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
#1 Individual Testing: Oral Repetition
•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? ↘
#1 Individual Testing: Oral Repetition
•Checking two things in one sentence
E.g. check main stress and rising
intonation in the same sentence:
▫Did it come ꞌyesterday? ↗
#1 Individual Testing: Oral Repetition
•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.
#1 Individual Testing: Oral Repetition
• 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.”
#1 Individual Testing: Oral Repetition
• 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
#2 Group Testing: Hearing
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.
#2 Group Testing: Hearing
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
#2 Group Testing: Hearing
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?
1.2.2 MULTIPLE-CHOICE HEARING IDENTIFICATION
▫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?
1.2.2 MULTIPLE-CHOICE HEARING IDENTIFICATION
•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.
1.2.2 MULTIPLE-CHOICE HEARING IDENTIFICATION
•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.
1.2.2 MULTIPLE-CHOICE HEARING IDENTIFICATION
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
A. TESTING LANGUAGE AREAS
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
2.1 WHY TEST GRAMMAR?
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
2.1 WHY TEST GRAMMAR?
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.
2.1 WHY TEST GRAMMAR?
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
Ad
van
tag
es
Lim
itatio
ns
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.
A. TESTING LANGUAGE AREAS
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. MULTIPLE-CHOICE COMPLETIONo STEPS:
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
2. MULTIPLE-CHOICE COMPLETIONo STEPS:
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:
2. MULTIPLE-CHOICE COMPLETIONo STEPS:
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
3. MULTIPLE-CHOICE PARAPHRASEo STEPS:
3. Distractor preparation
- Get distractors related to the subject
- Avoid using a pair of synonyms or antonyms as distractors
GUIDELINES:
3. MULTIPLE-CHOICE PARAPHRASEo STEPS:
3. Distractor preparation
- 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.
4. SIMPLE COMPLETION (WORDS)
o STEPS: 3. Instruction preparation
- Vary quite a bit.
- Illustrate a prefix, suffix and an “X” blank
- Put an example on the exam
4. SIMPLE COMPLETION (WORDS)
- Reflect teaching approaches- Faster and easier to construct
- Test fewer words- Difficult in avoid ambiguous contexts
4. SIMPLE COMPLETION (WORDS)
1. TESTING LISTENING
1.1 LIMITED RESPONSE
1.2 MULTIPLE-CHOICE APPROPRIATE
RESPONSE
1.3 TESTING EXTENDED COMMUNICATION
B. TESTING LANGUAGE SKILLS
1.1 LIMITED RESPONSE
1.1.1 Native-Language Responses
1.1.2 Picture Cues
1.1.3 Task Responses
1.1.1 Native-Language 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)
1.1 LIMITED RESPONSE
1.1.1 Native-Language Responses
•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
1.1 LIMITED RESPONSE
1.1.1 Native-Language Responses
•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 LIMITED RESPONSE
1.1.2 Picture Cues
“ Although their bikes are clean, the two boys are dirty.”
Ss: select picture 2
1.1 LIMITED RESPONSE
1.1.2 Picture Cues
1. Is it starting to rain? yes* no
2. Are these people in a city? yes no*
1.1 LIMITED RESPONSE
1.1.3 Task Responses# Teacher gives commands
Put the ball in the
box.
1.1 LIMITED RESPONSE
1.1.3 Task Responses
1.1 LIMITED RESPONSE
#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
B. TESTING LANGUAGE SKILLS
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
2.1 REPRESENTATIVE TASKS
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
2.1 REPRESENTATIVE TASKS
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
2.1 REPRESENTATIVE TASKS
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.
2.3 ENSURE VALID AND RELIABLE SCORING
Train scorers/ interviewersThe outline of a training programme
Background and
overview
Assigning
candidates to levels
Conduct
interviews
Assessment
2.3 ENSURE VALID AND RELIABLE SCORING
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
2.3 ENSURE VALID AND RELIABLE SCORING
3. TESTING READING
3.1 Limited response
3.2 Testing sentence comprehension
3.3 Testing passage comprehension
B. TESTING LANGUAGE SKILLS
3.1.1 Purpose: to check students’
ability to tell the difference between
words that look very similar to each
other
3.1 LIMITED RESPONSE
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 LIMITED RESPONSE
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
3.1 LIMITED RESPONSE
#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___
3.1 LIMITED RESPONSE
#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
3.1 LIMITED RESPONSE
- 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
3.1 LIMITED RESPONSE
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
3.3 TESTING PASSAGE COMPREHENSION
•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.:
3.3 TESTING PASSAGE COMPREHENSION
- 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
3.3 TESTING PASSAGE COMPREHENSION
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.
4.1 LIMITED RESPONSE
#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.
4.1 LIMITED RESPONSE
#4 Copying: make students more aware of extended discourse and also of mechanics (especially punctuation and spelling)E.g.:
4.1 LIMITED RESPONSE
#5 Oral cloze: combine dictation with selected cloze using high – frequency deletionE.g.:
4.1 LIMITED RESPONSE
- 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
4.1 LIMITED RESPONSE
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 EVALUATING WRITING
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 EVALUATING WRITING
4.4.2 Holistic method- Be one of the best way to evaluate the complex communicative act of writing
4.4 EVALUATING WRITING