Speaking and listening exams are failing Gen Z’s anxious learners, it’s time for a rethink

Speaking and listening exam are rarely popular with learners. Currently English functional skills exams are split into three parts: reading, writing and speaking and listening. The first two are fine, the last part needs a rethink.

We are in an anxiety epidemic.  Yet we ask learners to chat with a group of other students, who they have often never met. We ask them to be involved in a group conversation lasting up to ten minutes, followed by an individual talk.

The vast majority of learners are fine with this format. Having witnessed speaking and listening exams where it goes wrong, both on-line and in person, from an informed view I feel that changes are needed to the current format.

Being filmed in a formal setting is not an everyday occurrence.  No wonder it unnerves some learners. To offer reassurance is helpful; however, this cajoling has not stopped learners from ducking the exam.

I’ve seen learners not showing up on the exam day (even with lots of practice beforehand), walking out as they don’t like being filmed, feeling uncomfortable with other learners who make up the group conversation, not liking being asked to take off a baseball cap and being unable to speak in slang.

There are many negatives.  Where are the solutions?

Here are a few to help with exam preparation:

• Give learners bullet points as prompts
• Practice sessions to boost confidence
• Give learners ‘mock’ tests
• Let them pick a subject they want to talk about in the presentation

This undoubtedly helps; however, regardless of skill level, on the exam day they are on their own.  Nerves and fears can take over.  There’s no shame in this.

Some learners enjoy creating TikTok videos with friends and family. In the comfort of environments they know well, they’re more relaxed. They’re happy to give up social time to do this. It’s a bit of fun.

The serious part of exam filming as an essential requirement is another matter.  Most learners I’ve met are not enamoured with the process.  It’s the albatross of the English exam, with lots of time being eaten up with admin and pastoral tasks. That’s even before we get on to the filming part.

The camera can be a trigger.  What alternatives are offered?

Assuming as a modest estimate that 10 per cent of learners have this problem, can they all be eligible to receive exemptions?

Perhaps learners’ anxiety would subside if they were observed by an IQA from a local organisation? This would remove them from the glare of the camera and calm fraught situations. Staff bias would be unlikely as the visiting observer would not know the learners involved.

This would strengthen bonds between organisations, and would only be required for a minority of learners.

There are tens of thousands of learners currently not in mainstream education.  They do not sit in large classrooms with large groups of learners.  They’re likely to be taught in small groups or individually.  I fear it is this demographic who are most at risk of falling short in their speaking and listening exam.

We make adjustments for various reasons when it comes to reading and writing exams with the intention of maximising learner success.  This is right.  Why not also support those who find their speaking and listening exam daunting? Whilst we live in a digital world, we cannot expect all learners to have the same attitudes to video-recording.

We have to make the exam more inclusive for all our learners, and make sure that their individual needs are met.  With a few alterations this exam can be made even better, giving all learners the best chance of passing with reduced friction.