HI Lucy,
Thank you so much for your help before.
REF - Assessing students objectively - Chinese students (English Majors), large classes (50-60)
I am teaching freshmen - 19 years old, in a private college in central China.
During my pronunciation classes I have to assess students with a test. However, I find the problem is that of time. I have to listen to each individual speak. Since classes are so big, I have to assess the students with just two/three minutes of time and assess them on pronunciation of various phonemes/words. I am not sure how to do this objectively. Since pronunciation can vary, but still be correct (due to American/English/Australian pronunciation) I am concerned of the best way to assess the students.
So what is the best way to assess pronunciation in a test. Assign a point for every word pronounced correctly? But even then it seems hard to assess what words are correct and what are not correct.
If you can give me any ideas I would be very grateful. Thanks Lucy!!
Assessing students pronunciation fairly
Moderator: Joe
Re: Assessing students pronunciation fairly
Dear Rob,
First of all, do they all have to be tested during the same class? If not, focus on testing a few students in each lesson. Depending on the size of the class and discipline issues, you could also set students a task to do in groups. Go around spending some time with each group; that may help you get around all the students more quickly.
As for what you test, I would suggest focussing on the sounds that the Chinese generally find difficult to produce. This might be the distinction between “l” and “r”. Make a list of sounds that are difficult for them and you could give them a mark for getting one right. Remember to grade intonation and stress (including unstressed sounds or the schwa). Remember as well to give a mark for overall intelligibility. You could grade them out of ten, giving two marks for overall intelligibility, 2 marks for stress, 2 marks for intonation and 4 marks for sounds that you have identified as being difficult. Think carefully about how you would do it because it could become cumbersome. In any case, it is not a good idea to ask students to read something and to grade their pronunciation; pronunciation almost always sounds worse when reading aloud.
As for different accents (UK, US, NZ etc), that shouldn’t be an issue; you can mark everything as being right no matter what accent the students use.
All the best,
Lucy
First of all, do they all have to be tested during the same class? If not, focus on testing a few students in each lesson. Depending on the size of the class and discipline issues, you could also set students a task to do in groups. Go around spending some time with each group; that may help you get around all the students more quickly.
As for what you test, I would suggest focussing on the sounds that the Chinese generally find difficult to produce. This might be the distinction between “l” and “r”. Make a list of sounds that are difficult for them and you could give them a mark for getting one right. Remember to grade intonation and stress (including unstressed sounds or the schwa). Remember as well to give a mark for overall intelligibility. You could grade them out of ten, giving two marks for overall intelligibility, 2 marks for stress, 2 marks for intonation and 4 marks for sounds that you have identified as being difficult. Think carefully about how you would do it because it could become cumbersome. In any case, it is not a good idea to ask students to read something and to grade their pronunciation; pronunciation almost always sounds worse when reading aloud.
As for different accents (UK, US, NZ etc), that shouldn’t be an issue; you can mark everything as being right no matter what accent the students use.
All the best,
Lucy
Lucy is the author of Lucy Pollard's Guide to Teaching English