Students’ Attitudes towards the Incorporation of an Oral Test in the Algerian School System
Keywords:
Achievement test, communication skills, formal assessment, formal oral test, group format, speaking abilitiesAbstract
This study aimed at investigating English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners‘ attitudes towards the implementation of an oral test in order to improve English language assessment and testing. To address all this issue, a quantitative approach was adopted. In relevance to this research approach, a case study design/ strategy was selected. As for the data collection methods, two tools were employed: A questionnaire and an interview. The population of this study was fourth year pupils at ‗Cid Noureddine Middle School‘ in Tolga in the South East of Algeria. The whole population consisted in 111 pupils. In the present study, only 36 pupils were chosen. This number was the total pupils of one class. They were chosen purposefully based on the study requirements. Hence, a purposive sampling technique was used. In terms of the results, the findings revealed that many pupils had positive attitudes towards the implementation of this oral test. This is mainly because these pupils believed that, based on the improved test, their test scores are reflecting now their level in English language since such kind of tests assess their speaking abilities besides to assessing the other skills and language components. In terms of their perceptions of the experience of the group format, the majority of the pupils in this study reportedly affirmed that the speaking test provided a comfortable context for speaking assessment. Overall, one can say that the obtained results confirmed the hypotheses that this research set out at the early stages of this investigation.
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Copyright (c) 2019 Chaouki Hoadjli Ahmed, Khadoudj Khidar
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