2016 SCORING GUIDELINES Interpersonal Speaking: Conversation 6 EXCELLENT Demonstrates excellence in 5 VERY GOOD Suggests excellence in 4 GOOD Demonstrates 3 ADEQUATE Suggests 2 WEAK Suggests lack of 1 VERY WEAK Demonstrates lack of 0 UNACCEPTABLE Contains nothing that earns credit TASK COMPLETION DELIVERY LANGUAGE USE provides a very thorough and appropriate response; includes elaboration and detail Smoothly connected sentences provides a thorough and appropriate response; may include elaboration and detail Connected sentences provides an appropriate response Sentences may be loosely connected provides a basic but appropriate answer Disconnected sentences provides an appropriate but incomplete answer Fragmented sentences Addresses prompt minimally or marginally Very disjointed sentences or isolated words Natural pace and intonation, with minimal hesitation or repetition Accurate pronunciation (including tones), with minimal errors Consistent use of register appropriate to situation Smooth pace and intonation, with occasional hesitation and repetition Occasional errors in pronunciation (including tones) Consistent use of register appropriate to situation except for occasional lapses Generally consistent pace and intonation, with intermittent hesitation and repetition May have several errors in pronunciation (including tones), which do not necessitate special listener effort May include several lapses in otherwise consistent use of register appropriate to situation Inconsistent pace and intonation, with hesitation and repetition that interfere with comprehension Errors in pronunciation (including tones) sometimes necessitate special listener effort Use of register appropriate to situation is inconsistent or includes many errors Labored pace and intonation, with frequent hesitation and repetition Frequent errors in pronunciation (including tones) necessitate constant listener effort Frequent use of register inappropriate to situation Very labored pace and intonation, with constant hesitation and repetition Frequent errors in pronunciation (including tones) necessitate intense listener effort Constant use of register inappropriate to situation Mere restatement of the prompt Clearly does not respond to the prompt I don t know, I don t understand, Please repeat, or equivalent in Chinese Not in Mandarin Chinese Blank (although recording equipment is functioning) or mere sighs Rich and appropriate vocabulary and idioms, with minimal errors Wide range of grammatical structures, with minimal errors Appropriate vocabulary and idioms, with sporadic errors Variety of grammatical structures, with sporadic errors Mostly appropriate vocabulary and idioms, with errors that do not generally obscure meaning Mostly appropriate grammatical structures, with errors that do not generally obscure meaning Limited appropriate vocabulary and idioms, with frequent errors that sometimes obscure meaning; intermittent interference from another language Mostly simple grammatical structures, with frequent errors that sometimes obscure meaning Minimal appropriate vocabulary, with frequent errors that obscure meaning; repeated interference from another language Limited grammatical structures, with frequent errors that obscure meaning Insufficient, inappropriate vocabulary, with frequent errors that significantly obscure meaning; constant interference from another language Little or no control of grammatical structures, with frequent errors that significantly obscure meaning
Interpersonal Speaking: Conversation 1 Note: Student responses are quoted verbatim and may contain grammatical errors. In the transcripts of students speech quoted in the commentaries, a three-dot ellipsis indicates that the sample has been excerpted. Two dots indicate that the student paused while. Overview This task assessed ability in the mode of communication by having students respond to a series of questions in a simulated conversation. The task comprised a statement identifying an interlocutor and conversation topic followed by six questions. Students were allotted 20 seconds to speak at each turn in the conversation. Each of the six responses received a holistic score based on how well it accomplishes the assigned task. 噢, 哪裏哪裏, 我的漢語其實不是那麼好 Uh 我是從我父母.. 學的,uh 因為我天天在家裏跟他們說漢語, 所以我的漢語 uh 比較流流暢 The response directly addresses the prompt and provides a very thorough and appropriate response. Use of register is appropriate to the situation ( 哪裏哪裏, 我的漢語其實不是那麼好 ) The response has natural pace and intonation and uses rich and appropriate vocabulary, as 其實, 流暢, and a wide range of grammatical structures are used, such as 不是那麼, 因為... 所以... Score: 3 我的中文老師教我學.. 中文, 我我很喜歡 x- 學中中文, 因為.. 因為我覺得中文很有意思 你呢? The response addresses the prompt directly with a basic answer ( 我的中文老師教我學.. 中文 ). The response is delivered with inconsistent pace and intonation, with hesitation and repetition. Vocabulary and grammatical structures used are mostly limited. 噢, 謝謝 我是 uh 美國人, 我覺得 um 北京 um 很有意思, 還有 w- 非常漂亮 The response addresses the prompt minimally by saying 謝謝. The rest of the response 我是 uh 美國人, 我覺得 um 北京 um 很有意思, 還有 w- 非常漂亮 does not respond to the prompt at all.
