Chapter 4 introduction to assessing language skills
Download as PPTX, PDF1 like5,102 views
The four main language skills that are assessed are reading, writing, listening, and speaking. These skills should be integrated during assessment rather than tested individually to allow for a more authentic assessment of language ability. Grammar, vocabulary and phonology are not valid assessments when isolated and must be assessed through skills. There are two factors to consider in integrated skills assessment: performance, how a student carries out a task, and competence, their ability to achieve the goal of the task using integrated skills. Sometimes performance does not demonstrate true competence if factors like illness affect performance. Multiple measures provide a more reliable assessment than a single measure.
Chapter 4 introduction to assessing language skills
- 1. EII604 Chapter 4 - Introduction Assessing the Four Language Skills
- 2. ABOUT SKILLS ASSESSMENT The four language skills that we assess on a day to day basis are reading, writing, listening and speaking. These skills should be integrated during assessment and not tested individually. This allows for language ability to be assessed authentically and provides more washback.
- 3. Grammar, vocabulary and phonology are not valid assessments as isolated items. A grammar or vocabulary test must be assessed within the realm of skills assessment. Otherwise, the “test” would be a practice activity. These aspects of language are part of integrated skills assessment and should not be treated separately. ABOUT SKILLS ASSESSMENT
- 4. There are two interacting responses that we must consider when assessing integrated skills: • performance • competence Performance is how a student carries out a certain act or task. Competency is his/her ability to accomplish the objective or goal of the task using the integrated skills. ABOUT SKILLS ASSESSMENT
- 5. Sometimes a performance does not demonstrate true competence: A student may possess the competency to achieve the task or goal at hand, but his/her performance may not result in the achievement of a given task due to a reliability factor such as illness, emotional distraction, validity of exam site, etc. Multiple measures will always give you a more reliable and valid assessment than a single measure. ABOUT SKILLS ASSESSMENT
- 6. Therefore, it is important to offer two or more performances and/or contexts in order to draw a conclusion. Some examples are: • several tests that are combined to form an assessment; • a single test with multiple test tasks to account for learning styles and performance variables; • in-class and extra-class graded work; • alternative forms of assessment (e.g. journal, portfolio, conference, observation, self assessment, peer- assessment) ABOUT SKILLS ASSESSMENT
- 7. Additionally, we must rely as much as possible on observable performance in our assessment of students – this means that we can see or hear the performance of the learner. ABOUT SKILLS ASSESSMENT
- 8. Brown, H. Douglas, 2004. Language Assessment: Principles and classroom practices. Pearson Education, Inc. REFERENCES