Instructor:
Dr.
Nguyen
Thi
Hong
Tham
Email:
[email protected]
Course
overview
This
course
is
designed
to
provide
participants
with:
knowledge
and
understanding
of
fundamental
concepts,
theories,
and
principles
of
language
assessment,
and
their
practical
application
in
the
classroom;
and
opportunities
to
practice
designing
test
items
and
alternative
assessment
tasks
based
on
selected
teaching
materials
used
in
the
classroom.
Course
contents
Key
concepts,
theories,
and
principles
of
language
assessment
Designing
test
specifications
Designing
classroom-‐based
assessments
of
the
four
skills:
listening,
speaking,
reading,
and
writing
Alternatives
in
assessment
Grading
and
student
evaluation
Course
goals
This
course
has
three
overall
goals:
to
educate
students
who
are
able
to
demonstrate
in-‐depth
knowledge
and
understanding
of
language
assessment
fundamentals.
design
classroom-‐based
tests
and
assessment
tasks.
develop
essential
transferable
skills
in
teaching
or
relevant
professions.
Course
learning
outcomes
By the end of this course, students will be able to
analyse concepts, theories and principles of testing and
assessment
successfully
design
classroom-‐based
tests
and
assessment
tasks
for
listening,
reading,
speaking
and
writing
develop
their
critical
thinking
skills
develop
the
ability
to
work
individually
foster
their
teamwork
skills
improve
their
presentation
skills
Assessment
scheme
Assessment Score Percentage
task of the final
grade
A1. Progress 100 pts Midterm 30%
test score
A2. Group 30 pts Final score 70%
portfolio
A3. Final test 70 pts
100 pts
Group’s
chapter
summary
and
presenta9on
In
each
session,
all
the
groups
will
submit
their
summaries
of
the
reading.
The
assigned
group
will
present
their
summary
to
the
class
in
15
minutes
and
answer
the
other
groups’
questions.
1. Key
concepts
and
meanings
2.
Main
points
3.
Your
group’s
questions
about
the
chapter
Guidelines
for
group
por;olio,
progress
test
and
final
test
(1)
Group
portfolio:
Each
group
will
design
an
assessment
portfolio
for
a
General
English
course
for
adults
at
a
pre-‐intermediate
level.
The
portfolio
includes
an
assessment
scheme,
test
specifications,
alternative
assessment
tasks
and
an
achievement
test
based
on
the
materials
given
by
the
course
instructor.
This
portfolio
is
an
integral
part
of
the
teaching
and
learning
process
in
which
students
will
get
feedback
from
the
course
instructor
and
their
peers
in
order
to
improve
it.
Specifically,
the
portfolio
(in
MS
word
format)
should
contain
the
following
sections:
i. Title
page
(Institution/Faculty
name,
title
of
the
portfolio,
names
of
group
members,
student
code,
instructor,
date
of
publication)
ii. Introduction
to
the
portfolio
(including
the
objectives
of
the
portfolio)
iii. Description
of
the
students
(their
age,
English
proficiency
level,
etc.)
iv. Assessment
specifications
v. The
actual
assessment
tasks
designed
to
assess
listening,
speaking,
reading,
writing,
grammar
and
vocabulary
This
section
should
also
be
supported
with
theory-‐based
explanations
of
what
to
be
assessed,
why
it/they
is/are
assessed,
how
the
items
will
be
scored,
why
they
are
scored
in
such
a
way,
what
the
scores
mean
and
indicated
vi.
Some
possible
lessons/
reflection
/
difficulties
the
group
learned
during
the
designing
of
these
assessment
tasks
vii.
References
and
appendices
(if
any)
viii.
Appendices
(Put
the
copies
of
the
selected
texts
and
transcripts
of
the
listening
tasks
here.)
The
portfolio
should
be
around
2,000
-‐
2,500,
of
1.5-‐line
spacing,
using
Times
New
Roman
font
style
(font
size
12)
(excluding
references
and
appendices).
This
project
output
should
be
around
1000
words,
of
1.5-‐line
spacing,
using
Times
New
Roman
font
style
(font
size
12)
(including
the
main
text
and
references,
if
any).
Scoring
scheme
for
the
project:
Organization
30%
Development
of
ideas
30%
Grammar,
vocabulary,
punctuation,
and
30%
spelling
Style
&
referencing
10%
Progress
and
Final
tests
Test
dates
(TBA):
scheduled
by
the
academic
office
after
the
course
Aim(s)
of
the
progress
and
final
tests:
The
purpose
of
the
progress
and
final
tests
is
to
assess
how
the
students
demonstrate
their
understanding
of
theoretical
fundamentals
in
language
testing
and
assessment
and
how
they
design
and
evaluate
a
given
language
test
in
practice.
Format
of
the
tests:
to
assess
if
the
students
will
be
able
to
(i)
demonstrate
their
understanding
language
assessment
fundamentals;
(ii)
identify
the
specification
of
the
assessment
tasks
with
aims
of
task,
the
tasks
themselves,
and
scoring;
(iii)
design
some
test
items
on
4
skills:
listening,
speaking,
reading
and
writing.
Course
policies
on
learning
and
assessment
The
course
will
be
conducted
in
different
modes
including
lecturing,
discussion,
practice,
and
group
presentation.
Attendance
in
all
sessions
is
strongly
recommended.
Participants
are
required
to
give
advance
notice
of
their
absence
in
case
of
illness
or
any
other
situations.
However,
they
must
attend
at
least
80%
of
the
sessions
in
order
to
pass
the
course.
Participants
are
expected
to
be
well
prepared
and
take
an
active
role
in
class
discussions
and
work
collaboratively
with
their
peers.
Failure
of
the
assignment
will
be
imposed
as
a
penalty
for
cheating
and
plagiarism.
For
late
submitted
work,
5%
of
the
component
grades
will
be
deducted
per
day.
Reading
Required
reading:
Brown,
H.
and
Abeywickrama,
P.
(2019)
Language
assessment
–
Principles
and
classroom
practices.
New
York:
Pearson
Longman,
3rd
edition.
Optional
readings:
Cheng, L. and Fox, J. (2017) Assessment in the Language
Classroom: Teachers support student learning, UK: Palgrave.
Coombe,
C.,
Davidson,
P.,
O'Sullivan,
B.,
&
Stoynoff,
S.
(Eds.)
(2012)
The
Cambridge
guide
to
second
language
assessment,
Cambridge:
Cambridge
University
Press.
Fulcher,
G.
(2010)
Practical
language
testing,
London:
Hodder
Education.
Hughes,
A.
(2003).
Testing
for
language
teachers
(2nded.).
Cambridge:
Cambridge
University
Press.
Detailed
course
contents
Session Topic Required Reading Teaching and learning activities
1 - Course
introduction Brown, H. and Lecture and discussion
- Assessment Abeywickrama, P. (A1)
concepts and (2019) Chapter 1, pp.
issues 1-26
2 Principles of Brown, H. and (Group presentation) + Discussion +
language Abeywickrama, P. Questions and answers (Q&A) + lecture
assessment (2019) Chapter 2, pp. + Practice: designing test specifications
27-56 (A1+ A2)
3-5 Designing Brown, H. and (Group presentation) + Discussion +
classroom Abeywickrama, P. Q&A + lecture+ Practice: designing test
language tests (2019) Chapter 3, pp. items
57-89 (G1) (A1+ A2)
6 Standards-based Brown, H. and (Group presentation) + Discussion +
assessment Abeywickrama, P. Q&A + lecture
(2019) Chapter 4, pp. (A1+ A2)
90-109 (G2)
Session Topic Required Reading Teaching and learning activities
7 Standardized Brown, H. and (Group presentation) +
testing Abeywickrama, P. Discussion + Q&A + lecture
(2019) Chapter 5, pp. (A1+ A2)
110-127 (G3)
8 Assessing Brown, H. and (Group presentation) +
listening Abeywickrama, P. Discussion + Q&A + lecture +
(2019) Chapter 6, pp. practice: designing Listening
128-155. (G4) assessment tasks (A2)
9 Assessing Brown, H. and (Group presentation) +
speaking Abeywickrama, P. Discussion +Q&A + lecture +
(2019) Chapter 7, pp. practice: designing Speaking
156-195 (G5) assessment tasks (A2)
Progress test
(A1)
10 Assessing reading Brown, H. and (Group presentation) +
Abeywickrama, P. Discussion + Q&A + lecture +
(2019) Chapter 8, pp. practice: designing Reading
195-226 (G6) assessment tasks (A2)
Session Topic Required Reading Teaching and learning
activities
11 Assessing writing Brown, H. and (Group presentation) +
Abeywickrama, P. (2019) Discussion + Q&A + lecture +
Chapter 9, pp. 227-259 (G7) practice: designing Writing
assessment tasks (A2)
12 Assessing grammar and Brown, H. and (Group presentation) +
vocabulary Abeywickrama, P. (2019) Discussion + Q&A + lecture +
Chapter 10, pp. 260-285 practice: designing grammar and
(G8) vocabulary assessment tasks
(A2)
13 Grading and student Brown, H. and (Group presentation) +
evaluation Abeywickrama, P. (2019) Discussion + Q&A + lecture
Chapter 11, pp. 286-311 (A2)
14 Beyond letter grading Brown, H. and (Group presentation) +
Abeywickrama, P. (2019) Discussion + Q&A + lecture
Chapter 12, pp. 312-330 (A2)
15 Revision
TBA Group portfolio
(submitted two weeks
after the final session)
(A2)
Final test (as
scheduled by the
university academic
office) (A3)
