Abstract

GAMBOA MENA, Roy  and  SEVILLA MORALES, Henry. The testing of listening in bilingual secondary schools of Costa Rica: bridging gaps between theory and practice. Rev. Actual. Investig. Educ [online]. 2014, vol.14, n.2, pp.155-179. ISSN 1409-4703.

Despite listening being one of the most crucial skills in the process of communication, research shows that it has been neglected in most English as a Foreign Language (EFL) programs, both worldwide and in Costa Rica. Worse yet, mismatches between theory and practice often result in poor listening assessment in many institutions. Thus, this article examined current listening testing practices by Ministry of Public Education (in Spanish, MEP) in-service teachers ranked C1 according to the Common European Framework (CEF) in bilingual secondary schools of the West Area of Costa Rica. Listening tests created and administered by those teachers were  analyzed  for  their  compliance  with  both  theory  on  listening  assessment  and  MEP’s  guidelines  on assessment. The study revealed that even though teachers had previously received training on testing, the tests they created do not fully comply with both MEP’s guidelines and theoretical principles on listening assessment. Findings expand conclusions drawn by Gamboa and Sevilla (2013) in previous research on listening assessment and provide several contributions to the current bulk of literature on listening testing practices in Cos ta Rica. Such conclusions also reveal areas of listening assessment that need to be further tackled through teacher training.

Keywords : Listening Skills; English; Teaching English; Teachers; Bilingual High Schools; West Area; Ministry Of Public Education; Costa Rica.

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