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【Abstract】Oral English test for English B is an achievement test for the second semester of the first year undergraduate students of Beijing University of Chemical Technology （BUCT）. Through analyzing the design， the specifications and the results of 2014 oral English test for English B students of BUCT， the author tries to prove the liability and efficiency of the test， and find the limitations so that to improve the quality of the oral English test.
【Key words】Beijing University of Chemical Technology；Oral English Test for English B Students
ⅠIntroduction
Oral English test for English B is designed for the second semester of the first year undergraduate students of BUCT， aiming at evaluating the student’s communicational ability and improving the student’s ability of expressing their opinions on general topics. The test is an achievement test， which is closely related to the language courses of English B.
As a final achievement test， the oral English test is administered at the end of a course of study， and written by members of teaching institution of BUCT. In view of some testers， the content of a final achievement test should be based directly on a detailed course syllabus or on the books and materials used. The disadvantage is that if the syllabus is badly designed， or the books are badly chosen， then the results of a test can be very misleading. （Hughes 2000：10）
The oral test of English B is to base test content directly on the objectives of the course. This has a number of advantages. First， it compels course designers to be explicit about objectives. Secondly， it makes it possible for performance on the test to show just how far students have achieved those objectives. This in turn puts pressure on those responsible for the syllabus and for the selection of books and materials to ensure that these are consistent with the course objectives. Tests based on objectives work against the perpetuation of poor teaching practice， something which course-content-based tests fail to do. （Hughes 2000：10）
Ⅱ Some Difficulties in Testing the Speaking Skills
Testing the ability to speak is a most important aspect of language testing. However， at all stages beyond the elementary levels of mimicry and repetition it is an extremely difficult skill to test， as it is far too complex a skill to permit any reliable analysis to be made for the purpose of objective testing. Questions relating to the criteria for measuring the speaking skills and to the weighting given to such components as correct pronunciation remain largely unanswered. It is possible for people to produce practically all the correct sounds but still be unable to communicate their ideas appropriately and effectively. On the other hand， people can make numerous errors in both phonology and syntax and yet succeed in expressing themselves fairly clearly. Furthermore， success in communication often depends as much on the listener as on the speaker： a particular listener may have a better ability to decode the foreign speaker’s message or may share a common nexus of ideas with him or her， thereby making communication simpler. In many tests of oral production it is neither possible nor desirable to separate the speaking skills from the listening skills. Clearly， in normal speech situations the two skills are interdependent. It is impossible to hold any meaningful conversation without understanding what is being said and without making oneself understood at the same time. However， this very interdependence of the speaking and listening skills increases the difficulty of any serious attempt to analyze precisely what is being tested at any one time. Moreover， since the spoken language is transient， it is impossible without a tape recorder to apply such procedure as in the marking of compositions， where examiners are able to check back and make an assessment at leisure. The examiner of an oral production test is working under great pressure all the time， making subjective judgments as quickly as possible. Even though samples of speech can be recorded during a test， the tape-recording， by itself， is inadequate to provide an accurate means of reassessing or checking a score， since it cannot recapture the full context of the actual situation， all of which is so essential to any assessment of the communication that takes place. （Heaton 2000：88）
Yet another difficulty in oral testing is that of administration. It is frequently impossible to test large numbers of students because of the limited time involved. Although the use of language laboratories for such tests has made it possible in some cases to administer more reliable oral production tests to large numbers of students， the actual scoring of the tests has not been so easily solved. （Heaton 2000：89）
Ⅲ The Design of 2014 Oral English Test for English B Students of BUCT
ⅰThe Content of 2014 Oral English Test for English B Students of BUCT
1. Introductions and Conversation Starters
You， a medical student， sit next to the writer of a bestseller on the train. Try to start a conversation with him/her.
2. Describing the Appearance and Character of People
Talk about what kind of person in your mind is the right one to be your future husband or wife.
3. Asking for and Giving Information
You are going to buy a cell-phone. You inquire about the three brands， Nokia， Sumsung Galaxy Note3 and iPhone 5s. Compare their functions and prices and ways of payment， and find out their strengths and weaknesses， and then decide which to choose.
4. Inviting， Accepting and Refusing an Invitation Your foreign friends invite you to join their Christmas party. And in turn， you invite them to your New Year party.
5. Finding and Giving Directions
How to get to the Bird’s Nest （National Stadium）？
2014 oral English B test consists of the above five items， which are from five units of their oral English text book. For example， the first item mainly talks about how to make introductions and how to start a conversation. In class， students have made a lot of practice of the similar topic. The content of test is closely related to what the students have learned in class. Therefore， Item1 aims at examining this aspect of the students’ communicational ability.