Interpersonal Speaking: Conversation 2 現在學習中文的人越來越多, 這是因為中國是一個很大的國家, 非常發達的國家, 所以人們對中國的文化非常有感興趣, 所以人們想學習中文, 了解中國文化 The response directly addresses the prompt and provides a very thorough and appropriate answer. Sentences are smoothly connected with minimal errors ( 人們對中國的文化非常有感興趣 ). The response is delivered in a natural pace with accurate pronunciation and without hesitation and repetition. Vocabulary is rich ( 非常發達, 了解中國文化 ) and appropriate. A wide range of grammatical structures is used. Score: 3 Uh 因為 uh 中國 jiao [ 叫? 家?] 因因為.. um.. um 很多美國人學習中國因為中國很好的國 ji4 [ 家?] 很多美國人很喜歡中國 uh The response provides a basic answer that directly addresses the prompt. The pace and intonation are inconsistent, with hesitation and repetition that may require special listener effort. The vocabulary used is appropriate but very limited. Errors in pronunciation ( 中國 jiao [ 叫? 家?], 很好的國 ji4 [ 家?]) obscure meaning. [long silence] 我覺得是 um 因為 uh uh The response addresses the prompt minimally with an incomplete sentence. The pace is very labored, starting with a long silence and ending with hesitation. This answer contains insufficient vocabulary and grammatical errors that significantly obscure meaning.
Interpersonal Speaking: Conversation 3 啊, 我有一 uh 我還想去登長城, 因為我聽說過 uh 要是去北京, 不不登長城非好漢, 不吃烤鴨真遺憾, 所以我也想去北京 uh 爬長城, 也嘗北京烤鴨 The response directly addresses the prompt with thoroughness and detailed elaboration. It is delivered with a natural pace and intonation with minimal hesitation. The sentences are smoothly connected with rich vocabulary and idioms ( 不登長城非好漢, 不吃烤鴨真遺憾 ). Score: 4 Uh 我還打算去.. 看很多 [duo4] 風景, 我覺得長城 uh 是非常漂亮 我要我還要去 uh 天 [tian4] 安門, 天安門廣場和西 [xi3] 安看.. 兵馬 The response addresses the prompt directly and appropriately. Pace and intonation are generally consistent with intermittent hesitation. Errors in pronunciation do not require special listener effort. Use of vocabulary and grammatical structures is mostly appropriate. 噢我我我.. 去過 uh 很多中餐, 而且去過北京很多地方, 比方說天壇和和長城 The response addresses the prompt only minimally. Vocabulary is insufficient.
Interpersonal Speaking: Conversation 4 我對北京印象很好, 這裏有很多高樓大廈, 還有萬里長城,uh.. 這裏有很多車, 每個人幾乎都開車, 但是最主要就是交通堵塞很嚴重 The response addresses the prompt directly and provides an appropriate and thorough answer with elaboration and details. Sentences are smoothly connected and are characterized by use of appropriate grammatical structures ( 最主要就是 ) and rich vocabulary ( 高樓大廈, 幾乎, 堵塞, 嚴重 ). Score: 4 我对 uh 北京的印象 uh 非常好,uh 有很漂亮, 也很多 uh 大樓高 [gao3] uh 高樓大 [da3] 廈, 也.. uh The response addresses the prompt directly and provides an appropriate answer in loosely connected sentences. The delivery pace is generally consistent but with intermittent hesitation. Use of vocabulary and idioms ( 高樓大廈 ) is mostly appropriate. Occasional grammatical errors, such as 有很漂亮, do not obscure meaning. Um 北京的玩很好用,um 我希望 uh 看看, 我喜歡看 um 看到 uh 最喜歡和你們 si1 [?] uh si1 [?] you3 [?] uh zhong1 [?] The response addresses the prompt marginally using very disjointed sentences and isolated words. Labored pace and frequent pronunciation errors necessitate intense listener effort. Vocabulary is insufficient. There is little control of grammatical structures.
