8/12/2019 Introduction to Assessing Speaking and Listening
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Assessing Speaking and Listening
Introduction
Just like other areas of the curriculum, when assessing Speaking
andListening we need to be clear about what it is we are assessing
find anagreed criteria against which to assess and find efficient
ways of notingachievements.
Speaking and Listening underpins the whole curriculum and will
therefore be
assessed in a number of situations across the curriculum or
indeed outside ofthe school day (homework clubs, hobby clubs,
performance in assemblies,etc).
e can collect evidence of achievement when!
activities have been specifically set up to teach and assess
Speaking
and Listening and the criteria for success are very clear and
have beenshared with the children. "or e#ample, if a task asks
children to giveinstructions, then the criteria are likely to
relate to the brevity and clarityof the wording, the se$uence in
which the instructions are given andthe choice of appropriate
vocabulary to convey technical information%
the planned activity includes substantial oral or group work,
which maybe related to other aspects of &nglish or another
curriculum area. 'hiscould include group work in the literacy hour.
'he task should includee#plicit instructions about the nature of
the talk e#pected, such as theroles group members should take, the
phasing of the work so there aretimes built in for planning,
recapping, agreeing action, reviewingprogress and any particular
demands in term of vocabulary andgrammar%
a contribution is recognised as e#cellent or significant for a
particular
child incidental or spontaneous opportunities arise during a
range oflearning conte#ts whether they are child initiated, teacher
directed oradult led.
Sometimes the social dimensions of talk can provide difficulties
because wehave to recognise the oral achievements of the child who
only speaksconfidently to the teacher on a one to one basis and the
child who is verbosein all situations.
hat are the key features of effective assessment in speaking and
listening
TO DO: Add maths, visual aids
& egs in text
8/12/2019 Introduction to Assessing Speaking and Listening
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e clear about what is being assessed. *t is not the accent or
dialect that isbeing assessed, the length of the contribution, the
opinion e#pressed or theirconfidence and leadership $ualities. ut
it is!
the effectiveness of their talk, including adaptation to
purpose, conte#t
and audience%
a contribution that shows positive and fle#ible work in groups%
a contribution that builds on that of others showing evidence
of
listening and responding
clarity in communicating, including the use of reason, clear
se$uencing
of ideas and the use of standard &nglish.
hat does our plan look like for assessment in school+gree, in
school, how you will assess Speaking and Listening. ou mightinclude
the following!
encouraging children to assess and evaluate their own and
each
other-s performance% systematically collect tangible evidence of
talk in the form of group
observation sheets, video and audio recordings, written logs
anddiaries%
summarising achievement% for e#ample, at the end of a term or
year, in
order to provide information to help plan for progression in the
mostappropriate way%
standardising assessments by visiting each other-s classrooms
and
discussing performance, both within school and using the
/+emplification on /0 123, &nglish! Speaking and
Listening(/+4564787)
hat about making and recording assessments'he evidence can take
different forms!
notes made by the teacher or other adults as the activity is
happening
or soon after%
notes made by the children in talk logs, group observations,
notes for
talk and reflections on them%
some taped work, for e#ample when the task is to produce a
radio
broadcast.
1ecording could be in different forms but it needs to be clear,
succinct andaccessible. 'he easiest method might be a lose leaf
folder that contains apage for each child (see e#ample in Speaking
and Listening 9andbook).
Speaking and Listening working party'he following assessment
materials were created by a group of 0udleyteachers concerned that
there should be some practical help with theassessment of Speaking
and Listening in schools.
'he :upil Self +ssessment sheets transfer the Speaking and
Listeningob;ectives for each year group into pupil speak targets.
&ach of the fourstrands of Speaking and Listening (speaking,
listening, group discussion and
