The Curriculum-based Oral English Test Design For Senior Middle Schools

Since the ultimate aim of learning a language is communication, a person's competence to communicate orally is an important indicator of that person's language proficiency. Oral ability testing can be considered as a must for evaluating one's English and also provides feedback which can modify ELT teaching approaches and redirect focus on ELT. Nevertheless, many difficulties related to oral tests, including the difficulties in designing the oral tests, have been hindering the adoption of oral English testing for senior middle schools. As a result, such tests are implemented infrequently in China, which may be one reason why the speaking and listening skills of Chinese are often considered inadequate. However, the new curriculum was advocated advanced teaching notions, together with a detailed explanation to oral ability testing, and considered by many experts as an important guide of English oral ability testing at the stage of fundamental education. So oral ability testing practice is booming all over our country. This thesis is an attempt to present the new curriculum based English ability planning for senior middle schools, and may serve as reference for designers of oral ability tests.At the very beginning, the thesis introduces the background of the emergence of The New Curriculum, owing to the international situation and the necessity of the economic development of our country. The new curriculum has Social Constructivism as its basic theory. The emergence of The New Curriculum embodies the demand of the new era and advanced teaching notions. The aims of the curriculum are divided into five aspects and different objective-based studying stages are given following the ordinary methods advocated in the world, which is very helpful in oral designing.The thesis discusses the changes in description about the oral skills for senior middle school compared with the present syllabus, we may get to the conclusion that the curriculum has different aims, emphasizes communicative abilities, and pay more attention to the acquisition of practical language competence. The curriculum also advocates the diversity of evaluation forms, and supports the combination of formative assessment and summative assessment. Such evaluation will benefit thedevelopment of the students.Apart from the various detailed aims, the curriculum also prescribes the demands related with oral testing. Several measures which should be emphasized are arranged in the thesis after the analyses of the demands on oral ability tests. The thesis discusses the test-takers and features of the testing, the author believes the contents of the tests should be included comprehensively. As for the methods, the author has the suggestion that the communicative competence, practical competence should be considered. Interviews are suggested as the best choice of all. Formats for testing are various, six of which are offered by the author, they are role play, situational response, talking about pictures, oral composition, questions and answers, group discussion. The author offered a series of evaluation standards that are easy to manipulate.After discussing the designing of oral tests, the author gives some samples of the oral test in use in high school, in which the determination of testing objectives, the preparation for the tests, testing procedures are introduced in detail, followed by the analyses about the results of the testing.A questionnaire given to the test-takers indicates that it is necessary to adopt oral tests and the designing of the oral test is reliable. The defects are also illustrated with some possible solutions.Based on the research, the author advocates the necessity for reform of the present oral testing. Only by more emphases and exploration can oral testing benefit ELT and achieve the objectives given by the new curriculum.