Essay tests are widely used to assess ESL/EFL learners' writing abilities for instructional, administrative, and research purposes. Relevant literature was searched to identify 70 empirical studies on ESL/EFL essay tests. The majority of these studies examined task, essay, and rater effects on essay rating and scores. Less attention has been given…

Cloze testing and language performance is discussed as are two techniques for awarding partial credit: the quick performance measurement and feedback technique and the three-stage scoring hierarchy for partial credit. A figure and tables are included. (EJS)

In this discussion of techniques for teaching and testing listening comprehension according to the Provisional Proficiency Guidelines of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages, five questions are addressed: (1) the nature of the relationship between listening and speaking; (2) the kinds of listening tasks that should be…

This book is a guide to categorizing, measuring, testing, and assessing aspects of language, and is intended for language teachers, speech therapists and other language-related practitioners, and researchers, in conjunction with other resources on research methods and statistics. The first part is a discussion of basic terminology and the varied…

The design of vocabulary tests, particularly for English as a Second Language, is discussed. The discussion is intended to help language teachers with little or no knowledge of testing gain a better understanding of vocabulary testing. First, a set of principles for guiding the writing of vocabulary tests are outlined, presented in the form of…

In foreign language testing, as in all testing, validity is the primary criterion for test quality. However plausible the concept of validity, in practice it is not always easy to arrive at congruence between the test situation and the real-life situation the learner is expected to master. Some language educators make authenticity a major…

Discusses two requirements for successful use of tests for self-correcting by the learner: (1) the learner must, as quickly as possible, compare the model answers with his own, and (2) the teacher must provide a summary of the learners' achievements and deficiencies. (IFS/WGA)

The French as a Second Language model tests for advanced levels 7, 8, and 9 were designed to evaluate students' language performance, as outlined in the program of studies for Alberta, Canada, in listening and reading comprehension and oral and written production, communication skills, culture, language and general language knowledge. The tests…

This manual provides instructors in Peace Corps language training programs with information about two kinds of classroom testing: formative, ongoing testing and summative testing that occurs at the end of an instructional period. The first of the manual's four chapters on the purposes of language testing, discusses language testing within a…

By being creative in preparing tests and by allowing creativity on the part of students, language teachers can incorporate many of the principles associated with proficiency-oriented instruction into a traditional test format. Such test strategies are based on the following: (1) testing in context is better than testing with a series of unrelated…

The group discussion test has gained prominence as a measure of oral interaction skills in second-language learning. This article reviews test types and administration, the communicative nature of the test, development of criteria and rating scales, and advantages. A sample rating scale is appended. (Contains 15 references.) (LB)

A discussion of language testing focuses on how proficiency scales are constructed and applied to communicative language assessment in Australian secondary schools. A variety of rating scale types are described and distinguished according to how they are constructed, what they attempt to measure, and what criteria they contain. A more detailed…

Recent initiatives in second language testing theory, practice, and research are reviewed, including test specificity, relevance, accuracy, multidimensional assessment, and the test's link to instruction, and their relevance to language teaching is discussed. Special attention is given to Canadian contributions to the field. (63 references)…

The French as a Second Language model tests for beginning levels 1, 2, and 3 were designed to evaluate students' language performance, as outlined in the program of studies for Alberta, Canada, in listening and reading comprehension and oral and written production, communication skills, culture, language and general language knowledge. The tests…

The kit is designed for use by Australian classroom teachers of English as a Second Language (ESL) interested in more detailed diagnoses of their learners' needs for reading and writing instruction, from beginning to advanced levels. It can be used at the outset of or during a course of study to give a detailed assessment of the learner's reading…