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METHODOLOGY 3
Practicalities in an English Language Classroom

Compiled and edited by Le Thuy Linh

English Language Teaching
Methodology 3
Practicalities in an English Language Classroom

(Compiled and edited by Le Thuy Linh)

UNIVERSITY OF EDUCATION PUBLISHING HOUSE

M ã số: 01.01.10/224 - Đ H 2013
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

PREFACE............................................................................................................................. 5

Module 1. Syllabus and Course b o o k ..........................................................................7

Unit 1. Using the syllabus....................................................................................... 7
Unit 2. Choosing a co u rsebook...........................................................................16

Module 2. Classroom M anagem ent........................................................................... 22

Unit 1. Classroom m anagem ent......................................................................... 22
Unit 2. Classroom diciplines................................................................................ 30
Unit 3. Classroom inte ractio n s............................................................................34

Module 3. Lesson P lann ing......................................................................................... 44

Unit 1. Lesson planning.................................. ..................................................... 44
Unit 2. Varying lessons and evaluating le s s o n ................................................53

Module 4. Classroom Assessm ent and Testing.....................................................57

Unit 1. An overview of assessment and te s tin g ................................................ 57
Unit 2. The purposes of te s tin g .......................................................................... 68
Unit 3. Types of tests and test ite m s ................................................................. 73
Unit 4. Qualities of a good te s t........................................................................... 88
Unit 5. Test writing techniques......................................................................... 100

READING M ATERIALS................................................................................................ 137

R EFER EN C ES................................................................................................................138

3
 PREFACE
ELT Methodology 3 is intended for pre-service teachers of English at Hanoi National
University of Education and beyond. This book together with ELT methodology 1 and
2 make a complete compiled and revised edition of the ELT methodology series. The
book aims at providing student teachers with an insight into syllabus design, course
materials adaptation, classroom management principles, lesson planning; an
overview of language testing, the principles of assessment and related testing issues;
skills of using and exploiting text books, of managing classroom, planning lessons,
and managing classrooms; and the techniques of writing administering and marking
classroom tests.

This book contains 4 modules, 12 units covering four main areas related to English
language teaching such as: (1) Syllabus and Coursebook, (2) Classroom
management, (3) Lesson Planning, and (4) Classroom Assessment and Testing.
Each module begins with specific aims to be achieved and is organized into several
units with three sections. The first section, Q uestions fo r discussion, can either be
used as a brainstorming activity/lead-in at the beginning of a lesson or as homework
from the end of previous lesson. There are some Readings that provide students
with necessary information to answer the discussion questions and to implement the
classroom tasks. The C lassroom Tasks that follow are designed to help the learners
practise and apply the skills and information delivered. A list of Reading M aterials is
introduced at the end of the book for self-study and for further investigation into the
issues as required by the teachers. The book can be flexibly and selectively deployed
and exploited to serve different purposes and according to time constraints.

I would like to express my special thanks to the authors, from whom I have not got
any chance to ask for permission, whose books are the main sources on which this
book bases. I am grateful to all owners of the set of pictures and ¡mages that I have
used throughout the book. I would also like to thank my colleagues at the Faculty of
English, Hanoi National University of Education for their support, encouragement and
valuable comments concerning the contents and presentation of the book.

5
 Syllabus and Course book
Aims:
• To introduce you to syllabus, characteristics and types of syllabus;
• To give you criteria of syllabus design;
• To broaden your experience of ways in which syllabuses can be used;
• To give you the criteria to choose a course book to fit in your teaching
context,
• To give you the criteria to evaluate the textbooks to make the books fit the
real needs of your students;
• To give you the experience of evaluating some textbooks currently in use.

Questions for discussion

1. W hat is a syllabus?
2. W ho should take syllabus design into account? Why?

3. W hat are types of syllabus and syllabus

approaches?

4. W hat are the characteristics of a syllabus?

5. How to use a syllabus effectively?

fi
1 A N IN T R O D U C T IO N T O SYLLABUS D ESIG N A N D
E V A L U A T IO N
The focus of syllabuses has shifted from structure to situations, functions and
notions to topics and tasks. In fact, as Nunan (1988:52) suggests, with the
development of the latter it is palpable that "the traditional distinction between
syllabus design and methodology has become blurred".

So, how should we initially define syllabus?

7
1. Syllabus: A Definition

A syllabus is an expression of opinion on the nature of language and teaming; it

acts as a guide for both the teacher and the learner by providing som e goals to
be attained. Hutchinson and W aters (1987:80) define syllabus as follows:
At its simplest level a syllabus can be described as a statem ent of
what is to be learnt It reflects of language and linguistic performance.

This is a rather traditional interpretation of syllabus focusing as it does on

outcomes rather than process. However, a syllabus can also be seen as a
"summary of the content to which learners will be exposed" (Yalden,1987: 87). It
is seen as an approximation of what will be taught and that it cannot accurately
predict what will be learnt.
Next, we will discuss the various types of approaches available to course
designers and the language assumptions they make.

2. Types of syllabuses
a. Product-Oriented Syllabuses

Also known as the synthetic approach, these kinds of syllabuses em phasize the
product of language learning and are prone to intervention from an authority.

The Structural Approach

Historically, the most prevalent of syllabus type is perhaps the grammatical

syllabus in which the selection and grading of the content is based on the
complexity and simplicity of grammatical items. The learner is expected to master
each structural step and add it to his/her gramm ar collection. As such the focus is
on the outcomes or the product.

One problem facing the syllabus designer pursuing a grammatical order to

sequencing input is that the ties connecting the structural items may De rather
feeble. A more fundamental criticism is that the grammatical syllabus focuses on
only one aspect of language, namely grammar, whereas in truth there exist many
more aspects to language Finally, recent corpus-based research suggests there
is a divergence between the grammar of the spoken and of the written language
raising implications for the grading of content in gramm ar based syllabuses

8
The Situational Approach

The limitations mentioned above led to an alternative approach where the point
of departure became situational needs rather than grammatical units. Here, the
principal organizing characteristic is a list of situations that reflects the way
language and behavior are used everyday outside the classroom. Thus, by
linking structural theory to situations the learner is able to induce the meaning
from a relevant context.

One advantage of the situational approach is that motivation will be heightened

since it is "learner-rather than subject-centered" (Wilkins, 1976:16). However, a
situational syllabus will be limited for students whose needs were not
encompassed by the situations in the syllabus. This dissatisfaction led W lk in s to
describe notional and communicative categories which had a significant impact
on syllabus design.

The Notional/Functional Approach

Wilkins' criticism of structural and situational approaches lies in the fact that they
answer only the 'how' or 'when' and 'where' of language (Brumfit and Johnson,
1979:84). Instead, he enquires "what it is they communicate through language"
(op.cit.:18). Thus, the starting point for a syllabus js the communicative purpose
and conceptual meaning of language, i.e. notions and functions, as opposed to
grammatical items and situational elements which remain but are relegated to a
subsidiary role.

In order to establish objectives, the needs of the learners will have to be analyzed
by the various types of communication in which the learner has to confront
Consequently, needs analysis has an association with notional-functional
syllabuses. Although needs analysis implies a focus on the learner, critics of this
approach suggest that a new list has replaced the old one. W here once
structural/situational items were used, a new list consisting of notions and
functions has become the main focus in a syllabus. White (1988:77) claims that
"language functions do not usually occur in isolation" and there are also
difficulties in selecting and grading function and form. Clearly, the task of deciding
whether a given function (e.g. persuading) is easier or more difficult than another
(e.g. approving) makes the task harder to approach.

9
The above approaches belong to the product-oriented category of syl'abuses
An alternative path to curriculum design would be to adopt process-oriented
principles, which assume that language can be learnt expenentially as opposed
to the step-by-step procedure of the synthetic approach.

b. Process-Oriented Syllabuses

Process-Oriented Syllabuses, or the analytical approach, developed as a result of

a sense of failure in product-oriented courses to enhance communicative language
skills. It is a process rather than a product. That is, focus is not on what the student
will have accomplished on completion of the program, but on the specification of
learning tasks and activities that s/he will undertake during the course

Procedural/Task-Based Approaches

Prabhu's (1979) 'Bangalore Project' is a classic example of a procedural syllabus.

Here, the question concerning 'what' becomes subordinate to the question
concerning 'how'. The focus shifts from the linguistic elem ent to the pedagogical,
with an emphasis on learning or learner. Within such a fram ework the selection,
ordering and grading of content is no longer wholly significant for the syllabus
designer.

Arranging the program around tasks such as information-and opinion-gap

activities, it was hoped that the learner would perceive the language
subconsciously whilst consciously concentrating on solving the meaning behind
the tasks. There appears to be an indistinct boundary between this approach and
that of language teaching methodology, and evaluating the merits of the former
remain complicated.

A task-based approach assumes that speaking a language is a skill best

perfected through practice and interaction, and uses tasks and activities to
encourage learners to use the language communicatively in order to achieve a
purpose. Tasks must be relevant to the real world language needs of the student.
That is, the underlying learning theory of task based and communicative
language teaching seems to suggest that activities in which language is
employed to complete meaningful tasks and enhances learning.

10
Learner-Led Syllabuses

The notion of basing an approach on how learners learn was proposed by Breen
and Candlin (1984). Here the emphasis lays with the learner, who it is hoped will
be involved in the implementation of the syllabus design as far as that is
practically possible. By being fully aware of the course they are studying it is
believed that their interest and motivation will increase, coupled with the positive
effect of nurturing the skills required to learn.

However, as suggested earlier, a predetermined syllabus provides support and

guidance for the teacher and should not be so easily dismissed. Critics have
suggested that a learner-led syllabus seems radical and utopian in that it will be
difficult to track as the direction of the syllabus will be largely the responsibility of
the learners. Moreover, without the mainstay of a course book, a lack of aims
may come about. This leads to the final syllabus design to be examined; the
proportional approach as propounded by Yalden (1987).

The Proportional Approach

The proportional syllabus basically attempts to develop an "overall competence"

(op.cit.:97). It consists of a number of elements with theme playing a linking role
through the units. This theme is designated by the learners. It is expected initially
that form will be of central value, but later, the focus will veer towards
interactional components; the syllabus is designed to be dynamic, not static, with
ample opportunity for feedback and flexibility (ibid: 100).

The shift from form to interaction can occur at any time and is not limited to a
particular stratum of learner ability. As Yalden (ibid:87) observes, it is important
for a syllabus to indicate explicitly what will be taught, "not what will be learned".

This practical approach with its focus on flexibility and spiral method of language
sequencing leading to the recycling of language, seems relevant for learners who
lack exposure to the target language beyond the classroom. But how can an EFL
teacher pinpoint the salient features of the approaches discussed above?

3. Syllabus Design and Evaluation

Initially, several questions must be posed. Do you want a product or process

oriented syllabus? Will the course be teacher or learner led? W hat are the goals
of the program and the needs of your students? This leads to an examination of

11
the degree to which the various elements will be integrated, which is of great
significance to White (1988:92) who comments:
A complete syllabus specification will include all five aspects:
structure, function, situation, topic, and skills. The difference between
syllabuses will lie in the priority given to each of these aspects.

Eclecticism is a common feature of the majority of course books under the

communicative banner currently on offer. Attempts to combine the various aspects
of language have also been addressed by Hutchinson and Waters who state:

Any teaching material must, in reality, operate several syllabuses at

the same time. One of them will probably be used as the principal
organizing feature, but the others are still there (opcit.:89).

Conclusion

Clearly, there is a vast amount of material to dissem inate when considering

syllabus design. The numerous approaches touched on here all offer valuable
insights into creating a language program. The synthetic approaches of
structuralism, situational and functional-notional, all have objectives to be
attained, a content to be processed and learnt. The foundations of the product
syllabuses remain fundamentally similar, whereas the underlying assumptions
about language and language learning from the analytic approaches differ
greatly: process type syllabuses assert that learning a language is transient and
cannot be itemized; pedagogical procedure takes precedence over content. If our
assumption about the nature of linguistics and language learning is one of
"language as communication" (Richards and Rodgers, 1986:69), then a syllabus
based around activities and tasks which promote real and meaningful
communication will seem advantageous. Further points to consider when critically
reviewing a syllabus are the objectives of the course as well as the needs of the
learners. Ultimately, and perhaps ideally, a hybrid syllabus will result purely due
to pragmatic reasons. As Hutchinson and W aters (1987:51) suggest.

It is wise to take an eclectic approach, taking w hat is useful from

each theory and trusting also in the evidence of your own
experience as a teacher.
Thus, to what extent has an integration of the various approaches taken place?
Does the syllabus specification include all aspects? If yes, how is priority

12
established? These questions must also form part of the criteria when designing
or assessing your own syllabus.

Bibliography
1. Breen, M. (1984). Process syllabus for the language classroom. In C. J.
Brumfit (Ed ), General English syllabus design ELT Document, 118, Oxford:
Pergamon Press, 47- 60
2. Brumfit, C.J. & Johnson, K. (eds) (1979). The Com municative Approach To
Language Teaching. Oxford: OUP.
3. Candlin, C. N. (1984). Syllabus design as a critical process, ELT
Documents, No. 118,
4. Gorsuch, G.J. (1999). "Monbusho Approved Textbooks in Japanese High
School EFL Classes : an aid or a hindrance to educational policy
innovations? ". The Language Teacher 23, (10), 5- 15.
5. Hutchinson, T. & Waters, A. (1987). English For Specific Purposes: A
Learning Centred Approach. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
London: Pergamon & The British Council, 29
6. Long, R.W. & Russell, G. (1999). "Student Attitudinal Change over an
Academic Year". The Language Teacher 23, (10), 17-27.
7. Mulvey, B. (1999). "A Myth of Influence: Japanese university entrance
exams and their effect on junior and senior high school reading pedagogy".
JALT Journal 21, (1), 125 - 142.
8. Nunan, D. (1988). Syllabus Design. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
9. Prabhu, N.S. (1987). Second Language Pedagogy. Oxford: OUP.
10. Richards, J.C. & Rodgers, T.S. (1986). Approaches A nd Methods In
Language Teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
11. White, R.V. (1988). The ELT Curriculum: Design, Innovation And
Management. Oxford: Blackwell.
12. Widdows, S. & Voiler, P. (1991). "PANSI: a survey of the ELT needs of
Japanese University students". Cross Currents 18, (2), 127-141. .
13. Widdowson, H.G. (1978). Teaching Language As Communication. Oxford:
OUP.
14. Wilkins, D A. (1976) .Notional Syllabuses. Oxford : Oxford University Press.
15. Yalden, J. (1987). Principles o f Course Design fo r Language Teaching.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
(Source: Rabbini, R. (2002). An introduction to syllabus design and
evaluation. The Internet TESL Journal, 8(5), 1-6.)

13
 C h a ra c te ristic s of syllabus

S3
Classroom Task 1: In pairs, look at the tentative syllabus for this
Methodology course at the beginning of this book. Identify the
characteristics of a syllabus and fill out this form:

USING THE SYLLABUS

m
Classroom Task 2: Look at the box below in which five teachers
describe how they use their syllabuses. Then discuss with your classmates
the following questions:

1. With whom do you identify most closely?

2. W hat is it about his or her statement that you feel in sympathy with?

3. W hat is it about other teachers' approaches that you reject?

4. If you found yourself in their situation, how would you use the syllabus7

14
Lan: The syllabus of the language school Mai: They made us read the national
where I teach is very comprehensive. It syllabus in my teacher-training course,
includes grammar, vocabulary, functions, but I haven't looked at it since. What for?
notions, situations; and gives references In my [state] school we use a class
to the material I can use, I use it all the coursebook, which lays out all the
time and could not do without it. When language I have to teach, as well as
preparing a teaching session or series of giving me texts, exercises and ideas for
sessions I go first to the syllabus and activities. I assume the Ministry would
decide what it will be appropriate to teach not have authorized the book if it didn't
next according to its programme, plan accord with the syllabus, so there's no
how to combine and schedule the reason for me to double-check if I am
components I have selected, and take the teaching the right things,
relevant books or materials from the
library as I need them.

Giang: There is a syllabus, but we don't Huong: I possess the syllabus, and
have to use it; nor is there any fixed look at it occasionally, but mostly I
coursebook, although the college work from the coursebook that my
recommends certain ones. Personally, I school chose for the class. It’s just
simply ignore the syllabus, since I prefer to that sometimes I get a bit fed up with
do my own thing based on the needs of my the coursebook and want to do
[adult] students I use materials and something different, so I then do my
activities from different sources (teacher’s own thing for a bit, using the syllabus
handbooks, textbooks, enrichment' at a retrospective checklist, to make
materials/literature) which are available in < sure I'm still reasonably on target with
my institution's library in order to create a the content. After all, I am being
rich and varied program that is flexible employed to teach a certain syllabus, I
enough to be altered and adapted to can't stray too far.
student needs during the course.
Long: The school where I work cannot afford to buy coursebooks for the children, so
I have the only book; I also have an officially authorized syllabus. Everything I teach I
take either from the syllabus or from the course book; I don't add material of my own;
for one thing, the authorities do not approve, for another, I am not confident enough
of n y knowledge of the language I am teaching - 1might make mistakes.
Source: Adapted from Ur, P. (1996). A cource in Language teaching Cambridge
University Press.

15
Com ments W rap-up

How teachers use the syllabus varies very widely between different countries and
institutions, and depends on

• Financial resources,

• Teaching approach,

• The teacher’s personality.

Questions for discussion:

1. How necessary is a course book?

2. W hat are the advantages and disadvantages of using a
course book?
3. W hat criteria are involved in choosing a course book?
4. How to use a course book effectively?

%
CHOOSING A COURSE BOOK
Choosing a coursebook is one of the most important selections which teachers
can make. As teachers, you cannot influence your working lives in many ways
such as: choosing learners, teaching hours, holiday periods, etc., but you can
choose your coursebook. You select a coursebook for your learners and for
yourself, so you first need to analyse your learners’ needs and your own needs.
What do you want from a coursebook?

Teachers want different things from their coursebooks and they use them in
different ways. Some teachers want a coursebook to provide everything They
want the teacher’s book to tell us what to do, in which sequence to do each
activity and how to assess the progress, which our learners have made

However, some teachers do not want the coursebook to control their lives They
want to be able to plan their own lessons or even their own syllabus They want
the coursebook to be a library of materials from which they can choose to be
used in the ways they choose

16
W hat can a good coursebook give the teacher?

A good coursebook can help a teacher by providing:

□ a clearly thought out programme which is appropriately sequenced and
structured to include progressive revision;
□ a wider range of materials than an individual teacher may be able to
collect;
□ security;
□ economy of preparation time;

□ a source of practical ideas;

□ work that the learners can do on their own sothat the teacher does not
need to be centre stage all the time;
□ a basis for homework if this is required;
□ a basis for discussion and comparison with other teachers.

What do your learners need from a coursebook?

Students want a coursebook to be colourful and interesting. They hope the

coursebook will contain exciting games and activities. They hope the cassettes
will contain exciting stories, amusing dialogues and entertaining songs and
rhymes.
But what do the students need? W e all know that children have short memories.
They find it difficult to retain ideas and language from one lesson to the next. So
the children need a coursebook which becomes an accessible and
understandable record of their work.
A good coursebook gives the children:
• a sense of progress, progression and purpose;
• a sense of security;
• scope for independent and autonomous learning;
• a reference for checking and revising.

17
 flb
EVALUATING A COURSEBOOK

Classroom Task 1: Read the following criteria and m atch them with
the explanations.
a. Are there additional materials such as workbooks,
1. method cassettes, teachers’ notes and separate teacher's
2. appearance book? How helpful are these extras matenals?
3. teacher- b. Does the book cover all the skills you want to teach
friendly (e.g. listening, speaking, reading, writing) in a way you
4. extras want to teach them?
5. realistic c. Does the book's method suit your own teaching method
6. interesting and overall aim?
7. recycling d. How authentic is the communication in the book? Does
8. level the language seem true-to-life and current?

9. skills e. Is the book (including its cover, design, illustrations,

10. guidance colour, and feel) appealing and attractive?,

11. autonomy f. Are language items recycled and reviewed enough?

