How to Test Speaking Skills in Japan

102 Part 3: Three speaking test ideas To make the test easier, provide a bit of scaffolding One way to do that is by providing an outline of how a conversation should flow: I Greeting II Q&A from Unit 1— Getting acquainted III Q&A from Unit 2— Daily routines IV Closing Another idea is to do away with the random pairing idea and have students prepare conversations with their partner(s) ahead of test day In effect, they will prepare a script, memorize it, then per form it for you during the class If you have the time, the writing and performing could be done all in one class Naturally, this will remove any sort of spontaneity from their performances, and they won’t really be conversing, per se However, this is a productive idea if your students are beginners or are not ready for free-flowing con versation No, they won’t be making true conversation, but they will still be practicing their English in a collaborative manner This variation makes oral assessment more assessible to a wider range of students and can be used as a good first-time test Over the rest of your course, you could aim to have everyone speaking freely If you try this variation out, just make sure to give everyone equal amounts of practice time or else adjust your marking to give a slight bonus for pairs that go early on

Follow-up activities Transcribe & self-evaluate

If your students recorded their test performances, why not have them transcribe their conversations for homework? If they do, they can really diagnose their strengths and weaknesses See Chapter 9 for more information on the details and benefits of this activity