Abstract :
For the first time, this study combined models and principles of authentic
assessment from two parallel fields of applied linguistics as well as general
education to investigate the authenticity of the TOEFL iBT speaking module. The
study consisted of two major parts, namely task analysis and task survey. Utilizing
Bachman and Palmer‟s (1996) definition of authenticity, the task analysis examined
the degree of the correspondence between the characteristics of the speaking
module tasks in the TOEFL iBT test and those of target language use (TLU) tasks.
In the task survey, a Likert Scale questionnaire of authenticity was developed by
the researcher based on Herrington and Herrington‟s (1998; 2006) four criteria of
authentic assessment. The questionnaire was sent through email to 120 subjects
who had already taken the test in order to elicit their attitudes towards the degree of
the authenticity of the speaking section tasks. The results of the task analysis
revealed a limited correspondence between the characteristics of the test tasks and
those of the TLU tasks. However, the results of the task survey indicated that
except for one factor (indicators), most of the test takers had a positive view toward
the authenticity of the speaking module tasks in terms of the three other factors
(context, student factor, task factor).
