The Bunkyo English Communication Center (BECC) Bunkyo English Speaking Tests (BESTs) and their associated teacher training and standardization materials were developed between 2015 and 2017. However, the updating of the Cambridge A2 Key English Test and its next level B1 Preliminary English Test on which they were based forced us to look again at the kind of pairedspeaking assessment used within our General English (GE) curriculums. The resulting decision to reorganize the make-up of the Sophomore English (SE) twice-yearly end of semester speaking tests, and to break up the equivalent Freshman English (FE) tests into smaller speaking assessments unfortunately coincided with the outbreak of the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19). The resulting cancellation of all paired assessments led to a loss in overall institutional knowledge and a disparity in teachers’ speaking test experience. The following handbook is a first step to rectifying this problem as we resume the SE end of semester tests and look forward to finally implementing the proposed ‘new for 2020’ in-course paired speaking assessment from the spring of 2023.
Richard Sugg (Fri,) studied this question.