12. time table fit g. Is the book easy for the teacher to use? Is it well-
organized? Is there an index? Does it have an answer
13. sufficient
practice key? Does it help you save preparation time?
________________ h. Is the book likely to be interesting for your learners?
How do the topics relate to their lives? Just as important, is it interesting to you?
i. Is the level suitable for the class you are teaching?
j. Can the learner use the coursebook to learn new materials, review and
monitor progress with some degree of autonomy?
k. Can the book provide useful guidance and support for teachers who are
inexperienced or occasionally unsure of their knowledge of the language?
I. Is there a range of activities which provide enough practice for students?
m. Do the number of lessons in the book fit the number of hours available in the
school year?
(Source: Adapted from Ur, P (1996). A Course in Language Teaching Cambridge
Cambridge University Press p. 184 and Tanner, R & Green, C (1998). Tasks for Teacher
Education Harlow: Longman, p. 121)

18
 Classroom Task 2: Choose a Tieng Anh textbook 10, 11, or 12 that you
are most familiar with. Discuss in groups and fill in the table of textbook
assessment below.

Your assessment •

Criteria Not Reasons

Appropriate
appropriate

Method

Appearance

Teacher-friendly guidance

Extras

Realistic

Interesting

Recycling

Level

Skills

Autonomy

Timetable-fit
.. . ,
Sufficient practice

19
^ USING A N D A D A PTIN G THE COURSEBOOK
When selecting a coursebook you always need to make a comprom se There
will be things which you don’t like about any coursebook. Look at the following
questions:
1. How important are those things?

2. Can you create materials to substitute those aspects?

3. Has the coursebook got something missing?

4. Can you find or create materials to fill that gap?

Remember that you work in partnership with your coursebook. Never expect the
coursebook to do everything for you. You will always need to personalize your
teaching with your own personality.

J Classroom Task 3: Read the table and then answ er the questions
below it.

You can’t always get what you w ant

Changes of some sort are inevitable if you want a book to fit your aims, your
setting, and most of all your learners. There are various actions you can take to
tailor a selected textbook to fit your teaching situation.
CHANGE REMOVE
Make small changes to the Remove a textbook activity from the
existing materials in the textbook. lesson.
REPLACE ADD
Replace one activity with another Add an extra activity in an area not
related one which is more covered sufficiently in the textbook.
suitable.

(Source: adapted from Tanner. R & Green. C (1998). Tasks for Teacher Education
Harlow: Longman, p. 122)

20
 1. Which, if any, of the four types of actions (change, remove, add, replace)
do you already have experience of?
2. Which requires the most / least work for the teacher? Why?

3. W hich ones are the hardest for inexperienced teachers to do?

4. Which ones are the hardest for all teachers?

Classroom Task 4: Examine Tieng Anh 11, Language Focus, and

answer these questions:

a) W hat are the language points being taught?

b) How communicative are the exercises?

c) W hat adaptations can be made to make the exercises more

communicative?

Classroom Task 5: In 5 groups, choose one Reading activity in Tieng

Anh 10, 11 or 12. Evaluate the activity by answering these questions:

a) W hat do you think about the comprehension exercises?

b) How meaningful/realistic are the questions?

c) How interesting is the exercise?

d) W hat adaptations can be made to improve the activity?

e) Is there a pre -, while, - post - reading stage?

21
 Classroom Management
Aims:
• To provide you with some techniques, skills and practice of successful
classroom management;
• To help you deal with discipline problems and unplanned lessons.
• To introduce you to some types of classroom interactions to fit in your
teaching context.

Questions for discussion

1.What is classroom m anagem ent7

' ^ ^ 2. What does good classroom m anagem ent involve7
f 3. W hat influences teachers’ decisions7
4. How to create a positive classroom clim ate7
I * w
5. What are the techniques for giving and checKing
Id a instructions?

^ CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT
The term “classroom management' is defined as "the ways in which student
behavior, movement and interaction during a lesson are organized ana controlled
by the teacher to enable teaching to take place most effectively” (Richards ' 990)
Classroom management includes classroom interaction, various w o r k - fc ^ s and
activities such as organizations and giving instructions, discipline problems
Classroom management includes abundant of factors ranging from - c .v you
physically arrange the classroom' to ' teaching style to "classroom ene'~ .

22
^ CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT INVOLVES
1. The classroom itself

• Sight, sound and comfort;

• Seating arrangement: make interaction among students most feasible;

• Blackboard use: neat and orderly;

• Equipment: mind the practicality surrounding the use of equipment;

2. YOU and The MESSAGE you send through

• Your voice: loud and clear enough;

• Your body language: non-verbal communication: your image, body

posture, face, dress, eye contact, move around.

3. Unplanned teaching: midstream lesson changes

Decide about what to do when:

• Your students digress and throw off the plan for the day;
• You digress and throw off your plan for the day;
• An unexpected but pertinent question comes up;

• Some technically prevents you from doing an activity (machine break

downs, handout is illegible);
• A student is disruptive in class;
• You are asked a question you don’t know the answer to (e.g. a
grammatical point);

• There isn’t enough time at the end of a class period to finish the activity
that has already started;
What to do

• Poise a calm and confident manner with control of your feeling or

behavior;

• Keep the respect of your students and your own self confidence by
staying calm:

23
 • Assessing the situation quickly;

• Making midstream change in your plan;

• Allow the lesson to move on

4. Teaching under adverse circumstances

TEACHING LARGE CLASSES

• Make students feel important;

• Get students do as much interactive work as possible;

• Optimize the use of pair work and group work;

• Do more than the usual number of listening comprehension activity using
tapes, videos, yourself;
• Use peer editing, feedback and evaluation in written work;

• Give a range of extra-class work from minimum to challenging task;

° Do not collect written work from all students at the same time;

• Set up small learning centers for individualized work;

• Organize informal conversation groups and study groups.

CHALLENGES OF LARGE CLASSES

Problems
• Ability varies widely;

• Individual teacher-student attention is minimized;

• Teacher’s feedback on students’ written work is limited;
• Opportunities to speak are lessened;

• Students' motivation may be poor.

S olutions
• Keeping everyone’s attention;
• Checking individual progress:
• Helping weaker students;

• Maintaining attendance and continuity:

24
 • Marking large quantity of written work;
• Setting up groupwork and pairwork;
• Making students feel important.

CHALLENGES OF CLASSES WITH MIXED ABILITIES

• Different language levels;

• Different language learning skills;
• Different learning speeds;
• Different interests;
• Different levels of confidence;
• A wide range of ages.
All classes are mixed ability, but the challenges are bigger in a large class.

DEALING WITH WEAK, AVERAGE AND STRONGER STUDENTS

1. Plan suitable learning activities where
- The weaker students can complete only one part (finish part of the work
easily and correctly, than to complete all the work in a hurry or incorrectly);
- The average students can finish the whole learning activity;
- The stronger students can complete all the planned learning activity:
• give them some extra questions or examples to do;
• encourage them to work by themselves (self-access learning) to
ensure that they are not wasting their learning time.
2. Use the individual differences and use the range of skills, abilities and
personalities in the class to everyone's advantage. Ask students to work
in groups, according to their different abilities.
3. Distribute your time appropriately
- To help the slower, weaker or less confident students you need to give
them more time to help them understand and be successful:
- The average and fast or strong students will need less of your time so
you can spend most time with students who need you most

25
^ CREATING A POSSITIVE CLIMATE
The role you play and the styles that you develop will merge to give you some
tools for creating a classroom climate that is Positive, Stimulating. E rergizing

1. Establish a rapport

• Showing interest in each student as a person;

• Giving feedback on each person’s progress;

• Openly soliciting students’ ideas and feelings;

• Valuing and respecting what students think and say;

• Laughing with them and not at them;

• Working with them as a team and not against them;

• Developing a genuine sense of vicarious joy when they learn something

or otherwise succeed.

2 Praise and Criticism

Effective Praise
• Show genuine pleasure and concern;

• Show verba! and nonverbal variety;

• Specifies the particulars of an accomplishment, so students know exactly
what was performed well:
• Is offered in recognition of noteworthy effort on difficult tasks;

• Attributes success to efforts, implying that similar success can be

expected in the future:

• Foster intrinsic motivation to continue to pursue goals;

• Is delivered without disrupting the communicative flow of ongoing

interaction

Ineffective Praise

• Is impersonal, mechanic and “robotic”;

• Is restricted to global comments, so students are not sure what was

Performed well:

• Is offered equally strongly for easy and difficult task

 • Attributes success to ability, luck, or other external efforts;
• Fosters extrinsic motivation to perform only to receive more praise;
• Disrupts the communicative flow of ongoing interaction.

3. Energy
• A force that is unleashed in the classroom and perceivable through a sixth
sense;
• The electricity of many minds caught up in a circuit of thinking and talking
and writing;
• An aura of creativity sparked by the interactions of students;
• Students and teachers take energy with them when they leave the
classroom and bring it back the next day.
Energy is unleashed through a quiet, reserved but focused teacher who brings in
to the classroom:

Q.1. Write two or m ore options for each o f the following situations.
a) A student says, “I don't want to do this exercise”.
b) You expected an activity to take five minutes. It has taken twenty so far
and the students still seem to be very involved. There is something else
you would like to do before the lesson ends in ten minutes.
c) The next activity involves students working in groups of five. At the
moment, all the desks (which take five people) are facing forward in rows.
They are movable, but it takes a few minutes of chaos to do it.

27
 d) The students are working in groups of three. Two groups have finished
the task you set them and are now sitting looking bored. The other groups
still seem to have a long way to go before they finish.
Q.2. What influences and informs your decisions between different options?
At every point in the lesson the teacher has options: to say one thing or to say
something different, to stop an activity or to let it continue for a few more minutes,
to take three minutes to deal with a difficult question or to move on with what you
had previously planned. These options continue throughout the lesson; at every
step your decision will take you forward on your particular route. Classroom
management also involves teachers’ decisions and actions. As a teacher, you
have to decide which options or actions to take/do in the classroom.

/
QQ
Classroom Task 2: W hat teacher beliefs or attitudes m ight underlie
the following classroom actions?
a) The teacher includes many student to student communication activities in
her lesson.

b) The teacher spends most of the class time explaining grammatical rules and
having the students do controlled drilling.

c) The teacher uses tapes recordings of native speaker conversations.

d) The teacher reads something to the students and then asks them to do
some follow-up comprehension activities.

e) In every lesson, the teacher includes at least one game that involves
students moving around the classroom.

e g
Classroom Task 3: Read this description of a classroom situation and
consider any alternative options available to the teacher at points (a) and (b):

The teacher comes into the classroom at the start of the lesson. T h e 'e are 45
adolescent students in the room. About half of them seem very r . z . ea in a
loud discussion (in Vietnam ese - their m other tongue, not in EngnS'- aoout a
fashion model.

28
a) The teacher shouts out O K OK, let’s start the lesson; you can continue that later.
The room quietens down a bit; some people continue whispering animatedly to
each other. Now today we are going to look at ways o f talking about the future,
continues the teacher. One student asks, but this subject is very interesting,
could we continue the conversation if we use English?

b) The teacher says, I am sorry, but we have to get through unit 9 o f the book today.
Perhaps we can have a discussion next week. Open your book at page 48.

(Source: Scrivener, J. (2005). Learning Teaching: a guidebook for English language

teachers. Macmillan Publishers Ltd)

G IV IN G A N D C H E C K IN G IN S T R U C T IO N S

Classroom Task 4: Match the names of the techniques and their

definitions.

DEFINITIONS TECHNIQUES
a. The teacher doesn't talk about what the students 1. "Step-by-step" or
must do: instead s/he shows them what to do by the "feed-in"
giving a demonstration. approach
b. The teacher gives the students one instruction at a
time not a list of instructions all together. 2. Demonstrate it,
c. It's NOT important which language the teacher uses - "model" it or "show-
Vietnamese or English - but the way the instructions don't-tell"
are delivered is the important thing.
d. The teacher follows 3 steps for each instruction. First, 3. Say - Do - Check
s/he says the instruction, then s/he gets the students
to do it, then s/he checks that they've done it
correctly before going on to the next instruction.
4. Student Recall
e. The teacher checks that the students understand
everything by saying, "Tell me what you have to do
5. Not What but How
in Vietnamese" or "Say it again in Vietnamese".

(Source: adapted from Lower Secondary School Methodology Course Book One)

29
 U n it 2: CLA SSR O O M D IC IP L IN E S

Questions for discussion

1. W hat is classroom discipline?

2. W hat factors contribute to a disciplined classroom ?

3. What causes discipline problems?

4. Howto deal with discipline problems?

5. Howto use mother tongue in a language class?

According to Penny Ur (1999), classroom discipline is a state in which both

teachers and learners accept and consistently observe a set of rules about
behavior in the classroom whose function is to facilitate smooth and efficient
teaching and learning a lesson. There are many reasons for problem behavior, it
can stem from students’ reactions to their teacher’s behavior, from other factors
inside the classroom, or from outside factors.

^ SOME BASIC REASONS FOR PROBLEM BEHAVIOUR

Family - sometimes indiscipline can be traced back to a difficult home situation,

Education - students’ expectations of learning experience can be colored either

by unpleasant memories or by what they were once allowed to get away with

Self-esteem - a lack of respect from teacher or peers can make students feel
frustrated and upset, in such a situation disruptive behavior is an attractive opton:
Boredom - when the chosen topic or activity is inappropriate students show
their lack of interest by behaving badly;

External factors - teachers notice significant behavior changes in o.fferent

weathers, sometimes a high wind tends to make their students go wild:

W hat the teacher does - students who feel their self-esteem to have been
damaged especially if we are unfair, it is more likely for the students to be badly
behaved in the future;

Classroom management - teachers cannot handle some situations of which

students are out of control;
Methodology — the ways teachers deliver the lessons are boring, plain,
incoherent and fragmented, that demotivate students to concentrate;

^ P R E V E N T IN G P O T E N T IA L DISCIPLINES
Careful planning of the lesson
Creating a code of conduct - through discussion, at the beginning of a course,
reach an agreement on some rules.
Consistency - do not ban students something one week and allow it the next
week because it can lead to the loss of respect.

Fairness - teachers should always try to avoid having favorites or picking on

particular individuals.
Attitude - do not have a negative attitude to learning.

Interpersonal relationships - if students respect you ad each other, they are

more likely to cooperate. Fostering a feeling of respect and of good will is an
important factor.
Methodology - do not give boring classes.

Instructions - problems sometimes arise due to students’ uncertainty about

what they are supposed to be doing.

Professionalism - students respect teachers who show that they know what
they are doing.

^ ACTING W H EN DISCIPLINES TAKE PLACE

Be firm - a relaxed and friendly atmosphere.

Immediate action - students often try to find the limits how you can tolerate
misbehavior, do not let things get out-of-hand, react to these problems
immediately.
Deal with it quietly

Do not take things personally

Do not use threats
Do not raise your voice

31
Reseating - an effective way of controlling a student who is behaving badly is to
make the student sit in a different place immediately, troublesom e students
should be separated

Change the activity

Talks after the class

The fact is that strategies are no substitute for good teaching Good teaching is a
preventative measure. It keeps students so involved and attracted that they do
not want to cause discipline problems.

Classroom Task: Read through the descriptions of 5 episodes Deal with

them in any order that you like and think about or discuss the following questions:

1. W hat caused the problem?

2. W hat could the teacher have done to prevent it from arising7
3. Once it had arisen, what would you advise the teacher to do?

EPISODES: DISCIPLINE PROBLEMS

Episode 1
The teacher of a mixed class of thirteen-year-olds is working through an English
lesson. He asks Terry to read out a passage. “Do we have to do this book? says
Terry. “It’s boring”. Some members of the class smile, one says: "I like if. others are
silent awaiting the teacher’s reaction.

(Adapted from: Wragg EC. (1981). Class management and control: a teaching skills
workbook. MacMillan, p 12)

Episode 2

The teacher is explaining a story. Many of the students are inattentive, and there is a
murmur of quiet talk between them. The teacher disregards the noise and speaks to
those who are listening Finally she reproaches, in a gentle and sympathetic way,
one student who is taking particularly noticeably. The student stops talking for a
minute or two, then carries on. This happens once or twice more, with drfferent
students. The teacher does not get angry, and continues to explain, trying (with only
partial success) to draw students attention through occasional questions
(Adapted from: Reinhom-lurie. S. (1992). Classroom discipline. Unpublished research
project, Oranim School of Education. Haifa.)
Episode 3
The teacher has prepared a worksheet and is explaining how to do it. He has
extended his explanation to the point where John, having lost interest in the
teacher’s words, begins to tap a ruler on his desk. At first the tapping is
occasional and not too noticeable, but John begins to tap more frequently and
more noisily building up to a final climax when he hits the tabs with a very loud
bang. The class gets startled by the noise, falls silent, and looks at both John and
the teacher to see what will happen.

(Adapted from: Wragg, E.C. (1981). Class management and control: a teaching skills
workbook. MacMillan, p. 18)
Episode 4
The teacher begins by giving out classroom books and collecting homework
books.
Teacher (to one of the boys): This book's very thin.
Boy1: Y eah,'tis, isn't it?
Teacher: Why?

Boy1: I've been drawing in it.

Boy 2: He's been using it for toilet paper, sir. (Uproar)
(Adapted from: Wragg, E.C Ed.). (1984). (Ed.), Classroom teaching skills, Croom Helm,
London, p. 32)
Episode 5
The students have been asked to interview each other for homework and write
reports. In this lesson they are asked to read aloud their reports. A few students
refuse to do so. The teacher tells these students to stand up before the class and
be interviewed by them. They stand up but do not relate to the questions
seriously, answer facetiously or in their mother tongue or not at all. The teacher
eventually sends them back to their places and goes on to the next planned
activity, a textbook exercise.

(.Adapted from: Reinhom-lurie,S.(1992). Classroom discipline. U npublish ed research

project, Oramm School of Education. Haifa)

3 - ENG LISH LOG Y3 33

Questions for discussion
1. W hat are classroom interaction patterns?

2. W hat are possible problems in classroom interactions7

3. W hat is the balance of Teacher Talking Time ( i l l ) and

Student Talking Time (STT)?

4. W hat are types of work arrangem ent7

5. How to use pair work and group work effectively in a

language class?

CLASSROOM INTERACTION PATTERNS

Classroom interaction is the patterns of verbal and non-verbal communication,
and the types of social relationships that occur within classrooms.

—TEACHER - STU D EN T
—ST U D E N T - TE A C H ER
—STU D EN T - STU D EN T

—CO U RSE BOOK - STU D EN T

•— C O U R S E B O O K - T E A C H E R

Classroom Task 1: Rearrange the following interaction patterns in

order of the most teacher - dominated to the m ost student - active pattern.
a. Group work

b. Open ended questioning

c. Students initiates, teacher answers

d. Choral response

e. Teacher talk

f. Close-ended teacher questioning

34
 g Individual work

h. Collaboration (pair work)

i. Self-access
j Full class interaction

Classroom Task 2: In the list o f statem ents below about classroom

interaction, tick any that you feel you can agree with:
1. a. It is more important for learners to listen and speak to the teacher than
for learners to listen and speak to each other.

b. Students should get most conversation practice in interacting with other

learners rather than with the teacher.
2. a. People usually learn best by listening to people explaining things.
b. People usually learn best by trying things out and finding out what
works.
3. a. The teacher should speak as much as possible in classroom time,
b. The teacher should speak as little as possible in classroom time.

POTENTIAL PROBLEMS IN CLASSROOM INTERACTIONS

Various types of classroom interactions may raise several potential problems that
can be named as following:
1. Teacher Talking Time (TTT)
2. Echo
3. Helpful sentence completion
4. Complicated and unclear instructions
5. Not checking understanding of instructions
6. Asking Do you understand?
7. Lack of confidence in self, learners, material, and activity/making it too easy.
8 Not really listening (hearing language problems but not the message).
9. Weak rapport - creation of a poor working environment
10. Using L1 in the classroom

(Source: Scrivener. J. (2005). Learning Teaching: a guidebook for English language

teachers. Macmillan Publishers Ltd)

35
^ TEACHER TALKING TIME A N D STUDENT TALKING TIME

Classroom Task 3: Read about what these teachers talk about the
balance o f Teacher Talking Time and Student Talking Time and give your
own statements.

Samir Ibrahim, Syria

/ always try to break the balance / think / have because / want the
classroom to be the students 'stage as long aspossible.

