This book takes teachers and language testers through the research on the assessment of speaking.This book takes teachers and language testers through the research on the assessment of speaking.This book takes teachers and language testers through the research on the assessment of speaking.Speaking is a central yet complex area of language acquisition. The assessment of this crucial skill is equally complex. This book takes teachers and language testers through the research on the assessment of speaking as well as through current tests of speaking. The book then guides language testers through the stages of test tasks, rating practices and design.