EFL Assessment: Assessment of Speaking and Listening

Abstract

Assessment is a measure of the level of teaching and learning achieved. It has a heightened emphasis in the case of learning a language which is not used as a Second Language (L2) or language of communication in the learners' communities. In an English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learning situation, exposure to spoken language is either minimal or lacking completely outside formal instruction environments. The case under examination in this chapter is the EFL learning situation of Arabic speaking undergraduate students in Oman's Dhofar region. The study aims to investigate the methods and criteria involved in testing the English speaking proficiency level among a group of Arabic speaking undergraduate students for whom English is a foreign language (FL) and hence use it sparingly in real life situations. The reasons for this limited use vary from: personal preference in using Mother Tongue (MT), comfort levels, lack of relevant vocabulary, and the need to be able to communicate fluently. Regardless of the objectives of learning and using English in its spoken form, and the opportunity to listen to the different varieties of English, either at the stage of formal instruction or in informal situations , the users' ability to speak the language always involves a gap between the standards to be attained and the standard attained at different stages of their learning. This chapter seeks to shed light on how well the standards are achieved among the participants.