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27 Apr 2013
A. Communicative Testing
Communicative teaching uses authentic texts and situationally authentic (life-like) tasks to
generate authentic communication, so whatever is communicative is authentic and the other way
round. Here we cannot stop to define the concept of communicative as against authentic; I should
simply point out that an authentic cloze test, as shown by the name, is an authentic task, but not
necessarily a communicative one.
Brown (2005) suggests five core characteristics for designing a communicative
language test. These include meaningful communication, authentic situation,
unpredictable language input, creative language output, and integrated language
skills (p. 21). First, the purpose of language learning is communication so language
learners’ communicative ability should be measured. In other words, language tests
should be based on communication that is meaningful to students and meets their
personal needs. Authentic situations can help increase meaningful communication.
The usefulness of authentic situations in increasing meaningful communication is
emphasized by Weir (1990) when he states that, ‘language cannot be meaningful if
it is devoid of context’ (p.11). By using ‘unpredicted language input’ and ‘creative
language output’, Brown (2005) means that in real situations it is not always
possible to predict what speakers say (unpredictable language input) so learners
need to prepare for replying (creative language output). The last characteristic is
integrated language skills. A communicative test should require test takers to show
their ability of combining language skills as in real life communication situations.
These above-mentioned characteristics should be paid attention to and included in
communicative language tests.
To sum up, much has recently been written about communicative language testing.
Discussions have focused on the desirability of assessing the ability that takes part in the acts of
communication. All interests assume that it is communicative competence that teachers want to
test. Tests should therefore assess the learner’s communicative behavior and not be based on
linguistic items alone. In taking communicative tests, student’s performance should be measured
not only in terms of formal correctness, but also primarily in terms of interaction, for the concern
is not how much the students know, but how well they can perform.
C. Communicative Testing
1.2. Dictation
Dictation can be also an example of communicative test, as long as the students have a
role that teacher asked and designed. The activity of taking down a passage that is read aloud by
a teacher as a test of spelling, writing, or language skills.
For example;
Teacher gives a role to the students, some of them as secretary and some of them as boss.
Someone who acts as secretary will listen a dictation from their boss. Students should write
something important what their boss dictates to them.
2.2. Interviews
The teacher will give a role to the students as Job interviewer who want to get a job in job
interview, and a teacher acts as someone who wants to interview them.
For example;
Interview:
• Teacher: Tell me about yourself?
• Students: ……………………………….
• Teacher: what is your strength?
• Student : …………………………………..
• Teacher: can you work in team?
• Etc.
In problem solving the teacher give a role for one student to be someone who has a real-life
problem, and another student will be an expert who can give an advice to fix the problem.
For example;
The students could be citizens of a town on a river that is receiving so much
pollution from the town that neighbors downstream have requested that the town
rein themselves in before they are forced to involve a higher authority. Some could
role-play farmers whose crops need fertilizer. Others could represent the union of
workers from a factory that disposes of waste in the river.
Some tests combine reading and writing in communicative situations. Testees can be given a
task in which they are presented with instructions to write a letter, memo, summary, etc.,
answering certain questions, based on information that they are given.
For example;
3.1. Business Letter
Read the letter from the customer and the statement of the company policy about returns and
repairs below and write a formal business letter to the customer.
Situation
Your boss has received a letter from a customer complaining about problems with a coffee
maker that he bought six months ago. Your boss has instructed you to check the company policy
on returns and repairs and reply to the letter.
3.2. Personal Letter
D. Summary
2. Open questions usually ask WHY or HOW and require original, unique answers from students.
REFERENCES
Miyata, Nick and Langham, S. 2000. Communicative Language Testing. The British
Council, Tokyo. Accessed on March 5th, 2013
Kitao, Kenji. 1996. Communicative Competence. TESL Journal, Vol. II, No. 5. Accessed on
March 5th, 2013
Skehan, Peter. 1990. Communicative Language Testing. TESOL Journal, Vol. X, No. 1.
Accesed on 5th, 2013
Harsono, M.Y. 2005. Developing Communicative Language Test for Senior High School.
TEFLIN Journal, Vol. 16, No. 2. Accesseed on March 6th, 2013
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