ⅱThe Specifications of 2014 Oral English Test for English B Students of BUCT
The form of the test is to make conversations in pairs. In other words， two students are chosen as a group before the test. During the test， students of a pair are asked to choose at random one of the five items above to make a conversation in 2 to 3 minutes with no less then 10 turns. Students of a pair should pay attention to the balance of the conversation， i.e. avoid the one-sided dialogue.
The total scores are 5 points.
The criteria of the rating of the test：
1.Novelty and richness of the content： the content of the conversation should be new， focused， well-organized and detailed.
2.Phonology： students should pay attention to their pronunciation， linking of sounds， stress， intonation， rhythm， etc.
3.Grammar， lexis and language organization： the richness of vocabulary， grammatical correctness and customary， coherence and logic of the organization of the language contribute a lot to a high score.
4.Stage manners： voice， facial expressions， gesture， posture and self-confidence will also be considered in the rating of the test.
Ⅳ The Result of the Test
The oral English test was hold in the last class of the semester. There were 160 students in my three classes. Therefore， the students made up 80 pairs. First， students were asked to choose the order of the oral examination. According to the order， students in pairs came to the front to choose their test items. Each pair had 3 minutes of preparation. Then， they started their conversation in front of the class.
The students， in all， gave a good performance in the oral exams， except for some students who were too nervous. Their scores range from 2.5 points to 5 points. Four students are below 3 points， and ten students are above 4.5 points. Most of students are around 4 points.
According to the result of the oral English test， the students have made a big progress in English communicational ability.
Ⅴ Conclusion
The oral English test for English B students is an authoritative test for the second semester of the first year undergraduate students of BUCT. It provides a good approach to test the students’ oral ability. However， there are still some limitations which affect the quality of the oral exam， such as the shortage of English teachers as testers compared with a large amount of students， the limited period of test time， and the subjectivity of the testers. As the teachers of English B students， we should contribute ourselves to the enrichment of the test forms， and make our best to improve the quality of the oral English test of BUCT.
References：
[1]Heaton， J.B..Writing English Language Tests[M].北京：外语教学与研究出版社，2000.8.
[2]Hughes， Arthur. Testing for Language Teachers[M].北京：外语教学与研究出版社，2000.6.
【Key words】Beijing University of Chemical Technology；Oral English Test for English B Students
ⅠIntroduction
Oral English test for English B is designed for the second semester of the first year undergraduate students of BUCT， aiming at evaluating the student’s communicational ability and improving the student’s ability of expressing their opinions on general topics. The test is an achievement test， which is closely related to the language courses of English B.
As a final achievement test， the oral English test is administered at the end of a course of study， and written by members of teaching institution of BUCT. In view of some testers， the content of a final achievement test should be based directly on a detailed course syllabus or on the books and materials used. The disadvantage is that if the syllabus is badly designed， or the books are badly chosen， then the results of a test can be very misleading. （Hughes 2000：10）
The oral test of English B is to base test content directly on the objectives of the course. This has a number of advantages. First， it compels course designers to be explicit about objectives. Secondly， it makes it possible for performance on the test to show just how far students have achieved those objectives. This in turn puts pressure on those responsible for the syllabus and for the selection of books and materials to ensure that these are consistent with the course objectives. Tests based on objectives work against the perpetuation of poor teaching practice， something which course-content-based tests fail to do. （Hughes 2000：10）
Ⅱ Some Difficulties in Testing the Speaking Skills
Testing the ability to speak is a most important aspect of language testing. However， at all stages beyond the elementary levels of mimicry and repetition it is an extremely difficult skill to test， as it is far too complex a skill to permit any reliable analysis to be made for the purpose of objective testing. Questions relating to the criteria for measuring the speaking skills and to the weighting given to such components as correct pronunciation remain largely unanswered. It is possible for people to produce practically all the correct sounds but still be unable to communicate their ideas appropriately and effectively. On the other hand， people can make numerous errors in both phonology and syntax and yet succeed in expressing themselves fairly clearly. Furthermore， success in communication often depends as much on the listener as on the speaker： a particular listener may have a better ability to decode the foreign speaker’s message or may share a common nexus of ideas with him or her， thereby making communication simpler. In many tests of oral production it is neither possible nor desirable to separate the speaking skills from the listening skills. Clearly， in normal speech situations the two skills are interdependent. It is impossible to hold any meaningful conversation without understanding what is being said and without making oneself understood at the same time. However， this very interdependence of the speaking and listening skills increases the difficulty of any serious attempt to analyze precisely what is being tested at any one time. Moreover， since the spoken language is transient， it is impossible without a tape recorder to apply such procedure as in the marking of compositions， where examiners are able to check back and make an assessment at leisure. The examiner of an oral production test is working under great pressure all the time， making subjective judgments as quickly as possible. Even though samples of speech can be recorded during a test， the tape-recording， by itself， is inadequate to provide an accurate means of reassessing or checking a score， since it cannot recapture the full context of the actual situation， all of which is so essential to any assessment of the communication that takes place. （Heaton 2000：88）
Yet another difficulty in oral testing is that of administration. It is frequently impossible to test large numbers of students because of the limited time involved. Although the use of language laboratories for such tests has made it possible in some cases to administer more reliable oral production tests to large numbers of students， the actual scoring of the tests has not been so easily solved. （Heaton 2000：89）
Ⅲ The Design of 2014 Oral English Test for English B Students of BUCT
ⅰThe Content of 2014 Oral English Test for English B Students of BUCT
1. Introductions and Conversation Starters
You， a medical student， sit next to the writer of a bestseller on the train. Try to start a conversation with him/her.
