DIMENSIONS OF LANGUAGE ASSESSMENT
CHAPTER 9 ASSESSING READING ASSESSING READING
N. MORE SPEAKING TASKS Sentence/Dialogue Completion Sentence/Dialogue Completion
One method for focusing on the assessment of students’ abilities to use intensive elements of language in speaking is to have them read a conversation in which one speaker's lines are deleted. The students are then given time to go through the dialogue to acquire a sense of what's going on and to come up with acceptable lines to fill in. The students then respond as the recording, teacher, or test administrator produces one part orally. Despite its widespread usage, this technique has both benefits and drawbacks. The modest control of the output of test taker is a benefit of this approach. Individual differences in the responses are acceptable and the approach taps into a learner's capacity to recognize expectations in a discussion and create sociolinguistically accurate language.152 It does, however, need literacy and the ability to effectively transition from written to spoken English. Another problem is that this task is artificial and unauthentic.
Example:
152 Brown and Abeywickrama, Language Assessment Principles and Classroom Practices.
182 Language Learning Assessment: Linking Theory to Practice
Dialogue completion task
Students read (and then hear):
In a fast-food restaurant:
Crew Member: What would you like to order?
Guest: _______________________
Crew Member: Okay, would you like to go with the combo offer, which will include fries and drink as well?
Guest: _______________________
Crew Member: Do you want the burger small, medium, or large?
Guest: _______________________
Crew Member: Do you want to add cheese?
Guest: _______________________
Crew Member: Dine in or take away?
Guest: _______________________
Crew Member: Okay!
Guest: _______________________
Crew Member: It’s $3.95.
Guest: _______________________
Crew Member: Please wait your order.
Guest: _______________________
Students respond with appropriate lines.
Games
Typically, games are not used for summative assessment and they are types of informal assessment. Rather, it is used for formative assessment and might cover beyond the notion of test and assessment.
However, any kind of activity can be a meaningful assessment when specific criteria and reliable scoring methods are both designed and this also works for games. Here are some examples:
1. In the "Tinkertoy" game (LEGO block-based game), one or two learners are permitted to see the construction. The learners instruct "runners" (those who cannot see the structure) on how to re-create the structure at each step of construction. The runners then instruct the "builders" behind a second screen on how to construct the edifice. The builders can ask questions or clarify things as they go, but only within the two degrees of
Kasyfur Rahman, M.Pd. 183 separation. The goal is to recreate the construction as close to its original as feasible.
2. In crossword puzzles, the names of all members of a class are clued by obscure information about them. To figure out who matches the clues in the puzzle, each class member must ask questions of others.
3. To fill in the gaps in the information gap grids, students must conduct mini-interviews with other classmates (e.g., "born in July," "plays the violin," "has a two-year-old kid").
4. Members of the class are given city maps. One student is given predetermined map directions, and having a city map in hand, narrates the path to a partner, who must then follow the route and arrive at the right final location.
(Adapted from Brown and Abeywickrama153) Oral Presentation
Oral presentation is very common in academia and business meeting, and it measures one’s extensive speaking ability. Oral presentations are a type of assessment that requires students to communicate their knowledge and comprehension of a topic through the spoken word. Oral presentation comes in different formats; one of which is in-class presentation on a prepared topic, typically supplemented by visual aids in the form of PowerPoint slides. Oral presentation is also often combined with other assessment modes such as written project reports. PechaKucha, a fast-paced presentation format consisting of a predetermined number of slides that change every twenty seconds, is also popular.
Presentations give students with valuable opportunity to practice skills that they will need in the workplace in a non-threatening setting.
Students can also exhibit their comprehension and expertise of topics, as well as their ability to convey information and interact with an
153 Ibid.
184 Language Learning Assessment: Linking Theory to Practice
audience.154 However, oral presentation also comes with shortcomings such as: A round of presentations might take a long time in big courses, giving presentations may be stressing for some students, evidence is not always permanent because presentations cannot be made anonymously, it is difficult to eliminate bias and the issues of validity and reliability viewed from the assessors. Therefore, just like any other assessment, effective assessment of oral production should take into account: (a) specification of the criterion, (b) setting of appropriate tasks, (c) elicitation of optimal output, and (d) establishment of practical and reliable scoring procedures.155 Here is an example of oral presentation evaluation checklist.
Evaluation of oral presentation
Assign a number to each box according to your assessment of the various
aspects of the speaker's presentation.
3=Excellent 2=Good 1=Fair 0=Poor Content:
The purpose or objective of the presentation was accomplished.
The introduction was lively and got my attention.
The main idea or point was clearly stated toward the beginning.
The supporting points were clearly expressed * supported well by facts, argument
The conclusion restated the main idea or purpose.
Delivery:
The speaker used gestures and body language well.
The speaker maintained eye contact with the audience.
The speaker used notes (and did not read a script verbatim).
The speaker’s language was natural and fluent.
154 Louise Dryden et al., “Assessing Individual Oral Presentations,” Investigations in university teaching and learning 1, no. 1 (2003): 79–83.
155 Brown and Abeywickrama, Language Assessment Principles and Classroom Practices.