How to Test Speaking Skills in Japan

18 Part 1: Why should we bother with speaking tests? seem like an obvious point, but it’s one worthy of review Typical differences revolve around method and purpose, about how they are designed and used (McNamara, 2000) One of the problems in the current ELT scene in Japan is not that testing is bad per se, but rath er the types of tests used to assess language ability Again, if we see tests as tools, then part of the solution is understanding more deeply about their characteristics and intended uses so that we can choose them more wisely This makes sense—you would expect a carpenter to know precisely what each tool does in her toolbox, so it follows that we teachers should be able to differentiate between different types of tests and know how to use them appropriately Norm-referenced & criterion-referenced tests: two different solar systems In most books on language testing, there is usually a section devoted to defining two main categories of tests: Norm-Referenced and Crite rion-Referenced Yes, yes, I know—I’ve promised not to get bogged down in terminology, so let’s have a bit of fun and look at this im portant distinction through a metaphorical lens Let’s say this lens is actually part of a massive telescopic array at an observatory, like the one atop Mt Mauna Kea in Hawaii:

Observing the Language Testing Galaxy