Job Discussion Forums

[dudette]

Guru, I humbly appreciate that you delayed your departure long enough to post one final bit of advice. Know that it wasn't in vain. Thank you again, and best wishes as you roar off into the sunset



xaioyu, thank you also for the offer of help. I'll PM you. I'm starting to feel less panicked. I was doing internet searches but the confounded system here is so slow that I kept timing out before I could get to what looked like useful web sites. As usual, the Forum was quick to help.

Gratefully,

[randyj]

Two years ago I gave oral assessments to 110 of my college students in one week. I felt a little numb after doing this number in a relatively short time, and I do not believe one person can do so conscientiously. I interviewed them in pairs, each interview divided into three parts, video-taped and lasting 20 minutes total. The first part consisted of each student telling a little about themselves. In the second part, I asked them to comment on a pair of pictures drawn randomly from a selection we had used in different activities during the term. The third and final part was a dialog between the two students on a subject of their choice (chosen from a list distributed before the test). I graded them on a scale from 1 to 5:
5 - Understandable with no difficulty
4 - Understandable with minimal difficulty
3 - Understandable with moderate difficulty
2 - Understandable with great difficulty
1 - Incomprehensible.

If serious, an oral assessment should have a moderator and a proctor, but rarely is this practical.

[dudette]

Thanks, Randy. I have a feeling that this month is going to pass by very quickly and I'll be pretty numb myself Your info is greatly appreciated!

Cheers!

[MartinK]

...

[ESL Guru]

CRITERION

I. CONTENTS 25%

II. PRONOUNCIATION 25%

III. INTONATION 20%

IV. FLUENCY 15%

V. MANNERRISM 10%

VI. GENERAL IMPRESSION 5%

What I like best is when we can help each other and avoid all the flames.