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THE ASSESSMENT OF ORAL ENGLISH IN ANGLOPHONE WEST AFRICA: EMERGING ISSUES

The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) conducts tests in Oral English as part of its assessment of candidates in English Language at the Senior Secondary School Level. The test presumes a level of uniformity in the way the language is spoken and this forms the basis for the adoption of some standards in assessing the level of proficiency in spoken English among examinees.Language proficiency has an academic and socio-cultural context resulting in variations in intonations, meanings and expressions given to spoken words.The paper examines the impact of regional factors on the way the English Language is spoken in Anglophone West Africa as well as how these factors impact on the set benchmarks for assessing proficiency in WAEC Oral English test.The paper further explores other emerging issues that have invariably affected the nature and mode of assessment of English Language Proficiency (ELP) in WAEC Oral English test and what lessons they offer for Assessment Agencies.

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