Concept of language testing
- 2. Definition “Language Testing is the practice and study of evaluating the proficiency of an individual in using a particular language effectively.” According to Oiler “A Language testing is a device that tries to assess how much has been learned in a foreign language course, or some part of a course by learners.”
- 3. According to brown “A language testing is a method of measuring a person’s ability, knowledge, or performance in a given domain. The purpose of language test is to determine a person’s knowledge and ability in the language and to discriminate that person’s ability from that of others.
- 4. A basic test is achievement test and proficiency test. Achievement tests generally measure specific content covered in a course or a programme. Proficiency tests measure general language ability and are not tied to the content of a particular course or a programme.
- 5. Language proficiency is the ability of an individual to speak or perform in an acquired language. The primary purpose of assessment is to improve students learning and teachers teaching as both respond to the information it provides. Assessment for learning is an ongoing process that arises out of the interaction between teaching and learning.
- 6. The focus on language tests will cover Validity Reliability Practicality Instructional value
- 7. Reliability Reliability is a matter how consistently it produces similar results on different occasions under similar circumstances. Validity Validity is related to how well the tests do what it is supposed to do, namely to inform us about the examinee’s progress toward some goals in a curriculum or course study, or to differentiate levels of ability among various examinees on some tasks.
- 8. Practicality It must be determined in relation to the cost in term of materials, time, and effort that it requires. It will include the preparation, administration, scoring and interpretation of the test. Instrumental value It is pertained to how easily it can be fitted into an educational programme, whether the latter involves teaching a foreign language ,teaching language arts to native speakers, or verbally imparting subject matter in a monolingual or multilingual school setting.