In the name of God
Course Syllabus
Course: Language Assessment
Instructor: M. H. Razmi
Email: [email protected] . Email is the best way to reach me. I respond to student
emails within 24 hours on weekdays.
Tel: +98 9179265114
Office hours: Saturdays to Wednesdays, 7:00 a.m.- 13:00 p.m. I am available and willing to
contact the students online outside scheduled office hours by appointment. Request an appointment
in advance.
COURSE DESCRIPTION
This is a basic course on language assessment and testing. Accordingly, a broad range of topics
have been incorporated into the course in order to ensure that the students will possess and can
display a decent breadth of knowledge on language assessment/testing upon course completion.
Topic diversification has been rendered upon major theoretical and practical themes: The first half
of the semester is devoted to a thorough, yet brief, review of the key topics that regularly appear
in any foreign language testing course. It is presumed that prior to entering the second half of the
course students would have mastered these very crucial topics. During the second half, substantial
practical topics of assessment will be covered in further detail. The course will be a discussion-
based presentation of issues that are of interest to assessments in EFL contexts. Topics have been
subjects of heated debate in the arena of second language assessment and testing in recent years.
COURSE OBJECTIVES
The goal of this course is to introduce the students to the field of language assessment and provide
them with an insight into the basic concepts of the area of study, namely, a brief history of language
assessment, functions, forms, and types of language tests, some basic statistics, test construction,
characteristics of a good test: reliability, validity, authenticity, theories of language testing, types
of language tests, testing skills, and testing subskills.
COURSE MATERIALS
Required:
Hughes, A., & Hughes, J. (2020). Testing for Language Teachers (3rd Ed.). Cambridge University
Press
Further Reading:
Supplementary articles and book chapters will be assigned during the term. You will be notified
of the newly-assigned materials in due course.
EXPECTATIONS
Attendance and participation: Active participation in class is encouraged and expected.
Attendance will be taken by the instructor each session. Participation includes coming prepared to
class and contributing through speaking in class.
• As B.A. students, you are expected to do the readings, actively review and reread the
assigned materials, reflect on them, and verbalize your thought in class.
• Spend at least 2 hours a week on the course requirements.
Term Paper
Individuals and/or pairs must choose their paper option and tentative topic by Farvardin 25th.
Please hand in a (no more than one page) declaration.
you may choose between two options:
{Option 1: Literature review
• Work individually.
• Write a critical review of 3 published journal articles on a topic of your choice related to
the theme of the course.
{Option 2: Review paper
• Work with a partner/individually
• Review paper (on one of the nationally or internationally-accredited ESL tests)
It is highly recommended to meet with the instructor during office hours (or an alternate
appointment time) at least once regarding the final paper. Such meetings can help with the choice
of topic, papers for the literature review, method for the experimental option, etc.
CLASS POLOCIES
To ensure a smooth flow of discussions, the following policies are established: Students are
encouraged to listen with an open mind, respect the contributions of others, and avoid personal
attacks. Students will often be faced with alternative viewpoints from the professor or their peers.
Thus, students should be prepared to defend their own positions with established knowledge
obtained from the assigned readings and reasoned argument.
GRADING
Punctuality & Regular class attendance 5%
Discussion involvement, In-class activities & Participation 15%
Term Paper 30%
Final Exam 50%
SYLLABUS
Week Date Readings Student
Presentations
1 Week 1 Introduction to the course
2 Week 2 Stages of test development
Ch. 7
3 Week 3 Common test techniques
Ch. 8
4 Week 4 Testing writing
Ch. 9
5 Week 5 Testing speaking
Ch. 10
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6 Week 6 Testing reading
Ch. 11
7 Week 7 Testing listening
Ch. 12
8 Week 8 Testing grammar and vocabulary
Ch. 13
9 Week 9 Testing overall ability
Ch. 14
10 Week 10 Tests for young learners
Ch. 15
11 Week 11 Beyond testing: other means
of assessment
Ch. 16
12 Week 12 New technology and language testing
Ch. 17
13 Week 13 Test administration
Ch. 18
14 Week 14 The statistical analysis of test data
Ch. 19
15 Week 15 Appendices
16 Week 16 Reviewing the previous materials
Assigning final exam materials
17 Final Exam
And finally, if you have any questions regarding anything in the syllabus and or the course in
general, please feel free to ask. Talk to me in class, via phone, or e-mail. Don't just assume that
you know (or should know) the answer, I may not have been clear enough or may have forgotten
to mention something.
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