This document discusses establishing speaking level benchmarks in an intensive English program. The motivation was that new teachers had difficulty assessing whether students were ready to progress to the next speaking level. The process involved collecting oral interviews from students who had progressed, then experienced teachers rated the interviews. The interviews were compiled into DVD benchmarks for each level. This provided objective criteria for teachers to use to assess students. The results were that new teachers felt the benchmarks helped them set goals and assess students more accurately. Plans for the future include continuing to use the benchmarks and exploring additional assessment methods.
52. New teachers now have a way of setting goals for their own students when teaching a new level
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55. New teachers had a better sense of what their students needed to achieve by the end of term
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Hinweis der Redaktion
When meaning is negotiated, native speakers accommodate to non-native speakers. Gass and varonis studied phone interviews; teachers get used to non-native speech, but their university teachers colleagues, etc. in the future will not necessarily do so. Proficiency
The perfect situation, considering accommodation, would be that oral interviews are conducted anonymously at the end of term by an individual other than the student’s teacher who has had extensive training in oral interview rating.