The present study attempted to capture the possible effects of using videos in assessing listening skill of EFL learners in placement tests. To carry out the study, 100 elementary, intermediate and advanced language learners who had registered for fall English classes were singled out by an OPT and were randomly assigned into two groups: an experimental group received oxford placement test, and a control group received video placement test, each group containing 50 subjects. All the subjects were assessed by a multiple-choice test based on video activity books named ‘Four Corners and English Result’. Finally, after administering the test, the data were analyzed by several correlations and independent t-tests. The results of the data analysis revealed that there was a significant difference in the performance of experimental and control groups; the participants of the experimental group performed better than the participants in the control group at the elementary, intermediate, and advanced levels. The findings demonstrated that the use of videos in assessing listening skill in placement tests of language institutes allowed the raters to sort the participants with more accuracy into different levels of language. In analyzing the participants’ attitude towards using video as a tool of assessment in placement tests, the results showed that the use of videos helped the participants overcome their test anxiety.
Keywords: EFL Learners’, Placement Test, Test anxiety, Video Clips
