INTO EUROPE The Speaking Handbook - Lancaster University

PART TWO
DESIGNING ORAL EXAMINATION TASKS
Introduction
The design of speaking tasks will crucially determine the extent to which valid and
reliable assessments can be made of candidates’ oral language ability. Examination
tasks are the most important means that test developers have to influence what
kind of language performance will be elicited from test takers. Therefore, exam
developers should make sure that their tasks are appropriate for the purpose of the
exam (general vs. specific purpose; proficiency vs. achievement testing), the
intended group of test takers (in terms of their age, educational background, needs
for the language, background knowledge, etc.) and the level of proficiency that the
given exam aims to measure. Without considering carefully the effects and
demands of tasks, which can be judged best through piloting, candidates’
performance cannot be taken as an appropriate basis for making valid judgments
about the specific abilities and skills the exam is targeted at.
Similarly to language teaching, there is no best method in language testing
either, as different task types will measure different aspects of language knowledge
and may present different demands. As has already been suggested, a variety of
elicitation techniques or tasks should be used in order to sample candidates’
proficiency in a number of different contexts. Certain task types are mainly used in
the individual mode, others are recommended for use in the paired mode.
Thanks to the Hungarian Examinations Reform Teacher Support Project, a
variety of task types in different examination formats (individual vs. paired) have
been tried out. In this part of the book, we will discuss the lessons learnt from the
pilot oral exams. As we have experimented with four main task types, you will find
guidelines for designing the following:
interview
picture-based individual long turn
discussion
role-play
In order to highlight different options in task design, we will discuss why
certain tasks are bad and what features of the design are likely to make a speaking
task work well. In many cases you can check or make further judgments about the
appropriacy of the tasks presented by viewing sample performances on the
accompanying DVD. We would like to emphasize that some of the tasks we
present are NOT to be used in class because they are examples of poor design. We
believe that by discussing the bad features of specific tasks, the reader can gain