How do you assess communicative competence in spoken Polish, beyond just grammatical accuracy and vocabulary knowledge?

Assessing communicative competence in spoken Polish goes beyond merely evaluating grammatical accuracy and vocabulary range. It involves evaluating the learner's ability to use Polish effectively and appropriately in real-life communicative situations. Key aspects to assess include: fluency, which refers to the smoothness and naturalness of speech, including the ability to speak without excessive hesitation or pauses; coherence and cohesion, assessing how well the learner organizes their thoughts and connects ideas using appropriate linking words and discourse markers; pragmatic competence, which involves the ability to use language appropriately in different social contexts, including understanding and responding to implied meanings, using appropriate levels of formality, and adhering to cultural norms; interactional skills, evaluating the learner's ability to participate effectively in conversations, including initiating and responding to turns, asking clarifying questions, and negotiating meaning; pronunciation and intelligibility, assessing how clearly the learner speaks and how easily they can be understood by native speakers, even if their pronunciation is not perfect. Methods for assessment include: role-playing scenarios, where learners are asked to act out different situations using Polish, allowing them to demonstrate their ability to use language in a realistic context; interviews, where learners are asked open-ended questions about various topics, allowing them to demonstrate their fluency and range of expression; presentations, where learners are asked to present information on a specific topic, allowing them to demonstrate their ability to organize their thoughts and communicate effectively to an audience; and discussions, where learners are asked to participate in a group discussion, allowing them to demonstrate their interactional skills and ability to negotiate meaning. Rubrics should be used that specifically address fluency, coherence, pragmatic competence, interactional skills and pronunciation rather than simply counting grammatical errors or vocabulary mistakes. The focus should be on how effectively the learner can communicate their message and achieve their communicative goals.