Students’ Perceived Test Difficulty, Perceived Performance and Actual Performance of Oral Tests

Having to sit oral tests is tense particularly for individuals who have poor command of the language being tested. This study examines students’ reasons in perceiving an oral test as the easiest or hardest and analyses whether they perform poorly (achieving the lowest score) in the test which they perceived as being the most difficult by comparing their perceived oral test difficulty and perceived oral test performance with their actual oral test performance. The study examined 63 students, selected by means of purposive sampling. Data of the survey research were obtained through a self-administered questionnaire and from students’ test scores. The descriptive analysis revealed that the prepared individual speech was perceived as the easiest test, followed by the impromptu two-way communication, 20-minute group discussion and the 30-minute group discussion, while the most difficult test was the impromptu individual speech. Besides that, the top four challenges faced by students in the oral tests which they perceived as being the most difficult were insufficient ideas and/or elaboration, time constraint, being nervous and lack of preparation. The implications of the research on adequacy of oral practice were also discussed as the findings provided better understanding of the challenges faced by participants in oral tests.