Testing language areas and skills

TESTING LANGUAGE AREAS AND

LANGUAGE SKILLS

Group 2

Khánh Minh Thanh ThưHoài Phương Bạch VânPhương Thành Thảo Vy

OUTLINE

A. Testing Language Areas

• Pronunciation

• Grammar

• Vocabulary

B. Testing Language Skills

• Listening

• Speaking

• Reading

• Writing

1. TESTING PRONUNCIATION

1.1 Pronunciation Tests

1.2 Types of Pronunciation Tests

A. TESTING LANGUAGE AREAS

1.1 Pronunciation Tests•Ways of evaluating students’

▫production ▫and identification of the sounds, stress patterns,

and intonation of English

•Today’s pronunciation items incorporate context and meaning can be useful

•Pronunciation items are not effective in measuring real communication measure progress made on specific points of pronunciation.

•On a speaking test, pronunciation becomes important when it interferes with communication.

•E.g. faulty stress results in miscommunication

She wants the blue ꞌpen,not the red ꞌone.

She wants the ꞌblue pen,not the ꞌred one.

1.1 Pronunciation Tests

1.2 Types of Pronunciation Tests

1.2.1 Limited Response

1.2.2Multiple Choice Hearing Identification

1.2.3 Reading Aloud

1.2.1 LIMITED RESPONSE

•Providing ways for testing beginning

students

•2 ways:

#1 Individual Testing: Oral Repetition

#2 Group Testing: Hearing

Identification


•For students who cannot read or write•Students simply listen and repeat.•One of the easiest of all exams•No distractors, clever sentence frames, or

drawings needed•Every pronunciation feature can be tested.

E.g. “Did you say I stole the meat?” key vowels, diphthongs, consonants, vowel reduction, word linking, assimilation, consonant clusters, pitch, intonation, stress or rhythm.

•The problem of scoring: too much in each item

confused and inaccurate results

•A better way: not to test too many things at one

time

E.g. check final intonation on questions

(echo cues and question tags):

▫Where did she put the broom? ↘

▫She didn’t put it back in the closet? ↗

▫He cleaned up the place quite well, didn’t he? ↘


•Checking two things in one sentence

E.g. check main stress and rising

intonation in the same sentence:

▫Did it come ꞌyesterday? ↗


•Materials: exercises, dialogs, and readings

from ESL books; or made-up materials

E.g. part of an essay or story

continuity >< time consuming for selection

Teachers use unrelated sentences or

construct their own story.


• When reading the material aloud:

▫Normal speed, sentence rhythm

▫ Join the words in phrases, keep function words

unstressed: “one of the pans” /wənəvðəpænz/

▫Say the sentence once

▫Listen for the marked items on the key (“He said he

could come.”); ignore other errors

▫Give simple and clear instructions: “Listen and

repeat the sentence.”


• For beginners, visual aids in testing can emphasize the difference in meaning between words that sound similar. testing can reinforce teaching

• E.g. “The box is in the back of the truck.” the distinction of the presence or absence of a consonant sound


Identification

•E.g. difference in meaning is signaled by word stress and tested with pictures▫He has a toy ꞌstore.

▫He has a ꞌtoy store.


Identification

•E.g. using pairs of sentences instead of pictures (be careful with intonation)▫What a big mouse!▫What a big mouth! S D

▫It is raining. ↘▫It is raining? ↗ S D


Identification

Limited-Response Items – Pros and Cons

Oral Repetition:• Easy to prepare• Good for students

who cannot read yet; do not mix reading comprehension and pronunciation

• Can test all pronunciation features

Oral Repetition:• Can test English

aptitude as much as present skill in pronouncing English

• Time consuming when conducted individually

• A need for a native speaker to model the sentence

Limited-Response Items – Pros and Cons

Hearing Identification:• Combine

pronunciation and meaning

• Enable teachers to test students with limited language skills

Hearing Identification:• Difficult to find

suitable pictures• A somewhat limited

number of testing options

•Can be used for students who are literate or not yet literate in English

•Now sound contrasts are contextualized and associated with differences in meaning.

•E.g. check the differences between “cat, cap, cab”:

(Students hear) “He bought a new cab.”(Students read) A. animal B. hat C. car

Using multiple-choice hearing identification items in paraphrase or synonym of what is heard

1.2.2 MULTIPLE-CHOICE HEARING IDENTIFICATION

•Another way to contextualize vowel and consonant contrasts is to use appropriate-response options.

