Research-based professional development workshops for EFL teachers: Focus on oral test interaction and assessment

Abstract

In this paper, we address language teachers’ continuing professional development (CPD) and engagement with research by demonstrating how research on English as a foreign language (EFL) speaking tests can be applied in professional training workshops on oral test interaction and assessment. Data were drawn from an ongoing research project targeting 9th-grade national English speaking tests in Sweden. Authentic test recordings analysed in a previous study (Author 1 and Author 2 2013) formed the basis for workshops designed to initiate discussions on testing and assessing EFL oral proficiency. The two-fold aim of the study is to implement a research-based workshop model for increasing teachers’ awareness of interaction in speaking tests, and to analyse teachers’ self-reported insights from workshop participation with regard to conducting speaking tests and assessing oral proficiency. Workshop experiences were followed up with questionnaires. Findings reveal some noteworthy pedagogical implications of collaborative work with test recordings and assessment.