Interpersonal Speaking: Conversation 5 我居住的城市很小 [heng1 xiao1] Um 我住在 uh Springfield 在伊利努瓦州,uh 這個城市沒有很多人 [ren4], 可是北京有 uh 很 [hen4] 多 uh 不一樣的中國人 [ren4],uh 代表很 [hen4] 多不一樣的中國文化 The response addresses all aspects of the prompt directly. The response gives detailed information to demonstrate the differences between Beijing and the student's hometown. The response is delivered in a natural pace with rich vocabulary and a wide range of grammatical structures. Score: 4 北京跟我住 [ju1] 的城市 [shi1] 有.. 些的不同 第一是環境 [huan4 jing1] 北京的空 [kong4] 氣污染得非常不好, 可是我住 [ju1] 的城市 [shi1] 空氣很乾淨 The response addresses the prompt directly with an appropriate answer. While the delivery pace is generally consistent, there is intermittent hesitation. The response also has some pronunciation errors ( 環境 [huan4 jing1], 住 [ju1] 的城市 [shi1]), but they do not necessitate special listener effort. Vocabulary is mostly appropriate ( 環境, 污染, 乾淨 ). There is one grammatical error ( 污染得非常不好 ), which does not obscure meaning. Uh 我覺得 uh 北京 [bei2 jing4] uh 很 [hen1] 城市 [cheng3 shi2],uh 因為她的 uh 交 t- uh 交通 [tong3] 工 The response addresses the prompt minimally and fails to give a complete answer. Insufficient vocabulary and little control of grammatical structures, together with labored pace, necessitate intense listener effort.
Interpersonal Speaking: Conversation 6 Score: 5 最好玩兒的也是最好名.. 最最有名的就是美國的紐約, 紐約有很多好玩兒的, 然後, 我們這兒休斯頓有一個.. uh 有很多好吃的地方, 墨西哥餐可以吃 The response directly addresses the prompt and provides a thorough and appropriate answer with elaboration and detail ( 好玩兒的, 很多好吃的地方, 墨西哥餐 ). Sentences are connected, while the pace and intonation are generally smooth with occasional hesitation. The use of register is consistent and appropriate to situation. Appropriate vocabulary ( 最有名的就是 ) and a variety of grammatical structures ( 最好玩的也是 最有名的 就是, 然後 ) are used in the response. Score: 3 在西哈特福特不不有很多的 uh 多的玩的地 [di2] 方, 可是在紐約 [niu2 yue3] 是很,uh 那那個地方有很多的事 [shi3],uh 我們可以看.. 看 The response directly addresses the prompt and provides a basic but appropriate answer (a place and a simple reason). Its pace and intonation are inconsistent with hesitation and repetition. Errors in pronunciation ( 地 [di2] 方, 紐約 [niu2 yue3], 事 [shi3]) sometimes necessitate special listener effort. Vocabulary and grammatical structures are mostly limited and simple, with errors that do not generally obscure meaning ( 那個地方有很多的事 [shi3], 我們可以看.. 看 ). Score: 2 Uh 如果你要來美國的話, 你可可以去我住的城市.. 裏玩, 這還有就去去華盛頓 紐約這 The response directly addresses the prompt and provides an appropriate but incomplete answer in that the latter part of the prompt is not addressed. Labored pace with frequent hesitation is evident. Minimal appropriate vocabulary and limited grammatical structures are used in the response.