•E.g. check student ability to differentiate among “I feel,” “I felt,” and “I’ll feel”:

(Students hear) “I feel sick.”(Students read) A. Did you?

B. Do you?C. Will you?


▫E.g. meaning behind intonation contrasts (“He is her brother.” ↘ and “He is her brother?” ↗)

(Students hear) “He is her brother.” (Students read) A. Oh, I didn’t know

that.B. Yes, I thought you knew

that.C. Why do you ask?


•A good way to contrastive stress is to use multiple-choice paraphrase

•E.g. “ꞌJack just walked into the ꞌstore” can express different meanings

(Students hear) “Jack just walked ꞌinto the store.”

(Students read) A. It wasn’t Mary.B. He didn’t run.C. He didn’t walk out of

it.


•E.g. using sentence completion (checking the hid/ hit/ ’ll hit contrast)

(Students hear) “She hit the thief ...”(Students read) A. in the face.

B. from the police.C. tomorrow.


A helpful combination of pronunciation and meaning

Difficult to prepare suitable distractors

MULTIPLE-CHOICE HEARING IDENTIFICATION – PROS AND CONS

1.2.3 READING ALOUD• Like Oral Repetition, this provides excellent control.• One problem: the skill of reading aloud is different from

that of taking conversationally• An ideal way to test mastery of sound-symbol

correspondence (e.g. “said” = /sed/, not /sayd/)• 3 important points:1. Evaluate one or two points per sentenceWhen checking too many things at the same time difficult to be accurate and consistent E.g. check the pronunciation difference between “th” and “d”:“My father feels quite bad about it.” (no underline in student’s copy)E.g. check the use of rising intonation: “Do you need any help?” ↗ (no intonation cue in student’s copy)

2. Use natural languageTongue twisters and rhythms shouldn’t be used.The tests should reflect the ability to communicate in natural everyday language.

E.g. use strange language to test juncture contrasts (the set of features in speech that enable a listener to detect a word or phrase boundary): “I scream for ice cream.”E.g. check the /br/ consonant cluster: “I brought the bread that his brother brings.”

1.2.3 READING ALOUD

3. Avoid signaling the point being testedTo get an accurate measure of how students normally express themselves in English, it is best not to let them know the specific pronunciation point being tested in each sentence.

E.g. “The leather is near the lever.” a minimal pair was used to test the voiced “th” and the

“v” sounds sounds unnatural and alerts the student to what is being

testedE.g. “She loves her brother.”E.g. a minimal pair is used properly to test contrastive stress:“They want you to ꞌsail the boat, not ꞌsell it.” (no stress mark on student’s copy)

1.2.3 READING ALOUD

•Carefully prepared paragraphs can be provided for students to read aloud.

Provide natural language in a much broader context than sentence items•The main problem is deciding how to score a

passage where so many things are being evaluated.

Teachers should use separate sentences with a fixed number of points per item. The paragraph context would be used for diagnostic purposes rather than for testing.

1.2.3 READING ALOUD

• Materials: ▫sound natural▫be read naturally

• Test instructions emphasize the need for naturalness: “You will read the following sentences aloud to your teacher. But first, you should read it silently. Then when you read it aloud, do smoothly and naturally.”

• Alternate Reading-Aloud Items:1. Stress markingE.g. check syllable stress: “intervene” A B C2. Sound symbolE.g. check knowledge of the “o”: A. go B. got C. close D. smoke

1.2.3 READING ALOUD

- Easy to prepare- Provide good control- Test almost all pronunciation features- Can test how to pronounce spelling combinations

- Limited to those who cannot read yet- Not a direct relationship between ability to read aloud and pronunciation in normal conversation (sentence rhythm)

READING ALOUD – PROS AND CONS

2. TESTING GRAMMAR


2.1 WHY TEST GRAMMAR?

Proficiency tests: language skills are of interest

- Language skills should be tested directly, not the abilities underlying them

-> The absence of any grammar component in some proficiency tests

- Large numbers of grammar items can be

administered and scored within a short period of

time

-> Most proficiency tests administered on a

large scale still retain a grammar section


Proficiency tests: content validity is questioned:

If writing ability is tested directly -> limitations in the

number of topics, styles of writing, and grammatical

elements covered

-> Proficiency grammar tests are preferred


Achievement tests: a grammar component should

be included

-> Not to give grammar component too much

prominence in relation to tests of skills which are

the primary objectives of language courses.