2. In my country, education is still traditional. I t is only

imitating and dictating from teacher to students although
th e re are computers, most people don't use them to learn
only as a video. Really students don't speak, only listen.
Rasha , Egypt

3. I have noticed that native - speaker - teachers let the

Ao Bfc> Cc Dd E« Ff
students speak more than non native - speaker - teachers of
English. In m y opinion this is because we tend to teach a
lot of grammar and make comparisons between the two
languages, while native speakers use the language
“naturally” and so they tend to be more conversational. -
Teresa Ferrero, Italy

4. It's true th a t students learn a lot from th e ir teachers, especially

when they are starting out. The teacher must be an example ,
therefore listening as well as speaking is the art o f the fine
conversation. Strike a balance. - Rebecca 5. Hudson , UK

5. I think I have a good balance o f teacher talking time in the

sense that I try to reduce or expand my talk according to students' ) < ^ / _
rapport. What I mean is that I adapt m y talking time to the group's
needs and activities involved - Maria Magdalena Rua, Argentina

36
One of the solutions to achieve successful lessons is that teachers retain a
balance between TTT and STT. What can teachers do about that?

• Don’t abuse even though teacher speaking is a good source of language

• Teachers should learn to talk less and create more chances for students to
practice their speaking
• Teachers should consider the characteristics of the lessons to decide a
flexible amount of time talking

TYPES OF W ORK ARRANGEM ENT

Classroom Task 4: Walk around the class and FIND som e on e w ho :

1. thinks PW/GW makes the classroom too noisy

2. thinks PW/GW is not possible with a mixed ability class

3. thinks PW/GW encourages students to make mistakes

4. thinks the teacher has less control over what students are
doing in PW/GW

5. thinks PW/GW is not possible with a large class |

6. thinks PW/GW takes a lot of time

7. thinks PW/GW can't make students speak English in class

8. thinks Ss can’t do PW/GW

Note: PW = pairwork ; G W = groupwork

37
e g
Classroom Task 5: Read the following text and com plete the
sum m ary table below for yo u r text:

NO W ork arrangements Diagram

1. Pairwork

Pairwork is a non-confrontational way of getting all the students in a class to

participate: everyone must speak, contribute and interact with a partner, but they
don't have to do it in front of the whole class. You follow the principle of learning
by doing, there is a direct correlation between the level of e student's participation
and the amount of learning taking place: high learner participation results in
effective learning for the majority of the class. At the same time, pairwork cuts
teacher-talking time down and provides a much more co-operative, learner-
centred working environment.

As a work arrangement, pairwork is based on an information gap between

partners. This means partner has one set of information and the other partner
has a different, but complementary, set of information. By getting together,
discussing what they have got, the pairwork task enables students to fit pieces of
knowledge together into a richer, or more complete picture W ithout an
information gap and the need to 'co-operate', the pairs do not have any real
reasons to talk to each other.

For example, Student A has a picture. Student B has the same picture with some
features missing. In pairs, they have to find out the missing features.

38
2. Groupwork
Groupwork has the same co-operative learning advantages as Pairwork in that:
❖ it is non-confrontational (no-one has to get up and speak in front of the whole
class)
❖ it elicits a high degree of student participation (the teacher cannot dominate
the talking time, the class is learner centred and de-centralised)

❖ it forges a good group dynamic (as long as the group is given challenging
tasks with productive roles for each member).

In addition, groupwork is an excellent way of dealing with mixed ability levels

which divide the class and leave only a few strong students as 'contributors' in a
teacher - whole class (plenary) set up. By putting learners into groups, the trainer
can begin to deal with encouraging weaker students to perform well.

Groupwork tasks are usually divided into share and/or compare activities. In a
share activity, each group works on solving a different problem (but with a common
theme) and then shares their problems and solution with other groups. In a
compare activity, all groups work on solving the same problem then compare the
different solutions they have come up with.

An example of groupwork would be to get the members of each group to

brainstorm a list of things they would like to know about a given topic in the
course. Then, as a whole class they pool their crossing off duplication and
coming up with a final list of points they all want to know about.

3. Cross Grouping (Jigsaw)

Cross grouping is a co-operative work arrangement where students are put into a
first group and regrouped into a second group. In the first group, the class is split
into, say, 6 groups of 5 members each. The six groups all work on different
aspects of the same topic - no two groups are working on the same thing.
Everyone in the group takes notes. Then the teacher regroups the students into
groups of 6: one member from each of the original 6 groups becomes an
'ambassador' for his/her group in the new group.

First Group: 11111 22222 33333 44444 55555

Second Group: 12345 12345 12345 12345 12345

39
The advantage of this work arrangement is that the reporting back from the first
group happens in another group, not as a plenary report-back s e s s s c n which is
often boring and repetitive. In this way, certain 'strong' students are not able to
dominate the forum; everyone must speak because everyone has a different
piece of the jigsaw puzzle to contribute; there are no 'passengers' I" addition, a
lot more information can be covered; each of the first groups becom e expert' in
one piece of information and they then relay their new knowledge to the members
of their second group. There are also confidence building aspects to this co­
operative work arrangement: each member of the second group has something
unique to contribute to the group - they have a real role to play.
(Source: adapted from Lower Secondary School Methodology Course Book One)

Classroom Task 6: Here is some m aterial from a student coursebook.

In using it as the basis for a class activity, which o f the follow ing work
arrangements would __________
be p ossible?
a) If you were the prime minister or
stude; ts think and
president of your country, what would
then write answers you do? Look at the ideas below.
on their own
students prepare a
Build better hospital/schools
short monologue
Pay teachers/politicians more
statement of their
Open more universities/cinemas
own views which
Make the weekend four days
they present to the long/the working day shorter
whole class iMake the army bigger/smaller
a whole class Build more roads/shopping malls
discussion of ideas Clean up cites/rivers
and answers Give more money to old
people/the unemployed
pairwork discussion
small-group work
students walk around and mingle with other students
whiten homework
(Source: Scrivener, J. (2005). Learning Teaching. Macmillan Publishers Ltd)

40
^ G R O U P IN G S T U D E N T S
When deciding how to group students, we need to consider a number of different
factors:
1. The teaching aim: It is much easier to choose how to group students when
we have decided on the aim of the lesson and the aim of each activity.

2. The learning styles of the students For example, some students prefer to
work as individuals, others in groups. Students also have different personalities
and find it easier to work with some partners or groups than with others.

3. The ability and level of the students. Most classes are 'mixed ability', i.e. they
include students of different abilities. We can group students for some activities so
that students of the same ability work together, and for other activities so that
students of different abilities work together.

4. The personalities of our students. Most of the time students will work well
together, but sometimes there are students who do not work together
positively, e.g. when one student is shy and another is quite dominant (i.e.
always talking and stopping others from taking part). W e need to think
carefully about how to group these students.
5. The class size. With a class of between 20 and 30 students, we can manage
pair and group work quite easily. With classes of more than 30 students, pair
and group work are possible, but need more careful planning.
6. The previous experience of the students When students are not used to
pair and group work we need to plan how to introduce this way of working.
We can start by doing short pairwork activities and gradually introduce longer
and more varied groupings.
7. The activities that we have chosen. For example, a discussion activity can be
done in groups, a role-play can be done in pairs. But we can also choose to do
these activities differently, depending on the needs of the group and the aims of
the lesson. So, for example, a discussion activity can be done in pairs or as a
whole class, and a role- play can be done in groups.

8. The balance of interaction patterns in a lesson A lesson where learners

are doing pairwork for the whole lesson will probably not be successful:
learners will become bored and there might be discipline problems A lesson

41
 where learners are doing individual work for the whole lesson v*ll probably
not be successful either: learners will lose concentration and becom e bored
Equally, a lesson which is wholly teacher - led is unlikely to be successful:
learners need a balance of different interaction patterns within one lesson.

9. The group dynamics of the class, i.e. the relationships between the
students and how students will behave towards each other.

^ GROUP W ORK O R G A N IZA TIO N

1. Presentation

a) Introduce the technique

b) Justify the use of small groups for the technique
c) Model the technique
d) Give explicit detailed instructions
e) Divide the class into groups (by chance, streaming or friendship)
f) Check for clarification
g) Set the task in motion
h) Give a time limit

2. Process: Monitoring the task

a) Don't sit at your desk and do something else

b) Don't leave the room and take a break
c) Don't spend an undue amount of time with one group at the expense of
others.
d) Don't correct students' errors unless asked to do so
e) Don't assume a dominating or disruptive role while monitoring groups

3. Ending

a) Draw the activity to a close at a certain point

b) Finish the activity while the students are still enjoying it and interested or
only just beginning to flag

4. Feedback

a) Get feedback.

b) Give students a chance to demonstrate their work.

c) Check student work, give correction if necessary,

42
 d) Come to conclusions of the topic,
e) Add constructive comment and feedback to enhance students motivation.
(Adapted from Ur, P. (1996). A course in language teaching. Cambridge University Press p. 234)

Classroom Task 7: Teacher self-evaluation

1. Observation: Reflect on the interaction patterns in your last few classes. Use the
circle below to create a pie chart indicating the approximate percentage of your time
your students spent.
a. Listening to you
b. Working individually
c. Working with a partner
d. Working in a group
e. Participating in a whole class activity

An example of classroom interactions

p P artirin atin o

c. W o r k in g
w it h a p a rtn e r
( 10%)

2. Analysis
a) Did you vary the pattern of interaction?
b) How would you describe your role in the class and the role of the
students?
c) W hat was the balance between teacher talk and student talk'?
d) Was there any of the teacher talk that could havebeen student talk or
could the students access the information in any other way7
(Source: adapted from Lower Secondary School Methodology Course Book One. p. 123)

43
 Lesson Planning
Aims:
• To raise awareness o f different teachers' attitudes towards lesson and
lesson planning;
• To help you solve some o f the problems you have w ith lesson planning;
• To give you some guidelines fo r w riting effective lesson plans;
• To help you provide more variety and flexibility in lessons and lesson
planning;
• To provide you with criteria to evaluate the effectiveness o f a lesson;
• To introduce you to the application o f Bloom taxonom y in lesson planning.

Questions for discussion

1. W hat is a lesson plan?

2. Why do we need lesson planning?

3. W hat are the components of a lesson plan?

4. W hat are your problems in writing a lesson plan7

5. W hat are the steps of writing a lesson plan7

^ M ETAPHOR OF A LESSON
e s
Classroom task 1: Exploring metaphors for a lesson

A. Choosing a metaphor: Decide which of the items below best express the
essence of a lesson, and say Why?

44
A lesson can be generally compared to:

■ a variety show
■ a wedding
■ a menu
■ a conversation
■ a football game
■ a symphony
■ climbing a mountain
■ eating a meal
■ doing the shopping
■ consulting doctor
Which metaphors emphasize:
■ teacher-centered approach?
■ learner-centeredness?
■ the 'steps' of the lesson?
■ problem solving?
■ competition?
■ natural communication?
(Source: Adapted from Ur,P (1996). A Course in Language Teaching Cambridge
Cambridge University Press, p. 213).

B. Comparing choices
Get together in pairs or threes and share your selections and reasons for
making them.

^ PROBLEMS INVOLVED IN LESSON PLA N N IN G

e s
Classroom Task 2:

A. L ist the problem s you have in w ritin g lesson plans:

- preparation time
- what to include and what to leave out
- timing for each activity

45
 - anticipating problems

- covering the textbook

B. Write your group's list o f problems in order of importance in the table below
and solutions to the problems in the right-hand column of the table below.

Problems Your suggested solutions

(Source: adapted from Lower Secondary School Methodology Course Book One. p. 123)

^ W H A T SHOULD BE IN A LESSON PLAN?

Classroom Task 3: Discuss the following questions:

1. Should lesson plans follow a particular format?

2. Should all lesson plans have the same components?
3. W hat components should be included in a lesson plan?
Write your list o f components in the table below.

Components

46
 1 WRITING A LESSON PLAN
1. Why use a lesson plan?
Every lesson needs preparation time. Even if manual and materials of the lesson
have already been prepared, preparation time is required to adapt materials and
structures to the context and the students. A lesson plan is particularly important
when the teacher has just started using the new Tieng Anh textbook with which
many teachers have complained that they have not. had enough time to go
through the sections in the new book. It will also help them better manage the
time allocated for each section or activity. More importantly, the lesson plan will
clearly show which is the focus part of the lesson - the ‘must know’ - to facilitate
any adjustment of time or cutting down on parts of the lesson when there is a
possibility of running overtime.

More specifically, a lesson plan will answer such questions as:

❖ Where to go? (aims, objectives, goals);

❖ How to get there? (Methodology/ techniques/ work arrangement);

❖ W hat to use? (Materials; Teaching aids, resources);

❖ W hether or not you are on the right track? (Time, On Task); and

❖ How you know to have arrived? (Evaluation of teaching and learning)

A good lesson plan provides the teacher with a clear direction. It is the timetable
and roadmap of a lesson. The lesson plan indicates the content of the lesson and
helps to ensure a logical order of information, showing the learning techniques to
be used and the training aids needed and when they are required. Providing
information in a logical order helps the students to understand and retain
information.

The lesson plan allows the teacher a source of reference, highlighting where to
continue from if they deviate from the planned lesson (for example - if the teacher
needs to spend extra time on a particular point), and indicating the times that
each section of the lesson should take

Upon deciding on class activities and work arrangement, the teacher must think
to include the CM and VAK into the lesson plan.

47
2. W hat should a lesson plan include?

The following Information would be recorded in the lesson plan.

♦> Class details/ Students’ background;

❖ Lesson aims/ learning objectives and/ or skills that students are expected
to achieve by the end of lesson.

❖ Materials (course book/ other materials (references if taken from other

sources);
❖ Teaching M ethods/Techniques;

❖ Teaching aids;
❖ Stages/ Activities by teachers’ & students’;teaching procedures;
❖ W ork arrangement/ classroom interaction patterns (pair work/group
work/individual work/whole class w ork...);

❖ Timing of the activities;

❖ Anticipated problems;

❖ Reserved activities;
❖ Homework.

3. The seven steps of writing a lesson plan

Step 1: Check p rio r knowledge

If possible, the teacher should find out as much as possible so as to better arrange
the teaching and learning activities applicable to them and decide on the level of
difficulty of the knowledge that the students are supposed to obtain. Such baseline
information is considered important often when the teacher starts a new course/
class. If they have worked with the class already, this step might be skipped
Step 2: Define the teaching objectives

The methods and content of the training should be chosen only a^ter full
consideration of the aims and objectives of the training The lesson oojectives
should address:

(a) Learning - Define what the students will learn by end of course

e.g. “By the end of lesson, you will be able to produce examples c f oresent
simple tense."

48
(b) Action — Identify how the students can apply their learning in their day-to-day
communication.
e.g. “By the end of today’s lesson, you will be able to write/ or describe your
daily routines.”
Notes: Writing the objectives of the lesson involve the use of Bloom Taxonomy

Step 3: Prioritise the information

Grade the lesson into:

(a) Essential information - what the students must know.

(b) Related information - what they should know.

(c) Complementary information - what they could know.

When the information is arranged in this way the teacher can ensure the
information that is essential (must know) is covered, understood and
remembered. The teacher can then include the remainder of the information
(should know and could know) depending how relevant it is to the students, their
level of knowledge and the time available.
It is better to deliver the most important information, presented in a form that is
easily understood and remembered, than to cover as much information as
possible in the time. Including too much detail confuses the essential information
with other less relevant material.
Teachers should ask themselves, based on their knowledge of the students’ prior
experience, “what is the best way to learn this topic?” rather than the best way to
teach it.

Step 4: Arrange the order o f content

The logical order of a lesson is to move from that which is known to that which is
unknown. This is achieved by identifying the baseline knowledge of the students
and linking that to new information presented in small, easily understood blocks
When the unknown becomes known (the students have learnt the information),
move on to the next unknown.

Step 5 • Selecting the resources

The basic resources, such as the training room, audio-visual aids and handouts,
should be selected according to the course content, the students and availability.

4- ENG LISH. LOGY3 49

When you have decided on the resources to be used test ửie^n pnor to the
lesson in order to check how they relate to the lesson and to fam ilianse yourself
with their use. It is good to have a back-up or reserve in case a proDiem arises
with the technology, e.g. If you plan to use PowerPoint bring a pnnt out of the
slides in case there is a problem with the computer.

Step 6: Selecting the teaching techniques

Decide which types of training techniques are most appropriate for demonstrating
each point. Methods which use participation are the most appropriate for students
of these age (rather than didactic learning where the teacher just lectures to the
students). Several recent studies support the use of participation for the
development of new skills and increasing knowledge.

Some examples of teaching techniques, which use participation are:

❖ Brainstorming - where everyone is asked to contribute their ideas and each

idea is written up on a board or paper without comment. Evaluation of the
responses is only done after all ideas have been written down. The benefit of
brainstorming is that a greater and more varied num ber of ideas come from
students working together than by any one person working on their own

❖ Question and answer - asking questions helps to check whether students

have understood the information. By encouraging students to ask questions, this
helps to clear up any misunderstandings and it can be helpful to involve the
group in responding to the question.
❖ Problem solving exercises - The purpose of these exercises is to promote
teamwork through the development of creative, supportive and innovative
approaches to problems.

❖ Case studies - where a specific example is reviewed for discussion and

comment. The case provided may be based on a real situation or may represent
a combination of real cases based on the teacher’s experience.

❖ Role plays - where students act in a representation of a situation. Role piays are
one of the most powerful techniques used with groups to assist with learning and can
help to change people's attitudes and learn how others think and feel. Role plays
need to be well planned and well facilitated. Setting up and running a role play
normally requires a series of steps to explain the activity and allocate roles conduct
the role play and then de-brief and transfer the experience to the real world

50
♦> Quizzes, Debates, Games
When selecting techniques, take into account the education level and experience
of the group so that the techniques are at an appropriate level. Learning new
skills is best done through practice while factual information can be provided
through lectures, quizzes and question and answer lessons.

Try to utilise a variety of techniques so that the students remain interested and
different learning styles of the students are catered to. Some may learn better
from visual stimuli while others prefer practical activities.

Using different audiovisual materials can also ensure that students maintain their
concentration. Teachers should check that all the teaching resources and activities
are well prepared in advance. Ensure that there are enough copies of each handout
and activity sheets for each student and that all the equipment is available. Teachers
will also need to check that any activities and case studies are appropriate and
relevant to the specific context. If not, these will need to be adapted.

Step 7: Estimating the segm ent times

Estimate how much time is needed for each part of the presentation. Check that
the total time does not exceed the time allowed for the lesson. If it does, then cut
down on the information that you have included from the “could know” material.
Don’t cut down on time for activities that you have designed for each activity
Estimated times can be revised after a practice run, and after each actual
presentation of the lesson.

(Source: ToT training package from WHO; ToT training package from CSC International)

Classroom Task 4: Use the following questions to work out a lesson

plan of yourself.

1. What kinds of things do I want my learners to learn?

2. W hat are my precise instructional objectives?
3. W hat is the most appropriate sequence of topics and tasks?
4. W hat are the most appropriate methods?
5. How should the teaching and learning be evaluated?

51
^ LAYOUT OF A LESSON PLAN
Model 1:

■ Name of teacher:.....................................

■ Date and T im e :.......................................

■ C la s s :........................................................

■ Subject:.....................................................

n A im s:..........................................................

■ O b je c tiv es :..............................................

Method

Duration Key Teaching Point Teacher Learner Teaching Aids

Activity Activity

Model 2:

(Source: adapted from Lower Secondary School Methodology Course Bock)

52
Questions for discussion
1. Why varying lessons?
2. How many different ways of varying language
learning activity within a lesson can you think of?
3. What are criteria for evaluating lesson effectiveness?
4. How to apply Bloom ’s taxonomy in lesson planning?

Classroom task 1: Read this text and answer the questions.

Lesson planning principles

The two overriding principles behind good lesson planning are variety and
flexibility. Variety means involving students in a number of activities of different
types and where possible introducing them to a wide selection of materials; it
means planning so that learning is interesting and never monotonous for the
students. Flexibility comes into play when dealing with the plan in the classroom;
for a number of reasons, what the teacher has planned may not be appropriate
for that class on that particular day. The flexible teacher will be able to change
the plan in such a situation. Flexibility is the characteristic we would expect from
the genuinely adaptable teacher.

