Master 2 Mr.

Ammar Bouchemella
Department of English/ UBBA Techniques of Assessments

ASSESSING LANGUAGE SKILLS

I. Introduction
Language test broadly classified into two types as testing skills and testing knowledge of content.
Skills such as listening, speaking, reading, and writing and sub- skills such as comprehension, vocabulary,
grammar, spelling, punctuation, etc. Deferent kinds of tests are there to test student‟s knowledge in
language, the tests like non-referential test, aptitude test, proficiency test, achievement test and diagnostic
test.

II. Assessment of listening

Listening is a crucial skill for English as a foreign language (EFL) learners, as it allows them to
comprehend spoken English and engage in meaningful communication. In the EFL classroom, listening
instruction aims to develop students' ability to:perceive and identify sounds,understand individual words and
phrases,follow the main ideas and details of a listening text,recognize different types of spoken
language...ect
In the EFL classroom, teachers employ various methods to foster listening comprehension,
including: Pre-listening activities, While-listening activities,Post-listening activities,Authentic listening
materials , Feedback and assessment which is Providing students with regular feedback on their listening
performance and using appropriate assessment methods helps them track their progress and identify areas
for improvement.
Listening assessment is the process of evaluating a person’s ability to understand and comprehend
spoken language. It is an important part of language learning and development, as it helps to identify areas
of strength and weakness and to track progress over time.There are many different types of listening
assessments, but they all typically involve some form of listening comprehension task. These tasks can vary
in difficulty and format, and they may be used to assess different aspects of listening ability, such as:
1. Accuracy: The ability to correctly identify and understand the main points of a spoken passage.

2. Fluency: The ability to listen at a natural speed and without excessive pauses or hesitations.

3. Vocabulary: The ability to understand the meaning of a wide range of words and phrases

4. Grammar: The ability to understand the grammatical structure of spoken language.

Pronunciation: The ability to distinguish between different sounds and to understand speakers with
different accents.
How to Assess Listening?
There are many different ways to assess listening skills, but some common methods include: Listening
comprehension tests: These tests typically involve listening to a recording and then answering questions
about what was said.
Dictation: This involves listening to a passage of spoken language and then writing it down. Conversations:
This involves having a conversation with a native speaker and being evaluated on your ability to
understandand respond.
Master 2 Mr. Ammar Bouchemella
Department of English/ UBBA Techniques of Assessments

Self-assessment: This involves reflecting on your own listening skills and identifying areas where you
need to improve. the challenges associated with assessing listening skills in language education
Assessing listening skills in language education poses several challenges due to the dynamic and
multifaceted nature of this skill. Here are some challenges associated with assessing listening skills and
effective strategies to address them:

1. Authenticity of Materials:
 Challenge: Authentic listening materials may contain complex vocabulary, idioms, or
accents that can be challenging for learners.
 Strategy: Gradually expose learners to authentic materials, starting with simpler content and
progressing to more complex materials. Provide pre-listening activities to familiarize students
with vocabulary and context.
2. Varied Accents and Dialects:
 Challenge: Exposure to a variety of accents and dialects is crucial for language learners,
but it can make assessment difficult.
 Strategy: Include diverse accents and dialects in listening exercises. Use materials from
different English-speaking regions or provide exposure to various native speakers through
multimedia resources.
3. Lack of Context:
 Challenge: Assessing listening in isolation may lack the context that naturally occurs in real-
life communication.
 Strategy: Integrate listening assessments with other language skills (reading, writing,
speaking) to create a more authentic context. Design tasks that require students to
use information obtained from listening in subsequent activities.