Placement tests: knowledge of a student’s

grammatical ability is useful to place his/her in the

most appropriate class

Diagnostic tests: gaps in students’ grammatical

performance are discovered -> students can fill the

gaps

=> Grammatical ability, or rather the lack of it, sets limits

to what can be achieved in the way of skills performance.

2.2 WRITING SPECIFICATIONSSampling

• Select widely from the structures specified to give the test content validity

• Take into account of what are regarded as the most important structures

• Don’t deliberately concentrate on the structure that happen to be easiest to test

2.2 WRITING SPECIFICATIONSWriting items

Whatever techniques are chosen, it is important for the text of the item to be written grammatically correct and in natural language.

Some techniques can be used for testing grammar: limited response, multiple choice, simple completion, and cloze procedure.

Limited response

1) Individual testing

a. Use oral requests

T: How many books are on the table?

Ss: Six.

b. Use pictures

Is the lady on the house?

What is the lady doing?

2) Group testing

Use spoken instructions

Limited response

Avoidance of students’ unnecessary stress

Avoidance of skills that have not yet been developed

Easy and objective scoring

Individual testing taking more time than group testing

Difficulty in finding suitable pictures

A limited number of grammatical structures tested

Adv

anta

ges

Limitations

Simple completion

• Simple completion items consist of a sentence from which a grammatical element has been removed.

E.g. I would have gone if he had invited me.

• Examinees may be asked to:

• Decide from the context what word or phrase to write in the blank

• Write in an option from a list

• Change the form of a key word

Simple completion

Select the grammar points that need to be tested

Provide an appropriate context

Write good instructions

Simple completion

The three basic kinds of simple completion grammar tests vary in difficulty and in objectivity and in the degree of active or passive response that is required:

(1)The option form

(2)The inflection form

(3)The free-response form

Simple completion

(1) The option form

Complete the following sentences with “do” or “make”:

a. He … a lot of money last year.

b. I always … my best.

2) The inflection form

Complete the following sentence with comparatives:

He is the … (tall) person in the class.

Simple completion

3) The Free-Response Form

Add a question tag to these sentences:

a. Hamlet was indecisive, …?

b. Nobody knew that problem,...?

Simple completion

Easier preparation

Measured productive skills

No exposure to incorrect grammatical forms

A sensitive measure of achievement

More time consumption to correct

Students’ possibility to avoid the structure being tested

Adv

anta

ges

Limitations

Multiple choice

Choose the grammar points that need to be tested

Prepare the right kind of stem

Select three logical distractors

Prepare clear, simple instructions

Multiple choice

Distractor preparation:… the ones who know the answersA. They are B. There C. They’re D. Their-> Spelling items should not be includedYou can get it from the lady … he sold it to.B. which B. who C. whom D. why-> Items that only test different levels of formality should be avoidedIf I had a new fur coat, …C. I showed it to everyone C. I’ve shown it to

everyoneD. I’d show it to everyone D. I’ll show it to

everyone-> Repeated words from the distractors should be taken out.

Multiple choice

How to choose a good distractor? Look at students’ errors in exercises or cloze

passages

Alternate forms of multiple choice

1. Space saver: put distractors inside the stem

2. Dialogue context

3. Error identification: ask students to identify the error, ask them to give the correct form

Multiple choice

Students’ impossibilities to avoid the grammar point being evaluated

Easy and reliable scoring

A sensitive measure of achievement

Uneasy good items preparation

Students’ cheating

Unmeasured students’ reproduction

A negative influence on classwork

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Cloze procedure

Cloze tests are prose passages, usually a paragraph or more in length, from which words have been deleted. The student relies on the context in order to supply the missing words.

Cloze procedure

1) Preparing a cloze test

Select an appropriate passage

Decide on the ratio of words to take out

Write the instructions and prepare an example

Cloze procedure

2) Scoring the cloze

2 ways:

- Give credit for only the exact word from the story

- Allow full credit for equivalent words

Problems with scoring

- Misspelling

- Bad handwriting

- Allowance just one word in each blank

Cloze procedure

3) Adapting the cloze to test grammar: Delete the grammar item that has been studied

Remember:

- Don’t need to have exactly the same number of words between each blank

- Don’t delete the same word too many times

WRITING SPECIFICATIONSScoring production grammar tests

• Be clear about what each item is testing, and award points for that only

• Don’t subtract scores for errors in elements of grammar which are not being tested by the item

• Assign points to each element that is being tested in an item or just award if all elements are correct

-> To ensure scoring is valid and reliable, careful preparation of the scoring key is necessary.


