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4. Testing and its types 
 
All language tests are a form of assessment. According to 
Penny Ur (2003:34), test may be defined as an activity the main 
purpose of which is to convey how well students know or can do 
something. Role of tests as means of teaching is very useful and 
important, especially in FLT. Teachers use different techniques of 
assessment during teaching process including the self-evaluation 
technique which is liked and favored by students very much. But at 
present the key place in summative and final assessment is taken by 
tests. The testing industry has become more popular nowadays, 
especially, under implementation of the international standards of 
evaluation of the level of FL proficiency as CEFR standard adapted 
to the national context.
There are various international standards for certificate which 
are presented below: 
IELTS – International English Language Testing 
System 
TOEIC – Test of English for International 
Communication 
TOEFL – Test of English as a Foreign Language 
There are many types of tests in evaluation the level of language 
proficiency. Let’s consider proficiency tests, achievement tests, 
diagnostic tests and placement tests (General overview of testing 
techniques can be found in Hughes, 1996; Alderson, Clapham, & 
Wall, 1996: 47-72).
- 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 

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a language course but rather on the general knowledge of the target 
language and culture.
- 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.
- 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 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, 1996: 9-21). 
Students are usually given formal tests and examinations from 
time to time. A teacher gives regular informal tests to monitor 
students’ progress. They also motivate students to learn better. 
Tests often focus on linguistic material, but it is necessary to test 
skills as well as knowledge of the language.
Today the often posed question is whether tests should be 
mirrors of reality. For that purpose while organizing communicative 
activities for development of language skills and testing within 
Communicative language learning the following features should be 
taken into account: 
- the interaction-based nature of communication; 
- the behavior-based nature of interaction. 
- context (extra-linguistic); 
- purpose, intentions; 
- authenticity. 
The test formats according to the language skills you can see in 
the Table 15.