4. Timing and Pacing:

 Challenge: Learners may struggle with processing information at the speed it is presented
in authentic materials.
 Strategy: Incorporate tasks that allow students to control the pace, such as pausing and
replaying recordings. Provide varied listening activities, including short and long passages,
to develop both gist and detailed comprehension.
5. Lack of Engagement:
 Challenge: Passive listening may lead to disengagement, making it challenging to assess true
proficiency.
 Strategy: Use interactive listening tasks, such as discussions, debates, or role-plays based on
the information heard. Utilize technology, like interactive online platforms, to enhance
engagement and provide immediate feedback.
6. Assessment Tools:
 Challenge: Traditional assessments may not accurately measure real-world listening skills.
Master 2 Mr. Ammar Bouchemella
Department of English/ UBBA Techniques of Assessments

 Strategy: Use a combination of assessment methods, including formative and summative

assessments. Implement technology-driven tools like speech recognition for pronunciation
and comprehension checks. Consider project-based assessments where students demonstrate
understanding through creative tasks.

7. Scoring Subjectivity:
 Challenge: Scoring listening assessments can be subjective, especially when evaluating open-
ended responses.
 Strategy: Develop clear and specific rubrics that outline criteria for assessment.
Consider using self-assessment and peer-assessment to involve students in the
evaluation process, promoting metacognition.

8. Individual Differences:
 Challenge: Learners have different learning styles, and some may excel in specific
listening situations while struggling in others.
 Strategy: Provide a variety of listening tasks that cater to different learning styles.
Offer flexible assessment options that allow students to showcase their strengths.

III. Assessing the Speaking Skill

Assessment tools are a procedures used to measure the students’ abilities, knowledge or performance
with the use of different procedures , according to Halya and Austin (2004, p.117) assessment involves
development of materials, processes, activities, and criteria to be used as a tool for deterring how place .One
of this tools is the speaking test which is used to measure students ‘speaking proficiency ,According to
Fulcher (2003), testing second language speaking is considered to be more difficult than testing other
language skills..Assessing speaking focus much more on the oral production in which students faced talking
tasks and have to speak while the teacher ‘role is to evaluate the students ‘level of speech and correct them.
When we give a speaking test to the students, normally, we are going to measure the following criteria:
- Pronunciation- Fluency –Vocabulary – Grammar - Discourse features (cohesion, sociolinguistic
appropriateness, etc.) -Task (accomplishing the objective of the task is also closely dependant on
comprehension).
Enhancing the speaking skill as one of the productive skill is very important in the teaching of
speaking. The teacher must provide students with opportunities to practice the language orally for the sake
of proved his student mastery of the language. The next important step for language teachers is to measure
their students’ abilities in the speaking performance. Evaluating the speaking ability is not an easy task as it
needs much time to administer to a large class .Language teachers are intended to judge their learners oral
performance through observing students' interaction and participation in class activities.

Types of Speaking Assessments

Tests in speaking varies from tests in other skills, for that Hughes (2003,pp.53- 55) states that
Assessment of speaking can be done by using: interview, interaction with peers and responses to tape
recording. These techniques are examples of the many techniques that are used to assess students’
abilities in speaking skill. Under the many formats of assessing the speaking skill of learners we mention
the following:

Formal and Informal assessment

Master 2 Mr. Ammar Bouchemella
Department of English/ UBBA Techniques of Assessments

According to Thorubury (2005, p.124) assessment of speaking can be done by using tow forms:
formal assessment and informal assessment. Formal assessments are based on systematic and planned
techniques as mention by Brown (2004) It is referred to as formal because of the fact that it is “systematic,
planned sampling technique constructed to give teacher and student an appraisal of student achievement”
(Brown, 2004, p. 6) .While informal assessments are not planned, i.e. can take place at various occasions
during the course by asking question to evaluate the student’ progress through commenting on their
speaking level. Also, it may be referred to any kind of teachers' feedback aimed at the students, such as a
word of encouragement, a smile, a pointed finger, a piece of advice concerning pronunciation, grammar,
etc.

