Assessment of English speaking skills

Assessment is an activity that engages both students and teachers in judgment about the quality of student achievement or performance, and inferences about the learning that has taken place (David Boud & Falchikov,2006; Sadler,2005). Second language assessment is done either to gauge a participant’s actual level of competence/proficiency or to assess language development over a period of time (Alam,2012; Bruton,2009). Assessment does have an impact on the students’ approach to learning. The nature of the assessment determines the learning behaviour of the students as well as the teaching behaviour of teachers. Strong impact of assessment on the language learning process has been noted by a large number of researchers like (Crooks,1988; Heywood,19891983). There are many challenges in the assessment of oral skills in a second–language including: defining language proficiency, avoiding cultural biases, and attaining validity (Sánchez,2006). Assessment of speaking skills often lags far behind the importance given to teaching those skills in the curriculum (Knight,1992). Assessment drives university teaching in Pakistan. During the teaching learning process, the orientation of both the teacher and students remains towards assessment (Ali et al.,2009). The grading system is based only on achievement scores. So, the teachers, students, administration and other stakeholders focus only on the areas of the syllabi that bring good credit to them in terms of achievement scores in examinations. If assessment is limited to written examinations then the students will only learn how to write (Ahmad,2011; Akiyama,2003; Ali et al.2012).

Challenges about assessment of spoken English

The use of oral assessment motivates students to practice and improve their English speaking skills (Huang,2012; Huxham et al.2012; Lee,2007). In spite of all these benefits the experts in Pakistan are facing the problem of finding experts in assessing spoken skills in English (Ahmad,2011). This situation is mainly due to three reasons: insufficient training, lack of public trust on oral assessment and issues of test validity. The teachers are not properly trained to conduct oral assessments in Pakistan. The teachers are either reluctant to test oral ability or lack confidence in the validity of their assessments (Knight,1992). The lack of public trust on oral examination makes the situation more complex (Bashir,2011). Validity has been identified as the most important quality of tests, which concerns the extent to which meaningful inferences can be drawn from test scores (Best & Kahn,2005). Like other tests spoken skills tests need to ensure seven test qualities namely: reliability, validity, authenticity, inter-activeness, impact, practicality, and absence of bias (Akiyama,2003; Bilal et al.,2013; Lee,2007).

The purpose of this study was to assess the development of English speaking skills among prospective teachers undertaking one year teacher education program in the public sector universities of the Punjab, Pakistan.

Methods and procedures

This study is descriptive in nature as it describes and interprets conditions and relationships that exist (Best & Kahn,2005). The purpose of the study was to assess the development in oral proficiency in English language among prospective teachers undertaking one year teacher education program in Punjab, Pakistan, takes place or not in case the medium instruction and examination is English and English speaking skills are neither assessed/ evaluated nor given any credit in terms marks. Moreover, the purpose of the study was to assess whether prospective teachers of one year teacher education program improve their level of proficiency in English speaking skills without the inclusion of any Speaking Module/ course in the syllabus, despite the fact that all courses are taught and assessed in English. Assessment studies include surveys, educational assessment, activity analysis and trend studies (Alam,20122005; D. Boud,1990; Heywood,1989). The present study could be conducted using cross-sectional and longitudinal designs. Research design is the plan and structure of investigation, which expresses both the structure of the research problem and the plan of investigation used to obtain empirical evidence (Cohen et al.2011; William,2009). In cross-sectional design data are collected from selected individuals at a single point in time while longitudinal design involves multiple measures over an extended period of time (Gay,2008). Keeping the limited time for completion of the study cross-sectional deign was selected. This study offers a snapshot of a single moment in time; it does not consider what happens before or after the snapshot is taken (Breakwell et al.2010). Oral proficiency can be assessed by the use of rubrics (Allen & Tanner,2006). Rubrics are of two types: holistic and analytic. Analytic rubrics are preferred when more accuracy is required (Montgomery,2002). Most of the international assessment of speaking skills makes use of analytic rubrics. The European Common Framework for Language Testing, IELTS, TOEFL etc. measure the speaking proficiency through analytic rubrics

Teaching Listening

Goals and Techniques for Teaching Listening

Instructors want to produce students who, even if they do not have complete control of the grammar or an extensive lexicon, can fend for themselves in communication situations. In the case of listening, this means producing students who can use listening strategies to maximize their comprehension of aural input, identify relevant and non-relevant information, and tolerate less than word-by-word comprehension.

Focus: The Listening Process

To accomplish this goal, instructors focus on the process of listening rather than on its product.

• They develop students' awareness of the listening process and listening strategies by asking students to think and talk about how they listen in their native language.
• They allow students to practice the full repertoire of listening strategies by using authentic listening tasks.
• They behave as authentic listeners by responding to student communication as a listener rather than as a teacher.
• When working with listening tasks in class, they show students the strategies that will work best for the listening purpose and the type of text. They explain how and why students should use the strategies.
• They have students practice listening strategies in class and ask them to practice outside of class in their listening assignments. They encourage students to be conscious of what they're doing while they complete listening tape assignments.
• They encourage students to evaluate their comprehension and their strategy use immediately after completing an assignment. They build comprehension checks into in-class and out-of-class listening assignments, and periodically review how and when to use particular strategies.
• They encourage the development of listening skills and the use of listening strategies by using the target language to conduct classroom business: making announcements, assigning homework, describing the content and format of tests.
• They do not assume that students will transfer strategy use from one task to another. They explicitly mention how a particular strategy can be used in a different type of listening task or with another skill.

