No class next Monday, December 19!

1. No class next Monday, December 19!

2. Comments about the 2nd assignment • Including the materials you wish to use (at least some samples – pictures, parts of personal stories, etc.); • Thinking things through, considering problems/solutions (T wants 10 pairs of Ss to read out loud a dialog they wrote); • Being precise when giving homework (Ss write a short paragraph about…); • Being creative!

3. Testing students / How to test grammar? Lecture 7

4. In this lecture… • Personal feelings about being tested • Types of tests • Characteristics of a good test • Types of test items • Writing and marking tests • Teaching the test • Assignment 4

5. T: “We have a guest.” What are/were your feelings when it comes/came to tests? Please, share. Ss: “We have a TEST!”

6. Types of tests • Placement tests • Diagnostic tests • Progress tests • Achievement tests • Proficiency tests

7. Types of tests • Placement tests • Putting Ss in the right class, group at the beginning of a course; • Based on the materials which will be studied in school; • Determining the S’s level; • Test micro (G&V) and macro skills (receptive and productive); • Some schools allow self-assessment.

8. Types of tests • Diagnostic tests • To notice difficulties, problematic areas, gaps in knowledge, skill deficiencies; • Done during a language course. • Progress/achievement tests • Measure progress in relation to the syllabus; • Testing the materials which have been taught; • They should reinforce learning, not expose failure; • Done weekly, bimonthly, after each unit, etc.

9. Types of tests • Proficiency tests • Give a general picture of S’s knowledge; • Tests used for entering a foreign university / applying for a job, etc. • They are external exams and teacher’s reputation is on the line. • Cambridge ESOL exams: KET (Key English Test), PET (Preliminary English Test), FCE (First Certificate in English) – B2, CAE (Certificate of Advanced English) – C1, CPE (Certificate of Proficiency in English) – C2; • IELTS (International English Language Testing System); • TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language); • TOEIC (Test of English for International Communication).

10. Characteristics of a good test • Validity – it tests what it is supposed to test (e.g. Write an essay about the life expectancy of a fruit fly.); • Face validity – to Ss it looks like it’s going to measure what it is supposed to measure; • Reliability – consistent results (achieved by clear instructions, similar test conditions, restricting the scope for a variety of answers); • Backwash – effect on teaching (proficiency tests have a profound backwash); • Spin-off – results can be used for review/remedial teaching.

11. Types of test items • DIRECT test items – ask Ss to perform in a communicative skill being tested (try to be life-like, performance tests); • INDIRECT test items – use more controlled items (try to discover what lies beneath the knowledge of communicative skills); • DISCRETE-POINT testing – testing one thing at a time (e.g. put the verbs in brackets into Past Simple); • INTEGRATIVE testing – testing the use of a variety of language items at any one given time (e.g. writing an essay, or doing a speaking task).

12. Direct test item types • Asks Ss to perform in a communicative skill being tested (try to be life-like); How does an engine with internal combustion work? Write a 200-300 word explanation. Calpurnia provided Jem and Scout with all the motherly support that they needed. Discuss. • We need a level-playing field! The things we learn outside school are far more valuable than the lessons we have in school. Discuss. It is up to the government to save the environment. We as individuals cannot do anything. Discuss.

13. Direct test item types • Replicate real-life interaction: • Speaking – using different pictures which candidates need to compare; doing an interview; role-pay (candidates introduce themselves, etc.). • Writing – writing stories; newspaper articles about a recent event; instruction manuals for a common task, etc. • Reading – multiple choice comprehension; choosing the best summary for a text, matching jumbled headings with paragraphs, etc. • Listening – completing charts with facts, figures; identifying which speaker says what; identifying their attitudes (enthusiasm, disagreement, etc.).

14. Indirect test item types • Use more controlled items (try to discover what lies beneath the knowledge of communicative skills); • Quicker to design, easier to mark, produce better score reliability; • Multiple choice questions (MCQs) ___ she come to talk to me, I’ll be in my office. a) Should b) If c) Unless d) Would • Problems: guessing, difficult to design ‘distracters’, they may be harmful to Ss, you can train people to do MCQs. • Solutions: negative points, more items, introducing one wrong answer, etc.

15. Indirect test item types • Cloze • The deletion of every Nth word, anything may be tested (grammar, collocations, reading comprehension, etc.) President-elect Trump said he ___ need presidential intelligence briefings ___ day because he is " ___ smart person" and doesn't " ___ to be told the ___ thing in the same ___ " every day. President-elect Trump said he doesn't need presidential intelligence briefings every day because he is "a smart person" and doesn't "have to be told the same thing in the same words" every day. 

