Oral Assessment

[isle-teach]

I have been asked to assess students' English based on a short interview. Could anyone suggest possible questions to get them to respond in a way that demonstrates their ability?

Thanks

[eslweb]

Hi,

There are two things I would recommend:

1. Give them some pictures to describe or a task based on those pictures. People often ask students to compare two or three pictures and this can be a helpful tool to help the students to speak. Have a look at the Cambridge FCE exams for more details.

2. I've got a list of topics, which you could use to help. In IELTs they give the students sometime to prepare and then ask them to talk about a subject for 2 mins. You can download the topic list from here: http://www.jamesabela.co.uk/exams/ielts.htm (It's under Resources On This Website)

I hope this helps.

James

[isle-teach]

Thanks for that, James. I really appreciate it. I was thinking something along those lines, but wasn't 100% sure.

Kudos on your website, btw. I really admire people who put resources on the internet. I'm always scavenging the net for new ideas, and sites like yours are really helpful.

Lydia