3. TESTING VOCABULARY

WHY TEST VOCABULARY?Essential to the development and demonstration of linguistics skills

To measure the comprehension and production of words used in speaking or writing WHAT WORDS TO TEST?Choosing difficult words or random lists of words doesn’t make much sense

Based on the syllabus, textbook, reading materials or lexical errors in students’ written works.

Michael West (1953): The General Service List (GSL)

HOW TO TEST VOCABULARY?1. Limited response2. Multiple-choice

completion3. Multiple-choice

paraphrase4. Simple completion

(words)

1. LIMITED RESPONSEo For beginnerso To avoid language skills that

haven’t been mastered yeto Require either a simple

physical action or a very simple verbal answer

o For example: • Is the book green? What

color is the book?• Please go to the window• Draw a circle around the

tree

- Less stress or nervousness- Avoid language skills that haven’t been mastered yet- Be scored easily and objectively

- Difficult to test abstract words- Ambiguous sketches

1. LIMITED RESPONSE

2. MULTIPLE-CHOICE COMPLETIONo Depend on context clue and

sentence meaningo STEPS:

1. Vocabulary choice2. Context preparation3. Distractor preparation4. Instruction preparation

o Alternate forms: definition, phrase completion, phrasal context, multiple-choice cloze

2. MULTIPLE-CHOICE COMPLETIONo STEPS:

1. Vocabulary choice

- Good way to test more difficult vocabulary items

- Only include content words (N, V, Adj, Adv)

- Be careful of bias (e.g. cultural bias or sex bias)


2. Context preparation

- More than one sentence is needed (e.g. a two-line mini-dialog)

- Find a passage in which the word appears

- Avoid too difficult contexts


3. Distractor preparation

- 2 ways: • Teachers create their

own distractors• Teachers use students’

errors as distractors (composition, speech, homework and classroom exercises on vocabulary)

o STEPS: 3. Distractor preparation: Teachers create their own distractors

- Distractors are at the same form of the correct answer

- Do not give away the right answer through grammatical cues

- The correct option and distractors should be approximately the same level of difficulty

- Do not include more than one correct answer

GUIDELINES:


4. Instruction preparation

- Brief and clear- Made more clear by one or two examples

- Help students see the full meaning of words- Easy and consistent scoring- Sensitive measure of achievement

- Difficult to prepare good sentence contexts- Easy for students to cheat

2. MULTIPLE-CHOICE COMPLETION

3. MULTIPLE-CHOICE PARAPHRASEo Choose the best synonym or

paraphraseo A sentence context is still

used to simply show the word class

o Consist of 4 stepso Alternate forms: idioms,

phrasal context, reading passage context, related-word and unrelated-word identification

3. MULTIPLE-CHOICE PARAPHRASEo STEPS:

1 & 2. Vocabulary choice and Context preparation4. Instruction preparation

- The meaning comes from the emphasized word than its context Less effort in preparing sentence contexts

Follow the guidelines for multiple-choice completion



- Get distractors related to the subject

- Avoid using a pair of synonyms or antonyms as distractors

GUIDELINES:



- Avoid trick items using close spelling or sound contrast

- All the options should be approximately at the same length

GUIDELINES:

- Easy context preparation- Easy and consistent scoring- Sensitive measure of achievement

- Difficult to find good synonyms- Easy for students to cheat

3. MULTIPLE-CHOICE PARAPHRASE

4. SIMPLE COMPLETION (WORDS)o Fill in missing parts of words

A test of active skillso Emphasize on word buildingo Consist of 3 steps, no

distractor preparationo Alternate forms: stem-first

procedure, phrasal context, compounds and inflectional cloze

o STEPS: 1. Vocabulary

choice

- List the prefixes and suffixes that have been taught

- Match these with content words that students have studied

- For example: -ly: quickly -er: teacher

4. SIMPLE COMPLETION (WORDS)

o STEPS: 2. Context preparation

- Successful students depend in part on the contexts

- More context is needed to clarify the meaning of the words.


o STEPS: 3. Instruction preparation

- Vary quite a bit.

