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Study Guide

Field 174: Bilingual Education Assessment—Arabic
Presentational Speaking Directions, Performance Characteristics, and Score Scale

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This study guide includes three sections for the Presentational Speaking section of the test:

Directions for Presentational Speaking Assignments

For the Presentational Speaking section of the test, you will record a spoken response to two assignments presented on-screen.

For each speaking assignment, a preparation screen will appear. The speaking assignment will be displayed, and the screen timer in the upper right corner of the screen will count down the allotted preparation time. You may take up to 5 minutes to review the assignment and prepare your response. Please note that you are not required to take the entire 5 minutes; however, if you choose to advance to the next screen to begin recording your response before the preparation time has ended, you will not be able to go back.

When the preparation time is complete, the screen will automatically advance, and you will record your response to the assignment. Do NOT begin speaking until the screen advances and you see the recorder box presented on-screen. After 5 seconds, a tone will indicate when to begin speaking and the recorder box will show "Recording." You may take up to 3 minutes to record your response. A sample of the recorder box appears below.

A sample of the recorder box shows a record button that indicates recording is in progress. The progress bar shows that the recording is at the 5 second mark and a total of 3 minutes of recording is allowed.

You can monitor your time remaining by referring to the timer, which will count up from 00:01 to 03:00. Bars will appear with the sound of your voice while the recording is in progress.

At the conclusion of your response time, the recorder box will change to "Complete" indicating the conclusion of the speaking assignment.

A sample of the recorder box shows a record button that indicates recording is complete. The progress bar shows that the recording is at the maximum allowed 3 minutes.

Once the recorder box shows "Complete," you may select the Next button to continue with the remainder of the test. Do NOT click Next until you have finished recording your response. If you advance to the next screen with recording time remaining, you will not be able to go back.

You may use the erasable notebooklet provided to take notes; however, you will be scored only on the responses that are recorded in the test. You will have only ONE opportunity to record your response to each assignment. Be sure that your microphone is in a downward position near your mouth before you begin speaking.

Your responses will be evaluated according to the following criteria:

Your responses will be evaluated on the criteria above, not on the position you take. In your responses, you must use your own words. You must respond to the first assignment in English and to the second assignment in Arabic.

The first of the two Presentational Speaking assignments will be presented on the next screen. You will respond to this assignment in English. Select the Next button to begin the assignment.

Performance Characteristics for Presentational Speaking Assignments

The following characteristics guide the scoring of the English response and the Arabic response to the Presentational Speaking assignments.

APPROPRIATENESS The extent to which the response uses the candidate's own words, states an opinion on the issue presented in the question, and uses language, style, and sociolinguistic conventions appropriate for the assignment (task, purpose, specified audience, and context or situation)
SUPPORT The extent to which the response supports and explains the stated opinion with the candidate's own relevant ideas or examples
FLUENCY The extent to which the response communicates clear, relevant, and logically sequenced ideas delivered with a consistent flow of speech, intelligible pronunciation, and appropriate intonation
GRAMMAR The extent to which the response uses a range of appropriate grammatical constructions, time frames, and sentence structures
VOCABULARY The extent to which the response uses a range of appropriate vocabulary and/or idiomatic language

Score Scale for Presentational Speaking Assignments

A score will be assigned to the English response and the Arabic response to the Presentational Speaking assignments according to the following score scale.

Score Point Score Point Description
4 The "4" response demonstrates effective presentational speaking skills.
3 The "3" response demonstrates generally effective presentational speaking skills.
2 The "2" response demonstrates partially effective presentational speaking skills.
1 The "1" response demonstrates ineffective presentational speaking skills.
U The response is unscorable because it is inaudible or unintelligible, merely a repetition of the assignment, not related to the assignment, not primarily in the required language, or not of sufficient length to score.
B There is no response to the assignment.