How to Test Speaking Skills in Japan

82 Part 2: How can we mark & administer speaking tests? Plan out the administration details ahead of time

With rubric in hand, the final step is to suss out all of the various test administration issues Don’t wait until the end to figure out how to collect marks, give feedback, or manage your class on test day Also, give thought to recording your exams, where and how often you’ll conduct them, the pairing process, and your record-keeping system On that last point, know that bringing your students in on this task via progress sheets can act as a pedagogical exercise in its own right Finally, find a way to give your students some individual feed back time, even if its for a minute or two after an exam Ask them how they did and base your comments off of theirs Ultimately, how you create and use your rating scales is a very personal decision This is where the art and skill come in with oral testing The more experience you gain, the easier it will be to iden tify what is what, and your marking skills will grow in consistency Again, I can’t stress enough how important it is to not worry about being perfect right off the bat! Remember, you are a learner here, like your students Be as patient with yourself as you are with them Eventually you will become so attuned to various levels of perfor mance that you’ll be able to do it quickly and efficiently Like with anything, the more you practice, the easier, smoother, and better you get