Resource

Oral Examination

Author: ATU Galway

What is it?

Verbal interaction between assessor and student on a specific topic. This enables students to verbalize their understanding of content. Often associated with assessing language subjects to assess students’ progress with speaking the language and learning the variables within a language subject i.e., nouns, verbs, tenses, and pronunciation.

Advantages & Challenges

Advantages

Challenges

Advantages

Challenges

Tips for Use

Consider your cohort of students and whether they have completed this style of assessment before. If it is new to them, start of slow and try to incorporate practice runs with either you or as a peer-to-peer exercise.
Decide on what format you would like to use for this assessment, will it be group based or individual? Are questions going to be predetermined or prompt based? How long will the examination take? And any other guidelines that are applicable.
Provide students with guidance on how the oral examination will take place, what areas will they be assessed on and any topic areas they should familiarize themselves with in advance.

Resources

University of Guelph: Guidelines for Oral Assessments and Exams | Office of Teaching and Learning (uoguelph.ca)
Joughin (2010) Leeds Metropolitan University: https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/42413247.pdf
Chan C.(2008) Assessment: Oral Assessment, Assessment Resources@HKU, University of Hong Kong: TALIC – Assessment Resource Centre (hku.hk)
Sambell, K., & Brown, S (2023). Choosing and using fit-for-purpose assessment methods. Heriot Watt University. (page 15) Link: https://sally-brown.net/download/3496/

Sample Rubrics

Chan C.(2008) Assessment: Oral Assessment, Assessment Resources@HKU, University of Hong Kong: TALIC – Assessment Resource Centre (hku.hk)

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