The second part of Second Language

Assessment

김자연정샘

위지영

Introduction *Objective

- key issues - theoretical framework - Reading comprehension - skill-listening, speaking and

writing

*constructive view of language testing

- interaction - knowledge they have - improve their skills

Introduction

*constructive view of language testing

-clear to students-in different methods of testing -trained-returned promptly -The results are discussed

Introduction

Theoretical Foundations

(1)Types of Language

Assessment Instruments

*JACOB 

-administrative (Proficiency) -instructional(Achievement) -research purposes

(1) Types of Language Assessment Instruments

*Distinction in testing

- Norm-referenced - Criterion-referenced

(1)Types of Language Assessment Instruments

*Communicative competence (Canlae and Swain )

-Grammatical competence -Discourse competence -Sociolinguistic competence -Strategic competence

(1)Types of Language Assessment Instruments

*Strategic competence

a. assessment component b. planning component c. execution component

(2) Classifying an Item

-a given objective may be tested by a series of items

(3) The Skill Tested

-receptive skills: listening and reading, nonverbal

-productive skills: writing and speaking, nonverbal

(4)The nature of the item

-discrete-point -integrative -objectivity -subjective

(5) The Intellectual Operation Required

-knowledge retrieval -comprehension -application -analysis -synthesis -evaluation

(6) The Tested Response Behavior

*Items can test different response behavior

*Test familiarity may be the overriding factor

(6) The Tested Response Behavior

-accuracy : pronunciation, grammar -fluency : how well -quick response: how fast -performance : real world task -authentic language assessment

(7) Characteristics of Respondents

-personal characteristics -topical knowledge -affective schemata -language ability

(8) Item-Elicitation Format

-The format for elicitation of the item has to be determined.

-An item can have a spoken , written, or visual stimulus as well as any combination of the three.

(9) Item-Response Format

-fixed : true /false, multiple-choice, matching items -structured : ordering, duplication, identification, completion -open-ended : composing, speech, role playing

(10) Elements of Language to be Assessed

-communicative competence

-untapped elements of language :

ASSESSING LANGUAGE

SKILLS

ASSESSING LANGUAGE SKILLS

- The testing of discrete language

items vs more integrative or global assessment of language

 - traditional or standard means of

assessment vs alternative means

Methods of Testing Reading Comprehension

(1) Types of Reading   (2) Level of Meaning   (3) Comprehension Skill   (4) Testing Method

(1) Types of reading

① Skim or Scan(≠search reading) ② receptively    ③ responsively

(2) Level of Meaning

①Grammatical meaning ② Propositional meaning ③ Discoursal meaning ④ Writer’s intent

(3) Comprehension Skill

① recognize ② Identifying or locating information ③ Discriminating ④ Interpreting ⑤ Inferencing ⑥ Synthesis ⑦ Evaluation

(4) Test Method

① The cloze and the C-test    ⓐ The origins of the cloze test (traditional fixed word deletion) ⓑ Gap-filling procedure (rational-deletion cloze)      ⓒ C-test      

② Computerized Adaptive Testing(CAT)

- Advantages of CAT   ① Individual testing time may be reduced   ② Frustration and fatigue are minimized   ③ Boredom is reduced   ④ Test scores and diagnostic feedback may be provided immediately   ⑤ Test security may be enhanced   ⑥ Record-keeping functions are improved ⑦ Information is readily available for research purposes

② Computerized Adaptive Testing(CAT)

- Disadvantage of CAT  Presumes that one major language

factor or underlying trait is being measured at a time.

③ Communicative Tests of Reading Comprehension

Good test is not just one which is valid, reliable, and practical in terms of test administration and scoring, but rather one that is acceptable-that is, accepted as fair, important, and interesting by test takers and test users. Also, feedback potential, rewarding both test takers and test users with clear, rich, relevant, and generalizable information.

Story line test

-one of the particular variety of communicative test. - A test with a thematic line of development. -Common theme runs throughout to

assess the effects of context. -Respondents learn as they read on.

Swain(1984)

The test consisted of six tasks around a common theme, “ finding summer employment.” There were four writing tasks and two speaking tasks. Swain’s main concern was to “bias for best”

Brill(1986)

Complete a communicative story line test which included five tasks dealing with membership in a youth group.

Canal(1985)

 ① Such tests put to use what is learned  ② Focus on the message and the function ③ Group collaboration as well as individual work  ④ The respondents use their resourcefulness in resolving authentic problems in language use  ⑤ The testing itself is more like learning, and the learners are more involved in the assessment.

Test Construction

and Administration

(1) Inventory of Objective

-Test constructors first make an inventory of the objectives that they want to test. This involves distinguishing broad objectives from more specific ones and important objectives from trivial ones.

-The number of test items or procedures used to measure any given objective depends on several things. e.g. MASTERY

(2) Constructing an Item Bank

1. the skill or combination of skills tested. 2. the language element(s) involved. 3. the item-elicitation and item-response

formats. 4. instructions on how to present the item. 5. the section of the book or part of the

course that the item relates to (if applicable)

6. the time it took to write the item (which gives an estimate of the time needed to prepare a series of such items for a test)

(3) Test Format

One basic issue of test format is whether the test progresses to increasingly more difficult items or whether easy and difficult items and procedures are interspersed.

(4) Instructions

The respondents should be informed as to whether guessing incorrectly counts against them. They should know the value of each item and section of the test. Finally, the time allowed for each subsets and/or for the total test should be announced. If speed is a factor for a subset, the respondents should be made aware of this.

(5) Reliability

The reliability of a test concerns its precision as a measuring instrument. Reliability asks whether a test given to the same respondents a second time would yield the same results.

(5) Reliability

1. Test Factors 2. Situation Factors3. Individual Factors

(6) Validity

-Face Validity-Content Validity-Criterion-Related Validity1. Concurrent Validity2. Predictive Validity-Construct Validity-Convergent Validity

(7)Test Administration Checklist

(8)Test-taking Strategies