By raising students' awareness of listening as a skill that requires active engagement, and by explicitly teaching listening strategies, instructors help their students develop both the ability and the   confidence to handle communication situations they may encounter beyond the classroom. In this way they give their students the foundation for communicative competence in the new language.

Integrating Metacognitive Strategies

Before listening: Plan for the listening task

• Set a purpose or decide in advance what to listen for
• Decide if more linguistic or background knowledge is needed
• Determine whether to enter the text from the top down (attend to the overall meaning) or from the bottom up (focus on the words and phrases)

During and after listening: Monitor comprehension

• Verify predictions and check for inaccurate guesses
• Decide what is and is not important to understand
• Listen/view again to check comprehension
• Ask for help

After listening: Evaluate comprehension and strategy use

• Evaluate comprehension in a particular task or area
• Evaluate overall progress in listening and in particular types of listening tasks
• Decide if the strategies used were appropriate for the purpose and for the task
• Modify strategies if necessary

Using Authentic Materials and Situations

Authentic materials and situations prepare students for the types of listening they will need to do when using the language outside the classroom.
One-Way Communication
Materials:

• Radio and television programs
• Public address announcements (airports, train/bus stations, stores)
• Speeches and lectures
• Telephone customer service recordings

Procedure:

• Help students identify the listening goal: to obtain specific information; to decide whether to continue listening; to understand most or all of the message
• Help students outline predictable sequences in which information may be presented: who-what-when-where (news stories); who-flight number-arriving/departing-gate number (airport announcements); "for [function], press [number]" (telephone recordings)
• Help students identify key words/phrases to listen for

Two-Way Communication
In authentic two-way communication, the listener focuses on the speaker's meaning rather than the speaker's language. The focus shifts to language only when meaning is not clear. Note the difference between the teacher as teacher and the teacher as authentic listener in the dialogues in the popup screens.

Advantages of Standards-based Assessment

• Students are compared to a standard that all can reach, rather than artificially ranked into a bell curve where some students must be called failures, and only a few are allowed to succeed
• Humans, not computers can evaluate the entire value of a response rather than imposing a strict right or wrong that is not open to interpretation
• Free response uses and tests for higher order thinking, which is important in most new education standards.
• Computer scored multiple choice tests have been shown to have deleterious effects for minorities, unfairly denying opportunities.
• A criterion-based test is a test worth teaching to, unlike a multiple choice test.
• Only a standards-based test is aligned with standards-based education reform, which is based on a belief that all students can succeed, not only a few.
• Passing a 10th grade test and awarding a Certificate of Initial Mastery ensures that all students will graduate with the skills they need to succeed in the world-class economy of the twenty-first century.
• Students will no longer be cheated by passing them on to the next grade without obtaining what every child at the grade level must be able to know and do.
• When all students pass all standards, as is the central belief of standards-based education reform, all students from all demographics will achieve the same test score, eliminating the mysterious achievement gap which has previously been shown to occur between all groups on all tests. However, as of 2006, no standards-based assessment has yet achieved this optimistic (critics might call it impossible) goal, though many show rising scores.

reason for giving a testing

What is the reason why teachers give students tests? Why do school districts and states create high stakes tests for their students? On one level, the answer to this seems fairly obvious: the reason why we give tests is to see what students have learned. However, this only tells part of the story. Tests have many purposes in our schools. One thing that should be stressed is that in the end, tests should be for the benefit of the student and not the teacher, school, district, or state. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. Following is a look at some of the major reasons why students are given assessments in and out of the classroom.

1.  To Identify What Students Have Learned

The obvious point of classroom tests is to see what the students have learned after the completion of a lesson or unit. When the classroom tests are tied to effectively written lesson objectives, the teacher can analyze the results to see where the majority of the students are having problems with in their class. These tests are also important when discussing student progress at parent-teacher conferences.

2.  To Identify Student Strengths and Weaknesses

Another use of tests is to determine student strengths and weaknesses. One effective example of this is when teachers use pretests at the beginning of units in order to find out what students already know and where the teacher's focus needs to be. Further, learning style and multiple intelligences tests help teachers learn how to best meet the needs of their students through instructional techniques.

3.  To Provide a Method for Awards and Recognition

Tests can be used as a way to determine who will receive awards and recognition. For example, the PSAT is often given in the 10th grade to students across the nation. If a student is a National Merit Scholar due to the results on this test, they are offered scholarships and other forms of recognition.

4.  To Gain College Credit

Advanced Placement exams provide students with the opportunity to earn college credit after successfully completing a course and passing the exam with high marks. While every university has its own rules on what scores to accept, most do give credit for these exams. In many cases, students are able to begin college with a semester or even a year's worth of credits under their belts.

5.  To Provide a Way to Measure a Teacher and/or School's Effectiveness

More and mores states are tying funding to schools to the way that students perform on standardized tests. Further some states are attempting to use these results when they evaluation and give merit raises to the teachers themselves. This use of high stakes testing is often contentious with educators since many factors can influence a student's grade on an exam. Additionally, controversy can sometimes erupt over the number of hours schools use to specifically 'teach to the test' as they prepare students to take these exams.

6.  To Provide a Basis for Entry into an Internship, Program, or College

Tests have traditionally been used as a way to judge a student based on merit. The SAT and ACT are two common tests that form part of a student's entrance application to colleges. Additionally, students might be required to take additional exams to get into special programs or be placed properly in classes. For example, a student who has taken a few years of high school French might be required to pass an exam in order to be placed in the correct year of French.