Assessment of Language Components:
Test Weightage Possible genre
Listening 25% Lectures, Talks, Interviews
Speaking 25% Contemporary issues, Sharing opinions
Reading 25% Articles, Journals, Biography, Stories,
Academic texts, Magazines
Writing 25% Report, Article, Letter, Essay
The four language components tested are given the same weightage to ensure
priority is given to all four components. Each component is important and should be provided
an equal platform to be fairly tested and evaluated. There are several forms of genres that
are specifically used in testing these components as mentioned in the table above.
Test specification:
Language Test structure Timing
components
Listening Part 1: MCQ Approx. 30 minutes
Part 2: Short answer (3-5 words)
Part 3: Long answer
Speaking Part 1: A group discussion on the topic with Approx. 15 minutes
picture prompts
Part 2: Pair presentation on questions given
Part 3: Individual speech on the topic given
Reading Part 1: MCQ Approx. 45 minutes
Part 2: Information transfer (short answer)
Part 3: Information transfer (long answer)
Part 4: Making inferences
Writing Part 1: Summarisation based on long text (80- Approx. 60 minutes
100 words)
Part 2: Essay writing - argumentative
essay/article/report/review (250-300 words)
Test Specification: Language Components
1. Listening
The proposed three-part listening component structure, consisting of multiple-choice
questions (MCQ), short-answer questions, and long-answer questions, is designed to
evaluate a test taker's listening skills. MCQ allows for efficient assessment of main ideas,
details, and inferred interpretations within shorter audio segments, allowing for instant
evaluation of understanding important information. Short-answer questions add complexity
by requiring short responses to specific prompts and assessing the ability to extract detailed
information from audio content. Long-answer questions test the ability to grasp and articulate
responses to longer audio passages, such as lectures or discussions, assessing not only the
level of learning but also the ability to summarise and articulate concepts clearly. This
multimodal approach accommodates individuals with diverse learning styles and linguistic
talents, catering to real-world listening requirements. The integration of MCQ, short-answer,
and long-answer questions ensures a full and adaptive assessment, providing significant
insights into the test taker's listening competence across various contexts and complexities.
2. Speaking
The speaking test is structured into three unique components: a group discussion
with picture prompts, a pair presentation addressing provided questions, and an individual
speech on an assigned topic. This structure allows for a comprehensive examination of the
test taker's speaking skills. The group discussion simulates real-life encounters and
evaluates collaborative communication abilities, allowing for an assessment of how well
applicants explain their ideas and interact with others. The pair presentation emphasises the
need for effective collaboration, assessing the capacity to communicate information
coherently in response to specific questions. The individual speech on an assigned topic
evaluates the candidate's ability to articulate thoughts independently and convey information
in a structured and coherent manner. This comprehensive method covers various issues,
including collaborative communication, individual expression, and structured presentation.
The format also accommodates different learning methods, enabling a nuanced evaluation
of an individual's speaking proficiency. Overall, the three components of this comprehensive
examination of speaking abilities involve a wide range of communication settings, including
collaborative, individual, and structured presentations. This method covers various issues
and accommodates different learning methods, ensuring a nuanced evaluation of an
individual's speaking proficiency in both academic and practical situations.
3. Reading
The reading component can be tested under four parts. The first part is the multiple-
choice questions. These forms of questions will allow students to be exposed to simple
forms of questions initially before moving forward to the second part which is information
transfer. Both second and third parts are information transfer, however the form of
responses differ as part 2 requires short answers while part 3 requires longer forms of
answers. Part 4 under the reading component is used to test the inference making section.
This will generally test the students to apply all the previous set of skills that were tested to
check their understanding of the component and how they apply them effectively. The time
allocated for the reading component is approximately 45 minutes to ensure enough time is
provided for students to complete all the four parts that will be tested.
4. Writing
As for the writing component, it can be done in two parts, Part One is a
summarisation based on a long text in which students have to write in 80-100 words. In this
section, students have to firstly read a long text or article, extract main ideas and finally
summarise the long text or article by re-writing the main ideas. This part also involves
students’ reading skills as they have to identify main ideas in the long texts. Despite that, this
summarisation is specifically classified under the writing component as students have to re-
write the article using their own words. Students are not allowed to use the same words
stated in the long text that they have read, instead, students have to think of the synonyms
in the text. This helps teachers to sharpen students’ vocabulary use. As for Part Two,
students will be given some options to write an essay about, such as an argumentative
essay, writing an article, a report or a review. Students have to write the essay in 250-300
words for this part specifically. Testing on students’ writing will help teachers to determine
students’ writing skills such as organisation of ideas, correct use of connecting words and
language use.