FORUM M6 KB1

MEASURING LANGUAGE SKILLS

Based on your experiences, how do you measure your students’ English language skills (listening,
speaking, reading, and writing)? What types of language tests do you employ?
Measuring students’ English language skills is challenging and fun instead, though it needs time
and well arrangement. To get accurate, objective and meaningful assessment I use
complementary tests. It means that every skill can be used to expose other skills. To take listening
skill I can use reading text, to get speaking test I can employ listening monologue they hear and
many more. I usually use authentic assessment in my formative test per one KD. I use rubric for
that. I do that after I finish my subject teaching or during the process of teaching learning. The
objective of my language skill test is vary. It can be the accuracy of the information content or
language aspect such as pronunciation and vocabulary. I can employ and combine many types
of assessment such as performance test, oral test, written test, observation test, giving task,
interview and portfolio. Portfolio is my favorite one. I use paper based portfolio such as
composition, or e-portfolio such as recording of self-performance or speech.
Listening:
Taking listening assessment is challenging, because listening is performed in our national
examination, but little do it employed in daily activity of learning process. To cope with that, first
of all, I try to familiarize my students with native language and sounds, such as playing music,
video or audio transactional text, and reading activity too. For the assessment, I use observation
test, and performance test. In observation test, I use reading challenge. I divide the class into
several groups. I give every students the written text, then playing the monologue they have to
listen to. After that, I ask the group to practice reading the text together. After they set, I ask every
group to read, and the rest correct the false reading any time they hear the wrong misread. I go
around and give the score, and correct them. In performance test, I use filling the blank and direct
interview. in filling the blank, I play the audio and give students a sheet of paper that contain blank
paragraph or lyric, then ask students to listen to the monologue and answering the blank space.
in direct interview, I give students a text, ask them to read and understand the content clearly,
then asking questions individually.
Reading
Reading test can be done in many way. It can be performance test, or objective test. In
performance test, I give students a certain text and ask them to read the text and demonstrate
their fluency and accuracy in pronunciation. I also give them objective text that is multiple choice
because it is the easiest way in recording the students ability relating with their content
understanding.
Speaking
Speaking is challenging due to students reluctance in speaking English. I give performance test
such as role playing in front of the class either in pair or group. Sometimes, I ask students to make
a short speech relating to certain topic and ask them to record it as e-portfolio.
Writing
Written test that is the easiest of all, but need hard work in correction and takes time too. I usually
give them essay or making composition. The assessment is related to the cohesion and
cohesiveness of writing, the mechanic, the generic structure and vocabulary. I usually ask them
to write essay or compose a certain paragraph.
to listen to a story as you read it or play an audiotape of it, and that they should be prepared to
retell it to each other when you are done. Then, read the story at a natural pace or play the tape
(once you have ensured that everyone in the room can hear it) and ask students to retell it.

As with the oral interviews, while students are retelling the story in pairs, walk around the class
with your checklist or rating scale and rate as many students as you can at one time. Each student
can take a turn at telling the parts of the story that he/she remembers and other students can take
turns filling in or elaborating on what the others have said. You will not be able to rate all students
on one day, so pace yourself and score a certain number each time you do an oral interview or a
story retelling.

Oral language assessment is authentic when it reflects familiar tasks that have been performed
in the classroom and involves language used for real purposes. For intermediate to advanced
level students, this might mean asking students to use language for study-related purposes, such
as describing the steps in a math problem or retelling a historical event. These students might be
asked to use English to report or explain, to compare or clarify, and to synthesize ideas or evaluate
them.
play the audio, ask ss to listen
ask them to answer n explain the question clearly
tools:
accuracy of the information

Speaking:
answering the questions from their reading text orally. understanding the content orally.
question-answer orally
ORAL QUIZ
ROLE PLAY / GROUP PRESENTATION / ORAL INTERVIEW / STORY RETELLING
PRONUNCIATION / ACTIVE PARTICIPATION
FLUENCY
Reading:

o determine at what level of proficiency your students are reading, you can design a fill-in-the-
blank reading passage, called a cloze. Cloze tests are reading passages which measure a
student's reading comprehension by his or her facility in filling in missing words. The assumption
is that if the student understands the meaning of the passage, he or she will be able to supply
appropriate words to fill in the blanks.
DESIGNING A CLOZE TEST To construct a cloze test, select a reading passage appropriate for
the age and grade level of your students. This passage can be taken from books that students
will be asked to read in your class. Check the passage for cultural bias. Write the reading passage
on paper or on the board. Leave the first two sentences intact. Beginning with the third sentence,
delete every fifth, seventh, or ninth word, making all blanks the same size, with a minimum of
about 20 blank spaces. Number the blanks. The more frequent the deletions, the more difficult
the cloze test becomes.

GIVING A CLOZE TEST Practice using the cloze technique many times with your students before
giving the cloze as a test. Students not familiar with cloze format need practice at using the
technique. Start by using a reading passage which you estimate your students can complete with
confidence. Then work your way up to more difficult passages.

Give clear directions. Tell students that they should read the passage completely through before
filling in any blanks. They should fill in each blank with the most appropriate word. They should
also skip over any blanks which they find too difficult and come back to these later. If the reading
passage is on the board, students can simply write the number of each missing word on their
paper and turn in a list with their answers. Cloze tests are not strictly timed, so you can be flexible
with time limits.

