Development Of Esl Speaking Proficiency Assessment For Undergraduates
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Date
2018-07
Authors
Mustafa Saeed, Karwan
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Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Universiti Sains Malaysia
Abstract
English is regarded as an asset that can result in success in the twenty-first-century job market. Hence, mastering the art of speaking to many language learners is seen as the most important language aspect when learning the English language. Speaking assessment has made significant inroads into the field of language teaching and pedagogy in pursuit of improvement. It is vital that instructors assess their students’ speaking proficiency continuously and therefore, test results must assist instructors to determine students’ speaking proficiency. However, the current assessment based on grades does not provide specific information regarding students’ specific speaking proficiency. The grade provided does not indicate information on how to help students enhance their speaking proficiency. Therefore, a test instrument that not merely provides test scores but also aids language instructors to recognize their students’ strengths and weaknesses is crucially vital. The first objective of the current study is to develop an ESL speaking proficiency test for undergraduates. The present study gives meaning to speaking proficiency assessment through a test instrument and speaking proficiency descriptor components to describe students’ speaking proficiency. In doing so, a prototype speaking proficiency test was first devised and then refined based on recommendations of two TESOL experts. The test was then piloted over 96 undergraduates at a public university in Malaysia. The researcher then developed the cut scores to establish the performance bands namely; Band One, Band Two, Band Three and Band Four. Based on the respondents’ speaking proficiency performance,
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Keywords
English is regarded as an asset that can result in success in the twenty-first-century job market , mastering the art of speaking to many language learners is seen as the most important language aspect when learning the English language