Testing Oral Language Skill through Selected Speaking Tests

R.Udhayakumar,Ph.D Scholar(udhayalinguistics@gmail.com)
Dept of Linguistics,Bharathiar University,Coimbatore,Tamilnadu,India

Abstract Although most language teachers today stress the development of oral skills in their teaching, it is very difficult for them to find time to assess these skills. This article discusses the importance of testing language students oral skills and providing problems and perspectives of using speaking tests. Selected Free Response and selected Directed Speaking tests had been selected for this study. Introduction Speaking is one of a language tools for oral communication, which needs all the human being to convey their message effectively. Frequently the speaking skill is more or less ignored when test are being planned. While many teachers claim that they can assign overall grades for speaking ability according to class performance, such scores are to a certain extent subjective. In addition, If all formal tests are the pencil and paper variety, students will quickly realize that their preparation is most profitably spent on reading and writing. The acquisition of fluent speech habits is regulated to the status of a pleasant luxury: student no longer consider it an essential goal of the course. An oral production test will affirm the importance of speaking skill. Aim of Study This paper aims to test undergraduate students speaking skills. In oral language elements such as word, clause, phrase and sentence and its substitution, Modification, Replacement, transformation is considered as factor for good speaking skills. Objectives of study To test speaking skill for good oral communication. To know performance level of speaking skill when students are speaking with their classmates and teacher. To find out problems of speaking in oral communication. Methodology While students speak the language, they are forming sentences for oral communication that was analyzed by experimental way. Selected topic was given by researcher to students for making good interaction among them. Conversations had been performed with students and later with teacher. Each students voice was recorded and taken to analysis for directed speaking test and free response test. Selection of Test Type Selected Free Response and selected Directed Speaking tests had been selected for this study in which fourteen types of directed speaking tests and two types of free response tests were taken to test the students speaking skill. 1

Directed Speaking Tests Directed speaking tests measure the ease and accuracy with which the student handles the patterns of the target language. Since the range of correct responses is narrowly defined, the students performance may be judged with high objectivity. Only the aspect under evaluation, that is, the use of structure and syntax should be evaluated. Pronunciation enters into the judging only if it conveys the meaning of response. Multiple Substitutions The student replaces one element in the sentence with another and is consequently obliged to effect other changes. Items are scored as either correct or incorrect for each required modification: One changing element: 0 Incorrect 1 Correct Modified substitution The student must modify the new element before substituting it in the key sentence. Here is a sample item in English: Cue: Rose is a flower Response: Roses are beautiful in flowers show. Similar items can be used to test noun forms, adjectives forms, comparison of adjectives and adverbs, cardinal and ordinal numbers. Replacement The student replaces a noun or phrase with the appropriate pronoun. Transformation The student changes a sentence according to precise instruction. Under the transformation following actions are included namely, Number, negation, Interrogative forms, Verb forms, Modes, and Tenses. Number Change the some elements of sentence to the plural. In isolation or in combination the following elements can be used in this type of item: articles, adjectives, nouns, pronouns, verb forms. Changes may be made from singular to plural or plural to singular. Negation Change the sentence to the negative. Interrogative forms Change the statement into a question using the inverted form. Verb forms, Modes, and Tenses Convert the sentence into various forms, modes, and tenses. Following Commands This type of item parallels the classroom directed dialogue. The items would be scored be scored on correctness of word order and of forms. Since such a test measures student command of grammatical patterns of the language, comprehension problems should be avoided unless knowledge of difficult verb forms or noun forms is being tested. 2

