Designing a Self-Assessment Instrument for Developing the Speaking Skill at the Advanced Level

Abstract

The present paper describes an attempt at developing in college students the ability to self-evaluate their own recordings of short speeches on topics of their choice, made as a credit requirement for speaking classes. The students were asked to record short speeches (3–5 min) and hand them in. Initially, no self-assessment was required and then students were asked to evaluate their recordings, but no guidelines were provided. Despite the fact that all the students took a semester course in learner-training and that techniques for implementing elements of self-assessment in their own teaching were discussed during methodology classes, very few students manifested the ability (or willingness) to evaluate their speeches, limiting the evaluation to general remarks such as “I made some grammar mistakes” or “I need to work on my pronunciation”. As a result of this experience, a short self-assessment instrument based on the Common European framework of reference (CEFR) descriptors for the speaking ability (spoken production) at the C1 level was developed and the students were asked to use it to evaluate their speeches. Selected students were then interviewed in order to find out their opinions on the usefulness of the instrument in helping them to identify their strengths and weaknesses in speaking. Both the students’ and the teachers’ opinions were later analyzed and the results of this analysis will serve as a basis for developing an improved version of the self-assessment sheet.