ABSTRACT
In my experience, the assessment of speaking and listening is frequently a neglected area in primary schools. While some schools undoubtedly have systems in place, you should not be too surprised if your school does not. Part of the reason for this may be that there has been no SAT or national test equivalent to those for reading and writing. And, it must also be admitted, speaking and listening is not a straightforward aspect of language development to assess. I will outline some of the reasons why this is the case in more detail in this chapter, but one difficulty must be immediately obvious. Unlike a pile of exercise books or a collection of storybooks the children have made, examples of their speaking and listening cannot be taken home to be assessed. Speaking and listening must be assessed in situ. Recordings can be made, but they can be intrusive - especially video recordings. They can have an effect to some extent on the spontaneity of the discussion; the microphone has to be in the right place at the right time to capture what is said. Much of the richness of the situation is lost if only the words are being heard and tapes are time-consuming to listen to. Nevertheless, there may be times when it’s worthwhile making a recording and I will look at some of these, but on the whole, other means of assessment must usually be sought.
