The focus of second language education is communication, and oral language is central to the teaching of foreign language at all levels. Oral language in the foreign language classroom is the most problematic of all skills to assess. Teachers' concerns can be divided in the following areas: (1) What to assess: form or content; (2) How to assess: subjectivity versus objectivity; and (3) When to assess and how to manage assessment. These questions form the basis of this guide. The guide is geared toward improving classroom instruction and student learning by focusing on assessing the speaking skill. It defines the differences between oral assessment and testing, outlines the different steps needed to create oral assessment tasks, and offers some possible suggestions for the administration and management of oral assessment in the classroom with many students. Chapter titles include the following: "Steps in Creating Authentic and Performance-Based Assessment Tasks"; "Determine Purpose of Assessment"; "Design the Task"; "Choose the Tools To Use in Assessment"; "Select the Criteria"; "Think about the Administration and the Management of the Assessment"; and "Interpret and Report the Results." (Contains 10 references.) (KFT)