Strategy Development of Speaking Assessment Literacy forIranian EFL Teachers

The present study aimed at demystifying strategy development of speaking assessment literacy (SAL) of Iranian EFL teachers in the Iranian language institutes. The study employed a grounded theory framework and following a thorough literature review, the researchers interviewed 10 informed experts to elicit their L2 SLA strategies to be included in a SAL interview guide. Then, 38 EFL teachers in the Iranian language institutes were interviewed. The data collected through the semi-structured in-depth interviews were analysed through thematic analysis relying on open and axial coding which gave way to the development of a pattern showing the underlying constructs of strategies Iranian EFL teachers develop with respect to SAL as well as the challenges they meet in this respect. The results of data analysis revealed that the majority of Iranian EFL teachers 1) accept speaking assessment as a necessary part of being a speaking teacher, 2) employ a multiple-draft approach in assessing speaking, 3) provide students with a rubric or a list of criteria to assess speaking, 4) sometimes create their own assessment rubrics, 5) provide learners with correct forms of language errors, 6) use explicit and direct oral corrective feedback (OCF), and 7) use indirect OCF. The findings have implications in increasing L2 speaking literacy of teachers in the EFL context and training EFL teachers in terms of teaching and assessing L2 speaking.