Assessing communicative competence

Oliver, R., Haig, Y., & Rochecouste, J. (2005). Communicative competence in oral language assessment. Language and Education, 19(3), 212-222. doi: 10.1080/09500780508668675.

Background

The authors noted a shift from the predominant emphasis on the written language to more attention to the teaching and assessment of oral competence. However, this had generally manifested itself in the form of a focus on ‘performance’ language, i.e. in presentations and participation in formal debates or ‘written language in an oral form’.

Aims

The authors sought to investigate the position of oral skills in the teaching and assessments used in secondary schools in Western Australia.

Sample

Staff and students from 13 secondary schools in Western Australia were interviewed. In each case, the students and the English language teacher of at least one Year 8 class and, where available, one Year 11 class were interviewed in each school.

Method

The students were asked to complete some online research tasks focusing on register, on Hymes’ nested hierarchy and on looking at the people and groups they interacted with. There was then a follow-up discussion. On the same day, the class’s English teacher was interviewed on their approach to the teaching and assessment of oral language skills.

Findings

The teachers mainly used ‘performance’ tasks in teaching and assessing their students’ oral skills. Many recognized that this covered only a small part of oral skills but felt incompetent to teach and assess student oral skills for outside these more formal performance tasks. Some teachers even recognized that, for many students, performing in front of their peers was very painful. Some teachers also noted the importance of oral skills across the curriculum and in developing general literacy.

The students recognized the need for them to develop good oral skills socially and for their future work. They understood they would need to use Australian Standard English in their work but did not feel confident they had the necessary language and social skills even when talking to their peers.

Implications

In many cases, both teachers and students recognize the need to develop student oral skills in talk with others but are unsure of how to go about it. The authors suggest that this situation will continue as long as performance tasks remain mandatory in the assessment of oral skills.

Original article retrieved from Taylor & Francis Online.

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