We have already commented on the danger of routine and monotony and how
students may become demotivated if they are always faced with the same type of
class. This danger can only be avoided: the teacher believes that the learning
experience should be permanently stimulating and interesting. This is difficult to
achieve, but at least if the activities the students are faced with are varied there
will be the interest of doing different things. If new language is always introduced
in the same way, then the introduction stage of the class will become gradually
less and less challenging. If all activities always concentrate on extracting specific
information and never ask the students to do anything else, reading will become
less interesting. Our aim must be to provide a variety of different learning
activities which will help individual students to get to grips with the language. And
this means giving the students a purpose and telling them what the purpose is.

53
Students need to know why they are doing something and what it is supposed
they will achieve.

In any one class there will be a number of different personalities with different
ways of looking at the world and different learning styles. The activity that is
particularly appropriate for one student may not be ideal for another But teachers
who vary their teaching approach may be able to satisfy most of the students at
different times.
Good lesson planning is the art of mixing techniques, activities and materials in
such a way that an ideal balance is created for the class. If teachers have a large
variety of techniques and activities that they can use with students, they can then
apply themselves to the central question of lesson planning: What is it that my
students will feel, know, or be able to do at the end of the class (or classes) that
they did not feel or know or were not able to do at the beginning of the class (or
classes)?
(Source: Harmer, J. (1991). The Practice of English Language Teaching. Harlow: Longman
pp. 258-260 New Edition)

A. List 5 reasons why the teacher should provide variety.

1. ____________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3 . ___________________________________________________________________
4 . ___________________________________________________________________

5 . ___________________________________________________________________
B. List 3 ways the teacher can provide variety in his/her lessons.

1. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3 . ____________________________________________________________________
C. List 1 way the teacher can be flexible in his/her lessons.

1. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

D. Why is flexibility important?

54
Êâ Classroom Task 2: Discuss the following questions:
To what extent can a teacher in a Vietnamese high school

1 • provide "a wide selection of materials"?

2. provide “a wide selection of techniques and learning activities”?
3. be flexible about the lesson plan?
4. cater for the different learning needs of students in a mixed ability class?

Classroom task 3: Reflect on what makes a lesson effective in terms of

a) the le a rn e rs .............................................................................................................
b) the c la s s ..................................................................................................................
c) the m aterials............................................................................................................
d) the lesson.................................................................................................................
e) the la n g u a g e ...........................................................................................................
f) the te a c h e r..............................................................................................................

Classroom Task 4: Put the following suggested criteria in order of

priority: from m ost-to-least important.
a) The learners were active all the time.
b) The learners were attentive all the time.
c) The learners enjoyed the lesson, were motivated.
d) The class seemed to be learning the material well.
e) The lesson went according to plan.
f) The language was used communicatively throughout.
g) The learners were engaging with the foreign language throughout.

(Source: adapted from Ur, P. (1996). A course in Language Teaching Cambridge

University Press, p. 219)

55
 Classroom Task 5: Evaluate each other’s lesson plan using this sh eet
LESSON PLAN EVALUATION SHEET

Clarity, usefulness and understanding of the To some

Yes No
lesson plan extent
❖ The plan is easy to understand and follow.
❖ The objectives are clear and achievable and
follow.
❖ There is an awareness of student problems.
* The teacher understands and can explain the
plan.
❖ The lesson plan shows a good understanding
of the methodology.

Comments/Details
LESSON EFFECTIVENESS EVALUATION SHEET

To some
During the lesson-teaching and learning Yes No
extent
a) The class seemed to be learning the material
well.
b) The learners were engaging with the foreign
language throughout.
c) The learners were attentive all the time.
d) The learners enjoyed the lesson, were \
motivated.
e) The learners were active all the time.

f) The lesson went according to plan.

g) The language was used communicatively

throughout.

(Adapted from Ur, P. (1996). A course in Language Teaching. Cambridge University Press, p 220)

56
 Classroom Assessment and Testing
Aims:
• To make you aware o f current issues in learning assessment, forms o f
assessment, assessment fo r learning and assessment o f learning;
• To provide you with some principles and characteristics o f assessment
fo r learning.

Questions for discussion

1. How has the perception of assessment been changed?

2. W hat is the current trend in assessment?

3. W hat are the forms of assessments?

4. W hat might be the differences between assessment for

learning (AFL) and assessment of learning (AOL)?

5. W hat are the key characteristics of assessment for

learning?
 Classroom Task 1: Fill in the forms of assessment com m only used at
high schools.

FORMS OF ASSESSMENT AT HIGH SCHOOLS

Kinds of
Sequence Content Test type Tim e
test
Mini test 3 tests/sem ester Language Listening MCQ 15 minutes
skill/element gap fill, T/F

^ CHANGED PERCEPTIONS OF ASSESSMENT

Teachers, parents, and students frequently bristle when they hear the word
assessment. So negative are some of the reactions to state and federally
mandated testing that we have all but forgotten the positive im pact assessment
can have on teaching, learning and promoting language programs. Current
research suggests that when they view assessment as a learning tool, teachers
are more likely to integrate authentic assessments into their lessons and alter
how they organize learning experiences (Williams, 2006). The negative attitude
toward testing may be a result of testing used by governm ent as an instrument
for accountability and not as a learning tool.

Fifteen years ago, states such as Kentucky and Vermont were on a different course
with statewide assessments taking the form of portfolios in writing and mathematics
and performance events in science, math, social studies and the arts Early results
showed teachers spent more time training students to think critically and solve
complex problems than previously (What the research, 1996).

Today many of those alternative open-ended, large-scale assessm ents have

been abandoned and testing has become standardized. The No Cnild Left
Behind (NCLB) Act has driven teachers toward designing instruction :o help
students "pass the test", rather than engineering creative and critics thinking
learning environments. Many world language teachers have felt a tr e down
effect from NCLB: some are asked to contribute to students' test reaz - ess by

58
incorporating general statewide testing practices in their own assessments,
others feel the need to fight to maintain their programs when funding is diverted
to tested content areas. W ithout significant assessment data to make a strong
case, many more programs could be in jeopardy when resources tighten
(Keatley, 2006).
Throughout this period of test-driven teaching, leaders in the world language
profession have responded to the need to demonstrate student progress and
proficiency by choosing to view assessment as a learning tool. This stance
focuses attention on integrated performance tasks, oral interviews, portfolios,
collaborative projects and other alternative assessments. Assessm ents such as
these can be particularly beneficial for young learners (McKay, 2006; Shohamy,
1998). Integrated assessments, which are activities that blend content and
language in real world tasks, make learning meaningful to students and provide
comfortable, and at times, playful, opportunities for contextual language output.
They bring a more balanced approach to assessm ent and have a positive effect
on achievement, because students perceive them as activities rather than tests,
and consequently, they perform in a more relaxed, stress-free manner, self-
correcting. Implementing such assessment experiences often has the effect of
increasing teachers’ use of the target language in class and improving student
motivation. Instruction becomes more student-centered and sparks student-
initiated activities.

Current trends in education emphasize the importance of this type of formative

assessment that offers a snapshot of what students know in order to make
responsive changes in teaching and learning (Wiggins, 2004; Pellegrino,
Chudowsky, & Glaser, 2006). Formative assessm ent provides a balance to
assessment systems and turns attention to a type of teaching that looks more like
managing learning than teaching. Reframing how we think about assessm ent can
positively affect how teachers shape curriculum, plan lessons and guide students'
learning. Dylan W illiams (2006) purports that im provem ent in student
achievement will be result from what happens in these newly constructed
learning environments.

To gain greater ground we need compelling data. Dr. Carolyn Taylor's study
shows that foreign language students significantly outperformed their non-foreign
language counterparts on every subtest of the Louisiana state assessment and

59
the language portion of the fifth-grade Iowa Basic Skills Test (2003). Preliminary
data from Dr. Adeidine M oeller’s longitudinal study of the effects of UnguaFolio
on student achievem ent suggest a positive effect on achievem ent from
self-assessment and goal setting (personal conversation, S e p te m b e r 26. 2006).
A balanced assessm ent system is vital for generating the necessary scientific
data to maintain current programs, make systemic program im provem ents and
advocate for new world language programs.

Therefore assessment can be an essential tool to: diagnose key areas for
improvement, describe achievement and progress, manage and assist learning,
improve curriculum and instruction, validate program design, facilitate articulation,
and advocate for language learning.

Assessment Literacy
Acknowledging the need to reframe our perceptions of assessm ent signifies
half of the challenge; applying this new perspective to practice is the other
crucial aspect. To build a successful balanced assessm ent program, teachers
need to be assessm ent literate, that is to know w hat assessm ent tools are
available and to understand which particular types of instrum ents should be
used for what purposes. A variety of assessm ents is fundam ental to providing a
comprehensive overview of a student com petence and m aking learning
transparent to students, parents and other stakeholders. D ifferent assessments
address different needs and purposes. Many of the simple, daily, classroom
activities can serve as assessments to inform planning and m otivate learners.
After assessm ent instruments are selected and implemented, the next step is to
analyze the results and interpret the findings to inform instructional decision­
making. Adopting this new assessm ent perspective does not im ply more time
for teachers, rather a redirection of teacher energy to adapt instruction based
on the results of assessment.

Leaders in the field (O’Malley & Valdez Pierce, 1996; Donato, 1998; Tollefson,
2005; McKay, 2006) agree that teachers need to use a suite of assessments in
order to provide a comprehensive view of students’ knowledge and performance.
Generally, assessments can be categorized in the following manner:

Diagnostic assessments identify problem areas, such as reading, language and

cognitive skills. Information gained from diagnostic tests provides guidance for
student placement or strategic intervention.

60
Achievement tests examine students’ mastery over what was taught. Not limited
to paper-pencil tests, this type of assessment often focuses on discrete points,
covers specific content and allows for a perfect score. Norm referenced,
achievement tests compare students’ performance. In the past, achievement
tests were principal determining factors in the assignment of grades.
Achievem ent tests may be considered formative if conducted on an ongoing
basis and used to inform teaching and learning.

Proficiency tests identify, globally, what students know and can do with the
language. The content on a proficiency test is not limited to what was taught in
the classroom. Criterion-referenced, proficiency tests compare students' overall
language competence to a standard, such as the ACTFL K-12 Performance
Guidelines or state or district standards.

Prochievement assessments, a performance-based hybrid of proficiency and

achievement tests, measure students’ progress toward identified proficiency
goals. More than the ordinary tool, they provide a meaningful context and real-life
simulation.

Summative assessment is a comprehensive check of what students have learned

at the end of a lesson, unit, or course. Based on a cumulative learning
experience, summative assessm ent is testing for achievement and, depending on
age and level, can take the form of performance tasks, oral interviews, written
reports, projects or role-plays.
Formative assessment encompasses of many of the ordinary learning tasks
students do on a routine basis. Formative assessment provides on-going,
continuous snapshots of knowledge used to monitor progress, give student
feedback, modify curriculum and adjust learning experiences. Examples of
formative assessm ent include anecdotal records, observations, interviews,
performance tasks, written work, worded graphics, and journals.

Peer-Assessment encourages students to think deeply about the various

elements of language competency when they rate other students' performances
and products against specific criteria. With well-designed rubrics, students can
analyze and discuss language use and provide feedback to one another
(Source: Van Houten, J. (2006). Turning a new light on assessment with LmguaFoiio
Learning Languages, 12(1), 7-11).

61
Assessment for Learning

Assessment for learning involves using assessment in the classroom to raise

pupils’ achievement. It is based on the idea that pupils will improve m ost if they
understand the aim of their learning, where they are in relation to this aim and
how they can achieve the aim (or close the gap in their knowledge).

Effective assessment for learning happens all the time in the classroom It
involves:

• sharing learning goals with pupils

• helping pupils know and recognize the standards to aim for

• providing feedback that helps pupils to identify how to improve

• believing that every pupil can improve in comparison with Drevious

achievements
• both the teacher and pupils reviewing and reflecting on pupils'
performance and progress

• pupils learning self-assessment techniques to discover areas they need to

improve
• recognizing that both motivation and self-esteem, crucial for effective
learning and progress, can be increased by effective assessment
techniques.

Research has shown that being part of the review process raises standards and
empowers pupils to take action to improve their performance. An AFL checklist
can be used to identify effective assessment for learning in your own classroom
or school.

Assessment for learning (formative assessment) is different from assessment of

learning (summative assessment), which involves judging pupils' performance
against national standards (level descriptions). Teachers often make these
judgments at the end of a unit of work,vyear or key stage. Test results also describe
pupils’ performance in terms of levels. However, an important aspect of
assessment for learning is the formative use of summative data.

Key characteristics of assessment for learning are:

• using effective questioning techniques

62
 • using marking and feedback strategies

• sharing learning goals

• peer and self-assessment.
High-level questioning can be used as a tool for assessment for learning
Teachers can:

• use questions to find out what pupils know, understand and can do

• analyze pupils' responses and their questions in order to find out what
they know, understand and can do

• use questions to find out what pupils' specific misconceptions are in order
to target teaching more effectively

• use pupils' questions to assess understanding.

Some questions are better than others at providing teachers with assessment
opportunities. Changing the way a question is phrased can make a significant
difference to:

• the thought processes pupils need to go through

• the language demands made on pupils

• the extent to which pupils reveal their understanding

• the number of questions needed to make an assessment of pupils' current

understanding.

For example, a teacher wants to find out if pupils know the properties of prime
numbers. The teacher asks, 'Is 7 a prime number?' A pupil responds, 'Err... yes, I
think so' or 'No, it's not.'

This question has not enabled the teacher to make an effective assessment of
whether the pupil knows the properties of prime numbers. Changing the question
to 'Why is 7 an example of a prime number?' does several things
• It helps the pupils recall their knowledge of the properties of prime
numbers and the properties of 7 and compare them.
• The answer to the question is 'Because prime numbers haveexactly two
factors and 7 has exactly two factors.' This response requires ahigher
degree of articulation than 'Err... yes, I think so.'

63
 • It requires pupils to explain their understanding of prime num bers and to
use this to justify their reasoning.
• It provides an opportunity to make an assessment w ithout necessarily
asking supplementary questions. The question 'Is 7 a pnme number?'
requires further questions before the teacher can assess the pupil’s
understanding.
The question 'Why is 7 an example of a prime number?' is an exam ple of the
general question 'Why is x an example of y?' This is one type of question that is
effective in providing assessm ent opportunities. Other types of questions that are
also effective in providing assessm ent opportunities are:

• how can we be sure that...?

• what is the same and what is different about...?
• is it ever/always true/false that...?
• how do you...?
• how would you explain...?
« what does that tell us about...?
• what is wrong with...?
• why is... true?

Using marking and feedback strategies

Teachers recognize that feedback is an essential elem ent in helping pupils
improve. When using assessment for learning strategies, teachers need to move
away from giving work marks out of 10 with comments that may not be related to
the learning intention of the task (egg 'try harder' or 'join up your wnting') and
move towards giving feedback to help the pupil improve in the specific activity.
This will help to close the learning gap and move pupils forward in their
understanding.

It is important to establish trust between the teacher and the pupil before giving
feedback.

Pupils benefit from opportunities for formal feedback through group and plenary
sessions. Where this works well, there is a shift from teachers telling pupils what
they have done wrong to pupils seeing for themselves what they need to do to
improve and discussing it with the teacher Giving feedback involves m a*:ng time

64
to talk to pupils and teaching them to be reflective about the learning objectives
and about their work and responses.

Characteristics of effective feedback

Feedback is more effective if it focuses on the learning intention of the task and is
given regularly while still relevant.
• Feedback is most effective when it confirms that pupils are on the right
track and when it stimulates correction or improvement of a piece of work.

• Suggestions for improvement should act as 'scaffolding', i.e. pupils should

be given as much help as they need to use their knowledge. They should
not be given the complete solutions as soon as they get stuck and should
learn to think things through for themselves.

• Pupils should be helped to find alternative solutions if simply repeating an

explanation continues to lead to failure.

• Feedback on progress over a number of attempts is more effective than

feedback on one attem pt treated in isolation.

• The quality of dialogue in feedback is important and most research

indicates that oral feedback is more effective than written feedback.

• Pupils need to have the skills to ask for help and the ethos of the school
should encourage them to do so.
A culture of success should be promoted in which every pupil can make
achievements by building on their previous performance rather than being
compared with others. This is based on informing pupils about the strengths and
weaknesses demonstrated in their work and giving feedback about what their
next steps should be.

Sharing learning goals

Most schemes of work emphasize the need to clearly identify the learning
objectives for a lesson. Teachers should ensure that pupils recognize the
difference between the task and its learning intention (separating what they have
to do from what they will learn).
Assessm ent criteria'Qr learning outcomes are often defined in formal language
that pupils may not understand. To involve pupils fully in their learning teachers
should:

5- ENG LISH LOGY3

65
 • explain clearly the reasons for the lesson or activity in term s of the
learning objectives

• share the specific assessm ent criteria with pupils

• help pupils to understand what they have done well and w hat they need to
develop.

Looking at a range of other pupils' responses to the task set can help pupils
understand how to use the assessm ent criteria to assess their own learning.

Peer and self-assessment

Research has shown that pupils will achieve more if they are fully engaged in
their own learning process. This means that if pupils know what they need to
learn and why, and then actively assess their understanding, gaps in their own
knowledge and areas they need to work on, they will achieve more than if they sit
passively in a classroom working through exercises with no real comprehension
either of the learning intention of the exercise or of why it might be important.

Peer assessment

Peer assessment can be effective because pupils can clarify their own ideas and
understanding of both the learning intention and the assessm ent criteria while
marking other pupils' work. Peer assessm ent must be managed carefully. It is not
for the purpose of ranking because if pupils compare themselves with others
rather than their own previous attainment, those performing better than their
peers will not be challenged and those performing worse will be demotivated.

Self-assessment

Self-assessment is an important tool for teachers. Once pupils understand how to

assess their current knowledge and the gaps in it, they will have a clearer idea of
how they can help themselves progress.

Teachers and pupils can set targets relating to specific goals rather than to
national curriculum levels. The pupils will then be able to guide their own
learning, with the teacher providing help where necessary or appropriate In
addition, pupils will need to:

66
 • reflect on their own work
• be supported to admit problems without risk to self-esteem

• be given time to work problems out.

Asking pupils to look at examples of other pupils' work that does and does not
meet the assessment criteria can help them to understand what was required
from a task and to assess the next steps they might need to take. Looking at
different responses can also help pupils understand the different approaches
they could have taken to the task. It is often helpful if the work is from pupils they
do not know.

(Source: adapted from http:ZAvww.qca.org.uk/qca_4336.aspx)

67
 Aims:
- To make you aware of the relationship between testing and teaching and

learning, and some o f .the issues in language testing;

- To get you to identify the purposes o f testing.

Questions for discussion

1. W hat is the relationship between teaching/learning
and testing?
2. Why do we need tests?
3. How to make testing more productive?
4. W hat are alternative testing methods?

Classroom Task 1:
Read the statements and tick the correct box. Give reasons for your
opinions.

Statements Agree Disagree Reasons

1. Testing should be a positive learning

experience for students, which motivates
them and shows them how much they
have achieved.
2. National exams or university entrance
exams should not always be the model
for the sort of classroom tests teachers
write.
3. Test results should measure students'
ability according to a description of a
language level. It's not necessary to rank
students
4. Teachers should test all four skills as well
as grammar, vocabulary, and phonology.

68
 Statements Agree Disagree R easons

5. Marks from final exams are the only

"true" indicators of learners' achievement.
Sem ester tests results and ongoing

i
I
classroom achievement marks are just a
formality.
6. It is not important to link classroom tests
to what has been taught that month.
7. When designing a test, it's much better to
take the text and questions directly from
the textbook than to write out a new test
with parallel content and questions.

^ W HY TEST?
Testing is certainly not the only way to assess students, but there are many good
reasons for including a test in your language course.

• A test can give the teacher valuable information about where the students are
in their learning and can affect what the teacher will cover next. They will help
a teacher to decide if her teaching has been effective and help to highlight
what needs to be reviewed. Testing can be as much an assessment of the
teaching as the learning

• Tests can give students a sense of accomplishment as well as information

about what they know and what they need to review.

- In the 1970's students in an intensive EFL program were taught in an

unstructured conversation course. They complained that even though
they had a lot of time to practise communicating, they felt as if they
hadn't learned anything. Not long afterwards a testing system was
introduced and helped to give them a sense of satisfaction that they
were accomplishing things. Tests can be extremely motivating and
give students a sense of progress. They can highlight areas for
students to work on and tell them what has and hasn't been effective
in their learning.

69
• Tests can also have a positive effect in that they encourage students to
review material covered on the course.

• Tests can encourage students to consolidate and extend their knowledge

• Tests are also a learning opportunity after they have been taken. The
feedback after a test can be invaluable in helping a student to understand
something she couldn't do during the test. Thus the test is a review in itself

• Tests also give teachers valuable information on how to improve the process
of evaluation. Questions as follows will help the teacher to improve the
evaluative process for next time.
- "Were the instructions clear?"
- "Are the test results consistent with the work that the students have done
on the course. W hy/why not?"
- "Did I manage to create a non-threatening atm osphere7"

^ M AKING TESTING MORE PRODUCTIVE

Despite all of these strong arguments for testing, it is very im portant to bear in
mind the negative aspects we looked at first and to try and minimize the effects.

• Try to make the test a less intimidating experience by explaining to the

students the purpose for the test and stress the positive effects it will have
Many may have very negative feelings left over from previous bad
experiences.

• Give the students plenty of notice and teach some revision classes
beforehand.

• Tell the students that you will take into account their work on the course as
well as the test result.

• Be sensitive when you hand out the results (go through the answers fairly
quickly, highlight any specific areas of difficulty and give the students their
results on slips of paper.

• Emphasize that an individual should compare their results with their own
previous scores not with others in the class.

70
^ ALTERNATIVES TO TESTING
Using only tests as a basis for assessment has obvious drawbacks. They are
'one-off events that do not necessarily give an entirely fair account of a student's
proficiency. As we have already mentioned, some people are more suited to
them than others. There are other alternatives that can be used instead of or
alongside tests.

• Continuous assessment

Teachers give grades for a number of assignments over a period of time. A

final grade is decided on a combination of assignments.
• Portfolio
A student collects a number of assignments and projects and presents them
in a file. The file is then used as a basis for evaluation.

• Self-assessment
The students evaluate themselves. The criteria must be carefully decided
upon beforehand.

• Teacher's assessm ent

The teacher gives an assessment of the learner for work done throughout
the course including classroom contributions.

(Source: adapted from “Testing and Assessment” Richard Frost, British Council, Turkey)

Classroom Task 2:
A. Write down 4 m ore purposes o f testing in the list below.

1. To measure students' ability

2 ______________________________________________________________________

3 . ____________________________________________________________________

4. __ __________________________________________________________________

5 ____________________________________________________________________

71
B. Categorize y o u r lis ts under these headings.

Diagnosis/ Official
Motivation Teaching Tool
Evaluation Assessm ent

To measure
students' ability

72
 In it 3: TYPES OF TESTS AND TE S T ITEM S
Wm mjÊËi!£SÈÎÊ3*ÈÈSSÊËBilâÊÎÊÊÊâÊtÊÊH&KÊÈÊlÈâi^Ë^BB^tiÈi£mÊÈ&iSSHM&3&'£3Èâ&*£È

Aims:
- To help you recognize different types of tests and test items;
- To provide some basic distinctive features o f objective and subjective
methods and test items;
- To help you know when to use Objective and Subjective methods and
how to use them properly.

Questions for discussion

1. W hat are types of tests?

2. W hat are types of test items?
3. W hat are the differences between objective and
subjective methods?
4. W hat are advantages and disadvantages of objective
and subjective methods?

TYPES OF TEST
Before writing a test it is vital to think about what it is you want to test and what its
purpose is. W e must make a distinction here between proficiency tests,
achievement tests, diagnostic tests and prognostic tests, integrative test and
discrete point test, proficiency test, etc.

Classroom Task 1: Match the test types with their descriptions.

------------------------
Test types Descriptions

a) placement 1. These tests are tests like IELTS or TOEFL. They don't
test what you have learnt from a course. They test '
/diagnostic
your ability in a language. Everyone can take these
tests if they have the money because they are
international exams controlled by international
examining bodies, not by individual institutions

73
 2. These tests are used to put students into groups or
classes relevant to their language levels They are
usually long with many multiple-choice questions
b) achievement based on grammar and vocabulary and easy to mark
so that many students, for example, at the beginning
of the school year, can be 'placed' quickly. The aim of
these tests is to see what students are good at and
what they need to improve.
3. These tests are given at the end of a course, e.g.
Grade 9 graduation test or sem ester tests. They aim
c) proficiency
to see how successful each individual student has
been in taking a course.
4. This is a method of testing. In fact, proficiency,
placement, diagnostic and achievem ent tests can use
d) integrative test
this method of testing. This type o f item tests one
items
element at a time, item by item. An exam ple is a gap-
fill test in which students have to supply only the
prepositions but no other part of speech.
5. An example of this test item is writing a composition or
an essay. This type of item tests your vocabulary,
e) discrete-point
grammar, spelling, punctuation, paraphrasing and
test items
writing skills, all at the same time. Other examples are
random cloze, dictation, oral interviews, listening and
note taking.
6. Attempts to predict how a student will perform on a
f) prognostic test
course

There are of course many other types of tests. It is important to choose elicitation
techniques carefully when you prepare one of the aforementioned tests.

% TYPES OF TASK/TEST ITEMS

There are many elicitation techniques that can be used when writing a test.
Below are some widely-used types with some guidance on their strengths and
weaknesses. Using the right kind of question at the right time can be enormously
important in giving us a clear understanding of our students' abilities, but we must

74
also be aware of the limitations of each of these task or question types so that we
use each on appropriately.

Multiple choice

Choose the correct word to complete the sentence.

Cook I s _________________ today for being one o f Britain's m ost

famous explorers.

a) recommended b) reminded c) recognized d) remembered

In this question type there is a stem and various options to choose from. The
advantages of this question type are that it is easy to mark and minimizes guess
work by having multiple distracters. The disadvantage is that it can be very time-
consuming to create, effective multiple choice items are surprisingly difficult to
write. Also it takes time for the candidate to process the information which leads
to problems with the validity of the exam. If a low level candidate has to read
through lots of complicated information before they can answer the question, you
may find you are testing their reading skills more than their lexical knowledge.

• Multiple choice can be used to test most things such as grammar,

vocabulary, reading, listening etc. but you must remember that it is still
possible for students to just 'guess' without knowing the correct answer.

Transformation

Complete the second sentence so that it has the same meaning as the first.

'Do you know what the time is, John?' asked Dave.

Dave asked J o h n ___________ (w h a t)_________________ it was.

This time a candidate has to rewrite a sentence based on an instruction or a key

word given. This type o f task is fairly easy to mark, but the problem is that it
doesn't test understanding. A candidate may simply be able to rewrite sentences
to a formula. The fact that a candidate has to paraphrase the whole meaning of
the sentence in the example above however minimizes this drawback.

• Transform ations are particularly effective for testing grammar and

understanding of form. This wouldn't be an appropriate question type if you
wanted to test skills such as reading or listening.

75
Gap-filling

Complete the sentence.

Check the e x ch an g e_______________ to see how m uch yo u r m oney

is worth.

The candidate fills the gap to complete the sentence. A hint may sometimes be
included such as a root verb that needs to be changed, or the first letter of the
word etc. This usually tests gram m ar or vocabulary. Again this type of task is
easy to mark and relatively easy to write. The teacher must bear in mind though
that in some cases there may be many possible correct answers.

• Gap-fills can be used to test a variety of areas such as vocabulary,

grammar and are very effective at testing listening for specific words.

Matching

Match the word on the left to the word with the opposite meaning.

fat old

young tall

dangerous thin

short safe

With this question type, the candidate must link items from the first column to
items in the second. This could be individual words, words and definitions, parts
of sentences, pictures to words etc. W hilst it is easy to mark, candidates can get
the right answers without knowing the words, if she has most of the answers
correct she knows the last one left must be right. To avoid this, have more words
than is necessary.
• Matching exercises are most often used to test vocabulary.

Cloze
Complete the text by adding a word to each gap.

This is the k in d _____ test where a w o r d _____ om itted from a passage

every so often. The candidate m u s t_____ the gaps, usually the first two
lines are without gaps.

76
This kind of task type is much more integrative as candidates have to process the
components of the language simultaneously. It has also been proved to be a good
indicator of overall language proficiency. The teacher must be careful about
multiple correct answers and students may need some practice of this type of task.
• Cloze tests can be very effective for testing grammar, vocabulary and
intensive reading.

True I False
Decide if the statement is true or false.

England won the world cup in 1966. T/F

Here the candidate must decide if a statement is true or false. Again this type is
easy to mark but guessing can result in many correct answers. The best way to
counteract this effect is to have a lot of items.
• This question type is mostly used to test listening and reading
comprehension.

Open questions
Answer the questions.

W hy did John steal the money?

Here the candidate m ust answer a simple question after a reading or listening or
as part of an oral interview. It can be used to test anything. If the answer is open-
ended it will be more difficult and time consuming to mark and there may also be
a an element of subjectivity involved in judging how 'complete' the answer is, but
it may also be a more accurate test.
• These question types are very useful for testing any of the four skills, but
less useful for testing grammar or vocabulary.

E rror c o rre c tio n

Find the mistakes in the sentence and correct them.

Ipsw ich Town was the m ore better team on the night.

Errors must be found and corrected in a sentence or passage. It could be an

extra word, mistakes with verb forms, words missed etc. One problem with this
question type is that some errors can be corrected in more than one way.

77
 • Error correction is useful for testing grammar and vocabulary as well as
readings and listening.

Other Techniques

There are of course many other elicitation techniques such as translation,

essays, dictations, ordering words/phrases into a sequence and sentence
construction (He/go/school/yesterday).

It is important to ask yourself what exactly you are trying to test, which techniques
suit this purpose best and to bear in mind the drawbacks of each technique.
Awareness of this will help you to minimize the problems and produce a more
effective test.

(Source: adapted from Frost, R. (2004). Testing and Assessment. British Council, Turkey
Retrieved from http://www.teachienglish. org. uk/articlesAesting-assessment)

^ SUBJECTIVE OR OBJECTIVE /R E C O G N IT IO N OR
REPRODUCTION?
Table 1: Testing techniques

Testing focus Subjective methods Objective methods

Listening Open-ended question and Blank filing
answer, Information transfer
Note taking, Multiple choice questions
Interview True-false questions
Jumbled pictures
Speaking Role plays, Sentence repetition
Interviews, Sentence responses to cues
Group discussions,
Describing pictures
Information gap activities...
Reading Open - ended comprehension, Inform ation-transfer
comprehension Questions and answers in the Multiple choice
target language or mother True/false question
tongue, Jumbled sentences
Summary-writing,

78
Testing focus Subjective methods Objective methods
Note taking Jumbled paragraphs
Cloze
Writing Guided writing e.g: Letter Blank filling
completion, rewriting, Sentence joining
information transfer,
Free writing e.g: composition,
essays
Grammar Open-ended sentence Expansions exercises
completion, Scrambled exercise
Rewriting Transformation exercises
Multiple choice questions
Functions Giving appropriate responses Matching
Discourse chains, Multiple choice question
Split dialogues Odd one out
Listen and match
Vocabulary Composition and essays Crosswords
Paraphrasing Classification exercise
Matching exercises
Labeling

(Source: Spratt, K (1985). A range of testing techniques, P. 146)

79
 Classroom Task 2: Write whether the following test items are
objective or subjective and if they are recognition or reproduction.

Test items Objective Subjective Recognitions Reproduction

1. True/False/Doesn't
Say
2. Gap-fill (no choices
given)
3. Listening and
ordering pictures
4. Multiple-choice
questions
5. Jumbled sentences
6. Composition writing
7. Underlining mistakes
8. Speaking on a topic
9. Dictation
10. Essay
11. Role play
12. Short
answer/information
Transfer
13. Summary
14. Interview
15. Matching
J
1. Are all 'objective' items also 'recognition' items?

2. Can a 'subjective' item be 'recognition'?

80
 Classroom Task 3: W hat la n g u a ge a n d w h ic h s k ill(s ) do y o u th in k the
fo llo w in g ite m typ e s can be u s e d to te st?
-,
t3%-; ¡¿£2

Pronunciation
Ï
¿ V * *. ; * , . ■ ’ •
.v ' £•
W j? O) O)
«I c c D)
Item types 8 1 C O)
Ü c 12 c
E (0 o
** a 5
- ;ï ' ü r - ï i'S., :■ IS o W a> (0 '5
o Q. o
p! -u&wM r> tu.%m- ■-f1 ■■■-. 0 > □ (0 a:
1. True/False/Doesn't Say

2. Gap-fill (no choices given)

3. Listening and ordering pictures

4. Multiple-choice questions

5. Jumbled sentences

6. Composition writing

7. Underlining mistakes

8. Speaking on a topic

9. Dictation

10. Essay

11. Role play

12. Short Answer /Information

T ransfer
13. Summary

14. Interview

15. Matching

6 - E NG LIS H.. LOGY3 81

 Classroom Task 4: Look at the following sample test items and
identify the techniques used in the samples. Then complete the table.

Sample test Item type Skills Language elem ents

$
1

2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14

SAMPLE TEST ITEM 1

Replace the underlined words with a synonym in English.

Mount Everest, in Nepal, is the highest mountain on Earth. Its peak is 8,847 metres
above sea level, and the first people ever to reach it were Edmund Hillary and
Tenzing Norgay who arrived at 11.30am on 29th May 1953. Many mountaineers
before them had failed to climb the mountain, and some had even died trying. Hillary
and Tenzing Norgay hugged each other with relief and happiness when they reached
the summit, and then took some photographs. The view was incredible: the two men
could see for at least a hundred miles in every direction. However, they only stayed at
the top for fifteen minutes because they were running out of oxygen. The climb to
the summit from the camp at the bottom of the mountain had taken seven weeks,
but the return journey, although also dangerous, took only three days.

82
SAMPLE TEST ITEM 2

Say what the following words in English.

hoàng tử: _____________
công chúa: _____________
hoàng hậu: _____________
vua: _____________
ngai vàng: _____________

SAMPLE TEST ITEM 3

Fill in the blank with an appropriate word.

d What is the weather________Liverpool?
2 She Is good__________maths and physics.
3 He failed_________meet her at the airport.

SAMPLE TEST ITEM 4

Choose the best answer to fill in the blank.

There are geographic, economic, and cultural reasons why around the world.
(A) diets differ
(B) do diets differ
(C) are diets different
(D) to differ a diet

SAMPLE TEST ITEM 5

Where can you see these notices? Mark one letter A, B o r C for the correct answer.
A. in a shop Please leave your room
in a hotel key at Reception.
B.

c. in a taxi

83
SAMPLE TEST ITEM 6

Write at least 150 words, telling about one of your most memorable childhood
experiences.

SAMPLE TEST ITEM 7

Read the following text and decide whether the sentences 1-3 are true (T), false (F) or
o f no information (NI).
Last year marked the 100th anniversary of one of the greatest feats of engineering in
the world. New York City hosted a number of events to celebrate the opening of the
underground system one hundred years ago, in 1904.
Although there are 468 subway stations, only 277 of them areunderground. Many
stations are above the ground. The highest subway line is in Brooklyn. It's 27 m above
street level and offers some beautiful views over the city. With 27,000 employees, the
New York City subway is one of the largest urban rail networksin the world.About 4.5
million people are carried on the 600 trains every day.
_____ 1. New York underground system is the oldest in the world.

---------2. There are more subway stations underground than those above the ground.
---------3. There are more than 4 million people travelling by the New York
underground system every day.

SAMPLE TEST ITEM 8

Put the following words in the correct order to make a meaningful sentence.

1. an/excursion/I/to/on/last Monday/went/Cambridge

2. build/they/car park/wanted/Supermarket/for/to/ their /a

3. Saturday/march/a/twenty seventh/football/at/his/on/wife/were/he/and/ March/the.

84
SAMPLE TEST ITEM 9
In each item, the underlined words or phrases are marked A, B, C, or D. Read
the sentence and circle the part that is incorrect.

1. The comm ittee decided to cancel its law suit, to approve the contract, and
(A) (B) (C)
that it would adiourn the meeting.
(D)
2. Air travel is fa s t, safe, and itjs convenient.
(A) (B) (C) (D)
3. Rock music is not only popular in the United States but also abroad.
____________ (A}____ (B) (C) (D)__________________________________

SAMPLE TEST ITEM 10

Write a t least 250 words, giving your opinion about the following topic.

Universities should accept equal numbers o f male and female students in

every subject. To w hat extent do you agree or disagree?

SAMPLE TEST ITEM 11

Talk to the person next to you, answering the questions below:

• Who is the most attractive in your family?
• Does beauty affect one's success in life? Why/why not?
• Is it better to be physically attractive or intelligent? Why/why not?
• Is it better to be physically attractive or wealthy? Why/why not?

85
SAMPLE TEST ITEM 12

Read the following passage and circle the best answer to the questions beknv
The Lincoln Memorial is located on the west bank of the Potomac river. Its outer walls
are white Colorado marble, 189 feet long and 118 feet 8 inches wide. The thirty-six
outer columns are also of marble, representing the thirty-six states that were in the
Union at the time of Lincoln's death. The name of each state is cut into stoneabove
the column. Inside the memorial, the walls are Indiana limestone and the floor is pink
Tennessee marble. These commemorative features include the huge seated statute of
Lincoln and two inscribed stone tablets.
1 What is the size of the Lincoln Memorial's outer walls?
A. It's 8 inches wide B. Its length is lessthan its width
C. Its outer walls are thicker than its D. It's nearly 190 feet long
inner wall
2 What are the walls inside the memorial made of?
A. pink marble B. stone
C. limestone D. column
3 What do the thirty - six outer columns represent?
A. Lincoln's death B. thirty-six states
C. the names of the states D. pink marbles
4 Where is the Lincoln Memorial?
A. Colorado B. Indiana
C. Tennessee D. near a river
5 What are the three commemorative features of the LincolnMemorial?
A. two inscribedstone tabletsand a B. Lincoln and two inscribed stone
statue tablets
C. the outer walls and theinner D. Colorado marble, Indiana
walls limestone, and Tennessee
marble.

06
SAMPLE TEST ITEM 13

Read the following passage and answer the questions followed.

The Great Pyramid of Giza is the last of the Seven Ancient Wonders left for us to see
today and is probably the most famous of all the Egyptian pyramids. The Great Pyramid is
one of three at Giza and was built by Khufu, or Cheops, over four thousand years ago.
Next to ]t is a smaller pyramid built by Khufu's son, Khaefre. Khaefre's pyramid,
although smaller, looks bigger! This is because it is built on higher ground and has a
slightly steeper angle. Khaefre's pyramid also has another attraction of the Sphinx
which stands beside the pyramid. Along with the pyramids themselves, the Sphinx is
probably the best known landmark in Egypt. Khufu's pyramid rises from the desert
and was the highest man-made object until the Eiffel Tower was built in the
nineteenth century. The pyramid is built on a perfectly level area using over a million
blocks of stone. Some of the stones, for example the 'blue' stones in the King's
chamber, came from hundreds of kilometres away.
Inside the pyramid there are thousands of paintings of animals and other symbols on
the walls. Many of these pictures tell stories and show the pharaoh travelling to his
final resting place.
1. What Is the name of the last of the Seven Ancient Wonders?

2. How many pyramids are there at Giza?

3. What are on the pyramids walls?

4. What does the word "it" in paragraph 2 refer to?

SAMPLE TEST ITEM 14

Listen to the story and number the pictures according to the sequence o f appearance

87
 Aims:
- To familiarize you with the qualities of a good test;
- To show you how to evaluate the reliability and validity of a test;

- To help you recognize the steps in planning a test, designing a test;

- To show you how to administrate and mark the test appropriately and

effectively;

- To provide you with ways of making a fair test.

W hat makes a good test?

W hat are m ajor characteristics of a good test?

How to plan a test?

How to write a test specification?

W hat are the factors involved in adm inistering and

marking tests?

^ QUALITIES OF A GO OD TEST

Classroom Task 1: Read the text and answer the questions that follow it.

