Transcript Nation on testing file

Nation on testing
A good vocabulary test
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Has about 30 items
Tests the aspects you want to test
Easy to make, mark and interpret
Has a good ‘washback’ effect
Aspects that can be taught
Receptive
Spoken
Written
Word parts
Form and
meaning
Concept and
referents
Associations
Grammatical
functions
Collocations
Constraints
on use
Productive
Aspects that can be tested:
basic advanced very advanced
Receptive
Spoken
Written
Word parts,
morphology
Form and meaning
Concept and
referents (range of
meanings)
Associations
Grammatical
functions
Collocations
Constraints on use
Productive
Samples
• Spoken form
R: Hear the word and choose the L1 translation (but this tests
also meaning)
P: Reading aloud
• Written form
R: Say these written forms
P: Word or sentence dictation
• Word parts
R: Break the word into parts
P: What do you call someone who paints houses?
• Form and meaning
R: Translate these words into L1
P: Translate these words into L2
• Concept and referents
R: Translate the underlined words into L1: ‘It was a hard frost’
P: Choose the words that could translate this L1 word
• Associations
R: Choose the words that you associate with this word
P: Add to this list of associated words
• Grammatical functions
R: Is this sentence correct?
P: Use this word in a sentence
• Collocations
R: Is this sentence (based on a collocation) correct?
P: Produce collocations to go with this word
• Constraints
R: Which of thse words represent UK use?
P: What is the formal word for X?
Types of tests
• True/false sentences contextualizing the word
Write T or F.
• Multiple choice, but with complex choices
Choose four words that go with the target word. Choose at least two from
each box.
• Definition completion test
Choose a word from the list to complete the sentences. Do not use the same
word twice.
• A sensitive multiple-choice test
• A translation test
• Yes/No test
Tick the words you know
• Multiple-choice tests – variation
• Interviews
In-depth examination of knowledge. Can check
knowledge of spoken forms..
• Lexical Frequency Profile
– The learner’s written work is analysed using Lextutor to
find out how many less frequent words are used in their
essay.
– As a rough guide: an advanced essay will have about 90%
up to K2, 10% beyond; intermediate will have about 95%
up to K2, 5% beyond; beginner will have little nor nothing
beyond K2, and mostly K1.
Points made by Nation about different
formats
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In favor of multiple choice (easy to mark, reliable)
But time-consuming to construct and difficult to get right
Yes/no test – easy to construct, fairly reliable
Translation test – easy to construct, reliable
A number of variations on m/c: with context or without;
number of possible right answers to select; gapfill or not;
• Multiple-choice tests only receptive (recognition) not
productive (recall) (load of checking).
• Importance of providing context