- Illustrate a prefix, suffix and an “X” blank

- Put an example on the exam


- Reflect teaching approaches- Faster and easier to construct

- Test fewer words- Difficult in avoid ambiguous contexts


1. TESTING LISTENING

1.1 LIMITED RESPONSE

1.2 MULTIPLE-CHOICE APPROPRIATE

RESPONSE

1.3 TESTING EXTENDED COMMUNICATION

B. TESTING LANGUAGE SKILLS


1.1.1 Native-Language Responses

1.1.2 Picture Cues

1.1.3 Task Responses


•Activity 1 (beginners)- T: tape random sentences of English and

other languages- Ss: indicate in their native language

“English” or “other”

E.g. 1. I like apples. (English) 2. J'aime les pommes. (other) 3. Tôi thích táo. (other)



•Activity 2 (more advanced)- Type: true-false questions- Ss acquiring much vocabulary are likely to

get high scores.

E.g. 1. Horses can fly. Đ S* 2. Houses are bigger than people. Đ* S



•Activity 3 (more advanced) - Type: single utterances, dialogs, longer material - Ss: answer in their native language.

E.g. 1. How far is it to New York?A. Không xa lắm. B. Phía Nam của Boston.C. Khoảng 200 km.


1.1.2 Picture Cues

“ Although their bikes are clean, the two boys are dirty.”

Ss: select picture 2


1.1.2 Picture Cues

1. Is it starting to rain? yes* no

2. Are these people in a city? yes no*


1.1.3 Task Responses# Teacher gives commands

Put the ball in the

box.


1.1.3 Task Responses


#1 Focus on meaning

E.g. When Jack leaves, they’ll hire you, won’t they?

A. Yes, you will. B. Yes, he’s leaving. C. Yes, they will.

#2 Keep the options simple#3 Learn to adjust the difficulty of the items

1.2 MULTIPLE-CHOICE APPROPRIATE RESPONSE

3.1 Short lecture contexts

- 3 or 4 brief lectures > 1 long lecture

- Ss should be told to take notes.

3.2 Social/Business contexts

- It should not be too difficult to understand.

- T should not ask Ss to take notes (it is not

authentic).

1.3 TESTING EXTENDED COMMUNICATION

2. TESTING SPEAKING


2.1 REPRESENTATIVE TASKS

Cambridge CCSE test of Oral Interaction

Test based on Bygate (1987)

CAMBRIDGE CCSE TEST

• Operations: ▫ Expressing▫ Directing▫ Describing▫ Eliciting▫ Narration▫ Reporting

• Types of text: discussion• Addressees: interlocutor• Topics: unspecified • Dialect, accent, style: unspecified


TEST BASED ON BYGATE (1987)

• Skills:▫ Informational skills▫ Interactional skills▫ Skills in managing

interactions• Types of text:

▫ Presentation (monologue)▫ Discussion ▫ Conversation▫ Service encounter▫ Interview

• Addressees:▫ May be of equal or higher

status▫ May be known or

unknown• Topics: familiar and

interesting to the candidates

• Dialect: Standard British English/ Standard American English

• Accent: Standard American• Style: formal/ informal• Vocabulary range: non-

technical • Rate of speech: vary

according to the task


Test based On Bygate is more valid than Cambridge CCSE

Test

Fuller set of content

specifications

Division into three

categories

The greater the detail in the specification of content, the more valid the test is likely to be


2.2 ELICIT A VALID SAMPLE OF ORAL ABILITY

1. Choose appropriate techniques

2. Plan and structure the

testing carefully

2.2.1 Choose appropriate techniques• Format 1: Interview

▫Questions and requests for information▫Pictures▫Role play▫Interpreting▫Prepared monologue▫Reading aloud

• Format 2: Interaction with fellow candidates▫Discussion▫Role play

• Format 3: Responses to audio- or video-recordings▫Described situations▫Remarks in isolation to respond to▫Simulated conversation

2.2.2 Plan and structure the testing carefully

Make the oral test as long as is feasiblePlan the test carefullyGive the candidate as many “fresh start”

as possibleUse a second tester for interviewsSet tasks and topics causing no difficulty

in the candidate’s own language

Carry out the interview in a quiet room with good acoustics

Put candidates at easeCollect enough relevant informationDo not talk too muchSelect interviewers carefully and train

them

2.2.2 Plan and structure the testing carefully

2.3 ENSURE VALID AND RELIABLE SCORING

Create appropriate scales for scoring

Rating scales may be holistic or analytic.