Direct and Indirect assessment

In the field of language testing the speaking skill, can be directly tested since it is considered as a
productive skill that gives the examiner a direct output. Direct assessment can be defined as a test that
actually requires the learners to demonstrate their ability in the speaking skill performance and interact
directly with the examiner,i.e. it requires face to face interaction. However, when the teachers choose direct
assessment, they assess what the students are actually performing since direct assessment strongly facilitates
the teachers’ control of the learner performance (Luoma, 2004). While, Indirect assessment is used to
measures the ability or knowledge that underlies the skill that is trying to be to measured. Pronunciation tests
in which the students are required to read some words out loud are an example of direct testing whereas
asking the students to check the word that sounds different in a group of words is an example of an indirect
test of pronunciation.

Types of Scoring
Test must be reliable to get dependable scores, so that we can rely on them in decision-making. Unreliable
scores, on the other hand, can lead to wrong placements, unjustified promotions, or undeservedly low grades
on report cards. Luoma (2004,p.9) talks about the different types of rubrics that are generally used in
speaking assessment. These different rubrics are categorized into two main groups which are: Holistic
Rubrics and Analytical Rubrics.

Holistic Rubrics
The scorers assign a single score based on the general quality of students’ oral performance without relying
on scoring specific ability Brown (2004,p.191).Such rubric has one basically advantage over its
disadvantages which is time consuming .That is to say, this type of rubric is fast and saves time for the
teachers when they have many groups of students to assess their speaking performance. On the other hand,
holistic rating scale has some disadvantages as it does not guide and help students to progress in their
speaking ability as it gives no details about their weaknesses in speaking.

Analytical Rubrics
The analytic rubrics require the assessor to pay attention at individual criteria separately such as
,pronunciation, fluency and accuracy and gives each of them its own score ,then create a final score
(Hughes, 2003, pp. 94 – 95).In other words, The score in this approach is the sum of several aspects of the
oral performance rather than a single score. Thus, employing analytic rubrics helps students to enhance their
oral performance by recognize their area of weaknesses and which aspect of speaking they need to work on
for further improvement. However, it takes more time and energy for teachers to apply it.

IV. Assessing reading Comprehension

Master 2 Mr. Ammar Bouchemella
Department of English/ UBBA Techniques of Assessments

In order to assess reading comprehension, teachers should use several methods and no single
technique can truly measure students‟ reading skills. A reading comprehension test may subsume
activities such as: gap filling, short questions, multiple choice questions, true or false questions, and yes-
no questions.
The advantages of using short-answer questions based on a reading passage in testing
reading comprehension is that the answers should be sought and expressed by the learner rather than
being offered. This can ease the testing at higher order skills, such as interpretation and evaluation, and
gives the assessor the opportunity to assume reasonably that the learner truly put the answer for no
reason other than he has actually comprehended the text .
The main goal of reading comprehension tests is, according to (Weir, 2005), to measure reading
mastery without stressing grammar or spelling. However, in assessing reading, failure to take errors in
language use into consideration may lead to the perception that spelling, grammar, and punctuation are not
essential to language learning. Therefore, reading comprehension assessment should target not only
students‟ comprehension of a text but also the factors that facilitate or impede this comprehension .
In order to actually check students‟ comprehension of texts, various types of questions should
be used. In fact, approaches to the evaluation of reading comprehension have tried to introduce
interactive activities and tasks .The use of questions is an integral part of these activities and well-
designed questions would help learners better interact with the text to build up meaning. Indeed, a
combination of comprehension activities helps learners respond to various types of comprehension.
There are numerous methods and forms of reading comprehension tasks that can be used in
assessing students‟ comprehension and stimulating their understanding of a text. These techniques
may take formal or informal forms. Sally and Katie (2008) state some of these tasks:
1. Yes-No Questions
These are questions that should be answered with either yes or no. However, teachers are
recommended to follow up these questions by other types of questions to make sure that students have
understood the text as Yes/No questions can be answered correctly by chance.
2. True or False questions
This is another type of a reading test that is familiar to most learners .It consists of a text
accompanied by a series of statements. Learners need to decide and mention whether the given
statements are true or false according to the text.
This kind of reading comprehension questions provides learners with a set of sentences or
statements. For answering these questions, learners are required to read the text and discover the true and
the false statements without giving answers in a complex written response .They are good activities for
memory of literal details in the text but they are limited in assessing specific comprehension skills such
as making inferences and meanings. More importantly, teachers should not rely exclusively on them
because, like Yes/No questions, learners can give right answers by chance without knowing why these
answers are correct.
True or False questions need to be carefully designed because the false answers should target the
potential misunderstandings of a text. Besides, the false answers that sound obviously incorrect do
not help teachers assess learners‟ comprehension because learners do not need to understand the text to
recognize them as incorrect
Master 2 Mr. Ammar Bouchemella
Department of English/ UBBA Techniques of Assessments

3. Matching
This type is likely to be less familiar to learners, but increasingly common. They are used by
many assessors. Some of reading comprehension tests designers may include more than one matching
task in their tests. For doing a matching task, learners need to choose from a list of prompts. These prompts
may be statements, headings, or question completion .For instance, learners can be asked to match a
description to the appropriate paragraph, or to match words and phrases to their meanings.

4. WH questions
Wh questions are questions that begin with Wh such as: “where”, “why”, “who”, “when”, and
“how”. These questions are useful in providing learners with literal understanding of a text and help
them recognize information in the text and make evaluations and personal predictions.

5. Open -Ended Questions

These questions are used in standardised assessments .They are useful in assessing the
component skills of comprehension such as the ability of learners to make inferences from the text .In fact,
learners are asked different questions for the reason of testing their memory and their comprehension
of the text .However, it is important to mention that this form of assessment may have some weaknesses
because learners have to formulate verbal or written responses which may underestimate their
comprehension because of their language deficits.

6. Multiple-Choice Questions
This type of the reading task is the most familiar to learners. It is composed of a text which can be
of any type accompanied by one or more multiple choice items. These choices may be in the form
of statements, a question with answers, or incomplete statements with a choice of phrases or words
.Generally, there are three or four options and only one of them is the right one .It is important to have
statements corresponding to specific paragraphs or sections of the text, but there may be statements that
assess comprehension of the whole text. Developing a good multiple-choice question needs a careful
consideration. In fact, a question with four choices works best for learners with low proficiency in the
target language, and one of the four choices should sound the right and the desired answer. Literal
comprehension can be checked more effectively by the use of multiple-choice questions. Besides, they
can also be used for prediction and evaluation. However, these questions need to be followed by
other activities to make learners explain their choices. Generally, this type of questions may have one
correct answer when it targets the literal comprehension. Actually, a multiple-choice format with
“wh” question is easier than no-choice “wh” question because it pushes learners to check the text to
know if any of the choices are discussed.

7. Gapped Texts
This kind of reading comprehension test includes texts or diagrams from which single words,
phrases, sentences, or paragraphs are deleted .These filling the gaps tasks can also be used in testing
grammar and vocabulary. In some tasks, learners have to decide what should fill in the gap, while in some
others, they are given a series of alternatives for choice .Where words, sentences, or paragraphs are
removed, there is an item among the given alternatives that is odd to the text. Gapped texts offer a task that
can be used in testing or assessing learners‟ reading skills. It can be applied to all types of texts and can be
included in lower-level exams and for learners with low-level performance.

8. Proofreading
Master 2 Mr. Ammar Bouchemella
Department of English/ UBBA Techniques of Assessments

This kind of tasks includes deliberate errors or mistakes of different types in the text provided.
Despite the fact the proofreading activities make part of grammar and vocabulary tests, they can also be
used in reading comprehension assessments .In fact, the texts can be of any type and, in most cases, is
formed of numbered lines .Some lines may involve an extra, or a misspelt word, or an error of
punctuation, while the other lines are correct .At this level, learners need to read the text, mark the correct
lines, remove the extra words, and correct the spelling and punctuation errors.

