CHAPTER 4
TESTS OF GRAMMAR AND USAGE
The
aim of this chapter is to introduce some of the most common types of objective items
used to test awareness of the grammatical features of the language. Firstly,
some most common types of objective items are listed and the readers are made
sure that these items test the ability to recognise or produce correct forms of language
rather than the ability to use language to express meaning. Then, each
type of items is treated in greater details with examples and how to construct
each of them is discussed. Now please go to page 37 to fill in the first two
columns of the table provided before you start studying the chapter.
The
following tasks and / or questions aim to help you in understanding the
important points in the chapter.
Before You
Begin:
-
Reflect on how you have been tested on your grammar and
usage. What were the characteristics of those grammar tests? Then think about
and try to list another possible ways of testing grammar.
-
What are the advantages and disadvantages of contextualised
and de-contextualised grammar test items?
-
Scan quickly through the chapter now to check if any item
of your list matches with the grammar test items the writer discusses.
Read through
the chapter and try to fill in the blanks given in the table below according to
the information provided in the chapter.
|
Item Types |
Strength(s) |
Weakness(es) |
Measures to be
taken to overcome the(se) weakness(es) |
|
Multiple Choice
items |
*easy to score *useful in
measuring the knowledge of language |
*the most difficult
and time-consuming to construct *does not test the
ability to use language |
*the provision of
both linguistic and situational context *using students’
own work to write the test |
|
Error-recognition
items |
Useful for the
skills required when check, edit or proof-read any written report |
*emphasizes the more
negative aspects of language learning *students are
exposed to incorrect forms |
Students ought to
be encouraged to produce the correct forms |
|
Re-arrangement
items |
*the best to test
the order of adjectives and positions of adverbs *when used for
sentences, it offers to test an understanding of connectives and reference
devices |
Item formats is
artificial |
Changing them from
multiple choice item format to a format involving some actual writing |
|
Completion items |
Measure the production
not the recognition |
*difficult to write
natural dialogues with useful clues *can cause problems
in scoring because it allows for possible
answers |
*restrict the
choice available by providing context *using a passage of
continuous prose rather than separate sentences |
|
Transformation
items |
Useful to test the
ability to produce structure in the target language |
Difficult to limit
the number of possible answers |
Can be improved if
the sentence is contextualised |
|
Items involving the
changing of words |
Not only grammar
but also other language areas are tested |
*a traditional type
of test *the layout is
needed to be improved |
Providing blanks on
the right for completion does not impair the continuity of the text |
|
“Broken sentence” items |
A useful device for
testing grammar and the ability to write full sentences from a series of
words |
Students may have
difficulty in understanding what to do (what changes are necessary to form) |
Clear instructions
and examples could be set |
|
Paring and matching
items |
Useful to test
appropriacy and make students aware of the language functions |
The language and
situation used are not authentic but artificial |
Associate the
language with the real life situations |
|
Combination and addition
items |
*have been used
before for a long time *separate sentences
are linked to another by theme |
*items are hardly
contextualized in any real way *involves largely
mechanical responses |
Contextualization
may overcome artificiality |
Follow up:
-
Try to find out readily available classroom test of grammar
& usage and photocopy it. Try to analyse it to discover what types of test
items are used and whether they are constructed well or not. Do not forget to
give your justifications.
-
Go to
page 37 again to fill in the third column in the table.
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