2. Describing the Appearance and Character of People
Talk about what kind of person in your mind is the right one to be your future husband or wife.
3. Asking for and Giving Information
You are going to buy a cell-phone. You inquire about the three brands， Nokia， Sumsung Galaxy Note3 and iPhone 5s. Compare their functions and prices and ways of payment， and find out their strengths and weaknesses， and then decide which to choose.
4. Inviting， Accepting and Refusing an Invitation Your foreign friends invite you to join their Christmas party. And in turn， you invite them to your New Year party.
5. Finding and Giving Directions
How to get to the Bird’s Nest （National Stadium）？
2014 oral English B test consists of the above five items， which are from five units of their oral English text book. For example， the first item mainly talks about how to make introductions and how to start a conversation. In class， students have made a lot of practice of the similar topic. The content of test is closely related to what the students have learned in class. Therefore， Item1 aims at examining this aspect of the students’ communicational ability.
ⅱThe Specifications of 2014 Oral English Test for English B Students of BUCT
The form of the test is to make conversations in pairs. In other words， two students are chosen as a group before the test. During the test， students of a pair are asked to choose at random one of the five items above to make a conversation in 2 to 3 minutes with no less then 10 turns. Students of a pair should pay attention to the balance of the conversation， i.e. avoid the one-sided dialogue.
The total scores are 5 points.
The criteria of the rating of the test：
1.Novelty and richness of the content： the content of the conversation should be new， focused， well-organized and detailed.
2.Phonology： students should pay attention to their pronunciation， linking of sounds， stress， intonation， rhythm， etc.
3.Grammar， lexis and language organization： the richness of vocabulary， grammatical correctness and customary， coherence and logic of the organization of the language contribute a lot to a high score.
4.Stage manners： voice， facial expressions， gesture， posture and self-confidence will also be considered in the rating of the test.
Ⅳ The Result of the Test
The oral English test was hold in the last class of the semester. There were 160 students in my three classes. Therefore， the students made up 80 pairs. First， students were asked to choose the order of the oral examination. According to the order， students in pairs came to the front to choose their test items. Each pair had 3 minutes of preparation. Then， they started their conversation in front of the class.
The students， in all， gave a good performance in the oral exams， except for some students who were too nervous. Their scores range from 2.5 points to 5 points. Four students are below 3 points， and ten students are above 4.5 points. Most of students are around 4 points.
According to the result of the oral English test， the students have made a big progress in English communicational ability.
Ⅴ Conclusion
The oral English test for English B students is an authoritative test for the second semester of the first year undergraduate students of BUCT. It provides a good approach to test the students’ oral ability. However， there are still some limitations which affect the quality of the oral exam， such as the shortage of English teachers as testers compared with a large amount of students， the limited period of test time， and the subjectivity of the testers. As the teachers of English B students， we should contribute ourselves to the enrichment of the test forms， and make our best to improve the quality of the oral English test of BUCT.
References：
[1]Heaton， J.B..Writing English Language Tests[M].北京：外语教学与研究出版社，2000.8.
[2]Hughes， Arthur. Testing for Language Teachers[M].北京：外语教学与研究出版社，2000.6.