Testing

The aim of this lecture:

 To think about language testing as a tool
 To provide information about language testing
 To reflect on testing language competence and communicative skills1.
A definition of a “language test” is a tool for measuring language performance in learners
(Bachman, L., and Palmer, A. 1997. Language Testing in Practice. p. 8) A fundamental principle in
language testing is “correspondence between language test performance and real world language
use”.
It is important to understand the difference between testing and teaching. In some ways the two
are so interwoven and interdependent that it is difficult to tease them apart.
Every instructional sequence, has a testing component to it, whether the tests themselves are
formal or informal. That is, teachers measure or judge learners' competence all the time and, ideally,
learners measure and judge themselves2.
Whenever a student responds to a question or tries out a new word or structure, you might be
testing that student.
Written work is a test. Oral work is a test. Reading and writing performance are tests.
How, then, are testing and teaching different?
The difference lies in what we'll call formal and informal testing.
Pedagogically, it is very important to make the distinction between teaching and formal testing,
especially from the point of view of principles of intrinsic motivation. For optimal learning to take
place, students must have the freedom in the classroom to experiment, to try things out, to "test" their
own hypotheses about language without feeling that their overall competence is being "judged" in
terms of these trials and errors.

The Principles Towards Creating Intrinsically Motivating Tests

1. The principle of giving students advance preparation
This may sound simple, but much too often teachers do little to help students to prepare for a
test. Tests, by their very nature, are anxiety-raising experiences. Students don't know what to expect.
And they may not be aware of test-taking strategies that could help them. So, the teacher's task in
creating intrinsically motivating tests is to be an ally in the preparation process.
He can do even more:
 Provide information about the general format of a test
 Provide information about types of items that will appear
 Give students opportunities to practice certain item types
 Encourage a thorough review of material to be covered
 Offer advice on strategies for test preparation
 Offer advice on strategies to use during the test itself
 Give anxiety-lowering reassurance.
2. The principle of face validity
Sometimes students don't know what is being tested when they tackle a test. Sometimes they
feel, for a variety of possible reasons, that a test isn't testing what it is "supposed" to test. Face validity
means that the students, as they perceive the test, feel that it is valid. You can help to foster that

1
М. Н. Аверина, Современный урок иностранного языка, Ярославль, 2004
2
H. Douglas Brown, Teaching by Principles: An Interactive Approach to Language Pedagogy, San Francisco
State University, 1994

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perception with:
1. a carefully constructed, well thought-out format
2. items that are clear and uncomplicated
3. directions that are crystal clear
4. tasks that are familiar, that relate to their course work
5. a difficulty level that is appropriate for your students
6. test conditions that are biased for best-that bring out students' best
performance.
3. The principle of authenticity
Make sure that the language in your test is as natural and authentic as possible. Also, try to give
language some context so that items aren't just a string of unrelated language samples. Thematic
organization of items may help in this regard.
4. The principle of "washback"
"Washback" is the benefit that tests offer to learning. When students take a test, they should be
able within a reasonably short period of time to utilize the information about their competence that test
feedback offers. Formal tests must therefore be learning devices through which students can receive a
diagnosis of areas of strength and weakness. Their incorrect responses can become windows of insight
about further work. Your prompt return of written tests with your feedback is therefore very important
to intrinsic motivation.

Some Practical Steps to Test Construction

1. Test toward clear, unambiguous objectives
You need to know as specifically as possible what it is you want to test. Sometimes teachers give
tests simply because it's Friday or it's the third week of the course. This is no way to approach a test.
Carefully list everything that you think your students should "know" or be able to "do," based on the
material that students are responsible for.
2. Draft your test
A first draft will give you a good idea of what the test will look like, how students will perceive
it (face validity), the extent to which authentic language and contexts are present, the length of the
listening stimuli, how well a story line comes across, how things like the cloze testing format will
work, and other practicalities.
[Link] your test
At this stage, you will work through all the items you have devised and ask a number of
important questions:
 Are the directions to each section absolutely clear?
 Is there an example item for each section?
 Does each item measure a specified objective?
 Is each item stated in clear, simple language?
 Does each multiple choice item have appropriate distracters, that is, are the wrong items
clearly wrong and yet sufficiently "alluring" that they aren't ridiculously easy?
 Does the difficulty of each item seem to be appropriate for your students?
 Does the sum of the items and and test as a whole adequately reflect the learning
objectives?
5. Utilize your feedback after administering the test.
After you give the test, you will have some "information about how easy or difficult it was,
about the time limits, and about your students' affective reaction to it and their general performance.
Take note of these forms of feedback and use them for making your next test.
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 6. Work for washback.
As you evaluate the test and return it to your students, your feedback should reflect the
principles of washback discussed earlier. Use the information from the test performance as a
springboard for review and/or for moving on to the next unit.

