KOTESOL International Conference 2016
(Concurrent Session)
Gunther Breaux, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies
It's Not a Conversation Class Unless You Have a Conversation Test
Abstract
Korean teenagers rank at the top of the world in math and science and at the bottom in English speaking ability. Why? Because in math class they have a math test. In science class they have a science test. A conversation class must have a conversation test. This is education, and human nature. What get's tested gets done. In brief: three students have a 17-minute conversation. The test is recorded on teachers' and students' phones. Students transcribe only what they say (takes about one hour) on Word. Word gives their total words spoken and the number function gives how many times they spoke. By simple division students get their average words per utterance. Total and average words on the midterm reveals their ability, and a comparison of midterm and final test data measures their improvement. The bottom line is: How can you teach conversation if you can't test it?
Biographicals
Gunther Breaux has taught English conversation to Korean university freshmen for 20 years. He's an associate professor at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies and the author of EFL textbooks and teacher's resource books. He has a BA in Advertising Design, an MA in American History and an MATESOL. His art background, computer graphics skills and teaching experience enable him to create materials specifically for Korean students. He has also taught Business English at the Korea Development Institute (KDI) Graduate School of Public Policy and Management. He is also the author of idioms books, including business idioms. His research interest is in Conversation-based Learning.
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