1. Reliability
1.1. A definition o f Reliability
Every test should be reliable. In other words, a test should m easure precisely
whatever it is supposed to measure. If a group of students were to take the
same test on two occasions, their results should be roughly the sam e - provided
that nothing has happened in the interval (such as one student receiving private
tuition or several students comparing notes and specially preparing fo r the test
when it is set a second time). Thus if students' results are very different (e.g.
the top student scoring low marks the second time), the test cannot be
described as reliable.

88
 jp- Reliability and Size
»liability is achieved through size: through a large number of test items within the
St and through piloting the test with a large number of candidates. If there are
?ry few items in the test, the test may rely too heavily on luck - weak candidates
ay score 50% or more on a short test which has only True/False type questions,
st by guessing. If the test is piloted with less than 30 students who happen to all
)me from gifted schools and they all score over 90%, test writers will conclude
iat the test is too easy. But if the same test is piloted with 15,000 Grade 9
‘udents in Quang Ninh province a more reliable analysis can be made. The larger
e sample the easier it is to find the items which are too easy or too difficult for
✓eryone, and then to remove them.
»3. Reliability and Test Item level o f Difficulty
: individual test items are too hard for everyone or too easy for everyone then
ney are not reliable test items: they do not differentiate between strong and weak
andidates. Reliable test items ensure that between one and two thirds of the
:andidates will get it right. Over the whole test, especially with achievement tests,
;his means that the candidates final scores are distributed with approximately one
third scoring less than 45% (weaker candidates), one third scoring between
45% - 65% .(average candidates) and one third scoring 65% - 100% (good
candidates). Tests which show this kind of spread of scores are reliable tests.
1.4. Reliability and Marking
Sometimes a test can be unreliable because of the way it is marked. For
example, if an average composition is marked immediately after a very good
composition, the average composition may be given a mark that is actually below
average. The marker's subconscious comparison of the two compositions will
result in the average composition appearing worse than it really is. However, if the
same average composition is marked immediately after a very poor composition,
then it may appear above average and be awarded a higher mark than it deserves.
In addition, different markers may award different marks to the same
composition; for example, some of the markers may be very lenient and others
may be unfairly strict
1.5. R e lia b ility and Syllabus
Another factor that influences the reliability of a test is how much the test is based
on passages and questions taken directly from a textbook and how much it is
based on the syllabus within the textbook, not the book itself. An over-emphasis
on 'quoting' the textbook in a test will produce results that do not reveal real

89
achievement or progress of the learners in terms of reading, writing, listening
speaking, vocabulary and grammar. The results will only reveal how well students
have memorised the passages and the correct answers.

2. Validity
2.1. A d e fin itio n o f V a lid ity
The central question about validity, according to Carroll and Hall (1985) is this:
are we actually measuring what we are intending to measure? A listening test
with written multiple-choice options may lack validity if the printed choices are so
difficult to read that the exam actually measures reading com prehension as much
as it does listening comprehension. It is least valid for students who are much
better at listening than at reading. Similarly, a reading test will lack validity if
success in the exam depends on information not provided in the passage.
A composition test which requires students to write about m odem methods of
transport may not be valid since it will measure not only an ability to write in
English but also an interest in, or knowledge of, modern transport. W hen students
are given an oral interview, is it only their language abilities that are being
assessed or are such assessments influenced by the students' personalities?
2.2. Types o f V a lid ity
Validity is often discussed under the headings: face, content, response, concurrent
and predictive.
Face validity concerns the appeal of the test to the popular (non-expert)
judgment, typically that of the candidate, the candidate's family, members of the
public...
Content validity, on the other hand, depends on a professional judgm ent, that of
the teacher or tester. These experts use their own knowledge of the language to
judge to what extent the test provides a satisfactory sample of the syllabus.
Response validity is intended to describe the extent to which examinees
responded in the manner expected by the test developers. If exam inees respond
in a haphazard or non-reflective manner, their obtained scores may not represent
their actual ability. Also, if instructions are unclear and the test form at is
unfamiliar to the students, their responses may not reflect their true ability, and in
this way the test may be said to lack response validity.
Statistical or empirical validity is the validity obtained as a result of comparing
the results of the test with the results of some criterion measure such as an
existing test, known or believed to be valid and given at the same tirre or the

90
.teacher's ratings or any other such form of independent assessment given at the
-»ame time; or the subsequent performance of the testees on a certain task
measured by some valid test; or the teacher's ratings or any other such form of
independent assessment given later.
Results obtained by either of the first two methods above are measures of the
test's concurrent validity in respect of the particular criterion used. The third and
fourth methods estimate the predictive validity of a test, which is used to predict
future success.

3. Practicality
The main question of practicality is administrative. A test must be carefully
organized well in advance. How long will the test take? What special arrangements
have to be made (for example, what happens to the rest of the class while
individual speaking tests take place)? Is any equipment needed (tape recorder,
language lab, overhead projector)? How is marking the work handled? How are
tests stored between sittings of tests? All of these questions are practical since
they help ensure the success of a test and testing.
(Adapted from: Heaton, J. (1988) Writing English Language Tests Harlow: Longman (New Edition);
Hughes, A. (1997). Testing for Language Teachers Cambridge: Cambridge University Press;
Carroll, B & Hall,P. (1985). Make Your Own Language Tests Oxford: Pergamon)

©a
00 Classroom Task 1
1. What are the m ain qualities o f a good language test?
2. If a language test is unreliable, what will happen to students' marks the
second time they take the sam e test?
3. Which o f these are m ore reliable?
a) 1. tests with a large number of test items in them
2. tests with a small rfumber of test items in them
b) 1. tests piloted in a few schools
2. tests piloted across the whole country
c) 1. test items in which 40% of candidates get it right
2. test items in which everyone gets it right
d) 1. tests which rely on the m arkers’ good level of English and their
subjective judgm ent
2. tests whicn can be marked 'clerically'

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 e) 1. test items for reading which use the same grammar a n d v o c a b u la r y

as the textbook but in a new passage that no candidate has ever seen
before
2. test items for reading which are taken directly from the textbook
4. Using your answers from 3) above, complete the following passage:

A reliable test contains......................................... of test items o f ....................................

difficulty, based on............................. within the textbook, n o t.........................................
Such a test will have been piloted................................. and can be marked.....................

5. In the examples given in 2.1

a) Whyis the listening test invalid?

b) Why is the reading text invalid?
c) Whyis the writing test invalid?
d) Whyis the speaking test invalid?

6. Match the types o f validity with their correct definitions.

1. Face A. The test layout and instructions are clear so students' wrong
Validity answers are because of their lack of ability in English, not
because the answer sheet was badly designed and made
them put the tick in the wrong box, for example.
2. Content B. Other teachers agree that the methodology used in the test
Validity and the language items tested are the right level and
approach for their students.
3. Response C. The same students who got high, average and low marks on
Validity this test will get high, average and low marks on another
test.
4. Statistical D The test is what students and parents want, and it looks
Validity familiar to them.

92
 Classroom Task 2: What lack of validity made these tests
unsuccessful?
1. It is not clear from the instructions if the students must tick or circle or
underline the correct answer but the answer sheet is marked electronically:

2. For the past 8 years, the Grade 9 exam has used passages, comprehension
questions and gramm ar exercises taken directly from English 9. Students
have prepared for the exam by memorising the book. This year, the foreign
language specialist writes the exam using parallel texts and exercises, not
taken directly from the book, without warning anyone.

3. Students who did well all through the second semester of Grade 8 and got
good classroom marks, scored very badly on the Grade 8, Semester II test.

4. After the introduction of the new textbooks, teachers have taught

communicatively from Grade 6 to Grade 9, emphasising speaking and
listening skills and fluency as well as accuracy. But on the Grade 9 exam
there is still neither speaking nor listening component.

Classroom Task 3: Which test (A or B) is more reliable? Why?

TEST A (taken from English 11, Unit 16, paragraphs 1-2, p. 163)

Read the passage and answ er the questions followed:

The Great Pyramid of Giza

The Great Pyramid of Giza was built by the Egyptian pharaoh Khufu around the
year 2560 BC. The purpose of this huge stone pyramid was to serve as a tomb
when he died and to protect the burial chamber from the weather and from thieves
who might try to steal the treasures and belongings there. The Great Pyramid is
believed to have been built over a 20 year period. The site was first prepared, and
blocks of stone were transported and placed.
When it was built, the Great Pyramid was 147 meters high on a base of 230
meters square. It ranked as the tallest structure on earth for more than 43
centuries, only to be surpassed in height in the nineteenth century AD. The
structure consisted of approximately 2 million blocks of stone each weighing

93
about 2.5 tones. It has been suggested that there are enough blocks 'n the three
pyramids to build a 3 meters high wall around France
1. When was the Great Pyramid of Giza built?
2. W hat was the purpose of this huge stone pyramid?
3. How high was the Great Pyramid of Giza?
4. Did the Great Pyramid of Giza rank as the tallest structure onearth for more
than 43 century?
5. How many stones were there in the structure?

TEST B (based on from English 11, Unit 16, paragraphs 1-2.

and Grade 11 vocabulary)
Read the passage and answ er the questions followed:

Mount Everest, in Nepal, is the highest mountain on Earth. In Sanskrit, the

ancient language of Nepal, it is known as Sagamartha, or “Goddess of the Sky”.
Its peak is 8,847 metres above sea level, and the first people ever to reach it
were Edmund Hillary (from New Zealand) and Tenzing Norgay (from Nepal), who
arrived at 11.30 a m on 29th May 1953. Many m ountaineers before them had
failed to climb the mountain, and some had even died trying.
Hillary and Tenzing Norgay hugged each other with relief and happiness when they
reached the top, and then took some photographs. However, th e y only stayed at
the top for fifteen minutes because they were running out of oxygen Their climb to
the top from the camp at the bottom of the mountain had taken seven weeks, but
the return journey, although also dangerous, took only three days.
1. What is the ancient language of Nepal?
2. W hat does Mount Everest mean in the ancient language of Nepal7
3. How many people had reached to the top of Mount Everest by 19537
4. W hat prevented Hillary and Tenzing from staying longer at the top of Mount
Everest?
5. How long was Hillary and Tenzing’s climb to and back from the top of Mount
Everest?

94
 ■ PLANNING. ADMINISTERING AND MARKING THE TEST

Writing T e s t S p ec ificatio n s
Test specifications in general cover the following areas, as appropriate. Test
specifications naturally vary according to their uses, so not all of these will be
appropriate for all tests.

1. What is the purpose o f the test?

The purpose of a test generally falls into one of five broad categories: placement,
progress, achievement, proficiency, and diagnostic. It is important before starting to
write a test to know which of these broad purposes the test has.

2. What sort o f learner will be taking the test?

Useful information about the learner can include the age or educational level:
general level of proficiency; first language(s); cultural or national background;
level and nature of education; reason for taking the test; professional interests, if
any; and levels of background knowledge.

95
3. How m any sections should the test have, and how long should they be?

The specifications should establish how many sections the test has. how long each
of them is, and how they are different. For example, the test might be one two-hour
exam or two one- hour sections, one an examination and one an essay

4. W hat text types should be used in the test?

The specifications should indicate whether the texts should be written or spoken,
what kinds of sources they should come from, w hat topics they should include,
how difficult they should be, what their functions should be (for example,
persuasion or summarizing), etc.

5. What language skills should be tested?

The specifications should indicate what skills the test should cover, including the
enabling skills, and whether they should be tested in an integrative or discrete
way. They should also establish whether the test should ask for the main idea,
specific details, inferences, etc.

6. W hat language elements should be tested?

If there are specific grammatical points, functions, or lexical items that should be
covered in the test, the specifications should list these.

7. What sort o f tasks are required?

The specifications should indicate whether the tasks should be simulated

authentic tasks, objective or subjective, etc.

8. How m any items are there in each section, and what is the relative weight
for each item?

The specifications should specify the number of items in each section and
indicate whether they are weighted equally or whether more w eight is given to
more difficult or longer items.

9. What test methods are used?

The test specifications should indicate whether the items should be multiple
choice, fill-in-the-blank, picture description, role play using cue cards, essay, etc.

96
10. W hat instructions should be given to the candidates?
The test specifications should indicate what information should be included in the
instructions, whether examples of worked problems should be provided, whether
there will be information about how the responses will be evaluated.

11. W hat criteria will be used for assessment?

The specifications should establish whether the test will be assessed according
to accuracy or fluency, whether spelling will be counted, and so on.

TEST S P E C IF IC A T IO N G R ID

Focus In p u t R esp o n se/ M a rk s w e ig h t s

it e m ty p e

Classroom Task 2: List the factors that Test Adm inistrators need to
consider when running tests.

a)

b).

c).

d).

7- ENG LISH LO G Y 3
97
 Classroom Task 3: Discuss the following questions in groups.
Before the test
1. How far in advance do you announce the test?
2. How much do you tell the class about what is going to be in it.and about
the criteria for marking?
3. How much information do you need to give them about the time, place,
any limitations or rules?
4. Do you give them any 'tips' about how to cope with the test format?
5. Do you expect them to prepare at home, or do you give them some class
time for preparation?

Giving the test

1. How important is it for you yourself to adm inister the test?

2. Assuming that you do, what do you say before giving out the test papers?
3. Do you add anything when the papers have been distributed but students
have not yet started work?
4. During the test, are you absolutely passive or are you interacting with the
students in any way?
After the test

1. How long does it take you to mark and return the papers?
2. Do you then go through them in class?
3. Do you demand any follow-up work on the part of the student?

(Source: Brown. H.D. (2001). Teaching by principle (2nd ed) Chapter 22. NJ: Prentice Hall Regents)

98
^ MARKING THE TEST
fit)
Classroom Task 4: Discuss the following questions in groups.
1. How do you often mark your pupils’ tests?
2. What should be taken into consideration when marking?

❖ The most important point to be noted in giving a marking scale is that the
balance of marks distributed to the different parts of a test should reflect
the balance of the syllabus.
❖ Second, the weighting of marks should take into consideration the difficulty
of a test item and, to an extent, the proportion of the overall test time that it
is likely to take students to complete that item.
❖ A final point in relation to marks is that if the test includes anelement
which has to be marked subjectively, the teachers should give careful
proportion of the total marks for the test, but also to the criteria to be used
for assessing that element. Even when only one person is marking a set of
test papers, it is important for reliability and consistency that marking
should be done according to guidelines of one form or another.

Classroom Task 5: Discuss with your group about ways of m aking a

fair test

TIPS FOR FAIR TESTS

1. Ask enough questions to test accurately;
2. Write clear directions for the test and use examples;
3. Test what has been taught in class; ;
4. Write clear test items; ;i
5. When writing multiple choice questions, use realistic distractors;
6. Score test consistently with a key;
7. Avoid traps for students.

99
 Aims:
- To make you aware o f problems in writing a test;
- To provide you w ith some techniques o f w riting test instructions and

test items.

Questions for discussion

1. W hat are common mistakes in writing a test?

2. How to write test instructions effectively?

3. What are the techniques of writing some common test items?

^ COMMON MISTAKES IN WRITING TESTS

ÉS0
Classroom Task 1: Look at the following extracts from tests. Say what
is wrong in each case. Correct the m istakes

Extract 1: Read the passage and then choose the correct answ er to the
questions.

The fire broke out around 9.45 a.m. on Thuy Khue Road between lane 127
and lane 131 in Ba Dinh district. The blaze destroyed 4 houses. One fireman
was slightly injured.

How badly was the fireman hurt?

a. a little b. slightly c. very badly d. not at all

(Source: The ELTTP Methodology Course Book Two - Skills & Testing)

100
E xtra ct 2: Fill in the blanks in the dialogue by using the phrases listed below:

A. , sir?

B. Yes, I want to buy a piano.

A. Oh, the piano?

B. Yes,

A. The pianos are over there, sir

B. by credit card?

A. Yes,

I can Can I play Can you play You can Can I help you?

E xtract 3: A. Choose the letter of the correct answer.

1. She had to help the old man up the stairs.
a. weak b. slowly c. try d. wisdom
2. She needs to get up earlier so she's buying an clock.
a. time b. alarm c. watch d . bell
3. They needed lots of training to operate such equipment.

a. easy b. sophisticated c. blue d. wise

4. She sent the yesterday.
a. letter b. gift c. food d. books
(Madsen, S 1983 Techniques in Testing Oxford: Oxford University Press, chapter 2)
5. You can aet it from the lady he sold it to.
a. which b. who c. whom d. why
6. If I had a new fur coat,
a. I showed it to everyone. b. I'd show it to everyone.
c. I've shown it to everyone. d. I'll show it to everyone.

101
 ANALYSIS OF BAD TESTS

Classroom Task 2: Analyzing the test below. Figure out the mistakes
and correct them.
ENGLISH EXAM

PART 1:

1. Pick out the word whose underlined part is pronounced differently from
that of the other words.

1. A. beat B. head C. meat D. seat

2. A. but B. cut C. put D. bus

3. A. target B. farthest C. bargain D charming

4. A. school B. chemistry C. ache D. chair

5. A. giant B. game C. gate D. guest

6. A. allow B. borrow C. grow D. follow

Choose the word that has the stressed pattern at the different place from
e others.

1. A. alarm B. husband C. peasant D student

2. A. literature B. geography C. comfortable D interesting
3. A. summer B. district C. purchase D announce
4. A. technology B. particular C. occupation D. transplanting
5. A. education B. information C. television D activities
6. A. arrive B. remind C. apply D anchor
7. A. career B. people C papper D. female

3. Choose the best answer among A, B, C, D to fill in the blanks.

1. When w e ___ to see him last night, h e ______ to music.

A. come/is listening B came/was listening
C. had come/listened D. were coming/had listened

102
 2. They are selling their house to move t o ____
A. the smaller ones C. the one smaller

B. a smaller one D. a one smaller

3. Right now I ____ T.V. Tomorrow at this time, I______T.V as well.

A. watch/will watch
B. am watching/will be watching

C. have watched

D. was watching/am going to watch

4 . __________along Canary Street, I saw a terrible accident.

A. W hile walking C. W hile I had walked
B. W hile I walking D. To walk
5. Since his bicycle____ stolen last week, h e __________ to school by bus.

A. has been /goes C. was/has gone

B. had been/was going D. was/went
6. H e ____ for her for nearly one hour last night before s h e ___ .
A. was waiting/cam e C. has waited/comes
B. had been waiting/came D. waited/will come
7. Jane____ at my house when you__________________________ .
A. is/will arrive C. will be /arrive
B. will be/will arrive D. was/had arrive
8. On some occasions men smoke simply______ relax.
A. so that C. so as to
B. in order that D. so

4. Read the passage and choose the best answer.

Marconi was born in Bologna in Northern Italy in 1874. His father was a rich
Italian businessman and his mother was a Scot who had lived in Ireland and has
gone to Italy to study music. The family lived in a country house, the villa Grifone,
just outside Bologna. When he was a boy, peope didn't think that Marconi was
particularly clever. He was a quite boy who spoke little but thought a lot. He liked

103
nothing better than to sit and read science books. He also loved to do
experiments with electricity. For most of his early life, he was taught at home He
didn’t go to school.
• When was Marconi born?

A. He was born in 1874. C. He is born in 1874.

B. He were born in 1874. D. He has been bom in 1874.

• W hat did his father do?

A. He was an Italian doctor. C. He was an Italian chemist.

B. He was an Italian scientist. D. He was an Italian businessman

• The word “clever” in the passage means. ..

A. foolish B. intelligent C. stupid D. naughty

• Which invention was he famous for?

A. electricity B. chemistry C. physic D. generator

• Did he go to school?