Three Criteria of a Good Test

1. A good test will seem fair and appropriate to the students (and to anyone who needs to know
the results, e.g. head teacher, other teachers, employers, parents, etc.).
2. It will not be too troublesome to mark.
3. It will provide clear results that serve the purpose for which it was set.

Types of Tests and Testing

Generally we distinguish two main categories of tests:
You could test:
 the students' progress over the course so far (a progress test /achievement test);
 their general level of English, without reference to any course (a
proficiency test) 3.
Most internal school tests tend to be progress tests; most external ones (e.g. state or
international exams) are usually proficiency tests.
You can test anything that has been studied; this usually means the four language systems and the
four language skills. Remember your students' course has probably included not only reading and
writing, grammar and lexis, but also speaking, listening, phonology and function. Somehow tests often
seem to focus far more on the first four than the last four.
Traditional 'pen-and-paper' tests are usually made up of two types of questions:
 discrete item tasks (i.e. testing specific individual language points);
 integrative tasks (i.e. a number of items or skills tested in the same question).
These can be marked in two ways:
 objectively (i.e. there is a clear correct answer, and every marker would give the same marks to
the same question);
 subjectively (i.e. the marking depends largely on the personal decision of the marker; different
markers might give different marks for the same question).
Language systems are easier to test objectively; language skills tend to be tested subjectively.
Let’s consider proficiency tests, progress or achievement tests, diagnostic tests and
placement tests.
Proficiency tests
Proficiency tests measure learners’ language ability regardless of the training they may have
had or the vocabulary and topics they may have studied. Proficiency tests are not based on the contents
of a language course but rather on the general knowledge of the target language and culture.
Achievement tests
Achievement tests are directly related to the language courses taught to the examinees. The purpose
of achievement tests is to judge upon the success of individual learners or groups in achieving the
objectives of the language course. Achievement tests are always “course related” meaning course
contents and objectives.

3
Jim Scrivener, Learning Teaching, Macmillan Books for Teachers, 2007

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 Diagnostic tests
Diagnostic tests identify students strengths and weaknesses. They provide the teachers with the
information on what further teaching is necessary and what problems the students might have in
coping with the instruction demands.
Placement tests
Placement tests provide information that helps to place the students at the most suitable stage of the
teaching curriculum, bearing in mind their level of the language achieved so far. (Adapted from
Hughes, A., 1996. Testing for Language Teachers. p. 9-21).

Performance-based testing
Instead of just offering paper-and-pen-cil single-answer tests of possibly hundreds of discrete
items, performance-based testing of typical school subjects involves:
 open-ended problems
 hands-on projects
 student portfolios
 experiments
 labs
 essay writing.

Interactive language tests

The language version of performance-based testing comes in the form of various interactive
language tests. Students are assessed in the process of creatively interacting with people. This means
that tests have to involve people in actually performing the behavior that we want to measure.
Paper and pencil multiple choice tests certainly do not involve test takers in speaking,
requesting, responding, interacting, and in combining listening and speaking, or reading and writing.
Interactive testing involves them in all of the above rather than relying on the assumption that a good
paper and pencil test taker is a good overall language performer.

