Assessing speaking in Armenian EFL classrooms

Abstract

The purpose of the following study was to develop a rating scale for assessing students’ oral performance in the fifth grade of the Armenian secondary schools and test its usefulness and effectiveness in everyday classroom use. The research was carried out to investigate whether the assessment of speaking at secondary school level could be more effective and less subjective if guidelines and criteria were provided for teachers to assess their students. The data was collected through observations, along with recording of the lessons, which served as a basis for constructing the rating scale for assessing speaking. The next stage of the research was the development of the rating scale and its use in classrooms. The last stage of the study was the interview, which aimed at getting feedback from two teachers who used the rating scale in their classrooms. The purpose of the observations and the recording of the lessons was to establish daily oral tasks and the aspects of language to be included in the rating scale. The effectiveness of the developed rating scale was tested by using it in classrooms for assessing students’ oral performance. The purpose of the interview was to get feedback from the two teachers who used the scale in their classrooms. The steps taken during the research helped ascertain that the use of a rating scale with guidelines and explanations for each score and category is effective and advantageous in several ways: it fosters learning, includes students in the assessment process, addresses different aspects of spoken language and minimizes subjectivity in assessing students. The students were not interviewed; however, the teachers reported that they liked both the assessment process and the fact that they knew the basis upon which they were assessed.