THE ability to speak English as an additional language is at the very heart of what it means to be able to communicate with the language. Our personality, our self image, our knowledge of the field and of the world, and our ability to reason and express our thoughts are all reflected in our oral performance on daily basis.
Because speaking is done in real-time, EFL/ESL learners’ abilities to plan, process and produce the language are taxed greatly. For that reason, the structure of speech is quite different from that of the written language where users have time to plan, edit and correct what they produce.
TBEST is a new type of approach which refers to Task-Based English Speaking Test.
TBEST is a test for students and for specific purposes.
TBEST is a “computer based” English Speaking Test:
— Students take test via computer
*8 to 10 minutes to complete the test
— Teachers give score over Internet:
*anytime; anywhere
*scientific marking scheme is provided
*5 to 8 minutes per student
— Diagnostic based score report on Internet
*General and/or specific report on the performance in the areas of accuracy, fluency, comprehensibility, and complexity
