TEST OF ORALS” OR “ALTERNATIVE TO TEST OF ORALS”: AN APPRAISAL OF THE TEST OF ORALS EXAMINATION BY SELECT EXAMINATION BODIES IN NIGERIA

Despite the very huge importance of the oral skills of listening and speaking in language development, in teaching and learning, and of course teachers’ efforts in teaching these oracy skills, it is unfortunate that this aspect of the English Language is not adequately and appropriately assessed by examining bodies in Nigeria. This paper, therefore, discusses the importance of testing the oracy skills and describes how these ill-assessed skills can be properly assessed as it appraises the test of orals examinations conducted by both the West African Examination Council (WAEC) and the National Examinations Council (NECO) in Nigeria. It also examines an array of techniques that can be utilized to grade performance in oral achievement tests. The paper concludes that what these examining bodies do in the guise of testing oral language performance falls short of the ideal. It is therefore recommended that WAEC and NECO rename their English Language, Paper 3: Test of Orals “Alternative to Test of Orals” if it is practically difficult to examine that aspect of the language as it should ideally be done in Nigeria.