Both examiners' and test takers' attitudes toward integration of interactive components of communication into oral examinations

Speaking skill in English as a foreign language context can be assessed through various oral examinations. Among these oral examinations, commonly used interviews seem to lack the necessary setting to assess all the features of speaking skill. Even though spoken production of test takers are assessed by means of exam questions in the interview format, spoken interaction of test takers cannot be assessed due to the absence of an interactive format. On the other hand, incorporation of a section into oral examinations, where test takers, interacting with another participant, can be assessed in their interactional skills, may help the assessment of both productional and interactional features of speaking skill. Various studies show that paired testing supports classroom instruction, helps test takers perform better English and present symmetrical conversation (Egyud & Glover, 2001; Brooks, 2009; Lier, 1986; Salaberry, 2000). In the light of these discussions, our aim in this study is to find out the attitudes of examiners and test takers toward the integration of interactive components of communication into oral examinations. Five full time English language teachers and 21 students having taken at least one oral examination at previous levels and attending intermediate or upper-intermediate classes were invited to the study. In order to investigate the nature of the assessment system, examiners were given a checklist to find out which features of speaking skill oral assessment questions correspond to. Following this step, examiners and test takers were invited to semi-structured interviews before and after the implementation. The results show that the implementation, in both participant groups' opinions, leads to a more efficient assessment system by virtue of the conformity with real life, increasing comprehensiveness and relaxed atmosphere. In addition to these findings, the results also reveal that the implementation helps the assessment system cohere with the classroom instruction and provides test takers with more opportunities to speak. Keywords: Speaking skill, interaction, oral exams, paired testing, integration of interactive components of communication.