usually played for two times; first, the students listen for information
and attempt to insert the missing details. The second time allows them to
add what they had failed to understand at the beginning. The author of the
paper had not used that as a direct test format but as a while-listening
activity during her classes. According to her scrutiny the students with
more advanced language abilities were able to comprehend the texts
immediately, whereas the weaker students sometimes could not manage to
understand the message even listening for the tape for the third time. That
again proves the significance of usage of pre-, while and post-listening
activities in the language classroom. Weir (ibid.) states that such type of
testing involves the students’ short-time memory, which they need to switch
while listening to the tape.
According to Weir (ibid.), one of the advantages of listening recall
is uncomplicated construction, administration and marking.
Nevertheless, there are several disadvantages, as well. There is a
danger, that the students will read the passage before listening to the
tape, thus we will not be able to evaluate exactly their listening skills.
The author of the current paper had encountered the similar situation,
where the teacher warns the students not to read but just listen. However,
they start reading immediately after receiving the text, even though the
tape record being still turned off.
5.8 Testing Grammar Through Error-recognition Items and Word Formation
Tasks
One of the test formats for testing grammar is error-recognition
items. Here the teacher writes sentences underlining various words. One of
the words is obligatory wrong, and the students have to identify what word
is wrong and should be corrected. Heaton (ibid.) introduces a variation of
that type, saying that the teacher can supply the students with incorrect
sentences asking the students to provide the right variant. This again
demands a fairly good knowledge of the subject from the students to
differentiate between the right and wrong variants. In that case the error-
recognition format could be compared with multiple-choice format and even
called a branch of it. Below you can find the example of error-recognition
items format:
1. I can’t come to the phone – I have / I’m having a shower!
2. I watched/ I was watching TV when suddenly the telephone
rang.
3. I had been waiting/ I had waited in the rain for ages when
she finally turned up.
(First certificate Star, Luke
Prodromou, p.12)
Further, for testing grammar and language structures we often use
word-formation tasks, e.g.:
Making friends and ………people is a gift that some influence
………….people seem to be born with, while for others it luck
is a skill that has to be ……..through practice and acquire
hard work. It is, however, …….to know that most skills, comfort
particularly ………….skill, can be learnt and that it is never society
too late to start improving.
(First certificate Star, Luke
Prodromou, p.41)
or
|verb |noun |person |Adjective |
|Invent | | | |
| | |discoverer |- |
| |creation | | |
It is frequently used in centralized exams to know the students’
ability to coin new words that displays the students’ advanced level of the
language. The students are demanded coining nouns from verbs, adjectives
from nouns, etc. This requires certain knowledge of prefixes, suffixes and
roots in order to create a necessary word. Word coinage is an inevitable
skill for recognizing new word items either.
5.9 Controlled writing
In order to check the students grammar and writing ability the
teacher can use different test formats: transformation, broken sentences,
sentence and paragraph completion, form filling, notes and diaries.
According to Heaton (1990:32), transformation deals with re-writing
sentences. For example, the students are asked to change a sentence in
Active voice into a sentence in Passive voice. To differ the task the
teacher can put the required word in brackets at the end of each sentence.
The students will need to transform a sentence to fit the word in brackets.
Or another example of transformation could be changing the focus of the
sentence, e.g.:
1. Berlin is not an easy city to move about in.
Difficult
It………………………in Berlin.
2. I wonder if you could open the window.
Could
You couldn’t ………………….
3. When did you start to learn English?
Been
How…………………….English?
(First certificate Star, Luke
Prodromou, and p.40)
Further, he discusses the sentences that are divided into fragments
(he calls them broken sentences), and the student’s task is to arrange the
words in order to produce correct examples. Thus, the students have to know
grammar and syntaxes to make a right sentence with the correct word order.
Sometimes the students are asked to alter the words to make grammatically
correct sentences, e.g.:
1. a German/hunting/huge/black dog
2. a 25-year-old/Opera/tall singer
3. a brand-new/plastic/shopping/green bag
4. an English/young/interesting teacher
(First certificate Star, Luke
Prodromou, and p.80)
Afterwards, the students can be asked to complete the whole
paragraphs, finish dialogues, write diaries using the given information,
and fill the form, for example hotel check-in. The author of the paper had
used writing a diary in her 8th form, when the learners had to write the
diary of captain’s wife whose husband disappeared in the sea. They also had
to write the diary of the captain himself before the catastrophe. The
students liked the task immensely.
5.10 Free writing
Heaton (ibid.) believes that the most suitable way to check the
students’ writing skills is asking them to write a composition. The teacher
can include a variety of testing criteria there depending on what is really
being tested. The topics for a composition should be appropriate to the age
of the students and respond to their interest. However, the teacher has to
establish clearly what s/he is going to check (the material studied: e.g.
grammar) and what could be neglected. The students have to know whether
the teacher is interested in the context or may be s/he is concerned with
grammar and spelling, as well.
5.11 Test Formats Used in Testing Speaking Skills
We are not going to deep into details of test formats used for
testing speaking skills. Heaton (ibid.) displays that one of the most
essential elements of testing speaking is pronunciation. To check how the
students pronounce certain testing items the teacher may ask his/her
students to read aloud and retell stories. Moreover, the teacher will
receive the impression how well his/her students can operate with the
spoken language.
Afterwards, the teachers can use pictures to test the students’
speaking skills. This is widely used task, and a lot of teachers use it to
check the students speaking skills and the knowledge of the vocabulary.
Moreover, while describing the picture the student will have to imply the
correct grammar and knowledge of the English sentence structure. The
description could be done on the spot and does not require a lot of time
for preparation, though Heaton (ibid.) stipulates that the teacher should
ensure his/her students with a time during which they can formulate their
ideas before presentation.
Apart from the pictures the students could be offered to describe a
person if their topic is people’s appearance or jobs, stay the sequence of
events basing on the provided information or pictures accompanying the
task, spot differences between two pictures and compare them. Further,
Heaton (ibid.) displays a rather interesting task. The students receive a
picture with speech bubbles. They are asked to write what they think people
are saying. This in turn involves creativity from the students and could be
assessed as an additional element and contribute to the students’ marks.
Definitely, each teacher will develop and give the students various tasks
regarding the criteria and demands to be tested.
In conclusion we can say that the teacher can use a variety of test
formats, such as multiple-choice questions, transfer of information;
reordering the words, describe a picture, listening to the instructions to
check the language skills of his/her students. Every teacher has to choose
him/herself the tasks that will be appropriate to their way of teaching and
the needs of the students.
Below we have attached the table of four language skills and test
formats applicable for each skill.
| | |
|Language Skills |Test Formats |
| | |
|Reading skills |1 Multiple-choice items |
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