Testing Techniques
Gap-fill4
Gap filling refers to tasks where the test-takers are given separate sentences with some words
or phrases deleted. The task is to restore the missing words. In these tests answer keys can sometimes
have more than one answer for a space. Some missing words can have a structural value for the
sentence (e.g. prepositions or conjunctions). Other words can have full lexical meaning. Sometime a
list of the words can be given to the test-takers to be used in filling in the gaps. In such cases the
number of words in the list is usually larger than the number of gaps in the text.
 Single sentence
Fill in the blanks. Use only one word in each space.
I'd ……. go to the cafe than the pub.
Answer: rather
(If answers of more than one word are allowed, then other answers are
possible; instructions need to be clear!).
 Using given words
Put one word from the list below in each gap. thought switched
4
М. Н. Аверина, Современный урок иностранного языка, Ярославль, 2004

4
unlocked arrived
He (1) ………. home late that night. As he (2) ………..the front door, he (3)…….
he heard a noise in the sitting room. He tiptoed carefully into the room and
(4)….. on the light.
Answers: 1 arrived 2 unlocked 3 thought 4 switched
 Using other clues (e.g. pictures, anagrams, first letters, lines indicating how
many letters in word, etc.)
He looked through the …………… and was amazed to see that she had finally come ………..
.(Students have pictures of a window and a house.)
Answers: window, home.
 Transformation of a given word
He could produce no ……………. evidence to support his argument, (photograph)
Answer: photographic

Cloze
A cloze test is a gap-fill exercise using a longer text and with a consistent number of words
between gaps (e.g. every ninth word). The word 'cloze' is often incorrectly used to describe any gap-
filling task.
Cloze procedure involves deleting a number of words in the whole text, requiring the test-
takers to restore the original words. The procedure of based on the assumption of gestalt psychology
that human psyche tends to “complete the closures” in the elements of the surrounding world that is
being perceived. This makes the cloze procedure authentic to cognitive processes. The first short
passage of the text is usually left not mutilated. After this brief “lead-in” approximately every seventh
word is deleted. Disadvantages of the test are that some words prove more difficult to restore than
others. There could be more than one answer for any one gap. It is not always easy to say what
language area (grammar, lexis, prepositions etc) or skills (receptive or productive) are actually
measured by the cloze procedure.
Exploratory task:
Do the cloze procedure and comment on the difficulties that you have experienced
The amount of physical education taught in primary schools is decreasing because
of the government's emphasis on the "three R’s", according to a survey. It shows
that half a million hours of …lessons were lost in the past year because more …was
spent on literacy and numeracy. Teachers have warned that more PE time could
be… from September, as schools concentrate more on … numeracy.

Multiple choice
Choose the word or phrase which best completes each sentence.
If I went to Jakarta, ………. buy some jewellery.
a I'll bl c I will dl'd
Answer: d
(Multiple choice is, of course, a very widely used testing technique and can be
used for more than simple gap-filling tests.)
Multiple-choice tests have a “stem” (the basic and unaltered part of the sentence) and a
number of “options” , only one of which is correct. The other options are wrong in the particular
context and are called “distracters”.
The advantages of the multiple-choice test are that they can produce a reliable and
economical scoring. A test can include a fairly long list of items and increase the reliability of
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procedure, thus decreasing the randomness of the results.
The disadvantages of the multiple-choice test are that it checks only recognition knowledge.
Guessing can have an effect on the scores. The plausible (looking correct) distracters are not always
available and this makes test writers include “fool-proof” distracters. The “correct answer” can in quite
a few cases be questioned.
Exploratory task:
Choose the correct answer of the multiple choice and comment on your difficulties
 Why hasn’t your mother come? – A/ can’t
Well, she said she ______________ B/ won’t
leave the baby. C/ couldn’t
D/ wouldn’t

Matching (pictures, words, sentence pieces, labels, etc.)

