Language assessment: types, characteristics and issues

LANGUAGE ASSESSMENT

Assessment Characterisitcs:

Definition: identify or evaluating current condition or progress of something.

Testing: Type of assessment that uses an instrument that measure a skill.

Measurement: Quantifying observable performance.

Evaluation: The assessment of mesurement of perfomance.

Quantitative: found on test, rubrics etc.

Qualitative: description of data.

Informal: Unplanned observation of studnets activity

Formal: Systematic planned snapshot of students activities.

Formative: tentative evaluation of learning to provide a snapshot of current learning to determine goals.

Summative: End of couse unit mesurement to determine wheter learners have accomplish the course objectives.

Norm- Referenced: students are evaluated agains the group where the mean rank are identifies

Criterion- Referenced: students are evaluated on specific information presented in a course.

Types of assessment

Achievement test: measures knowledges skills and abilities directly taught in the course

Diagnostic test: Measure knowledge skills and abilities to identify strengths weaknesses language level.

Placement test: Entrance test that measures proficiency for placement in the program.

Proficiency test: easure knowledge skills and abilities compared to other SLA and native speakers.

Aptitude Test: Measures the likelihood of language learning success.

Issues in language assessment.

Behavioral: Studies focused on specific segment of language. Assessment centeres on valid, realiable, objective proficiency type test.

Integrative influences: Focus on whole language in context types of measurement. These are thought to be a better measure of overall language KSA.

Performance-based assessmet: designed opportunities to demonstrate language proficiency in some performed activity.

Task-based assessment: Measures language KSA while completing a specific task.

Communicative language testing.

Organizational competence

Grammatical competence; vocabulary, morphology, syntax.

Textual competence: cohesion, rhetorical organization.

Pragmatic competences.

Illocutionary competence: ideational, manipulative imaginative functions.

Sociolinguistic competence: Dialects, sensitivity, register, naturalness.

Language assessment in an ESL curriculum.

Important topics: Multiple intelligences, computer-based langauge leranig, CALL, CBI, computer adapting testing corpus linguistics.

Reasons to use assessments:

To increase motivation.

To develop autonomous learners

Use as guideposts and diagnostic.

To assess language teaching effectiveness.

To encorage language acquisition.

Assignment 4: Concept map

Student name; Maria Guillen

REFERENCES:

Brown, H.D. & Priyanvada, A. (2010). Language Assessment: Principles and Classroom Practices (Archivo de video). Youtube Language Assessment: Concepts and Issues - YouTube

Universidad IEXPRO. (n.d.). Assessment and testing in the classroom.