SCORING A CLOZE TEST

A correct answer for a blank on a cloze test is any word which makes sense and is used in its
correct grammatical form. Do not count off for spelling.

Calculate the score by determining the percentage of correct responses.

read certain text discusses, and I prepare the rubric to take the score. for example, the
pronunciation, fluency, understanding the content
Writing :
task to compose certain paragraph of text
edit them, and let the students know their faults. ask them to fix it. and submit it for final ssessment.
use portopolio
GRAMMATICAL ACCURACY

WRITING SAMPLES

To design activities to assess writing, select writing assignments that match the age and grade
level of your students. Use topics that are familiar and interesting to students and that will generate
writing styles commonly practiced at their grade level. You can use what you learned in your
needs assessment about students' interests to select these topics (see Chapter Three). Writing
topics should not draw upon a student's knowledge of a content area, such as science or history,
unless the topics are familiar from class discussions.
Writing topics should be on relatively meaningful, common themes, such as describing a favorite
relative or explaining a particular study skill. More advanced students, who may be experienced
in persuasive writing, can respond to more controversial topics, such as a student's opinion of
male and female roles in the workplace or in society.

Provide a choice of several topics. By giving options, you increase the possibility that a student
will be interested enough in at least one of the topics to write about it. Make sure the topics will
result in comparable types of writing. That is, you would not give one topic which elicits an
explanation, another that calls for a description, and yet another that depends upon persuasive
writing, all as choices for any single assessment.

GETTING A WRITING SAMPLE

Give clear directions. Let your students know the amount of writing required (a minimum of one
paragraph for students of lower proficiency and a minimum of three paragraphs for students with
higher levels of proficiency), how much time they have to write, and how their writing sample will
be scored.

Provide a minimum of thirty minutes to allow students to plan, organize, and revise their work.
Decide whether students can use dictionaries or other resources (including you and other
students) during the writing process and apply your rule consistently.

SCORING A WRITING SAMPLE

To score a writing sample, use a rating scale which focuses on your students' overall ability to
communicate through writing. Categories to look for should include organization, cohesion, and
for more advanced students, transitions from one idea to the next. Depending on the learning
objective (and number of drafts), count off for grammar and punctuation if they seriously interfere
with the message the student is trying to get across.

You may want to assign two separate scores, one to reflect overall content and organization and
the other to reflect mechanics such as grammar, punctuation, and spelling. Many teachers use a
system where an "S" represents "satisfactory." In assigning two scores to a writing sample, a
student might receive an S+ for content and organization and an S- for mechanics. If the paper is
unacceptable, the student receives an "R" and must rewrite the sample.

Decide on what scoring ranges mean for students at different levels. At a minimum, at least three
categories should be established with regard to writing ability: low, intermediate, and high. (See
the visual on next page.)

WRITING SAMPLES

To design activities to assess writing, select writing assignments that match the age and grade
level of your students. Use topics that are familiar and interesting to students and that will generate
writing styles commonly practiced at their grade level. You can use what you learned in your
needs assessment about students' interests to select these topics (see Chapter Three). Writing
topics should not draw upon a student's knowledge of a content area, such as science or history,
unless the topics are familiar from class discussions.
Writing topics should be on relatively meaningful, common themes, such as describing a favorite
relative or explaining a particular study skill. More advanced students, who may be experienced
in persuasive writing, can respond to more controversial topics, such as a student's opinion of
male and female roles in the workplace or in society.

Provide a choice of several topics. By giving options, you increase the possibility that a student
will be interested enough in at least one of the topics to write about it. Make sure the topics will
result in comparable types of writing. That is, you would not give one topic which elicits an
explanation, another that calls for a description, and yet another that depends upon persuasive
writing, all as choices for any single assessment.

GETTING A WRITING SAMPLE

Give clear directions. Let your students know the amount of writing required (a minimum of one
paragraph for students of lower proficiency and a minimum of three paragraphs for students with
higher levels of proficiency), how much time they have to write, and how their writing sample will
be scored.

Provide a minimum of thirty minutes to allow students to plan, organize, and revise their work.
Decide whether students can use dictionaries or other resources (including you and other
students) during the writing process and apply your rule consistently.

SCORING A WRITING SAMPLE

To score a writing sample, use a rating scale which focuses on your students' overall ability to
communicate through writing. Categories to look for should include organization, cohesion, and
for more advanced students, transitions from one idea to the next. Depending on the learning
objective (and number of drafts), count off for grammar and punctuation if they seriously interfere
with the message the student is trying to get across.

You may want to assign two separate scores, one to reflect overall content and organization and
the other to reflect mechanics such as grammar, punctuation, and spelling. Many teachers use a
system where an "S" represents "satisfactory." In assigning two scores to a writing sample, a
student might receive an S+ for content and organization and an S- for mechanics. If the paper is
unacceptable, the student receives an "R" and must rewrite the sample.

Decide on what scoring ranges mean for students at different levels. At a minimum, at least three
categories should be established with regard to writing ability: low, intermediate, and high. (See
the visual on next page.)