V. Aassessing Writing
Over the past few years language testing specialists have called for performance assessment in EFL
contexts. Advocates of performance assessments maintain that every task must have performance criteria for
at least two reasons. On the one hand, the criteria define for students and others the type of behavior or
attributes of a product which are expected. On the other hand, a well-defined scoring system allows the
teacher, the students, and others to evaluate a performance or product as objectively as possible. If
performance criteria are well defined, another person acting independently will award a student essentially
the same score. Furthermore, well-written performance criteria will allow the teacher to be consistent in
scoring over time. If a teacher fails to have a clear sense of the full dimensions of performance, ranging
from poor or unacceptable to exemplary, he or she will not be able to teach students to perform at the
highest levels or help students to evaluate their own performance (Hyland, 2003).
In developing performance criteria, one must both define the attribute(s) being evaluated and also
develop a performance continuum. For example, one attribute in the evaluation of writing might be writing
mechanics, defined as the extent to which the student correctly uses proper grammar, punctuation, and
spelling (Birjandi, Alavi & Salmani Nodoushan, 2004). As for the performance dimension, it can range from
high quality (well-organized, good transitions with few errors) to low quality (so many errors that the paper
is difficult to read and understand).
Testers and teachers should keep in mind that the key to developing performance criteria is to place
oneself in the hypothetical situation of having to give feedback to a student who has performed poorly on a
task. Advocates of performance assessment suggest that a teacher should be able to tell the student exactly
what must be done to receive a higher score. If performance criteria are well defined, the student then will
understand what he or she must do to improve. It is possible, of course, to develop performance criteria for
almost any of the characteristics or attributes of a performance or product. However, experts in developing
performance criteria warn against evaluating those aspects of a performance or product which are easily
measured. Ultimately, performances and products must be judged on those attributes which are most crucial
(Hyland, 2003).

Developing performance tasks or performance assessments seems reasonably straightforward, for

the process consists of only three steps. According to Hyland (2003), the reality, however, is that quality
performance tasks are difficult to develop. With this caveat in mind, the three steps include:
1. Listing the skills and knowledge the teacher wishes to have students learn as a result of completing a task.
As tasks are designed, one should begin by identifying the types of knowledge and skills students are
expected to learn and practice. These should be of high value, worth teaching to students and worth
learning. In order to be authentic, they should be similar to those which are faced by adults in their daily
lives and work;
2. Designing a performance task which requires the students to demonstrate these skills and knowledge.
The performance tasks should motivate students. They also should be challenging, yet achievable. That is,
they
Master 2 Mr. Ammar Bouchemella
Department of English/ UBBA Techniques of Assessments

must be designed so that students are able to complete them successfully. In addition, one should seek to
design tasks with sufficient depth and breadth so that valid generalizations about overall student competence
can be made;
3. Developing explicit performance criteria which measure the extent to which students have mastered the
skills and knowledge. It is recommended that there be a scoring system for each performance task. The
performance criteria consist of a set of score points which define in explicit terms the range of student
performance. Well-defined performance criteria will indicate to students what sorts of processes and
products are required to show mastery and also will provide the teacher with an ―objective‖ scoring
guide for evaluating student work. The performance criteria should be based on those attributes of a
product or performance which are most critical to attaining mastery. It also is recommended that students
be provided with examples of high quality work, so they can see what is expected of them.

APPROACHES TO SCORING WRITING

Scoring writing is a very delicate task. There is still a lot of controversy among teachers as to how
students‘ writing assignments should be scored. Traditionally a student‘s writing performance was judged,
in a norm-referenced approach, in comparison with the performance of others. Over the past few decades,
however, this norm-referenced method has largely given way to criterion-referenced procedures. In a
criterion-referenced approach to scoring writing, the quality of each essay is judged in its own right against
such external criteria as coherence, grammatical accuracy, contextual appropriateness, and so on. According
to Hyland (2003), such an approach takes a variety of forms and falls into three main categories: (a)
holistic,
(b) analytic, and (c) trait-based. As Weigle (2002) claims, the holistic approach offers a general
impression of a piece of writing; the analytic approach is based on separate scales of overall writing
features; and the trait-based approach takes a particular task into consideration and judges performance
traits relative to its trait‘ requirements (Hyland, 2003).