Introduction

As teachers, we tend not to speak about what scares us; however, in my experience,one of the most intimidating experiences as a language teacher is preparing and proctoring speaking exams. Unlike other skill exams, they require a level of interaction that is unique to the skill. If you are tasked with creating one, you will find that the structure is quite limited compared to others.

However, over the years, I have noticed some patterns in the way these exams are prepared and conducted. Some issues with the exam preparation are topics that are too irrelevant or uninteresting for the learners, haphazardly prepared exams that are not piloted, and lack of detail and communication between the test-makers and the proctors. As for proctoring, there may be issues such as the tendency of the proctors to focus either on accuracy or fluency, lack of communication with the test-maker or with the learners themselves, and technical issues. In the points below, I describe these issues in more detail and offer suggestions.

What is interesting to you is not necessarily interesting for the students: Over the years I had to prepare and proctor quite a few speaking exams, and one common theme that keeps showing up is the content. . The goal in a speaking exam is to elicit a relatively large sample of speaking so that it can be assessed and to achieve that, the subject matter needs to be familiar. However, familiarity is where it gets tricky: the learners are often from a different generation, they have different interests and we are all human, so we cannot be expected to know everything. That being said, if you ask a group of 19 year olds whether aging is harder for women, they might find themselves stuck. And it does not happen only during the classroom exams that are prepared for the students of a certain school. In a very expensive exam I had to take, I was asked whether I preferred videos or articles and that was a strange set of statements that I had to create on the go. If you are teaching in addition to preparing exams, it might be a good idea to listen in when the students are talking to each other to have an idea of what they might be interested in.

Pilot your exams: I cannot stress this enough: test your questions before the exam. In the first exam I prepared, I threw in a bunch of yes/no questions that did not go anywhere. Naturally, the learners were able to take some initiative and expand without much interference; however, some did not and it became awkward. Oversights happen, but the learners should not be paying for your oversights in a high-stakes environment. You might not be able to pilot your exam with actual learners, but you can ask a colleague or try to answer your own questions.

Explain in detail: Not all the teachers who will proctor your exam will be familiar with your format or the specific way you want the exam to be conducted. Before an exam, it is better to over explain than to leave people to their own devices. Write everything about your exams in a manner that will leave no room for interpretation, misunderstanding or confusion. I must admit, a few times I felt like the level of detail I provided was insulting but that is never the case. During an exam, , your guidelines are the only thing the proctor can fall back on. Try to anticipate problems that might arise and address those in a separate section. Contact information is another level of detail that needs to be included. It is frustrating to try to remember names and connections when there is an entire class worth of students waiting for you.

Give time: Proctoring is hard. Often there are time constraints and your colleagues are in a rush. You cannot expect them to read on the go. Organize the timing so that the proctors/interlocutors have enough time to read the instructions. If they need to print something, cut pictures up, or need to know about a specific requirement you have, they cannot do it when you give them access 15 minutes before the exam starts.

Rubric guidelines save lives: You’ve set your objectives and prepared a fitting rubric that matches perfectly with the exam you created. You even did the mandatory “fiddling with the page margins” on your word processor. Everything looks amazing. Except it doesn’t. As creator of the exam, you are privy to the entire process and you know how pieces fit together. As a mere proctor, I don’t. Your rubric says what grade I should award when the learner uses X and Y structures and lexical items but what do I do when the learner was off topic but in a fluent way? Do I give a zero? Should they be given some points for their effort? Such details need to be a part of the rubric. It is always a good idea to be as comprehensive as possible.

The hardest part of preparing an exam is sitting down to do it. If you are tasked with writing one, you probably have spent quite some time planning how to organize it and what to ask. We all start with less than perfect attempts, but it gets there. It is quite the source of pride when the exam you prepared leads to a fair assessment of the learners and their hard work.

That being said, it is also true that we find ourselves as proctors more often than we find ourselves as test-makers. The difference of proctoring a speaking exam is that the teacher is an active participant instead of an observer, and that, by nature, changes things. The change in roles is one reason why proctoring speaking exams is hard; not just for the learners but for the teachers as well. It is not classroom interaction where you can help out the learners when they are in a bind. Instead, you and the learners are in an awkward situation where they know every word they utter will be put up against a rubric. Moreover, you need to be alert, and at the top of your game all throughout the exam, which can be quite challenging for an already overworked teacher. However, I offer some tips that can help the entire process go more seamlessly.

1. Find out what the task demands

Does the task demand accuracy or is it fluency? Teachers often fall into the pit of assessing the student for accuracy when the task asks for fluency. Yes, that verb needed to be in past tense but can you follow what the student is trying to say? Maybe they are trying their hand at a new structure or new lexical item. Are they using something they’ve learned recently?

2. Don’t fall for the appearances

Fluency matters as much as accuracy; on the other hand, some students have a strong asymmetry between their fluency and accuracy. A very fluent student is not necessarily accurate. Some bombard you with what is essentially a word salad, but they do so fluently while some very accurate students struggle with their pace and may come off as worse than they actually are. Make mental notes and ask for clarification when you feel they are spiraling.

3. Go through the rubric

Institutions may have rubrics that include detailed explanations on what to expect and what not to expect. If you are not familiar with the class you will be proctoring, the rubric can give you an idea of the students’ level. What the students can and can’t do is also beneficial as it can help you grade your language accordingly.

4. Build rapport

Most speaking exams come with a script that the teacher needs to stick to but that does not need to mean you are just a grading machine! The students can observe your body language, and a bored teacher reading from a script only leads to more stress on their end. Try to smile. Relax your shoulders. Your positivity can and will be mirrored.

5. Online teaching special: Have a backup plan.

Our new reality is distance teaching and most of us conduct our exams online. While that is fine on some level with other skills, speaking assessments require both parties to be fully present (as in both parties need good internet connection). Anything can go wrong. The students’ cameras may not function with one platform but work fine with others. Additionally, internet connectivity might be an issue. To remedy that, there isn’t much we can do as teachers but it is helpful to have several rooms through different platforms ready. Finally, upload your documents beforehand and keep them open in another tab. Share the links with the students before the exam.

Although they take so much time, speaking exams are also vastly rewarding. You get to talk to students who might otherwise stay quiet, and you get to take a glimpse into their lives. In addition to the professional value of it, it can also be a bonding experience. In sum, depending on how you approach it, it could be quite fun.