The study investigated the effects of the adequacy of WAEC and NECO Oral English Examination Syllabi on secondary school leavers’ spoken English in Kogi state, Nigeria. The research is categorically informed by the poor performance of secondary school students in WAEC and NECO Oral English Test and lack of intelligibility in their communications. A survey research design was used for the study. Five schools were sampled for the study. Oral production test was conducted in order to determine students’ oral proficiency with criterion-reference and bi-dialectal/transitional approach in view. Findings generally reveal that the two syllabi (WAEC and NECO) were adequate, but the deliberate exclusion of Alternative A Test (listening and speaking) has rendered the Ora English Test unchallenging. Based on the findings, the paper recommends, among others, that the teaching of Oral English should be practise-oriented, involving real life situation instead of only theory that is currently being practiced.
Keywords: Adequacy, Intelligibility, Oral Proficiency, WAEC and NECO
