How to Test Speaking Skills in Japan

119 Epilogue heavy testing culture It is absolutely heartbreaking to see good stu dents, teachers, and administrators ground down by this system and not reach their true potential However, as I’ve tried to show, not all tests are alike—a high school entrance exam is not the same as a classroom oral test If we are really serious about helping our stu dents learn, then we can and absolutely must learn to utilize tests as tools for generating carefully crafted feedback that fosters learning (Brown, in Lake & Holster, 2017) Seen from this perspective, good classroom oral testing is actu ally one of the most humanistic and affirming things we can do for our students And it’s not that hard to do—just add a feedback loop to typical language practice activities we would do anyway and run with it Testing, like teaching itself, requires our creativity and imagi nation if we want to do it well We need to apply ourselves, develop our capabilities, and come up with our own unique ways of serving our students Hopefully the activities in this book have gotten you thinking more creatively about speaking tests Now it’s up to you to take your teaching practice to the next level Work on keeping your oral exams as reliable, valid, and practical as you can, and don’t worry about being perfect You’re learning as you go, getting better all the time Before you know it, you’ll be in a position to share your own insights and ideas with others, and little by little, the ELT sys tem in Japan will change for the better, one teacher, one classroom at a time Good luck, and happy testing!