Matching is a test format when students are given a list of items, which they have to match
with the other list of words, phrases, sentences, paragraphs or visual images. The disadvantage of it is
that once the test-takers have successfully made sufficient amount of matches, the remaining pairs can
be guessed more easily and the last pair will be correct by default.
 Pictures and words
Write the correct word under each picture
(sketches of transport)
car bike ship motorbike van lorry caravan plane
 Placing words in correct sets, lists, etc.
Put the following words in the correct list: water, cheese, wine, lemonade, lunch, bread, butter, supper
 Grammatical labelling
Mark each sentence a, b or c depending on the tense used, a = present perfect; b = past
simple; c = present progressive
1. He's just come back.
2. I've never been to the Andes.
3. When did you go there?
4. I'm living in Vienna at the moment. Answers: la 2a 3b 4c
 Putting jigsaw pieces together
Which beginning goes with which ending?
[Link] planted a. the stones and weeds.
[Link] picked b. some beautiful red apples.
[Link] dug up c. the seeds in three separate rows.
Probable answers: 1 c 2 b 3 a
Note that some other answers are linguistically possible (e.g. 3b), though they make less sense
or seem more unlikely.
Sentence transformation
 Using given words
Starting with (or making use of) a given word or words; changing the form, but
keeping the meaning
He liked the theatre but hated the play.
Although...
Answer: Although he liked the theatre, he hated the play.
 Following a given instruction
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Change this sentence so that it describes the past.
She's looking closely at the sculpture, trying to decide if she likes it.
Possible answer: She looked closely at the sculpture, trying to decide if she liked it.

Sentence construction and reconstruction

 Rearranging words
brother / much / he's / than / his / taller Answer: He's much taller than his
brother.
 Using given words
Although /1 / bad headache / go / concert
Possible answer: Although I have a bad headache, I'll still go to the concert.
 Finding and correcting mistakes
o Cross out the incorrect word.
When I will visit you, I'll see your new baby. Answer: When 1wUl visit you, I'll
see your new baby.
o Rewrite this sentence in correct English.
I am enjoy swimming at the swimming pool of the sports centre.
Possible answer: I enjoy swimming in the sports centre swimming pool.
 Situational
You want to borrow some money from a colleague. What question would you ask?
I wonder………. borrow…… __?
Possible answer: I wonder if I could borrow ten dollars?

Two-option answers
 True/false
Often used after a reading passage e.g. Paul wanted to visit the cattle. True/False?)
 Correct/incorrect
Write * if the following sentence is in correct English. If it is incorrect put a X. They always play football
on Sundays.
Answer:
 Defined options
Jill is a fifteen-year-old schoolgirl. Mary is a one-year-old baby. Write J next to the things that belong to
Jill. Write M next to the things that belong to Mary. (List of words: teddy, Walkman, calculator, cot.)

Information transfer
Information transfer means that the test-takers have to transfer material from the text on to a
chart, table or map. Such like tasks are sometimes performed in real life settings (arranging
information during a lecture or finding out the details of the train timetable) and therefore can be
viewed as authentic.
Exploratory task:
Do the following information-transfer test and comment on your experience. “You are a road-
safety officer. Listen to the story about a road accident and draw a sketch picture of the situation”
(After Hughes, A. 1996. Testing for Language Teachers. CUP. P. 138)

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I was riding along the street and a little boy ran into the road from my right. He ran
out from between the two buildings on my right. One building is on the corner. The
next one to it is the Post Office. When the boy ran out, I turned left away from him
and hit one of the parked cars. It was the second car back from the cross road on
the left. It was parked right outside the police station. The policeman heard the
bang and came out at once.
Draw your sketch map here:

The main road

Ordering tasks (sequencing)

Ordering tasks (sequencing) are typically used to test the ability of arranging a discourse
(stretch of an oral or written utterance) in a logically organized chain. The students are presented with
a mutilated text, in which the order of elements is jumbled. The task is to restore the logical sequence.
The problem with “sequencing tasks” is that in some cases there can be more than one way of ordering
the textual elements.

Editing tests
Editing tests consist of sentences or text passages, in which errors have been introduced. Test-
takers are to identify the errors and to write out the missing or erroneous elements at the end of each
line. The main difficulty with this type of test is to ensure that an element deemed as erroneous by test
writers should indeed be erroneous with all exceptions excluded.

