Oral language testing at tay nguyen university

Statement of authorship

I certify that the minor thesis entitled ‘Oral Language Testing at Tay Nguyen University: Current Practices and Recommendations for Improvement’ and submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in TESOL is the result of my work, except where otherwise acknowledged, and that this minor thesis or any part of the same has not been submitted for a higher degree to any other university or institution.

The research reported in this thesis was approved by Hanoi University of Foreign Studies.

Signed: Le Thi Phuong Nhi. DH Tay Nguyen

Dated:24 February 2008

Table of contents

STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIPi

table of contentsiii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSvii

glossaryviii

ABSTRACTx

list of figures and tablesxi

Table 1.1: The second-year students’ oral test results 2xi

Table 1.2: The third-year students’ oral test results 2xi

Figure 2.1: Continuum of Spoken Language Production 8xi

Figure 2.2: Conditions of Communicative Stress in a Task 8xi

Figure 2.3: Success of Meaning Negotiation 10xi

Figure 2.4: The Model of Test Development 15xi

Table 2.1: Level Scale of Language Proficiency Based on the Global Scale by Council of Europe 21xi

Table 2.3: Oral Test Types and Elicitation Techniques 26xi

Table 4.1: A checklist for Oral Test Development 44xi

Table 4.2: Summary of Oral Test Types Used in the Achievement Speaking Test for the Second-Year Students (School Year 2002-2003) 45xi

Table 4.3: Summary of the Students’ Oral Test Performance in the Achievement Speaking Test for the Second-Year Students 47xi

Table 4.4: Correct Answers for the Questions in the Questionnaire 56xi

Table 4.5: Teachers’ Assessment Priority Perception of Interactional and Transactional Short Turns 58xi

Table 4.6: Teachers’ Assessment Priority Perception of Transactional Long Turns 58xi

Table 4.7: Teachers’ Choice of Number of Tasks for a Speaking Test 59xi

Table 4.8: Teachers’ Choice of Elicitation Techniques for Levels of Proficiency 59xi

Table 4.9: Teachers’ Choice of Specific Test Tasks for Level of Proficiency 60xi

Table 4.10: Teachers’ Choice of Steps to Be Considered in Oral Test Design and Operationalization 60xi

Table 4.11: Teachers’ Confidence in Students’ Test Results 60xii

Table 4.12: Teachers’ Lack of Confidence in Students’ Test Results 61xii

Table 5.1: The Marking Scales for Task 1 of the Sample Term 1 Achievement Speaking Test 76xii

Table 5.2: The Marking Scales for Task 2 of Sample Term 1 Achievement Speaking Test 78xii

Table 5.3: The Marking Scales for Task 1 of Sample Term 2 Achievement Speaking Test 80xii

Table 5.4: The Marking Scales for Task 2 of Sample Term 2 Achievement Speaking Test 82xii

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION1