English Language Assessment and Testing - Essay Example

ASSIGNMENT: ASSESSMENT AND TESTING and sur s Login: ECFPMTFL883774 Group: 29 09/23 Assessment and Testing - Assignment(FPMTFL-FP012_EngX1_Tr1_E0) Assignment: Part.1: Introduction A good test must possess three qualities: validity, reliability, and practicality. That is to say, any test that we EFL/ESL teachers use must be appropriate in terms of our objectives, dependable in the evidence it provides, and applicable to our particular situation. I have devised a multiple-choice test to overcome the weakness of the composition test. The test has an essential difference between the traditional grammar test for native speaker of English and the kind of structure test appropriate for the EFL/ESL learner. It is generally assumed that the native speaker of the language has mastered a grammatical system largely or wholly acceptable for informal discourse, grammar test at least on the high school and college levels have usually concentrated on matters of style and diction appropriate for rather formal written English. On the other hand, structure tests for foreign students will have as their purpose the testing and control of the basic grammatical patterns for the spoken language. Such tests would constitute no challenge for native speakers of Standard English, who, except for carelessness, would be expected to make perfect scores. Only for the most advanced foreign leaners are test of formal style and diction at all meaningful, and then they are better treated as tests of writing ability and kept quite separate from the test of structure. The test devised includes the full range of structures that were taught in the course, and each structural type receives about the same emphasis in the test that it received in the classroom. The test contains two parts, in the first one (1-15), the student must select the most appropriate answers for the spaces to make grammatically correct sentences. Each item presents a context in which one or more words are missing, followed by several alternative completions. In the second part, the student must identify in each item one of the underlined words that is incorrect. Once identified, the student must circle it. Finally, I have discussed the principles of language testing in relation to the test I have designed. There are 20 questions in the test. They should constitute a total of 100 marks. This implies that each question should contain 5 marks. The table prepared should be followed in marking the test. Part.2: Specified Objective Reading Test English Language Assessment and Testing A. In the following questions (1-15), select the most appropriate answers for the spaces to make grammatically correct sentences. 1. George ____ in the library this morning. A. Is studying B. Study C. Usually study D. Are studying 2. Alice _______ the door please, it’s ­­­­_____ hot in here. A. Open, quite B. Opens, too C. Opened, extremely D. Will you open, terribly 3. Jacob’s hobbies include swimming, jogging, and ______. A. Play football B. Playing football C. To play football D. Football 4. The book was as _____ the movie. A. Interesting as B. More interesting C. As interesting like D. Very interesting 5. Who is ______, Brian or Pete? A. Tall B. Tallest C. Taller D. Is the tallest 6. Mr. Joseph advises that someone ____ the data immediately by email. A. Send B. To sent C. Should send D. Has to send 7. There are only ______ Birthday cards left in the store. A. A little B. A few C. Some D. Few 8. Almost all the Olympic athletes _____ for a couple of years before they became stars. A. Trained B. Had been training C. Undergone training D. Underwent training 9. Joshua likes silver coated watches, ______, he does not like diamond coated watches. A. But B. And C. So D. However 10. The school will upgrade _____ Physics laboratory next month. A. there B. their C. its D. it’s B. In the following sentences, one of the underlined words is incorrect. Identify and circle it. 11. Mr. John is telephoning British red cross for help. A. Mr. B. Is C. telephoning D. red cross 12. Evans will spend his holiday either in New York nor Singapore. A. Will B. holiday C. in D. nor 13. Did you saw the student whose pens were stolen? A. Saw B. Whose C. Were D. Stolen 14. Despite the evidence provided in the court, Richard still refused blatantly and laid to the court officials that he had not participated in the robbery incidence that took place in California. A. blatantly B. Laid C. Had not D. in 15. During the sports week, some of the participants failed to attending their training in their respective locations. A. Sports week B. Failed C. to D. Attending 16. Nobody comprehend the reason why the Headmaster got angry and punished all the students in the school. However, some of the teachers believe that the students tampered with the posts at the notice board. A. Comprehend B. got C. however D. at 17. It took Mike a whole year learning French, which he preferred than other foreign languages. A. took B. a C. , D. than 18. Many students get involved in unnecessary practices and behaviors once they step on the university. A. get B. in C. on D. university 19. Once upon a time, there live a king named Joseph in the Middle Lands. A. There B. Live C. In D. Middle Lands 20. Kennedy starts his new project yesterday. He will definitely succeed this time round. A. starts B. project C. will D. definitely