Page 196 - Teaching English at Primary Level: From Theory into the Classroom

Assessing Language Skills

Table 13.3 Rating Scale for Assessing Picture-Cued Tasks
(1) (2) (3) (4)
Vocabulary glish words only. cabulary and (ex- ulary and expres- cabulary and ex-
Uses limited vocab-
Uses only basic vo-
Uses one or two En-
Uses a variety of vo-
Most of the time
pressions) and lists
pressions appropri-
sions. Occasionally
stays silent or uses L1. words. Needs a lot
Seems to understand of support and help. needs support and ately and correctly.
help. Makes some er- Does not need much
but has difficulty re- Makes many mis- rors. Speaks in whole support and help.
sponding verbally. takes. Doesn’t speak sentences but needs Makes only few er-
in whole sentences. help sometimes. rors. Speaks in whole
sentences.
Grammar Not enough produc- Uses basic structures Uses different gram- Uses a variety of
grammar structures
mar structures. Uses
tion to assess the stu- and expressions.
dent’s grammatical
basic grammar struc- and makes only few
Makes many mis-
knowledge. takes. tures and occasion- grammatical errors.
ally makes mistakes.
Fluency Fluency cannot be Often hesitates be- Speaks with some Speaks smoothly, flu-
measured due to no
fore and while speak- hesitation which
ently and freely with
or very little speaking ing. Needs a lot of
which does not in-
production in L2. help and support does not usually in- minimal hesitation,
terfere with commu-
from the teacher. nication. Some help terfere with commu-
is needed. nication. Almost no
help is needed.
Some problems with
Pronunciation and
Pronunciation to no or very little with pronuncia- pronunciation and intonation are usu-
Many problems
Not applicable due
ally accurate with al-
intonation (some
speaking production
tion and intonation
in L2.
most no mistakes. It
(many words mispro- mispronunciations)
nounced). It is very
make it harder to un- the student.
hard to understand that sometimes is easy to understand
the student. derstand the student.
Content Not applicable due Covers only one or Covers several Covers almost all
subtopics/and or an-
to no or very little
two subtopics.
subtopics indepen-
speaking production
dently.
swers most of the
in L2. questions set by the
teacher.
Notes Column headings are as follows: (1) no or very little L2 speaking production (1 point), (2)
needs improvement (2 points), (3) partially achieved (3 points), (4) achieved (4–5 points).
from complete beginners to those who are already able to speak in whole
sentences.
Storytelling Tasks
Storytelling is a genre most learners have been extensively exposed to in
their childhood and their experience of both having been read and telling
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