A face-to-face training session was organized by Istanbul Medeniyet University School of Foreign Languages on January 17, 2025, at 1:00 PM, in collaboration with Oxford University Press. This training, titled "Standardization in Speaking Exams", was delivered by Andrew Bosson, an academic trainer from Oxford University Press. The training was attended by lecturers from the School of Foreign Languages and was conducted in two sessions.
In the first session, participants were informed about the implementation of speaking exams, assessment criteria, and the rules to be followed. Additionally, questions raised by the lecturers were addressed.
In the second session, practical activities were carried out using audio recordings from speaking exams conducted at our institution. These audio recordings are part of a standard procedure applied to each student during speaking exams. They are utilized as evidence in cases of exam appeals. Written consent was obtained from the lecturers and students featured in the recordings used in the training, and as an additional precaution under the Personal Data Protection Law (KVKK), the pitch of the voices in the recordings was altered.
During the training, four exam samples were analyzed. The lecturers discussed the scores they assigned to each sample and their justifications. Detailed scores provided by the Assessment and Evaluation Unit were reviewed to ensure standardization, with a focus on achieving consensus among all lecturers regarding the evaluation criteria.
Following this highly productive and dynamic training, the event concluded with a thank-you extended to Oxford University Press trainer Andrew Bosson.
