TESTING SPEAKING

AND
VOCABULARY

■ Testing is not only getting marks but it is also

used as a feedback. It gives teachers important
information concerning their teaching methods
and whether the students mastered everything.
 TESTING SPEAKING
■ Testing the ability to speak is a most important
aspect of language testing.
■ However, it is an extremely difficult skill to
test because this kind of testing is subjective.
■ The teacher is working under great pressure,
making subjective judgements as quickly as
possible.
■ Frequently, it is also impossible to test large
number of students because of the time limits.
 Types of oral tests
■ reading aloud
■ conversation/discussion
■ describing pictures
■ interview
■ role-play
■ question and answer
■ giving instructions/description/explanation
■ re-telling a story
 Reading aloud
■ The student is given a short time to glance
through an extract before being required to
read it aloud.
■ This kind of testing is used when we want to
assess pronunciation.
■ It is good to use situations which can occur in
real life – how to cook certain dishes or to read
aloud part of a letter.
 Conversation/discussion

■ The result of the interaction between people

that are involved in a kind of negotiation.
■ Not only the words but also tone of voice,
intonation, expressions of face and body
language contribute to this negotiation.
■ Testing in pairs is better for students. They are
more relaxed and less stressed.
 Possible themes

■ likes and dislikes

■ social situations
■ real-life situations
■ conversations based on everyday situations
(restaurant, shopping, etc.)
 Describing pictures
■ The students are given a picture to study for a few
minutes. Then they are asked to describe it.
■ Careful selection of the pictures helps in
controlling the basic vocabulary.
■ The pictures can also depict a story or sequence of
events.
■ This sequence of events can be cut into pieces and
the students are asked to put them in the correct
order.
 Describing pictures

■ We can use similar pictures – the students are

asked to find the differences
■ A cartoon can be also used – we delete the text
in bubbles and the students try to reconstruct
the story
■ Maps can be used to teach directions
 Interview
■ A direct, face-to-face exchange between
learner and interviewer.
■ It follows a pre-determined structure but still
allow both people a degree of freedom to say
what they think.
■ We should not interrupt the student while
speaking when he or she makes mistakes. If we
do it can discourage him or her from speaking.
 Role-play
■ The task is to take on a particular role and to
imagine us in that role in a particular situation.
■ The student is given a set of instructions that
explain exactly what he is supposed to do.

Imagine you are a foreign tourist in Britain, and

you want to visit Edinburgh. You are talking to
a travel agent. Find out how to get there. Make
your own decision about how to travel.
 Question and answer

■ This is a very common general-purpose test

technique.
■ It is really good for lower levels.
■ Asking and answering questions are the two
most basic functions of a foreign language.
 Question and answer
■ It starts with short simple questions (Where do
you live?) and goes on to long and complex
sentences (If you hadn't been taking this test
this morning, what would you have been doing
instead?).
■ We can use factual questions or we can require
some imagination (You've just inherited a few
hundred pounds. What will you do with the
money?).
 Types of questions
■ yes/no questions
■ either/or questions
■ simple factual questions
■ descriptive questions
■ narrative questions
■ speculative questions
■ hypothetical questions
■ justification or opinion questions
 Giving
instructions/description/explanation

■ We can choose something that is familiar to

everybody and let the students describe it.
■ The students are given the list of between five
or seven topics to choose from and a few
minutes to prepare it.
 Giving
instructions/description/explanation
■ How do you make a good cup of tea or coffee?
■ Describe a bicycle.
■ Describe how to prepare a favourite dish from your
country.
■ Give instructions for using a public pay-phone.
■ Explain how you would advise someone to look for a job.
■ Describe how people in your country celebrate the New
Year.
■ How does the education system work in your country?
 Re-telling a story

■ The students read series of short passages to

themselves then they are asked to re-tell it in
their own words.
 TESTING VOCABULARY
■ We test the vocabulary that had been already
explained and practised.
■ Grammatical structures used in these kinds of
tests should be simple. If the students do not
understand grammatical structures they will
not solve the test correctly, even if they
understand its vocabulary.
 Types of tests
■ Synonyms
■ Definitions
■ Gap filling
■ Set of words
■ Word formation
■ Guessing the meaning from the context
 Synonyms
■ We choose words with a similar meaning but
the usage is different (different context).

