How to Test Speaking Skills in Japan

60 Part 2: How can we mark & administer speaking tests? proach, based on the constructs we covered previoiusly: Fluency , Pronunciation , Vocabulary , Grammar , and Interactional Strategies Notice how the performance statements align with each of these marking categories:

Student performance

Approaches

Meets

Exceeds

Comments

You spoke smoothly, with no major breakdowns. Few, if any, pauses. Your pronunciation was clear, easy to follow, and understandable. Your showed you could use a wide range of recently studied language patterns. Your English was nearly free of grammar mistakes that hurt comprehension. You listened actively and interacted very well with your partner.

Totals:

Final score: __________

A simplified rubric format that combines holistic & analytic elements

Clearly, one of the main advantages of this rubric is its clari ty and simplicity Instead of getting bogged down in fine-grained definitions of conversational constructs, you are simply assessing students on the degree to which they can approach, meet, or exceed a basic level of performance The constructs are still there—each statement is connected to one, but you don’t need to wade into them too deeply Assessing on just three levels may be all you really need for grading purposes, anyhow The marking is therefore much easier to conduct and interpret Making room for comments allows