Joining Sentences The students ability to use conjunctions and relative pronouns, as well as his understanding of verb tenses, modes, and word order, may be evaluated with the following item type: given two independent statements, the student is asked to join them into one complex or compound sentence. Directed Questions and Answers In the question-answer speaking test, the student is told what kind of response to give. Although the student is not completely free to choose his answer is such a directed test, he often enjoys such items because they so closely approximate a real conversational situation. Such items may test verb forms, word order, the use of pronouns, and question words. Directed Conversation Two are more students are assigned roles and are given precise directions as to the type of conversation they are engage in. Picture Writing Thanks to a system of picture writing developed by TAVOR Aids, it is possible to by bass both the native language and the skills of listening and reading in the target language and still elicit specific spoken responses. Whole ideas are represented through simple line drawings called ideograms. Obviously the students will have to be familiar with the symbols before taking the test; however, this picture-writing technique will be a welcome addition to classroom teaching aids. In an informal testing situation, the ideograms may be drawn on flash cards; for a formal test, mimeographed copies of the selected ideograms can be distributed. Let us look at some examples in English 2 12 3 9 ? 6 (When is there a plane for New York? Or When does the plane leave for New York) Response: There is one at two-thirty. Or At two-thirty. Free Response Test The purest type of speaking test is the free response test. The student is free to talk about whatever he wishes for a stated period of time; Usually one or two minutes is sufficient for beginning students. Although no through studies have been carried out to determine what effects preparation has on performances, it is customary to allow each a minute or two to prepare his response. 3 NY

Picture The teacher can provide a picture or series of pictures so that even those students 3

who suddenly can think of nothing to say on a speaking test will have before them a subject for conversation. The student may describe the objects or the taking place in the picture he might tell a story merely suggested by the pictorial aid. Conversation The most credible, or natural type of speaking test is a free conversation with the teacher or with another qualified speaker. In the latter case, it is better to have the speaker talk with each student for several minutes. The teacher should try to remain as unobtrusive as possible, perhaps seated behind the student. While the speaker encourages the student to express himself, the teacher is free to concentrate on scoring the students performance objectively. Presentation of the study Data Analysis For this case study, undergraduate students were taken as informants. 18 informants were given their valuable response by orally. 14 types of tests were tested in Directed Speaking Test and two types of tests were tested in Free Response Test. Finally both were taken for data analysis. The analysis of data examined with standard answer sheet (Rebecca M.Valette). Rank of the results of this study The researcher has selected the best performance of each question overall from given the questionnaire. Totally seven ranks provided by researcher. Each rank problem and perspective provided. Based on the data analysis, the researcher has combined and ranked Directed Speaking Test and Free Response Test. Ranking details of tests are following. S.No 1. 2. 3. 4. Directed Speaking Test/Free Response Test Number Directed Question and Answer A) Negation B) Conversation (Teacher and Students) A) Directed Conversation B) Free Response Test C) Picture A) Verb Forms B) Modes C) Tenses A) Modification B) Replacement C) Transformation D) Joining Sentences E) Picture Wirting Multiple Substitutions Rank 1 2 3 4 Number of Informants 15 12 12 12 12 12 12 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 6

5.

6.

7.

Problems and Perspectives Students have lack of speaking skill especially in multiple substitutions. 4

When they explain about picture, modified substitution is playing an important role to make sentence. Because of unfamiliar in pronoun especially reflective pronoun, student cannot speak with joining sentences. Student has some confusion in tense forming. While they speaks about past event or incident, they mostly used present tense marker which makes the incident as present. Students have lack of skill in transforming verb. This type of transformation brings an incomplete meaning for the whole sentence. Among the students, the mode of raising question was good but students mode of answer to the question was bas. Even he/she had known the answer well. Directed conversation is better than students and teacher conversation among the students. Because of mother tongue influence, students do frequently mistake in preposition of English language. Students are having better conscious in number. Students need adequate practice of using negation in sentence. Only they use Not after auxiliary or main verb to form negative sentences.

Conclusion The feedback obtained through the speaking test helps the class teacher to augment necessary steps in way of improving the students speaking skills in the following course of teaching. Because of the speaking test showed the students performance was an average in oral communication. So, the class teacher can take care of each student to improve and develop speaking skill. Reference 1. A Psycholinguistic Experiment in Foreign-Language Teaching (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1964),pp 117-28. 2. Developing Language Skill 1, (SC Sood, Mita Bose, Naresh Jain), MANOHAR 2005. 3. Spoken Language Applied Linguistics, Michael McCarthy, Cambridge University 4. Press. 5. Modern Language Testing A handbook, Rebecca M.Valette, Harcourt, Brace&World, Inc.