• The ratings are weighted and totaled based

on weighting table holistic scoring

• The resultant scores are looked up in a

conversion table analytic scoring

Scales for scoring speaking ability

▫Accuracy▫Appropriateness▫Flexibility▫Range▫Size

▫Accent ▫Grammar▫Vocabulary▫Fluency▫Comprehension

Calibrate the scale to be usedGenerally the same procedures are followed in calibrating speaking scales as were described for writing scales, with the obvious difference that video-recordings are used rather than pieces of written work.


Train scorers/ interviewersThe outline of a training programme

Background and

overview

Assigning

candidates to levels

Conduct

interviews

Assessment


Follow acceptable scoring proceduresGreat care must be taken to ignore personal qualities of the candidates that are irrelevant to an assessment of their language ability


3. TESTING READING

3.1 Limited response

3.2 Testing sentence comprehension

3.3 Testing passage comprehension


3.1.1 Purpose: to check students’

ability to tell the difference between

words that look very similar to each

other


3.1.2 Techniques for limited response:

#1 Same –different technique:

E.g.: 1) sad 2) sat S D

1) red 2) red S D

#2 Circle the odd item:

E.g.: 1) net 2) net 3) ten

1) naps 2) span 3) naps


3.1.2 Techniques for limited response:

#3 Key word: circle the matching word

from a list of four items

E.g.: pots

1) stop 2) pods 3) pots 4) spot


#4 Alternate forms of limited – response items:

#4.1. Advanced odd items: look for the word that is different from the others. BUT now all three can be different or all three can be the same. E.g.: All different All the same1) speak 2) peaks 3) seeks ___v___ ________ 1) Peace 2) peace 3) peace ________ ___v___


#4 Alternate forms of limited – response

items:

#4.2 Key word and option: find the word

that does not match the key item

E.g.: pleasure

1) pleasing 2) pleasure 3) pleasure 4)

pleasure


- Be easy to construct and score- Require only the recognition of letters simple task for beginning students

- Be not an integrative skill involving actual reading- Reduce of reading speed


3.2 TESTING SENTENCE IN COMPREHENSION

3.2.1 Purpose: to check vocabulary, grammar

and sometimes even social appropriateness all

the same time

3.2.2 Technique of testing sentence in

comprehension

#1 Elicitation techniques

#2 Picture cues

3.2 TESTING SENTENCE IN COMPREHENSION

Picture cues:

- Use the sentence

E.g. The children are playing on their new

toy.

Picture cues:

- Use the true – false items

E.g. The robbers cannot see the TV. T F

Picture cues:

- Use yes -no questions

E.g. Is the lady reading newspaper? Yes No

- Be easy to write true – false items on pictures- Be good for testing the skills of near beginning students- Be a rapid way to test reading comprehension

- Be time – consuming when choosing good pictures- Not cover all reading skills

3.2 TESTING SENTENCE COMPREHENSION

3.3.1 Context selection

- Depend on what kind of reading matter

teachers have used with their students

- Sources: articles, stories, advertisements…

3.3.2 Question techniques for beginners

- Use true – false items

- Use matching technique

3.3 TESTING PASSAGE COMPREHENSION

3.3.3 Question techniques for more advanced

students

#1 Standard multiple – choice:

+ Selections for less advanced students will run

from about 100 – 200 words

+ More advanced students will range from 150 –

300 words

+ Types of question

• Paraphrase


•ParaphraseE.g.:

In this passage we learnt that karate_____A. is being taught to many young

AmericansB. and training for the mind are both being

taughtC. can remove the weapon from someone’s

handD. is used to start a fight

•Synthesis item: requires integration of ideas from more than one sentence – sometimes from the entire selection

E.g.:

A good title for this selection would be:A. American Import a Japanese sportB. Karate weaponless protection for people of all

agesC. School children enjoy a new kind of physical

education classD. Self – perfection through self - protection

•Inference item: requires students to see implications in what they read

E.g.:

3.3.3 Question techniques for more advanced

students

#2 Multiple – choice cloze:

E.g.:


- Be objective and easy to score- Be the most integrative type of reading test- Can evaluate students at every level of reading development

- Be time consuming to take than other kinds of tests- Utilize questions that deal with trivial details- Use questions on trivial details Encourage word – by – word reading


4. TESTING WRITING

4.1 Limited response

4.2 Guided writing

4.3 Free writing

4.1.1 Purpose: to check vocabulary, grammar4.1.2 Techniques:

#1 Sentence combining- Adding a connective: demonstrate the understanding of what various connective meanE.g.: He likes ice cream but he won’t eat any. - Combining sentences: ask students to make internal changes in the grammarE.g.: Some people come late. They will not get good seats People that come late will not get good seats.


