Research University Bachelor Students' Spoken Production Assessment Criteria: Design and Approbation

This thesis is motivated by the growing interest in the criteria design for English language testing. Speaking, being a multiplex skill, which is developed in the process of language learning, needs to be assessed properly. The paper discusses the issue of criteria design and approbation for the purpose of the spoken production assessment of the research university bachelor students. The terms “rating scale” and “(assessment) criteria” are used interchangeably. The aim of the paper is to design two rating scales – for monological and dialogical speech assessment – for the 3rd year students of the HSE programme “Foreign languages and cross-cultural communication” based on the main principles of assessment criteria design, as well as the analysis of the aims of the “Speech practice” course. In the thesis I employ the method of the critical analysis of a number of prominent works on speaking assessment, as well as speaking criteria design. The interview method is also used in the process of testing the designed criteria. After assessment sessions, the feedback received from practicing teachers is used to improve the criteria. I believe that these two sets of spoken production criteria will prove to be suitable for the academic context and research university aims and will be used as part of the educational process.