16. Indirect test item types • Problems: random deletion depends on luck; some gaps have more solutions. • Solutions: using ‘modified’ cloze procedures – the deleted words are recoverable from the context. • Choose 5 words to delete from the text: President-elect Trump said he doesn't need presidential intelligence briefings every day because he is "a smart person" and doesn't "have to be told the same thing in the same words" every day. 

17. Indirect test item types • Transformation and paraphrasing • Rewriting sentences, using a slightly different form, but making sure the meaning remains the same. Everyone knows Ben was stealing money from his boss. Ben is __________________________________. Ben is known to have been stealing money from his boss. • Problems: the Ss’ imagination which produces a multitude of answers. • Solutions: consulting with colleagues in accepting what is right, making the instructions clear. Last year a handyman put new tiles in my bathroom. (use causative) Last year I had new tiles put in my bathroom.

18. G3 or G4 test • Describe to me what your G3/G4 test looks like. • Discuss what kinds of test items there are.

19. Writing and marking tests • Writing a test: • Assess the situation – time for testing, place, time for marking; • Decide what to tests – which skills, which language items, which topics to include; • Balance the test – how many direct and indirect items (indicative of what we think matters); • Weighing the scores – how many marks are given to each section; • Making the test work – try it out on colleagues or some other students (this helps anticipate problems with time, scoring, a range of possible answers).

20. Writing and marking tests • Marking a test: • Training the people who score tests – exposing them to sample tests of various levels of knowledge; • Having more than one scorer – more people check it and the mark is somewhere between (entrance exam essays here at the faculty); • Using global assessment scales – pre-defined descriptors of performance (but the S’s performance might fall somewhere in between, or scorers might not agree on what the scales mean);

22. Writing and marking tests • Analytic profiles – a lot more detailed A combination of global and analytic scoring would be best but lengthy

23. Writing and marking tests • Assignment 2 – design materials/activities typical of one of the methods reviewed (Grammar-Translation, The Direct Method, The Audio-Lingual Method, CLT) – 1 or 2 pages Grading criteria • 0 points – the teacher discovered the student has copied someone else’s assignment • 6 points – the student did the task, but there are problems with fulfilling the requirements (references are missing; there is no description of what actually goes on during the activities; the level of the students and the task do not match; the student modeled his/her assignment too closely to what was my example in the lecture; there are serious language problems) • 7 points – there is no description of what actually goes on during some of the activities; the student does not include half of the necessary material (e.g. s/he only says ‘I give them an exercise to practice this or that…’ but this exercise is not included) the level of the students and the task do not match only in certain aspects, not all the time; the materials used could be more appropriate (with more relevant examples).

24. Teaching the test • Teaching English but also teaching the test (public, official tests); • Training for test types: help them discover what the test is aimed at, help them develop strategies (e.g. reading comprehension – skimming/scanning), explain the marking procedure, etc. • Discussing general exam skills: reading the instructions carefully, checking your work thoroughly, pacing yourself, etc. • Doing practice tests: doing a mock test, but not too often (marking nightmare for teachers);

25. Teaching the test • Promoting autonomy: making sure your Ss work at home, helping them come up with ways to do this (using dictionaries, being exposed to the language, finding additional exercises, etc.); • Having fun: getting them to practice in a fun way (using games, engaging activities, asking them to design test items – I take the best ones and put them in the actual test!); • Ignoring the test: not good to talk about the test all the time (although, I use it as an attention-grabbing strategy).

26. Assignment 4 • Designing test items / exercises • Design 3 different test items (exercises) to assess the students’ knowledge / acquisition of one particular target structure (e.g. Present Perfect - since/for). You should use a combination of test item types, and one of the items should be a performance test (speaking – 1 or more candidates performing together; e.g. an interview questioning a candidate about themselves / an information gap/ a role-play / a decision-making activity / comparing pictures, etc. – designed to elicit examples of the target structure). You should label each kind of exercise according to type. • A sample assignment will be posted on the wiki page. • Good examples can be found in the handouts (Thornbury, How to Teach Grammar, p. 143-149).

27. Assignment 4 • Due: Sunday, 25/12/2016 • Send by email (attachment, one document) to teachinggrammar3@gmail.com Subject: Assignment 4 - Name Surname, booklet number (year/number) by 11:59 pm Sunday, 25/12/2016 • Format: 1-2 pages;12-point Times New Roman font. • Line spacing: 1.5 • Margins: top and bottom 2.5cm left and right 2.5cm • Heading: 14-point bold Times New Roman, centred, separated from the text by a blank line

28. You may use various sources (textbooks, workbooks, the Internet, etc.), but make sure that you acknowledge all of them (title/website, author(s)) and that you make your own contribution (adapt the material, design new exercises, provide explanations, etc.). PLAGIARISM