Choose the alternative which is closest in

meaning to the word given: gleam
A. gather B. shine
C. welcome D. clean
 Definitions
■ loathe means ■ A ……….. is a person
who looks after our
A. dislike intensely teeth.
B. become seriously ill ■ ………….. is frozen
water.
C. search carefully
■ ………….. is the
D. look very angry
second month of the
year.
 Gap filling
■ with multiple choice

The strong wind …………. the man´s efforts to put

up the tent.
A. disabled
B. hampered
C. deranged
D. regaled
 Gap filling
■ fill in the words according to the meaning of
the sentence

Because of the snow, the football match was ………..

until the following week.

I …………. to have to tell you this, Mrs Jones, but

your husband has had an accident.
 Gap filling
■ words are offered above the text, there are gaps in the text to
be completed

A. completely C. busily E. quickly

B. politely D. carefully F. angrily

“Write …. “ the teacher shouted …. “but don't waste

time. You must get used to working …. “. “Please, sir,“
a student said …., “I've finished.“ “No, you haven't,“
answer the teacher. “You haven't …. finished until
you've ruled a line at the end.“ Meanwhile, the boy
sitting next to him was …. engaged in drawing a map.
 Set of words
■ circle the word that does ■ write down the subject
not fit that each group of
words is related to
dollar
yen bedroom
pound living room
money kitchen
dining room
 Word formation
■ write the correct form of the word in capital
letters in the blank

HONEST
Darren says he didn't cheat, but I _________
don't know what to think.
 Guessing the meaning from the
context
■ 1) a synonym in another clause, for example:
"Your explanation doesn't need to be so
convoluted. Such complex explanations just
confuse people."

■ 2) an antonym or contrasted word in another

clause, for example:
"May was indignant about the problem, and I had
to calm her down."
 Guessing the meaning from the
context
■ 3) a cause or effect of the word in question, for
example:
"Pollution from that factory is contaminating the
local farmers' fields."

■ 4) an illustration of the word in question, for

example:
"Jeff is so parsimonious that he won't spend a
penny if he doesn't have to. "
 Guessing the meaning from the
context
■ 5) the use of an object, for example:

"I used a pitter to remove the seeds from the

cherries."
 Duration of the test

■ It can be from three to thirty minutes but the

most often length is between eight and twelve
minutes.
■ An oral test at a higher level of language
usually lasts longer than at a lower level.
■ The personality and background of the
students also influence the length of their
speech.
 Instructions

■ Clear instructions are crucial for the whole

procedure of the test. It is better to have
written instructions so that everyone can easily
become familiar with the test.
■ The instructions are given at the beginning of
the test and should be read aloud. This ensures
that the instructions will be read right to the
end. It is also advisable to ask the students
whether they understand the instructions.
 Friendly things that we can do

■ Try to be human – testing is a direct meeting

between two or more people. Present ourselves
as an interested and friendly person.

■ Before the test:

use the student's name
describe the purpose of the test
mention the likely duration of the test
 Friendly things that we can do

■ During the test:

say something about yourself, too (interests,
experiences, opinion)
show that you want to talk to the student

■ At the end of the test:

announce the end
ask the student if he has any questions
give the result
thank him!
 Features of a good test

■ Validity – it tests what is intended to be tested (if we

want to test vocabulary the test has to test vocabulary)

■ Reliability – we can rely on the results of the test. If

we give the same test to the same student the student
must get the same (or very similar) results. The
results can be better but not worse.

■ Practicality – the test should be easy to correct and

interpret.
 Features of a good test

■ The test should be so difficult that most

students will manage it.
■ It has to be clear what the task is.
■ One item should not be tested more than once
in the test.