Do Oral Placement Tests in English Language Institutes Conform to Interview Principles? -A Survey Conducted in Iran

This study aims to discover whether the oral placement tests in English language institutes in Iran conform to interview principles. To achieve this goal, thirty four placement interviews from different English language institutes in Iran are investigated and compared with the interviews principles in different point of views. Patton 2002 believes that in all interviews on any given topic, it is possible to ask any of six main types of question about: Experiences and behaviors, Opinions and values, Feelings, Knowledge, sensory information and Background or demographic information. Moreover, Kvale1996 believed that all interviews questions can be categorized in ten groups: Introducing questions, Follow –up questions, Probing questions, Specifying questions, Direct questions, Indirect questions, Structuring questions, Silence, Interpreting questions, and Throw away questions. Furthermore, Another categorization which is presented by Aoki 1995, Face-to-Face interviews, messenger, Telephone and E-mail.While investigating, the researcher found that although all of them are placement tests but they are not testing the knowledge directly. Evaluation is done through interviews in which all six categories are included and simultaneously, the English knowledge is tested as well. Also our recorded oral placement tests are completely matched with the Kvale s stages as well. And according toAoki can be categorized in his categorization. Consequently, the oral placement tests in English language institutes in Iran are not considerably different with the interview principles and they follow the same rules as all interviews follow through different perspectives.