Barriers and Enablers for Teachers Assessing Listening and Speaking Skills at Secondary level in Bangladesh

Abstract

Research indicates that assessment systems dictate classroom practices, although assessment systems do not always have a positive impact on classroom behaviours. The focus of the present study was to explore Bangladesh secondary English teachers’ understandings about listening and speaking skills assessment as well as to learn the barriers and enablers they encounter in assessing those two skills. The study showed that the Bangladesh secondary English curriculum does not include the assessment of listening and speaking skills, although the curriculum document gives a mandate to teachers to practise and assess all the four language skills – listening, speaking, reading, and writing. The study also indicated that teachers taught English mixing with Bangla language; they had not been trained to assess listening and speaking skills; the English curriculum required restructuring to make way for listening and speaking skills assessment; teachers needed listening and speaking resources to enable them to undertake both listening and speaking practices and assessment; and above all, it shows that the teachers need instruction from the education authority in order to start auraloral skills assessment in schools. This qualitative study with six Bangladeshi secondary school English teachers employed classroom observations and semi-structured interviews.