The Question of Communicative Language Ability in EFL Testing: The Case of Language Testing in Oman

This study investigates the question of communicative language ability of English tests in Oman. It assesses the presence of the features of communicative competence in English tests and assess the components of language ability included in the final tests taking grade 10 tests as a sample.It is a descriptive, content based analysis research, and the study encompasses data from all grade 10 English final tests since the introduction of Basic Education in 1998. Five tests given in the second semester, from 2011 to 2016, were chosen as the research sample. A framework and a checklist were developed for the analysis process. The framework was based on Bachman and Palmer's model of language ability (2010) and grade 10 test specifications developed by the Ministry of Education. The research findings reveal: (i) A discrepancy between the test specifications of grade 10 English final tests and the actual content of the tests. (ii) That communicative language ability was not fully addressed in the grade 10 English final tests. The majority of the test components used suitable language in a limited context with limited instructions given for some components. There was also a lack of constructed responses.