Testing Communicative skills

Testing writing skills
Testing writing pursues the goal of testing the ability to write. Testing writing can include the
operations of completing, describing, explaining, comparing and contrasting, reasoning on paper
in written form. Completion is done with the forms that may turn out to be useful in the real world.
E.g. You want to join a travel club so that you can travel cheaper. Complete the application form:
 Mr. or Ms.______________________________________________________
 Family name____________________________________________________
 Date of birth____________________________________________________
 Nationality_____________________________________________________
 Present address__________________________________________________
 Occupation_____________________________________________________
 Which UK airport will be most convenient to you?______________________
 Which county/s are you intending to travel to?__________________________
 Proposed date of departure__________________________________________
 Proposed duration of stay outside the UK_______________________________
 Reason for journey_________________________________________________
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  How do you intend to pay for your ticket (in cash, by check etc)?____________
 How did you hear of our travel club?__________________________________
 Date
Signature
Describing format is used to test students’ abilities to describe their message to an addressee.
E.g. You have got a picture that you want your friend to use as a logo. There is no way you can show
the picture. Write a description of the image that you want to be used as a logo.
Explaining format is often used in the “letter-of-complaint” task. The subject of testing in this
case can be the ability of the test-takers to describe the matter of complaint and the ways to put it right.
Contextual format means that the examinees are given brief notes of a public address and the
task is to “unfold” these brief entries into full text.
Written response format consists in the task to read a letter from an official or a clerk and to
write a response, focusing on the chunks of the text, which have been underlined. The “legend” for the
response is provided. This can be “biography data”, “previous letter sent to the clerk by the test-taker”,
“background situation for this exchange of letters” etc.
Reasoning is tested in writing essays (techniques of “testing writing” can be found in Hughes,
A. 1996. Testing for language Teachers. p. 75-100).

Testing speaking skills

Testing oral ability has the objective of measuring the language performance in oral
interaction. Oral tests represent a population of oral tasks that the candidates are to be able to perform.
These tasks are expected to elicit behavior, that exposes the oral ability of the test-takers and that can
be scored validly and reliably. Oral behavior that is to be scored includes expression (thanks,
apologies, attitudes, opinions), manipulation (directions, instructions, persuading, advising, warning,
complaining, banning and permitting), eliciting (information, clarification, explanation), narrating
(sequence of events, story-telling, eye-witness accounts). Oral test types can be a monologue, a
dialogue and a multi-participant interaction. Criteria for scoring the performance at a certain level of
language acquisition include accuracy, appropriacy, range (of the language), flexibility, size.
Exploratory task:
Ask your peer to share with you “the most memorable event of yesterday”. Use the criteria of
the “top performance” given below to assess the performance of your partner. Reflect on the criteria
as the assessment tool.
 Accuracy Pronunciation is clearly intelligible.
Grammatical and lexical accuracy is
generally high. There some errors that do
not destroy communication.
 Appropriacy The language is generally appropriate to
function. The overall intention of the
speaker is always clear.
 Range A fair range of language is available to
the candidate. No overt search for words
is evident.
 Flexibility A candidate is able to take the initiative
in the conversation, to adapt to new
topics, to change the subject.
 Size Language turns are fairly short but there

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 is some evidence that more complex
utterances and longer discourse can be
produced.
(Hughes, A. 1996. Testing for language Teachers. CUP. P. 102)There are three general formats for
testing oral ability:
 interview,
 interaction with peers
 response to an image, written or heard text.
Interviews can be structured and unstructured. Structured interview means having
predetermined questions with limited possible answers. Unstructured interview means that the
questioning is guided by the responses to the previous questions. Interviews can be administered on a
certain topic or cover a wider range of themes. Interaction can be arranged between the two test-
takers discussing a topic, giving explanations or making plans. E.g. “Discuss how you make an
omelet”. “Describe a stapler”. “Explain how to use a public pay-phone”. Candidates can be asked to
assume roles in a particular situation. A protracted exchange between the two candidates can be
stimulated by the following task: “You want your mother to increase your pocket money, but she is
resistant to the idea. Try to make your mother change her mind”. Discussion between the candidates
can also be an important source of information about their language performance. E.g. “Your school
can spend money on either of the items to improve facilities: video equipment, a mini bus, computer
equipment, a sauna, library resources. Discuss with your partner all the advantages and disadvantages
of each suggestion and try to reach agreement on the most suitable decision”.
Response to a picture can take the form of description and comment (a picture is expected to
be either vague in its form and reference, or deep in the message). A response can be given to a text for
reading.
Exploratory task:
A response can be given to a recorded text of the telephone talk. A candidate is to restore what the
other person on the phone is saying. Perform the activity and reflect on the difficulties
 Hello. What can I do for you?
 ___
 Hold on a moment. What’s the name of the play?
 ___
 When’s it on exactly?
 ___
 Sorry, to mention it, but in what range are you prepared to pay for the ticket?
 ___
 Well, what night would you like to go?
 ___
 O.K. That’s all right. Hope you will have a nice evening out. Bye.

