Assessment

About our Assessment:

In designing our diagnostic English speech assessment, we discovered early on that even people with the same first language often show substantial individual differences in their speech pronunciation and communication skills. The array of factors interfering with clear English was not the same for everybody.

Therefore our diagnostic speech assessment analyzes many things about an individual’s English speaking and communication skills. The diagnostic assessment takes about two hours and is taken on the international person’s computer. The assessment tests word and speech sound intelligibility in sentences, multiple syllable word skills, voice inflection, and core measures of physical functioning.

We are also testing the client’s response to different speaking environments. For example, the client is tested for speech understandability in a quiet environment, such as used for one-on-one communication and conditions similar to a meeting room or classroom or in public. We also test and analyze an individual’s response to learning strategies for clear, understandable English speech.

The results of this diagnostic assessment are used to determine which speech sounds and other intelligibility skills are most difficult for the individual.

Individuals also answer questions in a questionnaire on our website about their background, perceptions of their understanding spoken English and their ease or difficulty in speaking English and being understood. They answer questions about their particular needs for English speech communication in daily life and questions about their career goals.

For people doing the course, we use the results of the recorded speech diagnostic assessment to generate a customized textbook for that student. In this customized textbook, error sounds unique to the student and/or resulting from interference from the first language pattern can be addressed systematically and efficiently in the direct practice they do for home practice. The assessment results are also used to personalize the one-on-one live coaching for each individual’s needs.