How to Test Speaking Skills in Japan

115 Chapter 9: What about testing small groups of high-level learners?

mates Just switch up the pairs and have each student report on their findings: I found three examples of reaction expressions. We also had a few breakdowns because I didn’t know how to say a key word… By articulating a meta-analysis of their test performance, students will cement any insights gained

Students posting the results of a noticing task on the board.

Track statistics Since word count is one measure of fluency, students can count up the number of words they spoke and keep track of this total in their notebooks If you conduct this test a few times throughout the course, students will be able to notice any increases Hopefully by the end of the class they’ll be capable of talking more in the same amount of time Having some hard data will provide tangible ev idence of their improvement Other aspects of conversation could also be tracked, such as the number and severity of grammar mis takes, how often they used particular interactive strategies, or the overall friendliness and energy of their voices: At the beginning of the year my voice was small and shy, but at the end I could really enjoy myself. My voice sounded much friendlier…