In order to assess the fluency of oral ability, the following scales can be used: background
knowledge, vocabulary sufficiency, grammar adequacy, message communication, interactive skills,
logic of the utterance, fluency. Grades are given for every scale. Only when examines can be relied
upon to score with consistent accuracy video-recordings, should they be entrusted with “live scoring”
(Hughes, A. 1996. Testing for language Teachers. p.101-115).

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 Testing reading skills
The following operations are necessary to test if the task is to evaluate candidates’ language
performance in reading: scanning the text to locate specific information, skimming the text to obtain
the gist, identifying examples in support of an argument, restoring the sequencing relations between
parts of the text, inferring from the text.
Techniques for testing reading include multiple-choice, sequencing, cloze, information
transfer, comments, drawing conclusions. In the multiple choice tests the candidates give evidence
of successful reading by ticking off one out of a number of alternatives (usually out of three, four or
five alternatives).
True-False questions are just a variety of the multiple choice format. E.g. “Choose the picture
(A, B, C, D), which the following text describes”. In the cloze test the task is to complete the gaps in
the text.
Exploratory task:
Do the following cloze activity and reflect on the problems you had with completing the gaps in the
text. “A man goes out of prison … twenty years. He decides to go … to the neighborhood where
he lived. … he gets there he cannot … the place. Everything has changed a …. The places he
used to … have all disappeared. Even the pub has ….He is very tired and would like to have …
to eat. He goes into a small … and has a coffee and a sandwich. When he takes … his wallet he
finds a … ticket in it. He then remembers that the … thing he had done before being arrested
was to take a … of shoes to the shoemaker's. He … to go there and try. What a wonderful thing!
The shoemaker is still at the … place. He gets into the shop and tells the … that about twenty
years before he … him a pair of shoes to have them …. The shoemaker has a look at the ticket
and …: "O.K. Come back tomorrow. They will be ready then." Some things … change” (Answer
key: after, back, when, recognize, lot, know, moved, something, cafe, out, shoe, last, pair, decides,
old, shoemaker, gave, fixed, says, never).
Information transfer demands on the candidates to supply information from the text in a table,
map, picture etc.
Restoring the sequencing relations between the parts of the text can be done in at least two
ways. Candidates can be given a rambled order of text fragments, which they are expected to rearrange
in the correct sequence. As an alternative, the candidates are given a text and a separate passage. Their
task is to decide where in the text this separate passage belongs.

Testing listening skills

All the task that has been set for listening should be done “while-listening”. The tape is usually
played twice. A couple of minutes are allowed after the tape has been stopped for the test-takers to go
over their answers once again. The candidates are to perform the following operations: listen for
specific details, obtaining a gist of what they hear, follow directions, follow instructions,
interpret the text. Techniques for testing listening can include multiple-choice, sequencing,
information transfer, instruction and direction following, comments, drawing conclusions
(Hughes, A. 1996. Testing for language Teachers. CUP. P.134-140)
(After Heaton, J. 1999. Classroom Testing. Longman. P. 50)

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 Testing Language Skills
Testing grammar
Testing grammar can be done with multiple choice items, paraphrase (say it differently
using a different beginning of the sentence or a different word), sentence completion, cloze
procedure (e.g. testing the knowledge of prepositions or articles), error correction etc.
Exploratory task :
Read the text below and look carefully into each line. Some of the lines are correct, and some have a
word, which should not be there. If a line is correct, put a tick . If a line has a word that should not
be there, write this word in the right column.
Sentences Tick
or word
a) Last Sunday was definitely not a good day for me.
b) It was all started when I got into my car and it refused to start.
c) I immediately realized that I had left the lights on.
d) I telephoned to my friend and he came round and helped me
start it.
e) I then drove into town to see my brother.
f) I waited for him for an hour despite of the freezing weather
g) There was nothing I could do but drive back home
h) He did not even apologize himself for not waiting for me
(After Paran A. 1996. First Certificate Gold. Practice Exam. Longman. p. 41).

Testing vocabulary
Testing vocabulary is essential to demonstrate linguistic skills. Test tasks can include
synonyms (Choose the alternative ABCD, which is closest in meaning to the given words. E.g.
Gleam: a/shine, b/glitter, c/glare, d/glittering. Answer key: “gleam” has the implication of feeling joy.
That is why “shining” is closest in meaning to it).
Definition task can have a multiple choice format (“Loathe” means a/ to dislike intensely, b/ to
hate the look of, c/ to feel sick at the smell of. Answer key: “to dislike intensely” is the best
definition).
Gap filling or cloze procedure can also be used in testing the vocabulary. Tasks with pictures
can be as follows: Write down the names of the objects that you see in the picture. This technique is
restricted to concrete nouns. Another technique is elicit words from definitions (E.g. … is a person
who performs operations on patients. … is what becomes of boiling water. … is what a coward needs.
Answer key: surgeon, steam, courage).
Exploratory task :
Read the text below and decide which answers ABCD best fit each space
Text Answers
The findings of a 1 … survey showed 1. a/late b/recent c/latest d/fresh
that teenagers do not spend as much 2. a/included b/contained c/counted
money as their parents suspect. The d/numbered
survey 2 … three hundred teenagers 3. a/entire b/all over c/complete d/the
from 3 … Britain. Although they have whole
more cash, worry about debt is 4 … 4. a/gaining b/heightening c/increasing
among the teenagers. The economic d/building
recession seems to have encouraged 5 … 5. a/careful b/suspicious c/reserved

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attitudes to money. d/cautious
(After Paran A. 1996. First Certificate Gold. Practice Exam. Longman. P.16-17)

Psychological Testing
Psychological testing is sometimes used in teaching English.
The purpose of psychological testing in the communicative language lessons is to boost the
discussion about learners individual characteristics.

Advantages of Good Testing

It is quite obvious that tests have a useful place in an interactive, communicative curriculum.
Tests need not violate any of the principles of cooperation and student-centeredness. They in fact
become indispensable components of a curriculum. Tests can aid learning in a number of ways:
 Tests can increase motivation as they serve as milestones of student progress.
 Tests can spur learners to set goals for themselves, both before and after a test.
 Tests can aid the retention of information through the feedback they give on learners'
competence.
 Tests can provide a sense of periodic closure to various units and modules of a
curriculum.
 Tests can encourage students' self-evaluation of their progress.
 Tests can promote student autonomy as they confirm areas of strength and areas
needing further work.
 Tests can aid in evaluating teaching effectiveness.

Glossary
Achievement tests measure the command of the course studied
Cloze tests offer the test-takers a task to complete the gaps in a coherent discourse
Concurrent validity is coincidence of the testing results with the results obtained by other means
including teacher’s continuous assessment
Consistency is agreement between parts of the text in terms of difficulty and results
Construct validity is the ability of the test to measure what it claims to measure (e.g. a test claiming
the ability to measure speaking performance is not to measure lexical or grammar competence instead)
Contextualization tests offer the test-takers a task to produce an oral or written discourse out of a
graphical form (tables, graphs, charts etc)
Diagnostic tests measure strengths and weaknesses of the test takers
Gap-filling tests offer the test-takers a task to complete the gaps in sentences
Information-transfer tests offer the test-takers a task to transfer information from a text into a
graphical form (tables, graphs, charts etc)
Interactive tests consider the background knowledge and other individual traits of the test-takers
Matching tests offer the test-takers a task to find consistent pairs of language samples (another option
is to find consistent pairs of language and pictures)
Multiple choice tests offer the test-takers a choice of the correct answer out of a number of
“distracters”
Ordering tests offer the test-takers a task to sequence correctly randomized parts of a discourse
Placement tests are used to find the right stage of the curriculum for the learners and to teach them the
adequate language difficulty level
Practicality is convenience of the test as a measuring tool (time saving etc)
Proficiency tests measure general language competence
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Reliability is permanence of measuring results produced by the same test in different circumstances
(testing speaking and writing is less reliable, than testing reading and listening)
Test is a tool for measuring success of performance or ability to do it
Testing format is the design of a test

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