Speaking Tests Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Speaking Tests - Assignment Example The OPI is a face-to-face or telephonic interview that consists of three phases: a warm-up phase, a series of level checks and probes, and a wind-down phase. This is one of the most widely accepted tests for speaking ability and is used by government agencies (The Defense Language Institute, The Peace Corps), testing institutions (Educational Testing Service) and the Federal Interagency Language Roundtable. There are many advantages to the OPI system of testing. It is easy, quick and apparently accurately forecasts the degree to which a foreign-speaker will be able to communicate in English. Unlike written tests, it actually tests English speaking ability which, as with all languages, is completely separate from the ability to read and write. The test can be performed quickly and the tester can interview multiple people in a single session. This is particularly importance within the context in which this test is often given. Thus graduate students from foreign countries are often given the test before they can perform grading and/or teaching duties in American universities. Resources for such testing are limited, and so the ability for one tester to perform multiple tests in one day is vital. There are, however, detractors who ... Basically, Messick suggests that the OPI tests do not actually represent real-life conversations. Part of the problem with OPI tests are that they do not really reflect the sheer range of speaking that occurs in actual life. Thus there is monologic speaking (one person), dialogue speaking (two people) or multiple speakers, such as in a meeting with several colleagues. The OPI tests tend to test only one of these: the dialogue. As Brown (2003) and Bonk (2003) have suggested, some speakers do better with dialogue and some with discussion activities. A test that tests one over the other is bound to be somewhat limited in its scope. Another basic problem with this type of test (although it may in fact be shared with all speaking tests) is the variability of the interviewer and his/her affect upon the test results. Each interviewer will have a unique speech style, pattern and intonation that may help (or hinder) the interviewee (Brown, 2003). Thus the test result may be seen as a co-score reached by both the tester and the subject, rather than an accurate measure of the non-native sp eaker's communication prowess. This tendency may be countered by careful training of the tester and the equally careful process of self-evaluation and objective supervision which must occur. Within one center periodic test interviews can be undertaken in which the same candidate is tested by all the testers (with suitable renumeration of course) and the tests and then compared. If test results vary too much from the mean then some additional training etc, is perhaps needed. As McNamara (1997, 2002) suggests, the more educated, skillful and eloquent the

Character analysis on young Goodman Brown Thesis

Character analysis on young Goodman Brown - Thesis Example In Young Goodman Brown, the character of Brown changes from faith and innocence to corruption and doubts as the devils distorts the way he thinks and perceives valuable people in his life. The faith and goodness of Brown are seen in the way he treats his father, grandfather, minister, and wife. He looks up to the goodness of his father and grandfather and the minister. Brown believes in the true Christina nature of the minister of Salem because he is a man of God. His wife Faith comes into his life a young immaculate and beautiful woman. He invests all his trust in the life of his wife, and life seems good in his belief that he has found a true partner to share his life happiness and glory. Faith is a staunch Christian, who is an epitome of good and purity but not until the devils come knocking on their doors. Brown’s innocence is lost when the devil visits his home and changes the way he views the valuable people in his life. Brown interjects, â€Å"what if the devil himself should be at my very elbow† (9). His wife Faith is no longer the pious and religious figure, and he hopes that the character would persist for the rest of her life. However, the arrival of the devil elicits doubts about the true nature of faith. He starts doubting her after seeing him in the evil ceremony in the forest. The devil also reveals the two followers, Deacon Gookin, and Goody Cloyse that Brown has known all along that they are staunch Christians (Hawthorne 16). The character of Brown here is seen to shaky because he is convinced to think otherwise about the community he has known his entire life. The arrival of the devil changes the faith and innocence of Brown to corruption. The evil nature of the people around him comes as a surprise, and that convinces him that the entire Puritan society is hypocritical. The revelations that come to him give him a different perspective of the society that he knows professes its Christian faith in