How to Test Speaking Skills in Japan

Chapter 9

Record & Transcribe a Conversation

Optimal situation Small classes of higher level learners Maturity level Senior high school and above Format

Random pairs record a 3-minute conversation three times, transcribe the best take, complete a self-evaluatron handout Best of three takes (can be varied); 4 minutes listening/dis cussion time between takes (can be varied) 20 minutes for recording three 3-minute conversations; ~60 minutes for the transcription phase Recording device for each student; Transciption paper; Self-evaluation handout; Marking/feedback sheet

Scaffolding

Class length 90 minutes

Assessment length

Materials

I n contrast to classes where the majority of students do not want to be there, you occasionally have the opposite experience— teaching small groups of highly motivated learners In this case, the following assessment activity, Record & Transcribe a Conversation (Talandis, Jr, 2015), may be just the thing to help these sorts of stu dents reach a higher level of ability Anyone really keen on improv ing their speaking skills needs additional feedback to better diagnose strengths and weaknesses By recording a short conversation and

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