Part.3: Analysis of the assessment The objective for compiling the above questions was to test for the student’s comprehension and knowledge about reading and writing techniques. The questions tests on tenses, verbs, and sentence construction. The test also handles diction and its application in English learning. The test introduces students to the Basic English, as a language with the first simple concepts on logical sentence construction. The above set is meant for a second generation student. Second generation students are those that are bilingual with English being their second language. As stated earlier, the test serves a core role of introducing the second speakers of English to the core basic principles and comprehension of English as a language used in learning in other various fields. Second language students require tests that serve to introduce them to learning English. The test, like the above one, should not apply jargons or tough vocabularies that may make them fail to understand the meaning of what the examiner requires. It should be simple straightforward and of course with some easily identifiable exam tricks. 3.1 The principles of language used in the above test are as follows: Existence of sound systems: the above questions can be effectively answered by a student reading the sentences loudly identifying the areas that require fixing of words. For instance, question 18 tests on preposition which is a part of speech (Byram & Morgan 45). Many students get involved in unnecessary practices and behaviors once they step on the university. Reading this sentence aloud allows the student to understand the basic language concept being tested. The student will definitely identify where the mistake is correct by choosing appropriately from the options given. Existence of grammatical systems is another language principle that has been employed in coming up with the above questions (Fotos & Ellis 76). Grammatical systems involve sentence structure with the noun, adjective, verb and adverb arrangement. It ensures logicality and easy comprehension of the sentences compiled. The other principle applied is meaningfulness of language. Language must be meaningful and practical in order to understand. Language must portray something that is naturally meaningful and practical in the setting. For instance, it will be grammatically correct for one to state that, the cat killed the lioness. However, the sentence will lack practicality and logicality. It is practically impossible for a cat to kill a lioness. The language used in the above questions also has social and referential meaning. Social meaning is whereby language is used in accordance to the age, culture and gender of the people using it. The knowledge in language may also be intuitive. For instance, in some of the above questions, it may not require even a second generation learning student to read much or apply a lot of language rules to answer (Littlewood 65). Another language principle that has been basically used in the test is lexical. Lexical involves the use of nouns such as concrete nouns and abstract nouns. Concrete nouns involve nouns or things that are tangible such as chairs, pencil and books. Abstract nouns, on the other hand, refer to non-material things such as feelings (Byram & Morgan 125). 3.2 Criteria for marking the test From the illustrations, the tests have been set for a second speaker student. Therefore it is important to ensure that the students get encouraged by awarding them marks fairly. There are 20 questions in the test. They should constitute a total of 100 marks. This implies that each question should contain 5 marks. The table below should be followed in marking the test. Number of questions answered right Percentage Score Grade Teacher Remarks 20 100 A Excellent! 19 95 A Excellent! 18 90 A Excellent! 17 85 A Excellent! 16 80 A Excellent! 15 75 B Very good! 14 70 B Very good! 13 65 B Very good! 12 60 C Good! 11 55 C Good! 10 50 C Average! 09 45 D Fair! 08 40 D Fair! 07 35 D Fair! 06 30 D Poor! 05 25 E Very poor! 04 20 E Very poor! 03 15 E Very poor! 02 10 E Very poor! 01 05 E Very poor! Part.4: Specified Reading and Writing Test English Language Assessment and Testing Today, I went to see my aunty Sophia in China. I saw her making cheese from milk, it take a month to turn into cheese. I also enjoyed watching a chicken which was going crazy when I took the eggs. We then went to the market to sell some eggs. Later in the afternoon, we went into the woods for a nice picnic. I ate cheese, some milk, and a slice of bread. Her daughter, my cousin, came around 7 pm. That night, we drank hot chocolate. It was yummy. Then I said good night to aunty and went to sleep. Q1. Where did aunty Sophia lived? Q2. How much time does the milk takes to turn into cheese? Q3. Where did they go in the afternoon? Q4. What did they eat in picnic? Q5. When did Aunty Sophia’s daughter come? The reading and writing test has been designed keeping the fact in mind that every sentence brings about a new story and a new activity which will involve the students and this will show how interested and understanding the student. New story in every sentence brings about the critical side of the student and it will also show the concentration of the student and the sentence structure. This type of test has been designed to figure out the involvement, concentration and the critical thinking while compiling and making a sentence structure. 