Oral Testing of Accuracy and Fluency

1. Oral Testing of Accuracy and Fluency JoAnn Miller, Editorial Macmillan miller@efltasks.net www.efltasks.net

2. Fluency • The ability to produce written and / or spoken language with ease • Speak with a good but not necessarily perfect command of intonation, vocabulary and grammar • Communicate ideas effectively • Produce continuous speech without causing comprehension difficulties or a breakdown in communication Longman Dictionary of Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics

3. Accuracy • Ability to produce grammatically correct sentences • May not include the ability to speak or write fluently. Longman Dictionary of Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics

4. An example: foreign visitors • Tour of factory—fluency; must be prepared for unexpected questions and explanations • Formal presentation of a product—accuracy; time to plan, rehearse

5. What is a task? • A goal-oriented activity in which learners use language to achieve a real outcome. • Learners use whatever target language resources they have in order to solve a problem, do a puzzle, play a game, or share and compare experiences.

6. Fluency in Tasks “Learners need opportunities to process language for communicative purposes as receivers and producers. “These opportunities should be unfettered by the perceived need to conform to teacher expectations in terms of the production of specific language forms.” Dave Willis, “Accuracy, fluency and conformity” Challenge and Change in Language Teaching, J. Willis and D. Willis, ed. Heinemann, 1996. P. 50

7. Accuracy in Tasks “Whenever learners are involved in communication they are concerned with accuracy…making the best use of their language systems… “In spontaneous communication [they] have little time to reflect on the language they produce. “ If…they are given time to prepare what they have to produce, there will be a concern for formal accuracy…” Dave Willis, “Accuracy, fluency and conformity” Challenge and Change in Language Teaching, J. Willis and D. Willis, ed. Heinemann, 1996. P. 50

8. Speaking • Fluency: “concerns the learner’s capacity to produce language in real time without undue pausing or hesitation.” • Accuracy: “how well language is produced in relation to the rule system of the target language.” Peter Skehan, “Second language acquisition research and task-based instruction”, Challenge and Change in Language Teaching, J. Willis and D. Willis, ed. Heinemann, 1996. P. 22.

9. Implications “Teachers should balance issues of fluency and accuracy depending on the specific needs of learners and the resources of time and materials for instruction.” Miriam Eisenstein Ebsworth, “Accuracy Vs. Fluency: Which Comes First in ESL Instruction?”, ESL Magazine. 1:2, 24-26. March/April 1998.

10. The teaching situation • Private, multi-level (high school, university, post-grad) university in Mexico (17 campuses throughout country) • Institutional EFL programs • Total 35,000+ students • Groups of 25-30 in language lab • Native and non-native teachers with varying abilities and experience

11. Grading • Objective grading required as much as possible (by government, school and parents) • Each course: 2 written exams in classroom (functions, structures, vocabulary, reading, writing); 2 exams in lab (listening comprehension and oral production)

12. Accuracy Role play 5 minutes+ preparation Perform for teacher 1-2 minutes maximum Fluency Role play with teacher and another student No preparation Cues only Oral Exam

13. Students (pairs) given role cards as they enter classroom Told to prepare—when finish exam, can leave Can use any reference or ask questions Come to the front of the class, talk only to teacher Perform Either stay together or separate for second role-play Oral Exam Organization

14. Accuracy 1 ---Little or no language produced. 2 --Poor vocabulary, serious mistakes in grammar, poor pronunciation. 3 --Adequate vocabulary, mistakes in grammar, adequate pronunciation. 4 --Good vocabulary, occasional errors in grammar, good pronunciation. 5 --Wide vocabulary, very few errors in grammar, very good pronunciation. Fluency 1 ---Little or no communication. 2 ---Very hesitant and brief utterances, sometimes difficult to understand. 3 ---Communicates ideas, but hesitantly and briefly 4 ---Effective communication, but does not elaborate on response. 5 ---Easy and efficient communication. Elaborates on responses. 5 point scale

15. I. Pair Roleplay. Used to grade accuracy. (5 points) • Instructions: • Give each pair of SS a roleplay card. Give them at least 5 minutes to prepare their talk. • Call pairs of Ss to the front. They perform without written notes. • Grade them based on the following scale: [5-point scale presented here.] • Note: Please take S's level into account. A Course 1 student cannot produce as much language as a Course 3 student. To get 3 points, the student should be able to use structures and vocabulary taught in the course he/she just finished. However, expect errors since the student has not fully acquired the material. To get 5 points, the student may still make a few isolated errors, but will speak much above a typical student at the same level.

16. II. Roleplay with the teacher. Use to grade fluency. (5 points) Instructions: • Choose one of the situations given below. • If three people are needed in the situation, keep the pair together. If not, separate Ss and grade individually. • S does not see situations. • Explain the situation to the S and perform your part of the roleplay. • Grade S on the following scale: [5-point scale presented here.] Note: Students should be graded considering their course level.

17. Student A: Imagine you are at a meeting and not in an exam. All of your classmates are at the meeting too. Your partner doesn’t know anyone. Tell him who the people are. Student B: Imagine you are at a meeting and not in an exam. All of your classmates are at the meeting too. You don’t know anyone. Ask your partner who the people are. Student A: Tell your partner about an accident you or some member of your family had. When he/she tells you, ask some intelligent questions or make relevant comments. Student B: Tell your partner about an accident you or some member of your family had. When he/she tells you, ask some intelligent questions or make relevant comments. Student A: You are making a survey about what people think they will be able to do with telecommunications in twenty years. Ask your partner at least three questions about the topic. Student B: Your partner is making a survey. Answer his/her questions.

18. II. Roleplay with the teacher. Use to grade fluency. (5 points) (Do not show these questions to the Ss. ) • Keep students together. Ask them what they plan to do when they finish school. Then ask them to tell you the pros and cons of that job. • Separate students for a moment. You are going to give one student a message for the other student. For example, ask Student A to tell Student B you are going to meet him/her after class. Then have the student pass on the message. Make the messages a little bit complicated. When you finish, give Student B messages for Student A. • 3. Separate students. Tell student to imagine his girlfriend / her boyfriend is angry. Ask him / her what he / she will do. Then ask a “what if” question: What if he doesn’t believe you? What if he goes out with someone else?, etc.

19. Part I is the listening comprehension exam. It is on the same page. II. Oral Exam (10 points) Role Play 1: 5 4 3 2 1 0 Role Play 2: 5 4 3 2 1 0 Total Oral points: ___/10

20. Thank you very much…. JoAnn Miller miller@efltasks.net miller@room20.org www.efltasks.net www.room20.org www.salondemaestros.com