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What are the aims and main features of the KPG oral examiner training programme?

The aims of the Examiner training programme include:

  • helping Examiners develop a common understanding of the type of communicative performance required at each level of proficiency

  • training them to consistently follow test procedures and carry out the oral tasks in ways instructed so as to get candidates to perform to the best of their ability

  • facilitating them to assess and rate candidates performance in English accurately and consistently by applying the assessment criteria and the respective rating scales

The seminars

Each year, the RCeL organises several seminars, either to train young oral examiners or to educate former examiners. Seminars are carried out all over Greece just before each exam administration, but also in between periods. By now, more than 3000 Examiners were trained in assessing candidate’s oral performance at A1/A2, B1, B2, C1 levels. Each seminar takes place with groups of 18-20 people maximum to enable dialogue, discussion and group work. For each round of training seminars a new, tailor made oral examiner training pack and accompanying videos with simulations of the oral test are developed by a group of experienced teacher educators from the Faculty of English studies who are also involved in the design of the oral test. The oral examiner training seminars are conducted by this group and a body of 50 'Multipliers' throughout Greece. Before each round of training seminars begins, Multipliers are invited to a one day seminar in Athens or Thessaloniki during which they are informed of the aims, content and structure of the training seminar and are trained in using the seminar materials.

The structure of the KPG oral examiner training programme

The training programme has a series of stages presented below which all oral examiners need to go through:

  • Recruitment (applications), initial screening, inclusion in database

  • Initial evaluation of oral performance and induction (applies once to an applicant oral examiner)

  • Training seminars (recurrent and cyclical since the outcomes of monitoring and evaluation feed into training)

  • Monitoring of the oral test and evaluation of Examiners’ performance by multipliers through specially designed observation schemes

In designing and developing the training programme for KPG Examiners, various constraints and factors have been taken into account, making this programme unique in many ways. These are:

  1. Dealing with a huge number of applications from EFL teachers to become oral examiners (to date, more than 5,500 teachers have applied). Since there is no closing date for applications, every 6-12 months new applications need to be processed, included in our database, and new cohorts of potential oral examiners need to be screened and trained from scratch.

  2. Dealing with applications by individuals with varying qualifications and varying degrees of experience in teaching and testing; all are eligible to apply and must be considered as potential oral examiners and undergo the training programme. If individuals are rejected, they are rejected because a) their oral performance has been assessed as unsatisfactory during the screening process which takes place during the initial training seminars, or b) because they do not systematically take part in training sessions they have been invited to attend, or c) because they have personally expressed their unwillingness to continue with their role as an oral examiner, or d) because their performance on the job on the basis of the observation was consistently rated as unsatisfactory.

  3. Coordinating a Nationwide training programme. Our seminars do not take place in big cities or designated exam centres. They take place throughout Greece and we try to accommodate examiners who live even in remote areas (islands for instance). Seminars are organised in places which are easily accessible by national road, making sure that oral examiners do not need an overnight stay in order to attend and that the seminar is within reasonable driving distance from their homes.

  4. Constantly updating our database with changes in contact details, the training record of each oral examiner and the results of the observation of oral examiners.

To download the training materials and the simulations click on the links below
A level (Training Material, Simulation)
B level (Training Material, Simulation )

C level (Training Material, Simulation)
 
 
 
 

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Test papers and evaluator training

 

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