Chapter 1 introduction to language testing. This chapter include contents as: Testing & teaching, why test? What should be tested & to what standard? Testing the language skills, testing language areas, language skills & language elements,...
Trang 1Chapter 1:
Introduction to language testing
Source: Heaton, J.B (1989) Writing English Language Tests
Longman & New York
Trang 21 Testing & teaching
Testing & Teaching: closely related
Tests:
- devices to reinforce learning & motivate Ss
- means of assessing Ss’ lang performance
Tests focusing on daily communication
useful effects on learning
Good communicative tests+ effects:
learning, teaching & learning habits
Trang 32 Why test?
Evaluating Ss’ performance (comp &
selecting)
Locating the precise area of Ss’ difficulty
Ascertaining difficult problems in curriculum
Measuring Ss’ performance w/o traps
effective motivation
Trang 43 What should be tested & to what standard?
Analyzing the language tested: important
Identifying the purpose of assessment: including aspects /skills tested
Before constructing tests: to questions standards
Trang 54 Testing the language skills
Listening: short utterances, dialogues, talks
& lectures
Speaking: interview, picture description, role play, problem-solving tasks (pair/group)
Reading: ability to understand gist, key
information on specific points
Writing: letters, reports, messages……
Trang 65 Testing language areas
Grammar & usage: measuring Ss’ ability to recognize appro gram forms & to
manipulate structures
Vocabulary: meaning, pattern, collocations
Phonology: stress patterns,
tunes (↑↓voice)
Trang 76 Language skills & language
elements
Skills, integrated skills, elements: purpose of tests & level of learners
All levels: measuring ability to communicate
A good lang test: Ss’ performance in 4 skills used in real life
Trang 87 Recognition & production
Recognition: words & language
form-multiple-choice forms (easy to examine
statistically)
Production: measuring learners’ ability to
produce or use correct lang forms in real life
A good language test: either recognition or production items, or combination of both
Trang 98 Problems of sampling
The longer the test the more reliable a
measuring instrument
The language tested= the one used in the classroom
Items based on contrastive analysis:
effective for Ss from the same L1
Writing test specifications based on learning tasks included in the syllabus
Trang 109 Avoiding traps for the Ss
Never trap Ss in giving incorrect answers
Not including items never taught
Finding out what Ss know, not trapping them
Gaining a deeper insight the language tested
& learning process involved