & make use of the best
instrument & procedures available.

Thank you