This chapter discusses cultural and linguistic considerations when testing English Language Learners (ELLs). It notes that ELLs show substantial variety within and across languages and cultures. Testing procedures cannot be based on English ability alone and parents must receive notices in their native language. The chapter also outlines factors to consider like cultural knowledge and skills, as well as alternative testing methods like using non-verbal tests, testing in a student's native language, or not testing at all depending on their English proficiency.
Language Testing Techniques:
Direct Testing vs. Indirect Testing
Discrete Testing vs. Integrative Testing
Norm-Referenced Testing vs. Criterion-Referenced Testing
Objective Testing vs. Subjective Testing
Language Testing Techniques:
Direct Testing vs. Indirect Testing
Discrete Testing vs. Integrative Testing
Norm-Referenced Testing vs. Criterion-Referenced Testing
Objective Testing vs. Subjective Testing
It is an important part in English Language Teaching. It helps the teachers to make an effective test as well as to take the testing system to new height.
A Brief History on the Approaches to
Language Testing
In the 1950s, an era of behaviorism and special
attention to constrastive analysis, testing focused on
specific language elements such as the phonological,
grammatical, and lexical contrasts between two
languages.
Between the 1970s and 1980s, communicative theories
of language brought with them a more integrative view of
testing in which specialists claimed that the whole of
communicative event was considerably greater than the
sum of its linguistic element (Clark, 1983; Brown, 2004: 8)
Definition of Language Testing
According to Oller (1979, 1-2), 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.
According to Brown (2004: 3), a language testing is a
method of measuring a person’s ability, knowledge, or
performance in a given domain.
Types of tests: proficiency, achievement, diagnostic, placement
Types of testing: direct vs indirect tests, discrete point vs integrative tests, criterion-referenced vs norm-referenced tests, objective vs subjective tests
It is an important part in English Language Teaching. It helps the teachers to make an effective test as well as to take the testing system to new height.
A Brief History on the Approaches to
Language Testing
In the 1950s, an era of behaviorism and special
attention to constrastive analysis, testing focused on
specific language elements such as the phonological,
grammatical, and lexical contrasts between two
languages.
Between the 1970s and 1980s, communicative theories
of language brought with them a more integrative view of
testing in which specialists claimed that the whole of
communicative event was considerably greater than the
sum of its linguistic element (Clark, 1983; Brown, 2004: 8)
Definition of Language Testing
According to Oller (1979, 1-2), 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.
According to Brown (2004: 3), a language testing is a
method of measuring a person’s ability, knowledge, or
performance in a given domain.
Types of tests: proficiency, achievement, diagnostic, placement
Types of testing: direct vs indirect tests, discrete point vs integrative tests, criterion-referenced vs norm-referenced tests, objective vs subjective tests
2. Differences among ELLs
• Substantial variety even within languages
• Cultural variation
• Social and political differences for immigration
3. IDEA Protections
• Eligibility decision must not be based on tools
and procedures that measure a student’s
English language ability
• Parent notice in native language
4. NCLB Requirements
• ELLs must participate in accountability testing
• If sufficient numbers exist, may be a separate
group for determining AYP
• Must take an English language proficiency test
• During their first year, they can be excluded
from the English/Language Arts test
5. Factors to Consider in Testing
– The test can be invalid if it relies on a student’s
cultural knowledge
– Cultural values must be considered (e.g., response
to authority figures, male-female relations)
– Students from other cultures may lack test-taking
skills
6. Questions to Ask
• At what age did the student first learning
English?
• In what contexts is the student exposed to
English?
• How similar is the student’s native language
to English?
7. Testing Alternatives
• Engage in Denial
• Use Non-Verbal Tests
• Test in the Student’s Native Language
– Use commercially-translated tests
– Develop and validate a version for each group
– Use an Interpreter
• Test in English (test first to see if the student is
fluent in English)
• Do Not Test
