Chet tillarini o'qitishning integrallashgan kursi (III & IV) Qarshi- 2018 Module: Language Testing and Assessment Lesson Basic principles of language assessment

Lesson 13. How to test/assess grammar
Why test grammar?
-Grammatical ability or the lack of it sets limits to what can be achieved in other skills.
-It is useful to diagnose what gaps exist in the repertoire of students.
-It is helpful to inform teachers and learners to take responsability for filling the existing gaps.
TECHNIQUES FOR TESTING GRAMMAR
1. Gap filling
Ideally gap filling items should have just one correct response.
• What was most disturbing . that for the first time in his life Ali was on his way. (was)
• He arrived late, was a surprise. (which)
• The council must do something to improve transport in the city. . they will lose the next election. (Otherwise)
An item with two possible correct responses can be used. For example:
• He displayed the wide, bright smile .. had charmed so many people before. (which, that)
• In this case one item is to be rejected.
• There can be use of more than two items for filling the sentence. For example:
• Dr: . let her cry. She’ll stop in the end. (just, I’d, well, then, etc.)
This technique can be used to test a variety of structures.
2. Paraphrase. Paraphrase items require the students to write a sentence equivalent in meaning to one that is given. It is helpful to give part of the paraphrase in order to restrict the students to the grammatical structure being tested
For example: Testing passive, past continuous form.
When we arrived, a policeman was questioning the bank clerk.
When we arrived, the bank clerk ..
3. Completion: This technique can be used to test a variety of structures.
Simple completion items used for testing grammar consist of a sentence from which a grammatical element is removed. As
He went school.
There are three steps to follow in preparing simple-completion grammar tests.
1. Select the grammar points that need to be tested.
2. Provide an appropriate context.
3. Write good instructions.
4. Multiple choice: useful when gap filling does not test what we really want.
Example: use of could
A. They left at seven. They ____ be home by now.
B. Yes, but we can’t count on it, can we?
a. Can b. could c. will d.must

Three Basic kinds of Simple Completion Grammar Tests

1. The Option Form
The easiest simple completion items are like multiple choice questions with two options. As
Directions: Complete the following sentences with “do” and ”make”.
1. He .. a lot of money.
2. I always . my best
2. The Inflection Form
Testing the mastery of inflections provides for a productive response. These vary from simple comparatives to verb tense questions.
He is the . (tall) person in the class.
Another technique is to use a separate blank for each word in the verb phrase.
He .. .. (sleep) for nearly an hour.
3. The Free Response Form
It illustrates how common terminology can be used occasionally.
Example: Add a question tag to these sentences:
Hamlet was indecisive, ..?
Polonius knew a lot of aphorisms, ?
Directions: Write in the missing part of the two word verb.
What time did he get this morning?
Example of free response with a minimum amount of contextual control:
You would get better sooner if .. .
4. Multiple Choice
In this test an incomplete sentence is followed by four multiple choice options for completing the sentence. For example:
While she the house, her children were playing outside.
A. has been cleaning *B. cleaned C. has cleaned D. was cleaning
He has lived in this town for only a week and he already has . Friends.
A. few B. a few C. not many D. the few
5. Cloze tests are prose passages, usually a paragraph or more in length, from which words have been deleted. The students rely on the context in order to supply the missing words. It is easy to prepare and easy to score. The cloze is simply a story or essay from which a number of words have been deleted. In this test, the overall meaning and surrounding grammar help to replace the missing parts. Sentence-completion vocabulary and grammar items are similar in a way to cloze tests. Cloze passages simply have much larger contexts.