Purposes and Methods of Language Testing Presented by: Diyanti (11132020) Lecturer: Dr. Hermayawati, M.Pd. English Program Study Mercu Buana University of Yogyakarta 2014
Teacher-made Tests versus Standardized Tests In any consideration of educational testing, a distinction between the rather informal, teacher-made test of the classroom and those formal, large-scale, “standardized” instruments which are prepared by professional testing services to assist institutions in the selection, placement, and evaluation of the students.
The Principal Educational Uses Of Language Tests The following lists summarizes the chief objectives of language testing in measuring student ability or potential To determine readiness for instructional programs. To classify or place individuals in appropriate language class. To diagnose the individual’s specific strengths and weakness. To measure aptitude for learning. To measure the extent of student achievement of the instructional goals. To evaluate the effectiveness of instruction. http://www.emergingedtech.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/Longfield_Academy_iPad_Study.png
Continue… For simplicity, the six categories can be grouped under three general types of language tests defined in the following manner An aptitude test serves to indicate an individual’s facility for acquiring specific skill and learning's. (category 4) A general proficiency test indicates an individual capability of doing now (as the result of his cumulative learning experiences), though it may also serve as a basis for predicting future attainment. (categories 1 to 3) An achievement test indicates the extent to which an individual has mastered the specific skills or body of information acquired in a formal learning situation. (categories 5 and 6) http://www.peoplemaps.com/main/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/aptitude-test-300x297.jpg
The Principal Language-testing Techniques Translation Translation was the formerly one of the most commonly teaching and testing devise. Dictation dictation is another testing device that retains some of its form popularity in certain areas. Composition A composition test allows the examinee to compose his own relatively free and extended written responses to problem set by the examiner.
Continue… Scored Interview Multiple-Choice Items Short-answer Items Roughly parallel to the composition as a measure of students' written language is the scored interview as a device for assessing oral competence. Multiple-Choice Items Multiple-choice or selection items type were developed overcome a number of the weaknesses of the composition test that we noted earlier. Short-answer Items Short-answer test combine some of the virtues of both multiple-choice and composition test. http://www.gradebook.in/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/MCQ.jpg
The Language Skills and Their Components Figure 1. chart of the Language Skills and Their Component Component Language Skills Listening Speaking Reading Writing Phonology Structure Vocabulary Rate and General fluency http://myworldchildcenter.com/images/tot15.jpg
Contrastive Analysis and Language Testing Contrastive analysis is the systematic study of a pair of languages with a view to identifying their structural differences and similarities. Contrastive analysis still have a role to play in language formation and history. The production of language family trees and genealogies are useful for explaining how different languages were formed and where they came from. It is also used to connect different languages together. http://www.courses4u.ie/files/languages.jpg
References Harris David P.(1969).Testing English as a Second Language.USA:McGraw-Hill http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-contrastive-analysis.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contrastive_analysis