The test is administered in a language laboratory to a small group of students at each sitting. Test takers listen to twelve questions on a recording, and their answers are recorded. Each test is scored by a minimum of three trained graders who teach at the Applied English Center.

Assessments about responses are made considering the following categories:

Functional competence: the speaker's ability to select functions to reasonably address the task and to select the language needed to carry out the function (functions are the purposes of communication: giving directions, arguing, apologizing, etc.).

Sociolinguistic competence: the speaker's ability to demonstrate an awareness of audience and situation by selecting language, register (level of formality), and tone that are appropriate.

Discourse competence: the speaker's ability to develop and organize information in a coherent manner, and to make effective use of cohesive devices (conjunctions, transition markers, order markers) to help the listener follow the organization of the response.

Linguistic competence: the effective selection of vocabulary (including proper word forms), control of grammatical structures, and accurate pronunciation, along with smooth delivery, in order to produce intelligible speech.

The following is a general description of the abilities at each 10-point score level:

60	The speaker understood the question and answered appropriately. The rater could receive and understand the answer with little effort (native-like efficacy, effective; not necessarily error-free).
50	The speaker understood the question and answered appropriately. The rater could receive and understand the answer with reasonable listening effort. The rater may have a question about the response (near-native efficacy, generally effective).
40	Communication breaks down or the speaker's answer was not appropriate to the question. The rater understood the basic idea of the answer but not all the details, or there were several gaps in receiving and it would take considerable effort, visual support, or questioning to feel that all the necessary information was exchanged (somewhat effective). One-on-one communication is probably most effective, but communication to groups will be less effective.
30	The rater catches only words and an occasional idea. The speaker's frequent re-starts, hesitations, and inappropriate pacing or pausing make it extremely difficult to understand. It is not clear what the function of the response was (not very effective).
20	The individual did not give a response, or the individual's response was not intelligible. The rater had no idea what the function of the response was (not effective).

You must register for the test not less than 1 working day, preferably 2, before the test date.

Students must present a photo ID to the receptionist at the Applied English Center to get their results. Students receive two official, sealed copies of their results, and must deliver them to departments where they are applying for GTA positions.

In addition to a score report, you will also receive a paper titled "Areas for Improvement." This is a summary of the most frequent or distracting features of your speaking that the exam raters commented on. You should use this as a guide for working on changing your speaking patterns.

The AEC does not report your SPEAK scores to anyone else at KU. You must deliver your own score reports.

KU students can check out a sample SPEAK test (booklet and recording) at the Applied English Center, 204 Lippincott Hall.

If you have a KU Online ID, you can log in to see and listen to the practice materials online at http://egarc.ku.edu/diglib/aec.shtml. Scroll down until you see "SPEAK Practice Test"

The practice test is provided to familiarize you with the format of the exam and the type of questions. Repeated practice of the same questions over and over is generally not helpful as you are only practicing answers to those questions, not the questions you will hear on the examination.

As stated in the General Introduction to the test, it is important to speak clearly and to answer all of the questions as completely as possible, since raters of your speech sample evaluate your proficiency level on what is recorded.

Remember that the SPEAK test is a test of your ability to speak English, so practice speaking English with native English speakers as often as possible.

1. The Applied English Center has a list of people who want to be English language tutors. You can see this list at the AEC Front Desk, 204 Lippincott. Some of these people work at the AEC, and others do not. Some charge small amounts for tutoring, others much more. Some will trade English lessons for lessons in other languages. The AEC does not guarantee their work, and does not endorse anyone on this list because it is not an official AEC course offering. We provide this as a service to tutors and students.

2. The AEC offers pronunciation labs each semester. Enrollment in pronunciation labs is limited and may not always be available. If you have questions about enrolling in an AEC pronunciation lab, please come to the AEC (204 Lippincott) or call us at 785-864-4606 and ask to make an appointment to talk with a counselor.

3. The AEC offers a course, AEC 082 - Classroom Communication for International Graduate Teaching Assistants. This four-hour course (3 hours in the summer term) is offered every semester, and enrollment is limited. For more information about this course, see http://www.aec.ku.edu/allabout/ITA.html .

The AEC does not offer any SPEAK Preparation course or workshops.

Photo ID Required: At check-in, you must present your completed information form and a photo ID, preferably your KU student ID. A passport or driver's license is also acceptable. No Photo ID = No Examination. There are no exceptions to the photo ID requirement.

No Other Materials Needed: Other than the information form and photo ID, you do not need to bring any other materials to the test.

Test Environment: Several students are tested simultaneously in the laboratory. You will be given a test booklet and will listen to recorded questions. The questions and the amount of time that you have to answer them are printed in your test booklet. All of your responses will be recorded.

You can call the SPEAK Test Coordinator at the Applied English Center to reschedule your test.

Emergency situations will be handled on a case-by-case basis.

See the AEC Web page at http://www.aec.ku.edu/.

See information about the SPEAK test at the University of Kansas at http://www.aec.ku.edu/allabout/speak.html .

For details on Kansas Board of Regents policy regarding English language proficiency for Graduate Teaching Assistants, please read the detailed policy statement in the Provost's Office at http://www.ku.edu/~provost/englecom.shtml .

See information about the University of Kansas at http://www.ku.edu/ .

See information for International Students at the University of Kansas at http://www.ku.edu/students/international/ .