4.1 The principles of language used in the above test are as follows: The above questions can be effectively answered by a student reading the sentences loudly or in his heart and remembering what he read before or referring back to what he had read. For instance, question 5 refers to the time and the student has to be thinking critically and analyzing in the rest. Reading this sentence aloud allows the student to understand the concept and testing the memory too thus analyzing how much he remembers after reading a single passage. The language used in the above questions also has social and referential meaning. Social meaning is whereby language is used in accordance to the culture and lifestyle and activities of the people. The knowledge in the comprehension may also be intuitive. For instance, in some of the above questions, it may not require even a second generation learning student to read much or apply a lot of language rules to answer, it’s just the evaluation and the thinking and the reading and writing skills that would become very visible thus making it very easy to understand, evaluate and interpret the students understanding testing for something beyond factual knowledge such as the presence of positive attitudes also raises ethical issues since testing should match what has been deliberately taught and consciously learned (Byram and Morgan, 1994). Byram questions how much control a learner has over the development of an attitude such as openness or empathy, or of flexibility of mind, or the ability to decenter? It should come therefore as no surprise that testing for cultural knowledge seems more attractive than testing for aspects of intercultural competence. 4.2 Criterion for marking the test: The given test has been set for a second reader and writer student. Therefore it is important to ensure that the students get encouraged by awarding them marks fairly. There are 5 questions in the test. They should constitute a total of 10 marks. This implies that each question should contain 2 marks. The table below should be followed in marking the test. Number of questions answered right Percentage Score Grade Teacher Remarks 5 100 A+ Excellent 4 80 A Very good 3 60 B Good 2 30 C Poor 1 10 D Very poor Part.5: Specified Writing Test English Language Assessment and Testing Write a paragraph on the topic “My shinny teeth”. 5.1 The principles of language used in the above test are as follows: The above writing test has been given keeping this thing in mind that student thinks and writes what he will be focusing on. The main purpose of such a topic is that: it’s not a usual topic , it is a subject that has to be thought twice. The topic brings about the usage of grammar, the sentence structure and usage of words. Crookes and Schmidt (1991) suggest that one of the reasons why work on motivation in second language learning has been inconclusive is because motivation has been limited to social-psychological conceptualizations of the construct and also has been frequently confused with attitudes toward the target culture. Literal and contextual meanings would be analyzed and it would also bring to the approach that how is where and what is the language used in accordance to the culture and lifestyle and the day to day routine. This acknowledgement would make the mistakes and incapability of the student to be prominent and thus more effectively the student would be in attention. 5.2 Criterion for marking the test: The given test has been set for a second writer student. Therefore it is important to ensure that the students get encouraged by awarding them marks fairly by looking at all the perspectives of the written material. The test should constitute a total of 10 marks. The table below should be followed in marking the test. Percentage Score Grade Teacher Remarks 10 A Excellent 9 A Excellent 8 B Very good 7 B Very good 6 B Good 5 C Fair Part.6: Conclusion In conclusion, I did choose the test format because of several reasons. One, second learners students require simplified English test that can encourage them and help them develop positive attitude towards the language. With the above questions, the student will undoubtedly develop the necessary attitude towards the language and comprehend every aspect of learning. He or she will also be encouraged to work harder even in communication with other students (Cussens & Dzerosky 103). This will definitely boost his or her language content and attain his or her best in learning. Part.6: Works Cited Byram, M., Morgan, C., Teaching and learning languages and culture. New York, NY: SAGE Publishers, 1994. Print. Fotos, S., Ellis, R., Learning a second language through interaction. New York, NY: SAGE Publishers. Cussens, J., Dzerosky, S., Learning language in logic:Issue 1925.New York, NY: Springer Publishers. Littlewood, W., Foreign and second language learning, language acquisition. London: London University publishers, 1984. Print Frattal, M., Carol, Measuring Outcomes in Speech-Language Pathology. NewYork : Thieme Medical Publishers. MacIntyre, Peter D., Kimberly A. Noels, & Brenda Moore. Perspectives on Motivation in Second Language Acquisition: Lessons from the Ryoanji Garden. In Selected Proceedings of the 2008 Second Language Research Forum, ed. Matthew T. Prior et al., Somerville, MA: Cascadilla Proceedings Project Read More