ELT Testing and Assessment

1. Session 6 1. Facilitated Discussion 2. Online tools for testing/activities 3. Quiz 4. Break 5. Reading and Listening Overview 6. Task Writing Workshop ELT Testing and Assessment

2. Testing and Computers • computer-based = computer assisted • computer-adaptive = computer adapts tasks to level of test-taker (based on answers given) • internet based = web-based

3. What can classroom teachers do? • know and understand TOEFL iBT • use online software to create fun and authentic activities/tests for students • use online resources for authentic materials DISCUSSION: how does one distinguish what is “authentic” online?

4. Hot Potatoes • free to educators working in publicly funded, non-profit institutions • great for teaching and testing • http://hotpot.uvic.ca/ • can create Cloze, Crossword Puzzles, Matching tasks, etc.

5. Other sites: • http://www.crosswordpuzzlegames.com/create.html

6. Assessing Reading • In order to become efficient readers, learners need to master: • Bottom-up strategies for processing separate letters, words, and phrases AND • Top-down, conceptually driven strategies for comprehension • PLUS • Develop appropriate content and formal schemata (background information and cultural experience) to carry out interpretations

7. Genres of Reading • 1. Academic Reading, e.g. • technical reports • textbooks • 2. Job-related Reading, e.g. • interoffice memos • job evaluations • 3. Personal Reading, e.g. • magazines • novels

8. Types of Reading • 1. Perceptive – focusing on the components – letters, words, punctuation. Bottom-up processing is implied • 2. Selective – to check recognition of lexical, grammatical, or discourse features, within very short stretches of language. • 3. Interactive – longer stretches of language where reader must interact (psycholinguistically) with text. Top-down processing required. • 4. Extensive – more than 1 page NOTE: you’ll find varying descriptions of extensive reading

9. Designing Reading Assessment Tests: 1. Perceptive Reading • Reading aloud (caution: since task is to test reading – any recognizable oral approximation of target should be considered correct) • Multiple-choice EXAMPLE: Circle “S” for same or “D” for Different • led let S D • bit bit S D

10. Grapheme recognition task Circle the “odd” item, the one that doesn’t “belong.” • piece peace piece • book book boot

11. Picture-cued word ID In the picture, point to the word you read here: Lamp Chair Picture Table

12. Picture-cued sentence identification Point to the part of the picture that you read about in the sentence. 1.The woman is holding a cat. 2.It is snowing outside. 3.The man is reading the newspaper.

13. Designing Reading Assessment Tests: 2. Selective Reading • Testing for reading knowledge of vocabulary and grammar • Everyone’s favorite: Multiple-choice! WORKSHOP : Working in pairs: On the following slides, you will see a stem. For each one, decide what you think the Key should be. Then write 2-3 distractors. Make your distractors effective! After all are done, compare your product with another pair.

14. Write M-C Key and Distractors: Standard M-C: • He’s not married. He’s _________________. • If there’s no doorbell, please _________ on the door. Contextualized M-C: • Oscar: Do you like champagne? Lucy: No, I can’t _____________ it!

15. Multiple-Choice Cloze I’ve lived in the United States (1) _____ three years. I (2) ______ live in Costa Rica. I (3) _____ speak any English. I used to (4) __________ homesick, but now I enjoy (5) __________ here. I have never (6) _________ back home (7) ______ I came to the United States, but I might (8) _______ visit my family soon.

16. Matching WORKSHOP : The test task is for Ss to match words with definitions Look at the words being tested – then think of the definition word(s) you would use for the match. Then compare your ideas with another pair. • Exhausted • Disappointed • Enthusiastic • Empathetic

17. Editing Model: The abrasively action of the wind wears away A B softerlayers of rock. C D

18. WORKSHOP: Look at the sentences below (they are 100% correct). Decide which word(s) you will make “incorrect” (you’ll need to change it.) What grammar point are you testing with this “error”? Then choose 3 other word(s) as your distractors. Label the key and distractors as A B C D. Show your ideas to another pair.

19. Make these into Editing Test Tasks: • There are two ways of making a gas condense: cooling it or putting it under pressure. • Researchers have discovered that the application of bright light can sometimes be used to overcome jet lag.

20. Designing Reading Assessment Tests: 3. Interactive • Cloze tasks – several types: • 1. fixed-ratio deletion (e.g. every 7th word) • 2. rational deletion (e.g. prepositions and conjunctions) • 3. C-test procedure (2nd half of every word is erased • The recognition th__ one’s feel____ of happin____... 4. Cloze-elide (inserts words that don’t belong; test-taker must identify interfering words) 

21. Cloze-elide – EXAMPLE: The recognition that one’s now feelings of happiness and unhappiness can under coexist much like love and hate…

22. Reading plus comprehension multiple-choice questions (typical on proficiency tests) • Reading plus short-answer tasks • Editing (like earlier sample, but longer passage) • should be authentic • should simulate real proofreading • content and domain tasks should reflect course content and domain

23. Scanning • stimuli could be: news article; essay; chapter in a textbook; menu; etc. • objectives could be: date, name, place; setting for a story; principal research in an report; cost of an item; etc. • Ordering tasks (aka sequencing) EXAMPLE: Put the following sentences in order A it was called “The Last Waltz” B the street was in total darkness C because it was one he and Richard had learnt at school D Peter looked outside E he recognized the tune F and it seemed deserted G he thought he heard someone whistling

24. Ordering tasks (aka sequencing) EXAMPLE: Put the following sentences in order A it was called “The Last Waltz” B the street was in total darkness C because it was one he and Richard had learnt at school D Peter looked outside E he recognized the tune F and it seemed deserted G he thought he heard someone whistling

25. Information Transfer: Reading Charts, Maps, Graphs and Diagrams • answer simple, direct info questions • describe or elaborate on information • infer/predict information • choose the correct graphic for a written passage • interpret both graphic and passage

26. Designing Reading Assessment Tests: 4. Extensive • Of course, many of the previously mentioned tasks work with longer reading passages • Additionally, you can test: • Skimming (for main idea; purpose; recognition of genre; recognition of style; etc.) • Summarizing and Responding • Note-taking and Outlining

27. Assessing Listening • A quick overview: • Predictably, we can test for 4 types of listening performance: • Intensive – for perception of components • Responsive – listening to short stretch to make equally short response • Selective – short monologues, scanning for info, testing ability to comprehend designated info • Extensive – listening to develop top-down, global understanding

28. Intensive • recognizing phonological and morphological elements • paraphrase recognition

29. Responsive • Question-and-Answer (multiple-choice and open-ended)

30. Selective Listening • Listening cloze • Information transfer (matching to listened-to information to picture, graphic, other text)

31. Extensive Listening • Dictation • Communicative Stimulus-Response Tasks • Authentic Listening Tasks • note-taking • editing (noting difference between written and spoken versions of text) • interpretive tasks (responding to songs, poetry, etc.) • retelling

32. Where to find listening material: • http://www.voanews.com/specialenglish • http://www.eslpod.com/ • http://www.breakingnewsenglish.com/ • other?