How to Test Speaking Skills in Japan

69 Chapter 6: Plan out the test admin details ahead of time

with your marking if you are part of the discussion Recording takes that difficulty away Also, being able to mark your exams from the recordings will help you learn about each construct more deeply You can listen to a performance multiple times, one construct or student at a time You’ll quickly learn where your rating scale works and where it needs adjusting Finally, even if you never listen to them, the recordings serve as a valuable backup, just in case With a writing test you always have the paper, so the recordings provide a similar advantage

Marking speaking tests from recorded conversations has its advantages.

One minor drawback One of the drawbacks of recording tests is that it will require a bit more work for you You’ll have to deal with technology and man age digital files, for example However, these days, with the advent of smartphones and cheap USB recorders, it is easier than ever to record your tests It’s really as simple as touching the big red button on your built-in smartphone recording app Of course, you’ll need a place to store and organize the audio files You could just keep them