Chapter Ten:

Aural Assessment
• Listening and understanding spoken English involves the students in a
range of skills:
• 1. The ability to identify words from a blur of speech.
• 2. Recognizing the significance of stress and intonation.
• 3. Retaining what is heard long enough for the message to be
understood in its entirety.
• 4. Anticipating or predicting what is likely to be heard in a given
situation.
 Categories of Aural Tests:
• Aural tests may be divided into two broad categories:
• 1. Tests of phoneme discrimination as well as stress and intonation.
• Tests of aural comprehension.
• At the elementary and intermediate levels of instruction, phoneme
discrimination tests are very useful. On the other hand, Tests of aural
comprehension are more suitable at the intermediate (secondary)
and advanced levels.
•
 Techniques for Testing Aural Skills
• 1. Phoneme Discrimination Tests
• 2. Multiple-Choice Items
• 3. Picture Tests
• 4. Recorded Tests