THE IMPORTANCE OF ORAL LANGUAGE SKILLS FOR REAL-LIFE COMMUNICATION AND JOB SKILLS IN TANZANIA
Keywords:
Oral language assessment, English language skills, secondary schools, Tanzania, classroom practices, formative assessment, language proficiency, national assessments, communication skills.Abstract
This study explored how English language teachers assess oral language skills in Tanzanian
secondary schools. Employing a phenomenological research design, this study used observations, interviews
with teachers, and document reviews to investigate classroom practices. The findings indicate that oral
language assessment in secondary schools is not comprehensive, and primary assessments are dominated by
debates, group discussions, presentations, dialogues, dictation, interviews, questions and answers, and
computer-assisted testing. Oral language assessment seemed more beneficial to smaller classes compared to
larger classes due to time limitations. The study suggests that students' oral language proficiency could be
improved by strengthening both classroom and national assessments. The article also calls for the integration
of formative assessment measures to ensure that language proficiency improves among learners. This study
establishes that the assessment of oral language skills in Tanzanian secondary schools requires improvement,
as end-of-course summative assessments mainly occur without classroom assessments to ensure students'
learning progression. Thus, more emphasis needs to be placed on oral language assessment as it is essential
for effective communication and job skills.
