When faced with having to assign a grade to a student's oral proficiency in a small group discussion, how can teachers consistently evaluate each student? Because a student's adeptness at a foreign language can vary from one ability to another, it is unfair to evaluate his or her performance solely by grammatical and lexical accuracy or by any other single factor. Responding to this problem, a new evaluation matrix was developed that includes five categories: grammar and lexicon, communicative functions, recognition and use of phrases that convey those communicative functions, contributions of relevant content, and group involvement. These categories are explained in detail, as is the evaluation matrix for grading in the context of a small group discussion. The matrix promotes intrapersonal consistency in assessing a student's performance, provides an accurate means of assessment, and indicates in which areas a student's weaknesses lie. (Contains 14 references.) (JP)