A. Yes, he was. C. Yes, he did.

B. No, he didn’t. D. No, he wasn't.

5. Read the text below and choose the correct word or phrase for each space.

What do you do at the weekend? Some people like to stay at home but others
like to go (1)______ a walk or play football. My friend, Jack works hard in a
factory during the week. At the weekend, he (2)______the same thing. On
Saturday, he (3 )_ _ his car. On Sunday he goes with his fam ily to a village in
the country. His aunt and uncle have a farm there. It isn’t a big one but there is
always so much (4)___ on a farm. The children (5)_______ with the animals and
give them their food. At the end of the day, they are all hungry.
• A. in B. at C. for D on
• A. do always B. always do C. does always D always does
• A. washes B. wash C. to wash D washed
• A. do B. to do C. doing D. does
• A. see B. eat C. help D ma<e

104
6. Read the passage and choose the best answer.
If you are invited to an American friend’s house for dinner, remember these
general rules for polite behavior. First of all, arrive approximately on time but only
early. Americans expect promptness. It’ll be all right to be 10 or 15 minutes late,
but not 45 minutes late. When you’re invited to som eone's home for meal, it’s
polite to bring a small gift. Flowers and candy are always appropriate. If you have
something attractive made in your country, your host or hostess will certainly
enjoy receiving that gift. W hat’ll you do if you are served some food that you
cannot eat or you don’t like? Do not make a fuss about it. Simply eat what you
can and hope that no one notices it. Be sure to com plim ent the cook on the food
that you are enjoying. Do not leave immediately after dinner, but do not over-stay
your welcome, either. The next day, call or write a thank you note to say how
much you enjoyed the evening.
1. If you are invited to Am erican friend’s h o m e ,____
A. punctuality is appreciated. C. politeness is not necessary.
B. you should go late a bit. D. You should be late at least 45 minutes.
2. When you come to som eone’s house for d in n e r,_____
A. do not care about gifts.
B. bring a lot of gifts.
C. bring some flowers, candy, or something made in your native country.
D. you should never offer any gift.
3. Which sentence is Not True?
A. You should not compliment the cook on the food.
B. You should not over-stay.
C. You should not make some notice that you don’t like the food.
D. You should not leave immediately after the dinner.
4. The next day, _____
A. You needn’t say thank you.
B. Remember to thank to host for the dinner.
C. say nothing to the host.
D. invite the host to your house.
THE END OF THE TEST

105
 WRITING TEST INSTRUCTIONS

Classroom Task 3: Write instructions for the test item provided below.

Test item 1:
1. A. radio B. b|cycle C. child D. mine

2. A. pens B. pencils C. keys D. desks

Test item 2:
1. A. cinema B. library C. eleven D. balcony

2. A. seven B. sixteen C. fifty D. hundred

Test item 3:
1. A. pens B. book C. shoes D. keys

2. A. child B. men C. women D. teachers

Test item 4:
1. The film was so funny that I burst out laughing.
It w a s ........................................................................................................................
2. W ho does this umbrella belong to?
W ho.........................................................................................................................?
Test item 5:
1. At the hospital, doctors and nurses take care of their_________ .
A. students B. patients C. children D. friends
2. Do you like te a ______ lemon?
A. or B. with C. and D. by
Test item 6:

1. If you need to keep fit, then why not take on a sport such as badminton
or tennis? A B C D

2. By the year 2010 it may be possible to travel faster than the speed of the
light. A B C D

106
Test item 7:
There are (1) people in my family: my mother, my father, my sister and me.
My (2) is thirty-six years old. She’s a doctor. My father is forty-one.
(3) an engineer. My sister is fifteen. She’s a student. I’m twelve (4)
old. I’m a student, too. Every day I (5) up at six. I brush my teeth. I wash
my face. Then I (6) breakfast. I go to school at a quarter (7) seven. I
have classes from seven to half past eleven. I (8) home and have lunch at
twelve. In the afternoon, I do my homework. (9) four I play games. In the
evening, I watch television (10) seven to eight. Then I do my homework
ain. I go to bed at a quarter past ten.
1. A. two B. three C. four D. five
2. A. mother B. father C. brother D. sister

3. A. she B. she’s C. he D. he’s

4. A. hours B. days C. months D. years

5. A. stay B. get C. take D. go

6. A. take B. have C. do D. make

7. A. past B. of C. to D. for

8. A. go B. enter C. come D. arrive

9. A. in B. on C. by D. at

10. A. for B. from C. to D. between

Test item 8:
1. She never lau g h e d ,_________lose her temper.
A. either did she B. so did she ever
C. nor did she ever D. nor she ever did
2. The higher the standard of living and the greater the national wealth, the

A. greater is the amount of paper is used

B. greater amount of paper is used
C. amount of paper used is greater
D. greater the amount of paper used

107
Test item 9:

The Sunday paper is usually very thick. It has many advertisem ents and many
different sections. The adults in the fam ily like the front page, the editorial page,
and the world news section. Many men also read the sports pages and the
financial pages. Most men don't read the wom en’s pages, but the m other of the
family usually does. The w om en’s pages have news about parties and marriages,
and advice about food, health, and clothes. Most Sunday papers have comics,
which children enjoy very much. Older people read the death notices, which tell
about people who have died during the week.
1. W hat section do the adults like to read?
A. Advertisem ents B. Editorial page
C. Death notice D. Comics
2. Which of the following is NOT included on the w om en’s pages
A. News about parties B. News about marriages
C. The world news D. Advice about health
3. W ho is very interested in comics?
A. Women. B. The older people.
C. Adults. D. Boys and girls.
4. Which of the following is TRUE?
A. Sunday paper represents the world view.
B. Sunday paper is full of advertisements.
C. Sunday paper is the voice of families.
D. Sunday paper is not for sport fans.
5. The word “which” in the last sentence refers t o ____________ .
A. notice B. death C. dead people D. death notices
Test item 10:
1. My wife / anxious / find / good school / children.

2. My father / have to / work / Sundays / that can earn enough money /

support / family.

108
^ TEST WRITING TECHNIQUES

True/False

Good for:

• Knowledge level content

• Evaluating student understanding of popular misconceptions

• Concepts with two logical responses

Advantages:

• Can test large amounts of content

• Students can answer 3-4 questions per minute

Disadvantages:

• They are easy

• It is difficult to discriminate between students that know the material and
students who don't
• Students have a 50-50 chance of getting the right answer by guessing

• Need a large number of items for high reliability

Tips for Writing Good True/False items:

• Avoid double negatives.

• Avoid long/com plex sentences.

• Use specific determinants with caution: never, only, all, none, always,
could, might, can, may, sometimes, generally, some, few.

• Use only one central idea in each item.

• Don't emphasize the trivial.

• Use exact quantitative language

• Don't lift items straight from the book.

• Make more false than true (60/40). (Students are more likely to answer
true.)

109
Matching

Good for:

• Knowledge level

• Some comprehension level, if appropriately constructed

Types:

• Terms with definitions

• Phrases with other phrases

• Causes with effects

• Parts with larger units

• Problems with solutions

Advantages:
• Maximum coverage at knowledge level in a minimum amount of
space/preparation time

• Valuable in content areas that have a lot of facts

Disadvantages:

• Time consuming for students

• Not good for higher levels of learning
Tips for Writing Good Matching items:

• Need 15 items or less.

• Give good directions on basis for matching.

• Use items in response column more than once (reduces the effects of
guessing).

• Use homogenous material in each exercise.

• Make all responses plausible.

• Put all items on a single page.

• Put response in some logical order (chronological, alphabetical, etc.).

• Responses should be short.

110
Multiple Choice
Good for:

• Application, synthesis, analysis, and evaluation levels

Types:

• Question/Right answer

• Incomplete statement

• Best answer

Advantages:

• Very effective

• Versatile at all levels

• Minimum of writing for student

• Guessing reduced

• Can cover broad range of content

Disadvantages:

• Difficult to construct good test items.

• Difficult to come up with plausible distractors/alternative responses.

Tips fo r Writing Good Multiple Choice items:

• Stem should present single, clearly formulated problem.

• Stem should be in simple, understood language; delete extraneous

words.
• Avoid "all of the above" - can answer based on partial knowledge (if one
is incorrect or two are correct, but unsure of the third...).

• Avoid "none of the above."

• Make all distractors plausible/homoegenous.

• Don't overlap response alternatives (decreases discrimination between

students who know the material and those who don't).

• Don't use double negatives.

• Present alternatives in logical or numerical order.

• Place correct answer at random (A answer is most often).

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 • Make each item independent of others on test.

• W ay to judge a good stem: student's who know the content should be

able to answer before reading the alternatives.

• List alternatives on separate lines, indent, separate by blank line, use

letters vs. numbers for alternative answers.

• Need more than 3 alternatives, 4 is best.

Short Answer

Good for:

• Application, synthesis, analysis, and evaluation levels

Advantages: v

• Easy to construct

• Good for "who," what," where," "when" content

• Minimizes guessing

• Encourages more intensive study - student must know the answer vs.
recognizing the answer.

Disadvantages:

• May overemphasize memorization of facts.

• Take care - questions may have more than one correct answer.
• Scoring is laborious.

Tips fo r Writing Good Short Answ er Items:

• When using with definitions: supply term, not the definition-for a better
judge of student knowledge.

• For numbers, indicate the degree of precision/units expected

• Use direct questions, not an incomplete statement.

• If you do use incomplete statements, don't use more than 2 blanks within
an item.

• Arrange blanks to make scoring easy.

• Try to phrase question so there is only one answer possible

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Essay

Good for:

• Application, synthesis and evaluation levels

Types:

• Extended response: synthesis and evaluation levels; a lot of freedom in

answers

• Restricted response: more consistent scoring, outlines parameters of

responses

Advantages:

• Students less likely to guess

• Easy to construct

• Stimulates more study

• Allows students to demonstrate ability to organize knowledge, express

opinions, show originality.

Disadvantages:

• Can limit amount of material tested, therefore has decreased validity.

• Subjective, potentially unreliable scoring.

• Time consuming to score.

Tips for Writing Good Essay Items:

• Provide reasonable time limits for thinking and writing.

• Avoid letting them to answer a choice of questions (You won't get a good
idea of the broadness of student achievement when they only answer a
set of questions.)

• Give definitive task to students - compare, analyze, evaluate, etc.

• Use checklist point system to score with a model answer: write outline
determine how many points to assign to each part.

• Score one question at a time - all at the same time.

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Oral Exams

Good for:

• Knowledge, synthesis, evaluation levels

Advantages:
• Useful as an instructional tool - allows students to learn at the same time
as testing.

• Allows teacher to give clues to facilitate learning.

• Useful to test speech and foreign language competencies.

Disadvantages:

• Time consuming to give and take.

• Could have poor student performance because they haven't had much
practice with it.
• Provides no written record without checklists.

Student Portfolios

Good for:
• Knowledge, application, synthesis, evaluation levels

Advantages:
• Can assess compatible skills: writing, documentation, critical thinking,
problem solving

• Can allow student to present totality of learning.

• Students become active participants in the evaluation process

Disadvantages:

• Can be difficult and time consuming to grade.

Performance

Good for:
• Application of knowledge, skills, abilities

Advantages:

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 • Measures some skills and abilities not possible to measure in other ways

Disadvantages:

• Cannot be used in some fields of study

• Difficult to construct
• Difficult to grade

• Time-consuming to give and take

A3
Classroom Task 4: Read the text below and answ er the following
questions:
1. W hat steps did the writer employ in the construction of the test?
2. W hat tips were employed and what for?
3. How can the w riter validate the test?

A T e s t C o n s tru c tio n P ro c e d u re

I draw up study questions which cover virtually every important concept from the
chapter. This results in about 110 study questions per chapter. In the "old days"
when our university was on the quarter system, with classes meeting daily and a
typical student taking three classes, the number was 160. Now, with each student
taking five classes, and each class meeting only two or three times per week, 110
questions per week is plenty. That is also enough to give complete coverage of a
moderately sized textbook chapter.

I draw up a multiple choice question or two for each study question. If I can’t
come up with a good test item for a study question, I delete the study question. I
use questions with five alternatives, rather than four. That reduces the likelihood
of guessing the correct answer.

I avoid "all of these" or "none of these" or "both a & b" type answers for the
reasons discussed above (I found that excellent students could often come up
with creative reasons to pick the wrong answers). I just use five different
answers, and only one is correct.

I use quotation marks and scientific sounding jargon in wrong answers, just as
often as I do in correct answers. So these are not effective cues.

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Using each study question as a starting point, I construct plausible sounding
alternatives which are supposed to be clearly wrong... but which m ight sound
right to a poorly prepared student. I also do an item analysis at the end of the
term and delete questions which are missed by top-level students. If for some
reason a question is inscrutable to the top students in the class, then either
there is something wrong with the question or the level o f difficulty is
unreasonable, or the m aterial is not being explained very well. In any event, the
question should go.

For what it's worth, I find that I write better questions if I do so with the book
closed, working from a list of study questions alone. If I am looking at the answer
in the text while I write the question, the details are right in front of me and I am
more likely to write a picky question which requires students to have a
photographic memory. With the book closed, I must rely on my own memory of
the material. I figure if I cannot remember something myself, it is not reasonable
to ask students to remember it. This means I have to double-check later to make
sure my own memory of the material was correct, but it is worth the trouble
because the resulting questions are more reasonable.

The result of this whole procedure is quiz items which are hard to guess unless
the student truly understands the material. My "validation" for this procedure is
informal: I get very consistent results term after term, and I notice that students
who do poorly on my quizzes generally cannot talk about the material either. Yet
if they sit down, book in hand, and compare the quiz item to the study question
and the material in the text, the answer is obvious and the student seldom
complains that the test item is unfair. This leads me to think the test items are
doing their job.
(Source: adapted from “Writing Multiple Choice Items which Require Comprehension" by
Russell A. Dewey at http://www.psywww.com/selpquiz/aboutq.htm)

116
^ WRITING TEST ITEMS
©0
Classroom Task 5: Write Test items for the following texts:
Example:

1. Reading, Gram m ar and Vocabulary (GAP-FILL)

1. Điền vào chỗ trống, dùng những từ cho sẵn trong khung, sô '0 là vídụ.
has - leaves - have - tired - o f - a - bed - assistant - takes - watch
Pauline Wright is twenty-two years old. She lives in ____ an ____ (0)
industrial town in Michigan. She shares________ (1) room with a friend in the
center________ (2) town. She is a shop________ (3) and she works in a clothes
shop. She gets up early and________ (4) home every morning at eight o’clock.
She doesn’t ________ (5) a car, so she________ (6) the bus to work everyday. It’s
a very long working day and Pauline is very________ (7) when she gets home. In
the evening, she ________ (8) dinner with her friend and then they often
________ (9) television. They go to ________ (10) at about ten-thirty.

Steve Brent is a com puter software engineer in Seattle. Steve is Irish and comes
from Belfast in Northern Ireland. He works for a company which produces
computer games. He came to the United States in his early twenties because he
couldn't find an interesting job back home. He first lived in California for three
years, then he moved to Seattle where he found a more interesting job. He has
been living in Seattle for the last five years and prefers it to California. Steve is
very ambitious and he has already changed his job twice.

He enjoys living in the US, but he sometimes gets homesick and he would like to
go back, to Ireland to see his relatives more often. He wants to go home for
Christmas this year.

2, R eading (T/F)
It's six o'clock in the evening. Many people are at home. They are having dinner.
They are watching TV They are listening to music. But Mrs Bich is going to work.
She's a doctor and she works at night in the hospital. Today she's late. The
hospital is not in her neighborhood so she usually goes by car. She drives. Mrs

117
Bich is in her car now. She's driving fast. She should slow down but she m ust be
at work by six-thirty. A policeman stops her. "You're driving too fast!” he says.
"You're going to have an accident!". It's six-thirty. Mrs Bich is not at the hospital.
She's at the police station. Her car must stay there for fourteen days.

3. Listening (Monologue - GRID)

1) Mary, 24 years old, comes from Scotland and would like to find a pen pal
who comes from East Europe. She likes playing the piano and listening to
jazz music. She is interested in history but does not like discussing
politics.

2) Pietro, 42 years old, comes from Argentina. He is a businessman and

would like to find a pen pal who is also a businessperson and lives in
North America. He is married with three children and likes using the
Internet in his free time.

3) Jennifer, 18, comes from Cardiff in Wales. She is interested in discussing

the political differences between East Europe and the United Kingdom.
She loves riding her horse, Jackie, and listening to jazz music.

4. Reading (Multiple choice)

With a growth in air travel, airports have become symbols of international

importance, and are frequently designed by well-known architects. Airports have
impressive facilities nowadays. There are comfortable departure lounges, where
passengers wait before boarding their flight, restaurants, shopping areas and
banks. Good road and rail communications with nearby towns and cities are also
essential. However it is becoming increasingly difficult to find land on which to
build airports, as aircraft, despite improvement in engine design, are noisy, and
need a considerable amount of space in which to land and take off. Crowded
residential areas need to be avoided, so, unfortunately, suitable land and might
be an inconvenient distance away from the city.

118
 GROUP TASKS
Choose one chapter in the Tieng Anh 10, 11, 12 text books, then design

• One vocabulary test (at least 5 items)

• One pronunciation test (at least 5 items)

• One grammar and writing test (at least 10 items)

• One reading test (at least 5 items)

• One speaking test (at least 3 activities)

• One listening test (at least 5 items).

^ FURTHER READING

ASSESSMENT AND TESTING

Caroline Ciapham

INTRODUCTION

In this brief article, I discuss the relationship between language testing and the
other sub-disciplines of applied linguistics and also the relationship, as I see it,
between testing and assessment. The article starts with a brief exploration of the
term ‘applied linguistics’ and then goes on to discuss the role of language testing
within this discipline, the relationship between testing and teaching, and the
relationship between testing and assessment. The second part of the article
mentions some areas of current concern to testers and discusses in more detail
recent advances in the areas of performance testing, alternative assessment, and
computer assessment. One of my aims in this article is to argue that the skills
involved in language testing are necessary not only for those constructing all
kinds of language proficiency assessments, but also for those other applied
linguists who use tests or other elicitation techniques to help them gather
language data for research.

119
APPLIED LINGUISTICS AND THE ROLE OF ASSESSM ENT

It is usually the case with new disciplines that they go through periods of
adjustment as the limits of the discipline are realigned. Applied linguistics is going
through such a stage at present as its scope widens and its subfields start to
impinge on those of other disciplines.

The term ‘applied linguistics’ appears first to have been used in the late 1940s
when the discipline embraced the teaching and learning of second and foreign
languages (Johnson and Johnson 1998), but since then the discipline has
expanded to cover a wider range of sub-disciplines or 'subfields as they are
called by Bachman and Cohen (1998). In 1980, Henry W iddowson said, "...
applied linguistics yields descriptions which are projections of actual language
which explore linguistic theory as illum ination...” (p.169), and in 1997, Chris
Brumfit defined applied linguistics as "... the theoretical and empirical investigation
of real- world problems in which language is the central issue” (p 93). (See also
Ben Rampton’s [1997] introduction to the special issue of Applied Linguistics in
which Brumfit’s article appeared; this issue of Applied Linguistics focused on the
concept of ‘applied linguistics.’)

In 1999, Richard Hudson, in an e-mail to the LAGB (Linguistics Association of

Great Britain) listserve, said:

The main distinguishing characteristic of AL (Applied Linguistics) is its concern

with professional activities whose aim is to solve 'real-world' language-based
problems, which means that research touches on a particularly wide range of
issues-psychological, pedagogical, social, political and economic as well as
linguistic. As a consequence, AL research tends to be interoisciplinary
(Hudson 1999).

Language assessment plays a pivotal role in applied linguistics, operationalizing

its theories and supplying its researchers with data for their analysis of language
knowledge or use. It has itself become a sub-discipline of applied linguistics,
which is in some ways unfortunate, since it is has tended to become
compartmentalized (Bachman and Cohen 1998) and does not interact as much as
it should with the other sub-disciplines. Bachman and Cohen (1998) decry the
compartmentalization of second language acquisition (SLA) and language testing,
saying that most mainstream researchers in the two sub-disciplines are unaware
of research taking place in the other. However they hope tha* ih s ack of

120
awareness may now be changing. (For other discussions of the relationship
between testing and SLA, see Shohamy 1998, Upshur and Turner 1998.)

A key point, which perhaps not all applied linguists appreciate, is that language
testing is by no means limited to assessing the linguistic proficiency of L2
students. Many areas of linguistic research use elicitation instruments to gather
data, and these instruments often take the form o f tests or tasks (see, for
example, Robinson 1997, Skehan and Foster 1999). If the results of such data
elicitation techniques are to be credible, they need to be prepared with as much
rigor as proficiency tests, and they therefore have to be valid and reliable
(Alderson and Banerjee in press). Crudely, a valid elicitation technique is one
that accurately elicits what it is intended to elicit, and a reliable technique is one
that produces consistent results. (For discussions of validity, see Chapelle 1999,
Messick 1989; 1996, Shepard 1993; and for comments on the relationship
between validity and reliability, see Moss 1994). Although Messick (1989)
subsumes reliability under validity, since any valid measure must, by definition,
be reliable, it is useful here to distinguish between validity and reliability since the
assessment of an instru-ment’s reliability is often neglected in elicitation
procedures. If research is to have credibility, data gathering instruments must not
only be carefully designed to ensure that they will elicit the type of language
required, they must also be pre-tested to check that the measures do indeed elicit
such language practice and that any rating or coding system is workable and
capable of producing consistent results (see North and Schneider 1998). Since it
is generally expected that subjects in an investigation produce similar kinds of
language regardless of when the task is done, and that this language can be
analyzed in a similar manner regardless of when and by whom it is assessed or
coded, the reliability of the elicitation techniques must be given careful
consideration.

