Based on the findings of the study, it is concluded speaking and writing are productive skills that are difficult to develop and assess in a foreign language. Both are multifaceted, extremely complex abilities combining and requiring varied types of macro and micro-skills and knowledge that are sometimes not even correlated with each other. The assessment of those skills is usually more challenging and time-consuming than listening and reading, and they are frequently not included in high stakes summative assessment tests. Therefore, to support students’ foreign language learning and inform teachers’ teaching, the formative assessment of speaking and writing should be prioritised, carefully planned and implemented in language classes.
