Resume Material of Assessing Language Sub-

Skills

Language sub-skills or language components involved in communicating include

vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation.

(1). Vocabulary Tests

The purpose of vocabulary tests is to measure the comprehension and production of

words used in speaking or writing. The first, limited responses, is for beginners. The second,
multiple-choice completions, is a test in which a sentence with a missing word is presented;
student chooses one of four vocabulary items given to complete the sentence. A third type,
multiple- choice paraphrase, is a test in which a sentence with one word underlined is given.
A fourth kind of test, simple completion (words), has students write in the missing part of
words that appear in sentences.

Limited Response

In testing, children and beginning-level adults, we often use directed physical

responses and visuals. For these tests, students don’t have to know how to read or write. In
fact, they don’t even have to know how to speak.

a. Individual testing
Directed physical responses can easily be used when you test one student at a time. .
Individual interaction can also be very productive when testing language skills of beginning
students.

b. Group testing
You can use nonverbal physical responses as well to test the whole class at the same
time. A good way is to draw or duplicate a sketch such as the one on the opposite page and
give one to each person in the class.
Multiple-Choice Completion

` A good vocabulary test type for students who can read in the foreign language is
multiple-choice completion. It makes the student depend on context clues and sentence
meaning.

a. Vocabulary choice
We need to realize that sentence-completion items give you a chance to test passive
vocabulary. Since students have to recognize these words but not necessarily produce, this is
a good way to test more difficult vocabulary items.

b. Context preparation
With suitable words selected, our next step is to prepare contexts for them.
Sometimes-especially for beginning students-more than one sentence is needed to help clarify
meaning.

c. Distractor preparation
There are two common ways to choose distractors. Experienced teachers often create
their own. They can do so because they have developed a “feel” for the language that is
appropriate for their students. But there is a second and equally good way. Teachers who
create their own distractors should follow certain guidelines:
1. Make sure the distractors are the same form of word as the correct answer.
2. Also be sure you don’t give away the right answer through grammatical cues.
3. Multiple-choice items for any one question should be about the same level of
difficulty, and ideally, the sentence context should not be difficulty for students to
read.
4. Also be sure not to include more than one correct answer.

Instruction preparation
The instructions for your test should be brief; students shouldn’t have to spend a lot of
time reading them. And they should be clear; anxiety can cam from poorly worded questions,
and resentment from misunderstood directions. Some teachers prefer to give instructions
orally, but if any students come late, repeated instructions can distract those working on the
exam.

We have alternative form of multiple-choice completion items as in the following:

 1. Definition
2. Phrase Completion
a. Idioms
b. Appropriateness to Context
c. Phrasal Context (not sentence completion).
d. Multiple-choice Cloze.
Cloze test are made from stories or essay by deleting words at regular intervals. .
In addition, cloze tests provide more context-often more than one paragraph.
Multiple-choice cloze can test vocabulary when only content words are deleted.

Multiple-Choice Paraphrase
Multiple-choice paraphrase test of vocabulary items offer much of the same
advantage that multiple-choice completion test do, and the contexts are much easier to
prepare. A sentence context is still used.

a. Vocabulary choice and context preparation

In writing paraphrase items, we follow the same steps that we took prepare
completion items: (1) Select the words to be tested; (2) prepare a sentence context; (3) choose
distractors; and (4) write instructions.

b. Distractor preparation
In preparing one-word distractors, keep in mind the suggestion made in the section on
multiple-choice completion. In addition, here are some guidelines that apply particularly
(though not exclusively) to paraphrase items.

1. Try to get distractors that are related to the subject covered in the sentence.
2. Try to avoid pairing a word of opposite meaning with the right answer.
3. Try to avoid using distractors with the same meaning.
4. Also avoid trick items that use close spelling or sound contrasts, since a
vocabulary test is not a spelling exam.
5. When using phrase distractors, be careful that the correct answer is not generally
the longest.
 c. Instruction preparation
Instruction for multiple-choice paraphrase items can be prepared by following the
guidelines for multiple-choice completion instructions in the previous section. The following
are four alternate ways to write paraphrase items.
1. Idioms and Other Phrases
2. Phrasal Context
3. Reading Passage Context
4. Related-word identification
5. Unrelated-word identification.

Simple Completion (Words)

The steps in preparing a simple-completion vocabulary test are similar to those

followed in the two previous sections, but with one difference. Now no distractors are
needed. Here are the steps: (1) List the prefixes and suffixes that you have taught to your
students. Then match these with content words that they have studied (including even their
passive vocabulary). (2) Prepare sentences that clarify the meaning of these words that they
have studied. (3) Then, write your instructions and examples.

a. Vocabulary choice
b. Context preparation
c. Instruction preparation

Alternate Forms of Simple Completion Items

Here are four additional ways to prepare simple-completion questions:

1. Stem-first Procedure.
2. Phrasal Context.
3. Compounds.
4. Inflectional Cloze.

(2). Grammar Tests

Grammar test are designed to measure student proficiency in matters ranging from
inflections (bottle-bottles, bake-baked) to syntax. The first section is limited response, is
especially useful for students at the beginning level. The remaining sections discuss multiple-
choice completion, simple completion, and cloze tests.
Limited response
a. Individual Testing
b. Group Testing
This is remaining sections discuss :
Multiple-choice completion
While multiple-choice completion is an effective way to test grammar, teachers need
to be cautioned about the temptation to use this kind of item for all of their testing needs.
However, any given test is a kind of tool; while multiple-choice test can be used successfully
in testing grammar they don’t seem to work as well in testing conversational ability.
Preparing multiple choice completion grammar items follows about the same
procedure as that described in this Chapter for writing multiple choice completion vocabulary
items: (1) Choose the grammar points that you need to test (2) Prepare the right kind of
sentence context (or stem) for the grammar structure; (3) Select three logical distractors; and
(4) Prepare clears, simple instructions.
a. Grammar choice
b. Context preparation
c. Distractors preparation
Alternate Forms of Multiple-Choice Completion
1. Space Saver.
2. Dialog Context.
3. Error Identification.
Simple completion (sentences)
Simple-completion items used for testing grammar consist of a sentence from which a
grammatical element has been removed.
There are three steps to follow in preparing simple-completion grammar tests: (1)
Select the grammar points that need to be tested; (2) provide an appropriate context; and (3)
write good instructions. Most of this section will deal with the three basic kinds of simple-
completion grammar tests: (1) the option form, (2) the inflection form, and (3) the free-
response form.
These are three basic kinds of simple completion grammar tests :
1. The option form
The easiest simple-completion items are like multiple-choice questions with only two
options.
 This option form can easily be adapted from exercises in your textbook. Sometimes a
new pair of options is given for each sentence.
2. The inflection form
3. The free-response form
 Advantages of Simple Completion (Sentences):
1. Are generally easier to prepare than are multiple-choice items.
2. These give the appearance of measuring productive skills because some items permit
flexibility and original expression.
3. There is no exposure to incorrect grammatical forms.
4. These provide a sensitive measure of achievement.
 Limitations of Simple Completion (Sentences):
1. These are usually more time consuming to correct than are multiple-choice questions.
Not only can poor penmanship be a problem but also “irrelevant” errors beyond those
being tested.
2. Occasionally students can unexpectedly avoid the structure being tested
Cloze procedure
Cloze tests are prose passages, usually a paragraph or more in length, from which
words have been deleted.
But as we have seen in the introductory chapter, proficiency tests such as the doze do
have some limitations. A good achievement test could show big improvement on question
tags studied over a two- to three-week period.
The doze is simply a story or essay from which a number of words have been deleted.
So in doze tests, the overall meaning and surrounding grammar help us replace the missing
parts. Sentence-completion vocabulary and grammar items are similar in a way to doze tests.
Cloze passages simply have much larger contexts.
Kinds of cloze procedure there are :
1. Preparing a cloze test
2. Scoring the cloze
3. Adapting the cloze to test grammar
4. Alternate forms of cloze
(3). Pronunciation Tests
This part on pronunciation tests presents a variety of ways to evaluate students’
production and identification of the sounds, stress patterns, and intonation of English. After
looking at ways to test beginning students in the limited-response section, you are introduced
to multiple-choice hearing identification (evaluating how well students can recognize the
differences in meaning that a sentence can have, depending on how the teacher pronounces
various parts of it). The part concludes with a reading-aloud section that shows how to test a
student’s pronunciation by having him read something orally.
Limited response
a. Individual testing: oral repetition
Oral-repetition items are useful for students who cannot read or write English, because
they can simply listen to what their teacher says to them and then repeat it. Therefore, results
of an oral-repetition test could indicate potential for learning English as much as present skill
in using the language.
b. Group testing: hearing identification
Strictly speaking, the ability to hear and identify various sounds (auditory perception) is a
listening skill, but good pronunciation depends on how well we hear what is spoken.
Therefore, we include items of “hearing identification” as one kind of pronunciation test.
These can be simple enough for little children and adult beginners.
Alternate Forms of Limited-Response Items :
1. Substitution Drill. (The cue word can be spoken or written for
your students.)
2. Phrase Items.
3. Sentence completion.
Multiple-choice hearing identification
Hearing-identification items can of course be used with students who are literate in
their second language as well as with those who are not vet literate.
An Alternate Form of Multiple-Choice Hearing Identification
 Advantage of Multiple-Choice Hearing Identification:
This is a helpful combination of pronunciation and meaning.
 Limitation of Multiple-Choice Hearing Identification:
It is difficult to prepare suitable distractors. (Teachers whose own English is somewhat
limited will probably want to use a different technique than this to test pronunciation.)
Reading aloud
There are three points to keep in mind when preparing reading-aloud items: (I)When
using lists of sentences, evaluate only one or two points per sentence; (2) use natural
language; and (3) avoid signaling to the student which pronunciation point you are testing.
Let’s look at these three points in more detail.
1. Evaluate only one or two items per sentence.
2. Use natural language.
3. Avoid signaling the point being tested.
Alternate Reading-Aloud Items: Paper and Pencil
1. Stress Marking. Students silently read each item and then simply circle the letter of the
word or syllable that would be stressed when no special emphasis is required for a unique
context.
2. Sound-symbol. (Again, students read the item silently and circle the right answer. There
are rules for pronouncing various combinations of letters. This item checks knowledge of
the “o” in “short position.”)