There has been much discussion about how language testing fits into applied
linguistics and how it relates to language teaching (see, for example, Bachman
and Palmer 1996). In general, it seems clear that “ ... language testing benefits
from insights from applied linguistics as a discipline...” (Alderson and Clapham
1992:164) but that it is sometimes necessary for testing to lead the way:

We believe that language testers can serve linguistic theory by examining the
way in which their tests work, how their different components interrelate, and

121
 what they reveal about candidates’ language proficiency. Insights from such an
analysis of test results should contribute to the development of a better
understanding of what is involved in knowing and using language (1992:164).
It seems, indeed, that each affects the other: M ethods o f assessm ent may
affect teaching in the classroom (Cheng 1997, W all 1996; 1997), w hile new
theories of language learning and teaching lead to changes in testing practices
(Spolsky 1995).
THEORIES OF LANGUAGE TESTING

With the advent of communicative teaching in the late 1970s, there was a need for
testers to devise new theories of language testing. Canale and Swain (1980), whose
model applied to both teaching and testing second and foreign languages,
included grammatical, sociolinguistic, and strategic com petence in their
description of the domains of language use. In 1990, Bachman added
psychophy - siological mechanisms and proposed four components in his model:
grammatical, textual, illocutionary, and sociolinguistic competence. Bachman and
Palmer (1996) elaborated on this model further to include both affective and
metacognitive factors. Bachman and Palmer’s model of communicative language
ability is used as the theoretical basis for tests such as the International English
Language Testing System (IELTS) test, and it provides the basis for many
current research projects (e.g., Hasselgren 1998). (See M cNam ara 1996 for a
discussion of language testing models.)

The term ‘assessment’ is used both as a general umbrella term to cover all
methods of testing and assessment, and as a term to distinguish alternative
assessment’ from ‘testing.’ Some applied linguists use the term ‘testing’ to apply
to the construction and administration of formal or standardized tests such as the
Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) and ‘assessm ent’ to refer to
more informal methods such as those listed below under the heading alternative
assessment.’ For example, Valette (1994) says that 'tests’ are large-scale
proficiency tests and that ‘assessments' are school-based tests.Intriguingly some
testers are now using the term ‘assessment’ where they might in the past have
used the term ‘test’ (see, for example, Kunnan 1998). There seems, indeed, to
have been a shift in many language testers’ perceptions so that they, perhaps
subcon- sciously, may be starting to think of testing solely in relation to

122
standardized, large- scale tests. They therefore use the term ‘assessment’ as the
wider, more acceptable term .
Since, for the rem ainder o f this article, I wish to comment on differing attitudes
between ‘testers’ and ‘assessors,’ I shall use the term ‘testers' for those who
concern themselves with requirements of validity and reliability, and 'assessors’
for those who are not consciously guided by such constraints. I must emphasize,
though, that while I am giving the two terms distinct meanings, I do not think that
there is a fundamental difference between them, and in other publications (e.g.,
Clapham 1997; to appear), I use the two terms interchangeably.

Unfortunately, although 'assessors’ and ‘testers' have the same aims, there is
less dialogue than there should be between them, possibly because many of
them tend to think of ‘testing’ and ‘assessment’ as being categorically different
(see Hill and Parry 1994) instead of being on a continuum with at one end those
‘testers’ who deliver carefully validated multiple choice tests, and at the other
end, ‘assessors’ who prepare real-life tasks for their students and candidates but
who do not concern themselves with how well these tasks actually work.
‘Assessors’ appear to distrust extreme ‘testers’ because they feel that these
‘testers’ are so wedded to the numerical analysis of data that they are not
sufficiently concerned with the content and administration of their tests. Such
‘assessors’ tend to be concerned that these ‘tests’ are not ‘comm unicative,’ and
that they may lead to negative washback (Brown and Hudson 1998). In contrast,
many ‘testers’ are concerned with the fact that, although the ‘assessors" methods
of assessment may be novel and interesting, the tasks are not pre-tested to see
whether they work as intended or whether the assessments can be delivered and
marked in a consistent manner. In short, they distrust ‘assessors’ because
‘assessors’ do not appreciate the importance of investigating the validity and
reliability of their instruments. Brown and Hudson (1998) quote Huerta-Macias
(1995) who says that it is unnecessary to evaluate the validity and reliability of
methods of alternative assessment because they are already built into the
assessment process. Brown and Hudson make the point that it is not enough to
build validity and reliability into the measures; the m easures must also be trialed
to see w hether or not they are valid and reliable in practice. (See also
Johnstone [in press] and Rea-Dickens [in press].)

123
A nother source o f distinction between ‘te sts’ and ‘assessm ents' is th a t som e
educators and applied linguists feel that ‘high stakes’ tests w hich have a
direct bearing on students’ im m ediate futures, need to have validity and
reliability built into them, but that ‘low sta ke s’ tests such as classroom tests,
which do not have such an obvious im pact on students' futures, do not
(Davidson, et at. 1997). T his division o f tests into high-and low -stakes types
seems to me to be m isguided: Tests do not fall neatly into one or the other
category. W hether a te st is ‘h ig h -’ or ‘low -sta ke s’ is surely a question of
degree; a test may be deem ed to be m ore ‘h ig h -stakes’ than another if
students’ futures are more clearly at stake, but all tests w hich assess students'
proficiency levels, w hether in the exam ination hall or the classroom , are in
reality high-stakes. Even if the results of a classroom test do not affect a
student’s im m ediate future, the results may becom e se lf fulfilling; fo r example,
a student with a low score may be considered by both te a ch e r and student to
be a poor language learner, and this may have a dam aging effect on the
student’s future perform ance. If students are to have an accurate idea of their
proficiency, they should, where possible, be given tests, w hich are valid and
reliable Even classroom tests, therefore, should, at least from tim e to time,
be checked to see w hether the skills being assessed are those intended,
w hether the marking schem e is appropriate and can be used consistently, and
w hether the results tally with other views of the student’s proficiency

This apparent dichotom y between ‘te ste rs’ and ‘assessors' has however,
become less marked as the move towards authenticity’ (see Bachm an 2000)
in text and task has led ‘te ste rs’ tow ards the increased use of o e ^o rm a nce
tests in addition, there is a trend at present, perhaps partly due to the
influence o f M essick (1989), for ‘te ste rs’ to be more concerned w ith the
construct validity than sim ply with the reliability of their m easures lT is also
the case, .possibly due to the influence of post m odernism , that m any ‘ esters'
are rejecting the positivist principle that there is an “ ... independently existing
reality that can be discovered (or m easured) using objective scientific
m ethods...” (Ham p-Lyons and Lynch 1998). The desire to question form er
‘truths' has led many te sters’ to trust standard statistical procedures ¡ess than
they used to. Some ‘te ste rs’ are also now expressing concerns aoout the
ethicality of testing (see Kunnan in press).

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C U R R E N T AREAS OF CONCERN IN TESTING
Areas that are attracting attention in the testing literature at present have, in a
number o f cases, been the subject o f recent ARAL reviews. Performance testing
was covered by Shohamy (1995), alternative assessment by Hamayan (1995),
advances in the use of the computer for testing by Chalhoub-Deville and Deville
(1999) and the interface between tasks and assessment by Skehan (1998) and
McNamara (1998). Other areas of current interest include test washback
(Alderson and Wall 1993; 1996, Wall 1997) and the ethics of language testing
(Davies 1997, Hamp-Lyons 1997, Kunnan in press, Norton 1997). (For more
about these and other areas of current concern, see Bachman 2000, Brindley in
press; see also Clapham and Corson 1997.) In the remainder of this article, I will
update the ARAL articles on performance testing, alternative assessment, and
the use of com puters for testing. I will, at the same time, relate these three areas
to real or imaginary differences between 'testers’ and ‘assessors.’
1. Performance testing

As Shohamy (1995) points out, alternative assessment and performance testing

have much in common. Indeed, the major difference between the two seems to
be that performance testers agonize about the validity and reliability of their
instruments while alternative assessors do not (Hamayan 1995). Both, however,
are concerned with asking students to create or produce something, and both
focus on eliciting samples of language which are as close to real life as possible
(see Kormos 1999, Lynch and McNamara 1998, Papajohn 1999, Upshur and
Turner 1998). McNamara (1996) states that a defining characteristic of
performance testing is that “the assessment of the actual performances of
relevant tasks are required of candidates, rather than the more abstract
demonstration of knowledge, often by means of paper-and-pencil tests”
(McNamara 1996:6; see also McNamara 1997). The same could well be said of
methods of alternative assessment.

2. Alternative assessm ent

Alternative assessm ent’ is one of the terms used to refer to informal assessment
procedures such as those often used in the classroom. Typical examples of such
methods involve portfolios (Hamp-Lyons 1996), learner diaries or journals

125
(Genesee and Upshur 1996), and interviews with teachers (Genesee and Upshur
1996). Such procedures may be more tim e-consum ing and difficult for the
teacher to administer than ‘paper-and-pencil’ tests, but they have many
advantages. They produce information that is easy for administrators, teachers,
and students to understand; they tend to be integrated; and they can reflect the
more holistic teaching methods being used in the classroom (Ham ayan 1995). A
problem with methods of alternative assessment, however, lies with their validity
and reliability: Tasks are often not tried out to see whether they produce the
desired linguistic information; marking criteria are not investigated to see whether
they ‘w ork’; and raters are often not trained to give consistent marks (see Brown
and Hudson 1998). As Hamayan (1995) says, such alternative methods of
assessment will not be considered to be part of the mainstream of language
assessment until they can be shown to be both valid and reliable.

Methods of alternative assessment are not, of course, solely used for classroom
purposes. Many alternative assessment schemes are initiated by local or national
government agencies (see Brindley 1998, Stansfield 1994) with aims such as
comparing students’ levels of linguistic ability or comparing levels of instruction
across institutions. Governments (sometimes in a hurry) wish to use the results
for their own aims (Brindley 1998). They do not appreciate the need for careful
trialing, and therefore they do not always allow researchers the time to try out the
assessment instruments. Some types of assessment used in these
circumstances may have high face validity they may look excellent to the
uninformed-but they may be marred by inappropriate marking schemes and rating
inconsistencies. Trialing such measures is essential if the final tools are to be
valid and reliable, but unfortunately such pre-testing and subsequent editing of
materials takes time, and time is often in short supply. Inevitably, the ensuing
tasks and marking schemes are not valid and reliable (Brindley 1998), and such
schemes, therefore, launched with much fanfare, may produce invalid results
which are unfair to students and teachers alike. If all assessors appreciated the
importance of trialing in the construction of all assessm ent procedures, they
might be able to work together to tell governments and other funding bodies that
test development requires more time if assessors are to devise satisfactory
assessment instruments.

126
The present move towards the inclusion of more performance testing in
examinations (see for example the University of Cambridge Local Examinations
Syndicate examinations) is also likely to bring ‘testing’ and ‘assessm ent’ closer
together, but, unfortunately, because of financial and practical constraints, some
large-scale tests are likely to remain much as they are, with uncontextualized,
multiple choice items. There is a danger that the authors of such large-scale
tests will be marginalized, and that their thorough work on pre-testing their items
will not be appreciated because of perceived weaknesses in test content.
Indeed, it is possible to envisage a day when performance testers and alternative
assessors align themselves against the producers of large-scale tests. Such a
division must not be allowed to occur.

3. Advances in com puter assessment

It is probably too early to say whether advances in the use of com puter
technology for testing will have a positive or a negative effect on testing and
whether computer administered tests will be distrusted by ‘assessors.’ Until
recently, computer testing tended to fossilize existing objective testing methods
because objectively marked items such as multiple-choice questions and gap-
filling tasks were straightforward to answer on the computer and were easy to
mark mechanically. Any attempts to introduce interesting new methods of
assessment and testing were foiled by limitations in the memory size and
processing speed of the computers. The move of the TOEFL towards computer
based testing too has, at least in the short run, extended the use of multiple
choice and other easy-to-mark objective items in computer tests. However, it
seems that the promised testing revolution may at last be on its way. The
expanding use of video conferencing and video interviews, the comparative ease
with which videos and listening extracts can now be downloaded from the Web,
the improvement in the computer’s ability to recognize sounds and letters, the
expanding uses of language corpora for teaching and testing, and the increasing
and more rapid storage capacity of modern computers are all widening the scope
of computer administered tests (see Burstein, et at. 1996, Drasgow and Olson-
Buchanan 1998, Ordinate Corporation 1998). These advances will not only
increase the efficiency of standardized tests, but will increase the scope of other
elicitation techniques.

127
One project that has the potential to produce interesting and yet easy-to- deliver-
and-mark tests is DIALANG, which aims to produce diagnostic tests in 14 different
European foreign languages (D IA L IN G 1997). The tests will be delivered on the
world wide web; they will be computer adaptive (see Chalhoub- Deville and
Deville 1999); and students, after taking their chosen test, will receive instant
diagnostic information about the strengths and weaknesses of their performance
At present, compositions written for DIALANG will be marked by hand, but this
may not always be the case as there are now research projects looking into the
computer marking of tests of language production (see Burstein and Chodorow
1999). Although it is hard to imagine computers ever replacing human markers,
and we might not wish them to, it is possible that they will take some of the
drudgery away from subjective marking and will thus make the marking task
easier and more interesting for the raters.
There will thus, in the near future, be great advances in com puter testing.
However, we cannot yet know whether or not there is still a danger that the use
of computers will limit rather than expand the kinds of tests that will be used.
CONCLUSION
One of my aims in this article has been to discuss the need to bring ‘testers’ and
'assessors’ closer together, and I expect that over the next decade any
differences between them will become less and less marked. ‘Testers.' I hope,
will become more open to ideas of different kinds of assessment, and assessors’
will be more willing to accept that even the most carefully designed task or set of
marking criteria needs to be trialed. If 'testers’ and ‘assessors’ can each see that
they are aiming for the same goal, they will perhaps start a dialogue which might
transform both tests and assessments. Similarly, on a larger scale, the basic
issues of testing and assessment are important in all areas of applied linguistics
that call on the use of elicitation techniques to collect data. All such elicitation
techniques should be reliable and valid. Understanding this connection,
however, will only be possible if all putative applied linguists (and all potential
language teachers) are introduced during their training to the vital tenets of
testing so that they can be more critical of the elicitation techniques they use.

ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY

Alderson, J.C. and D. Wall. 1993. Does w ashback exist? Applied Linguistics
14.115-129.

128
 This article opened language testers’ eyes to the fact that, although the
expression ‘washback’ was freely used in language teaching and testing
communities, and although there was plenty of anecdotal evidence as to its
existence, there had been few serious attempts to define it or to investigate
its existence and possible effects. The authors reported on the few existing
studies of language testing washback and listed fifteen washback hypo­
theses which, they said, should be investigated. This article led to a flurry of
investigations into test washback, and the results of the first of these
studies are now being published.

Bachman, L.F. 2000. Modern language testing at the turn o f the century:
Assuring that what we count counts. Language Testing. 17.1.

This is a state-of-the-art article on language testing in the year 2000. After

a brief overview of testing in the 1980s, Bachman comments on some of the
main areas of interest in the 1990s: criterion referenced measurement,
generalizability theory, item response theory, structural equation modeling,
qualitative research approaches, testing cross-cultural pragmatics, testing
language for specific purposes, testing vocabulary, computer based
assessment, and research into factors that affect performance. He also
discusses recent theories of language testing and the concept of
communicative testing. He concludes his overview of the 1990s with
discussions of test washback and test ethics, and then turns to w hat lies
ahead.
Bachm an, L.F. and A. Cohen. 1998. Language testing-SLA interfaces: An
update. In L.F. Bachman and A. Cohen (eds.) Interfaces between second
language acquisition and language testing research. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press. 1-31.

This chapter serves as a useful introduction to the book, Interfaces between

second language acquisition and language testing research. It discusses
the reasons why SLA and language testing were for some time viewed as
totally distinct, and it gives reasons why in recent years the two fields seem
to have moved closer together. Bachman and Cohen describe areas of
common interest between SLA and language testing and make
recommendations for future joint areas of research.

9- ENG LISH...LO GY3 129

/ S'
Bachm an, L.F. and A. Palmer. 1996. Language testing in practice. Oxford:
Oxford University Press.
This book, which is a key textbook in language testing at present, is
composed o f three parts: Part 1 discusses the conceptual basis of test
development and includes the Communicative Language Ability model,
which is used as the basis of much current research in language testing;
Part 2 describes the stages of language test developm ent and Part 3
describes a set of ten illustrative test development projects ranging from a
placement test used in a U.S. university to a syllabus based test for
primary school children.
Brindley, G. 1998. Outcomes-based assessment and reporting in language
learning programmes: A review of the issues. Language Testing. 1 5 .45-85

In this article, Brindley discusses national standards, fram eworks, and

benchmarks of various kinds. He shows that the introduction of such
systems has sometimes been problematic because of political, practical,
and technical factors. Brindley discusses what the problems are and
makes suggestions for how future systems might be more successfully
implemented.
Brown, J.D. and T. Hudson. 1998. The alternatives in language assessment.

TESOL Quarterly. 32.653-675.

The main purpose of Brown and Hudson’s article is to help language

teachers decide what types of language tests they should use in the
classroom. The article discusses the concepts of validity and reliability, and
lists the different kinds of tests that teachers might use. The authors group
tests under various headings such as ‘selected response’ and 'performance
assessments’ and describe the advantages and disadvantages of each type.

Clapham, C. and D. Corson (eds.) 1997. Language testing and assessment. Vol. 7.
The encyclopedia o f language and education. Dordrecht, Holland: Kluwer
Academic.

This volume contains 29 chapters on different aspects of first and second

language testing and assessment. Each chapter presents a state-of-the-art
description of one aspect of language assessment and provides a
bibliography of about 30 references for future researchers in the fie^d The

130
 book is divided into four sections covering the testing of individual skills,
methods of assessment, quantitative and qualitative approaches to test
validation, and the ethics and effects of testing and assessment.
McNamara, T. 1996. Measuring second language performance. London: Longman.

This highly readable book starts with a discussion of communicative testing

and defines what McNamara means by performance testing. This
discussion is followed by a valuable discussion of the influential models of
communicative language testing that have been devised since Dell Hymes
introduced his theory of communicative competence in 1972. In the econd
part of the book, McNamara starts by describing a performance test, the
Occupational English Test, and then devotes most of the rest of the book to
a discussion of the use of Rasch multi-faceted measurement for research
into the assessment of second language performance.

Messick, S. 1996. Validity and washback in language testing. Language Testing.

13.241-256.

This article focuses on washback and the consequential aspects of

construct validity. Messick relates washback to his overall conception of
validity and, in doing so, explains his ideas about validity more clearly and
concisely than he did in his seminal 1989 article.

Shepard, L. 1993. Evaluating test validity. Review o f Research in Education.

19.405-450.

This article discusses validity in educational measurement as a whole.

Shepard starts by describing the evolution of the concept of validity over
time and then devotes the second half of the article to a very clear
explanation of Messick’s theory of validity. She concludes the chapter with
comments on the implications of this reconceptualizing of the term for new
test standards.

Wall, D. 1996. Introducing new tests into traditional systems: Insights from general
education and from innovation theory. Language Testing. 13.334-354.

This article describes several key concepts in educational innovation. The

author applies these concepts to the teaching of English as a foreign or
second language and relates them to a study she carried out into the

131
 washback of a new school examination in Sri Lanka. She shows how the
belief that assessment and the curriculum would together affect teaching in
the classroom turned out to be misplaced, partly because of discrepancies
between the curriculum and the examination, and partly because of a lack
of teacher training in the new 'com m unicative' m ethodology In her
conclusion, she makes suggestions as to how future investigations into
washback should be carried out and how innovations in the classroom
might be brought about more successfully.

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