How & Why? Carola Kornfeld ‘little tests’ How & Why? Carola Kornfeld I have carried out little tests in classes for the past year – and later on I am going to explain to you the procedure – Just a few words to start with

Reasons For over 1 year Students like them and want to do them Easy to recognise and record progress

How do they work 5 to 10 minute tests Check what has been recently covered they are relatively easy to ensure success corrected by their peers (option: self correction) students can prepare for them – they are told about them in the previous lesson content is discussed  involvement Peer correction encourages them to think about it and discuss it with each other, self correction only if the atmosphere in the class doesn’t feel right or if someone really objects This is then followed by correction in class – on interactive whiteboard Discussing content in my opinion is important – that way they don’t feel that something is imposed on them, feel too tested – students are part of the decision making process

My reasons for doing the ‘little tests I find it difficult to measure and record achievement in a large class - I don’t have the time for monitoring and taking notes - later I don’t remember I wanted to measure and record achievement easily Thought of doing little tests So I started doing them and then I had my doubts

What effect do the tests have on learners? Because they might perceive them as patronizing and be worried about them. If they don’t do well – do they make learners feel bad?? Because one of the ‘older learners’ in the Fast Track Course got very anxious Unsure? Confident?

Small Scale Research Handed out /e-mailed 26 students – 22 students returned the questionnaires 21 out of 22 students liked the tests or liked them very much, one student was not sure All 22 students find them beneficial or very beneficial Main reason for finding them beneficial is: They increase motivation to study 5 of 7 tutors had 17concerns 4 of 24 students had 6 concerns The person who was not sure was a dyslexic student – this shows that extra care has to be taken None of the learners ticked any answer relating to either increased or decreased self confidence Last point pretty amazing – Why are we as tutors so worried??? In students comments - phrases like: patronizing, respect etc did not appear anywhere

Quote from the student who initially displayed anxiety “After doing a test I get a sense of success. At the same time there is some anxiety about the test. But in my mind there is no contradiction” 64 year old learner – oldest learner in the class from the Fast Track Course last year and the person who in a way prompted the research Other students said it helps their motivation to learning. If they have to do a test they study. They don’t find the test threatening as it is not judged, it doesn’t get any marks, it doesn’t count towards a final qualification However, I still believe that one has to be careful with the tests as if students do not get positive results they may be off-putting!!!

Example Kleine Übung Name: Date: 1. Nennen Sie 8 Körperteile - mit oder ohne Artikel 2. Setzen Sie bitte die richtigen Formen ein. Wollen, sollen, müssen, dürfen, können, mögen Ich lerne Deutsch, weil ich Deutsch lernen .................... Manchmal ........... ich den Lehrer nicht verstehen. Good to do it quite soon after the warm up – so that they don’t worry too long - in some classes they have actually asked to do it later because people are always late and they don’t want to miss out on the test! Give time to think at any point Explain clearly – meaning of the sentences e.g name parts of the body – option with or without article – differentiation choose the correct word (given in the infinitive) – put into the correct form Process: 5 – 10 minutes test – try to stick to the time but if you see it’s not enough give a bit more time students do it swap papers to correct – they are encouraged to discuss it with each other – learn from each other this is a very important part of the process  they are taking responsibility for their own learning good atmosphere of dialogue – comes naturally in most classes this can be monitored – their reasoning can be monitored – and this may be more important than how well they can actually do Then correction in class – usually on memory stick and students call out or even fill in …. Collect the papers after the test and return them to student latest the following lesson

Things to remember Discuss with students the week before – involve them! Make it easy – particularly the first one Give a precise marking scheme e.g. 2 points for correct word and spelling, 1 point only if spelled incorrectly Possibly hand out coloured pens So that it does not feel like it’s imposed on them Easy – particularly the first one as you don’t want to put students off – e.g. I do a ‘little test’ in the third week – spelling and numbers Coloured pens make it a bit more official (possibly not for the first time but it’s easier to see what the student could do himself/herself and what was corrected – maybe take out the reds! Names – otherwise difficult to record

Benefits Encourage motivation to learn Built self confidence Encourage students to take responsibility for their own learning and encourage discussion amongst students through peer correction Relatively easy to recognise and monitor student progress and achievement

….. and from my own experience adult learners are often very keen to find out how they are doing Fast Track Classes  ordinary 1 ½ hour classes Introduce them with a !!! Initially thought maybe more suitable for Fast Track Classes as students are very motivated – tried now in 1 ½ hour classes no difference