Approaches to language testing

2.1Background Language tests can be roughly classified according to four main approaches to testing (1) The essay-translation approach (2) The structuralist approach (3)The integrative approach (4) the communicative approach

2.2 The essay-translation approach This approach is commonly referred to as the pre-scientific stage of language testing. No special skill or expertise in testing is required: the subjective judgment of the teacher is considered to be of paramount importance. Tests usually consist of essay writing, translation, and grammatical analysis.2.3 The structuralist approach draws on the work of structural linguistics, in particular the importance of contrastive analysis and the need to identify and measure the learners mastery of the separate elements of the target language: phonology, vocabulary and grammar.

Using words and sentences completely divorced from any context on the grounds that a large sample of language forms can be covered in the test in a comparatively short time. The skills of listening, speaking reading and writing are also separated from one another as much as possible because it is considered essential to test one thing at a time.

Still valid for certain types of test and for certain purposes: the desire to concentrate on the testees ability to write by attempting to separate a composition test from reading (i.e. by making it wholly independent of the ability to read long and complicated instructions or verbal stimuli) is commendable in certain respects.2.4 The integrative approachinvolves the testing of language in context and is thus concerned primarily with meaning and the total communicative effect of discourse.

Often designed to assess the learners ability to use two or more skills simultaneously.

Grammar of expectancy; functional language

Best characterized by the use of cloze testing and of dictation. Oral interviews, translation and essay writing are also included in many integrative tests.

Cloze test: usually every fifth, sixth or seventh word is deleted. Ideally 40 or 50 blanks. The more blanks contained in the text, the more reliable the close test will generally prove.

Acceptable answer and exact answer

It is essential in cloze test (as in other types of reading tests) to draw upon a subject which is neutral in both content and language variety used.

It is always advantageous to provide a lead-in : thus no deletions should be made in the first few sentences so that the students have a chance to become familiar with the authors style and approach to the subject of the text.

Cloze testing is a good indicator of general linguistic ability, including the ability to use language appropriately according to particular linguistic and situational contexts.

It is argued that three types of knowledge are required in order to perform successfully on a cloze test: linguistic knowledge, textual knowledge, and knowledge of the world. As a result of such findings, cloze test are now used not only in general achievement and proficiency tests but also in some classroom placement tests and diagnostic tests.

The integrated skills involved in tests of dictation include auditory discrimination, the auditory memory span, spelling, the recognition of sound segments, a familiarity with the grammatical and lexical patterning of the language, and overall textual comprehension.

Oral interviews and composition writing

2.5 The communicative approach communicative approach and integrative approach: both emphasize the importance of the meaning of utterances rather than their form and structure. Communicative tests are concerned primarily, if not totally, with how language is used in communication.

Language use is often emphasized to the exclusion of language usage. Use is concerned with how people actually use language for a multitude of different purposes ; usage concerns the formal patterns of language ( described in prescriptive grammars and lexicons).

Divisibility hypothesis

It has long been claimed that the most successful tests are those which measure separately such relevant skills as the ability to translate news reports, the ability to understand radio broadcasts, or the ability to interpret speech utterances.

Reflect the culture of a particular country because of their emphasis on context and the use of authentic materials.

Cultural bias

The most important criterion for communicative test is that they should be based on precise and detailed specifications of the needs of the learners fro whom they are constructed: hence their particular suitability for the testing of English for specific purposes.

Language band systems are used to show the learners levels of performance in the different skills tested.

Each students performance is evaluated according to his or her degree of success in performing the language tasks set rather than solely in relation to the performances of other students. A good test will frequently combine features of the communicative approach, the integrative approach and even the structuralist approach

Language testing constantly involves making compromises between what is ideal and what is practicable in a certain situation. 3. Objective testing

3.5 Writing the test

3.1 Subjective and objective testing terms used to refer to the scoring of tests

reading and vocabulary often lend themselves to objective methods of assessment.

Careful guidelines must be drawn up to achieve consistency in the treatment of the variety of responses what will result. (subjective)

On the whole, objective test require far more careful preparation than subjective test.

3.2 Objective tests a much wider sample of grammar, vocabulary and phonology can generally be included in a objective test than in a subjective test.

An objective test will be a very poor test if:

- the test items are poorly written;

- irrelevant areas and sills are emphasized in the test simply because they are testable; and

- it is confined to language-based usage and neglects the communicative sills involved.

Objective tests can never test the ability to communicate in the target language, nor can they evaluate actual performance. A good classroom test will usually contain both subjective and objective test items.

3.3 Multiple-choice items: general Since the multiple choices item is one of the most difficult and time-consuming types of items to construct, numerous poor multiple choice test now abound.

Appropriate responses to various stimuli in everyday situations are produced rather than chosen from several options.

Since it is often very difficult to construct items with even five options, four options are recommenced for most classroom tests, many writers recommend using four options for grammar items, but five for vocabulary and reading.

The test must be long enough allow for a reliable assessment of a testees performance and short enough to be practicable.

The number of items included in a test will vary according to the level of difficulty, the nature of the areas being tested, and the purpose of the test.

Decontextualised multiple choice items can to considerable harm by conveying the impression that language can be learnt and used free of any context. Both linguistic context and situational context are essential in using language. Isolate sentences in a multiple choice test simply add to the artificiality of test situation and give rise to ambiguity and confusion.

A multiple choice item contains: stem; options/responses/alternatives (destructors; answer/correct iption/key)

General principles to be observed in construction:

1. only one answer.

2. only one feature at a time should be tested. (impure items)

3. each option should be grammatically correct when placed in the stem, except of course in the case of specific grammar test items.

4. all multiple choice items should bee at a level appropriate to the proficiency level of the testees.

5. multiple choice items should be as brief and as clear as possible (though it is desirable to provide short contexts for grammar items).

6. it is generally considered important to have one or two simple items to lead in the testees, especially if they are not too familiar with the kind of test being administered.

3.4 Multiple-choice items:the stem/the correct option /the distractors 1. the primary purpose of the stem is to present the problem clearly and concisely. At the same time, the stem should not contain extraneous information or irrelevant clues, thereby confusing the problem being tested.

2. the stem may take the following forms:

(a) an incomplete statement

(b) a complete statement

(c) a question

3. the stem should usually contain those words or phrases which would otherwise have to be repeated in each option.

4. the stem should allow for the number of choices which have been decided upon.

The correct

The correct option should be approximately the same length as the distractors.

The distractors

Items should be constructed in such a way that students obtain the correct option by direct selection rather than by the elimination of obviously incorrect options.

Plausible distrctors are best based on:

(a) a mistakes in the students own written work

(b) their answers in previous test

(c) the teachers exp4rience

(d) a contrastive analysis between the native and target languages.

Distractors should not be too difficult nor demand a higher proficiency in the language than the correct option.