ASSESSING LISTENING

Listening, the most widely used language skill, is often used in conjunction with the other skills of speaking, reading and writing. Listening is not only a skill area in language performance, but is also a critical means of acquiring a second language. 

Assessing listening is not an easy job since it cannot be simply measured by observing student's performance. Brown stated “When you propose to assess someone’s ability in one or a combination of the four skills, you assess that person’s competence, but you observe the person’s performance” Active listening is vital tool for improving communications with others both professionally and personally. 

Listening involves "bottom-up" processing that is when listeners attend to data in the incoming speech signals and "top-down" processing in which listeners utilise prior knowledge and expectations to create meaning. Both bottom-up and top-down processing are assumed to take place at various levels of cognitive organisation: phonological, grammatical, lexical and propositional.

Teachers, The Core of Education.

      


      More than anyone else, teachers are the principal agents involved in second language evaluation. As the core of education, teachers are expected to handle many aspects when it comes to assessing teaching practices and all its components. Assessing and evaluating students, materials and instruction is a complex job. Teachers need to be aware of the different factors influencing their students and their learning.


      It's needed to think of evaluation as a decision-making process, in order to make improvements in the teaching practices. Teachers must take into account aspects such as student's needs, wants, skills, previous knowledge, concentration level, disposition and environment. These observations can lead teachers to make a detailed analysis and find out what suitable materials and sources can be used in their classes, so the students can have a significant learning. Making decisions is not an easy job, but once the teacher has carefully analyzed the different aspects regarding students' behaviors, needs and learning styles, teaching practices may fulfilling students' needs.