Oral language testing at tay nguyen university  (Page 5/53)

1.1 the problem

1.1.1 theoretical perspective

Theoretically, as has become clear through empirical studies in language testing, there has been ‘a shift from using assessment as a way to keep students in their place to using assessment as a way to help students find their place in school and in the world community of language users’ (Cohen, 1996, p. 3). In this popular tendency of treating language tests, language tests have been considered extremely helpful for both students and teachers, and even for administrators. Madsen (1983, p. 4-5) points out the importance of language testing by demonstrating that properly made tests can

‘1. help create positive attitudes towards instruction by giving students a sense of accomplishment and a feeling that the teacher’s evaluation of them matches what he has taught them.

2. help students learn the language by requiring them to study hard, emphasizing course objectives, and showing them where they need to improve.

3. help teachers and administrators by confirming progress that has been made and showing how they can best redirect their future efforts.’

Therefore, being competent in language testing, particularly in oral language testing under review in this thesis, is claimed to be crucial for language teachers to properly develop language tests. This thesis is an attempt to provide a clear discussion of how to become competent in oral language testing. An answer to this question will explicitly help to evaluate TNU current oral testing practices.

1.1.2 practical perspective

Apart from the above theoretical concern, this thesis also grows out of a practical consideration regarding the researcher’s work at TNU as an English teacher and assessor of students’ oral test performance. The problem identified in this thesis has taken root from the existing oral testing practices at TNU. The following are two tables of oral test results of the second-year students (School Year 2001-2002) and of the third-year students (School Year 2002-2003).

Table 1.1: The second-year students’ oral test results

Table 1.2: The third-year students’ oral test results

The two tables reveal that nearly half of the second-year students (47%) and more than half of the third-year students (67,5%) get high marks (7,8 and 9). However, in a talk with the researcher about their speaking ability, preferably their results of the former speaking tests, the majority of those students who got high marks in the tests seemed very reluctant to agree that their test results really revealed their actual ability to use English for communication. For example, they still found it hard to use English to either satisfactorily communicate their ideas or make themselves fully understood in a real instance of communication. So why did they get such high scores?