An Online Oral Practice/Assessment Platform: Speak Everywhere

Abstract

Despite its obvious importance, it appears that in many foreign language programs, oral practice is not given as much time and attention as it deserves. Or perhaps it is more accurate to say that foreign language professionals recognize the need for more oral practice, but do not have at their disposal a convenient means to provide it. An online oral practice/assessment platform, Speak Everywhere, has been developed to fill this void. It allows instructors without special computer knowledge to quickly create video-based speaking exercises and quizzes for their students to work on outside the classroom. The instructor can access the oral productions that the students submit to the system, and grade them or give individual feedback on them either in text or audio or both. Using its flexible and easy-to-use authoring sub-system, it is possible to create exercises of various formats (e.g. Q&A, repeat after the model, structure drills, role-play, and oral reading). Editor's Note: The following essay presents an online project developed by the author, outlining its genesis and its functionality. He also refers to studies involving implementation of the tool in various language settings. The IALLT Journal encourages submissions which review the software and/or present research involving the use of this or similar tools to support the teaching and learning of languages