How to Test Speaking Skills in Japan

94 Part 3: Three speaking test ideas activities Have students search for language that is directly tied to your curriculum For example, if you are teaching students how to make longer answers, ask them how many times they were able to do that If you want them to be more interactive, ask them to count the number of reaction expressions they used Students can also try their hand at locating grammar errors Whatever you decide, come up with a list of things for them to notice and put them on the board or on a handout For example: • Find three grammar errors Final Thoughts Write & Perform a Conversation is a viable entry-level test activity which is quite suitable for large classes with very low-level learners Students will not be able to produce a lot of English in the time allotted, but the focus is on quality, not quantity At this stage, the level of attention and effort put into their work is most important Again, a big problem in large classes is keeping everyone engaged and productive This activity takes advantage of the testing atmo sphere to push students to collaborate and think through recently learned material in creative ways Because the dialogs are short, you can get through a lot of pairs within a typical 90-minute lesson In addition, the simultaneous writing/transcribing process is pedagog ically sound in its own right and enables students to use a wider range of vocabulary By working together, students can help each other with pronunciation, fluency, and being creative in general This activity is also works great without the assessment stage as a way to review previously taught material • How many times did you make a longer answer? • How many times did you use a reaction expression? • Circle and label each conversation strategy you used