The perceptions of learners (test-takers) with different speaking proficiency levels (speaking abilities) about the paired speaking test method

The present study was an attempt to improve learners’ interactional competence in oral assessment across Iranian EFL paired examinees. To do so, a non-experimental qualitative study was designed in which ۳۶ participants with three different speaking proficiency levels, each including ۱۲ learners were purposefully selected based on their performance on IELTS proficiency test. The participants were both male and female, with the age range of ۱۸ to ۲۵ in Jahad Daneshgahi Institute in Arak. The participants were randomly placed in six different pairs and received a discussion task type, and asked to co-construct a discourse about the given topic. Then, the voices of each pair was recorded. In the next step, ۵ learners from each level were randomly selected to take part in an interview presenting their perceptions about the test format they had received. Following the transcription of the examinees' performances, the researcher analyzed learners' conversations with respect to Young's (۲۰۰۰) model of interactional competence.

Keywords:

The perceptions , learners , speaking , proficiency , levels , method