Description
Book SynopsisThis book intends to provide a theoretical overview of examining candidates’ oral abilities in different examination formats. In particular, it explores specific partner effects on discourse outcomes and proficiency ratings in the framework of paired-task performance. Two investigations, both set in the context of a proposed Hungarian school leaving examination in English, were carried out in order to contribute to a better understanding of the assumed impact of the chosen variables. Study One investigates discourse differences between examiner-to-examinee interaction and peer-to-peer interaction. Study Two explores the impact of the peer partner’s proficiency. The results show that partner effects related to this variable cannot be predicted as either harmful or beneficial since no statistically significant difference was found between 30 candidates’ scores in different examination conditions.
Table of ContentsContents: Modelling language knowledge and performance – Investigating variability in oral proficiency testing: the oral interview, the paired and group oral, test tasks – Discourse patterns in the paired mode: style of dyadic interaction – Impact of partner’s proficiency level – Impact of candidate’s previous learning experience – Test takers’ perceptions of the paired oral – Future research in measuring oral performance through paired-task performance.