#2 Sentence expansion: add words such as adjectives and adverbs or it can require adding phrases and clausesE.g.: The (___) man hurried (____) to the (____) horse. The old man hurried out to the frightened

horse. #3 Sentence reduction: provide a cue word to show how to begin the new phraseE.g.: He told us about the man who had a wooden leg. (with) He told us about a man with a wooden leg.


#4 Copying: make students more aware of extended discourse and also of mechanics (especially punctuation and spelling)E.g.:


#5 Oral cloze: combine dictation with selected cloze using high – frequency deletionE.g.:


- Be easy to construct - Be suitable for students with limited ability in English- Be rather objective for a writing – related task

-Not measure actual writing skill- Be rather slow to correct – especially the open – ended variety


4.2 GUIDED WRITING4.2.1 Purpose: to check student ability to handle controlled or directed writing tasks

4.2.2 Techniques:#1 Changing a passage

- Use an artificial paragraph: when the sentences are changed as directed, we have the properly written story

E.g.:

#1 Changing a passage- Use passive sentences

E.g.: The broken typewriter was fixed. Anwar fixed the broken typewriter. - Use spoken English

E.g.:

Or use indirect speech: Mrs. Farias asked her daughter Joana to tell her about…

4.2 GUIDED WRITING

#1 Changing a passage:- Use a specific grammatical changeE.g.: change the passage from the singular form to the plural form or from the present continuous to the past…

4.2 GUIDED WRITING

#2 Building from a paragraph outline:- Testing writing controls the content and the

grammarE.g.:

4.2 GUIDED WRITING

#2 Building from a paragraph outline- Testing writing relaxes the grammar control a little more. although this particular sample promotes the present perfect tense. E.g.: Students are told to write s paragraph beginning with a topic sentence: “Several things have contributed to my being an educated person”.

4.2 GUIDED WRITING

#2 Building from a paragraph outline- Testing writing controls the content of the writing but not necessarily the grammarE.g.:

4.2 GUIDED WRITING

- Be rather quick and easy to construct - Give the appearance of being an effective measure of writing- Provide appropriate control for those students who are not ready to write on their own

- Not measure ingredients such as organization found in extended writing- Be rather time consuming and difficult to grade- Be difficult to score with real consistency (paragraph – outline)

4.2 GUIDED WRITING

4.3 FREE WRITING4.3.1 Purpose: evaluate the effectiveness of the total composition including sentence – level accuracy, larger rhetorical matters such as unity, coherence and organization as well as effectiveness in conveying ideas to the intended audience - including socially appropriate language and appropriate selection of supporting details.

4.3.2 Example of free writing

4.3 FREE WRITING

- Have a good effect on instruction: students will be more motivated to write in and out of class, knowing that their test will be an actual writing task- No chance of getting a passing grade on a free – writing test by cheating

- Grading of free writing tends to lack objectivity and consistency.- Be time consuming to grade

4.3 FREE WRITING

4.4 EVALUATING WRITING

EVALUATING WRITING

ANALYTICAL

HOLISTIC

4.4.1 Analytical method- Points off method: + Begin with 100 points or grade A+ Lose points or fractions of a grade for errors that occur in the piece of writing+ Mechanics include:- Capitalization- Punctuation- Spelling- Grammar (sentence sense, verb tense and

word order)- Vocabulary choice and ability to follow the

assigned writing tasks.


4.4.1 Analytical method- Another analytical approach reverses the procedure described abovePoints are given for acceptable work in each

of several areas- Mechanics 20%- Vocabulary choice 20%- Grammar and usage 30%- Organization 50%

TOTAL 100%


4.4.2 Holistic method- Be one of the best way to evaluate the complex communicative act of writing


Testing language areas and skills

Education

Transcript of Testing language areas and skills