ELS 206 : Language Testing

and Assessment

Lesson 1- Principles and Purpose of

Language testing and Assessment

Prof: Angilly Librea, LPT, MAEd-ELT

Objectives
At the end of this lesson, students should be able to:

• explain the key concepts of assessment and evaluation

principles;
• discuss briefly the principles and purpose of language
testing and assessment;
• discuss the various purposes of assessment; and
• cite the significance of studying language testing and
assessment.
 KEY TOPICS
Theory

Approach

Method

Principle

Strategy
Procedure

Technique

Assessment

Teaching

Test
A consolidation of a number of possible definitions of
language yields the following composite definition:

• Language is systematic.
• Language is a set of arbitrary symbols.
• Those symbols are primarily vocal, but may also be visual.
• The symbols have conventionalized meanings to which they
refer.
• Language is used for communication.
• Language operates in a speech community or culture .
• Language is essentially human, although possibly not limited
to humans
• Language is acquired by all people in much the same way.
• language and language learning both have universal
characteristics.
• Theory – is a scientifically acceptable general
principle or body of principles offered to explain
phenomena
• Approach refers to the beliefs and theories about
language, language learning and teaching that
underlie a method. is the level at which assumptions
and beliefs about language and language learning is
specified. Examples are : Communicative Language
Teaching (CLT) Competency-based Language Teaching,
Task-based language teaching, Whole Language
Approach, Content-based Instruction Cooperative
(Collaborative) Learning
• Method - is the level at which theory is put into
practice and at which choices are made about the
particular skills to be taught, the content to be
taught, and the order in which the content will be
presented; technique is the level at which
classroom procedures are described. Examples
include: Audiolingual, Direct Method, Grammar
Translation, Silent Way, Situational Language
Teaching, Suggestopedia, Total Physical Response
(TPR)
Technique is implementational – that which
actually takes place in a classroom. It is particular
trick, stratagem, or contrivance used to
accomplish an immediate objective

Strategy specific way of looking at a problem or

task, modes of operation for achieving a
particular end, or planned design for controlling
and manipulating certain information. For
example, debate, jigsaw, learning log, Vein
diagram.
Procedure involves the techniques and
practices employed in the classroom as
consequences of particular approaches and
designs.

Design relates the theories of language and

learning to the form and function of teaching
materials and activities in the classroom.
What is principle?

• The term principle has been adopted from the Latin

word from Latin prīncipium (“beginning, foundation”),
from prīnceps (“first”). The early Greeks used the term
principles not only to express the origin of things but
also to express their fundamental laws, and to put out
their ultimate objectives.
• In the language of Hopkins, “a principle is a rule for
guiding the ship of education so that it will reach the
port designated by the philosophy of education; it is a
compass by which the path of education is directed.”
At the 2018 Teaching English to Speakers of Other
Languages(TESOL) International Convention in Chicago,
TESOL unveiled “The 6 Principles for Exemplary Teaching
of English Learners”. Here they are:

Principle 1: Know your Learners

English teachers should understand the students’
personal and educational background so they can tailor
classes according to their students’ needs more
effectively. Learning about the students’ culture, first
language, and past experiences are useful while preparing
lesson plans, materials, and projects.
Principle 2: Create Conditions for Language Learning
Creating a positive atmosphere in class considering
physical space, materials, and student integration
promotes better learning experiences for English
students.

Principle 3: Design High-Quality Lessons for Language

Development
Creating meaningful and exceptional lesson plans that
develop the students’ language acquisition and their
content learning process remains essential. Teachers may
engage students in authentic language practice
experiences, supporting their learning strategies and
critical thinking development.
Principle 4: Adapt Lesson Delivery as Needed
Assessing students and adapting lesson plans accordingly
remains a must. Reflecting on the students’ performance
and development improves the quality of many English
lessons.

Principle 5: Monitor and Assess Student Language

Development
Outstanding ESL/EFL teachers also monitor and assess
students’ language development to measure and
document progress. English students learn in different
ways and speed.
Principle 6: Engage and Collaborate Within a
Community of Practice
This last principle suggests English teachers should
collaborate with each other to support their English
language learners. Sharing classroom experiences,
reflecting critically on teaching practices, following
current ELT research, joining and engaging in
professional groups, attending academic conferences,
and engaging in online learning groups are all ways to be
active within a community of practice.
According to Richards and Rodgers (1982, 1985)

• As usual in educational practice, the term

principle is not thought of as a rule but rather
as a fundamental truth regarding the
relationship of factors with which the teacher
and the pupil deal.
• Principles are the chief guides to make teaching
and learning intelligent and productive.
Assessment, Test, Teaching
 What is a test
• A test, in simple terms, is a method of measuring a
person’s ability, know/edge, or performance in a
given domain. Let's look at the components of this
definition. A test is first a method. It is an
instrument-a set of techniques, procedures, or items
that requires performance on the part of the test-
taker. To qualify as a test, the method must be
explicit and structured: multiple-choice questions
with prescribed correct answers; a writing prompt
with scoring rubric; an oral interview based on a
question script and a checklist of expected responses
to be filled in by the administrator.
 What is a test
• A test, in simple terms, is a method of measuring a
person’s ability, know/edge, or performance in a
given domain. Let's look at the components of this
definition.
• A test is first a method. It is an instrument-a set of
techniques, procedures, or items that requires
performance on the part of the test-taker. To qualify
as a test, the method must be explicit and
structured: multiple-choice questions with
prescribed correct answers; a writing prompt with ;t
scoring rubric; an oral interview based on a question
script and a checklist of expected responses to be
filled in by the administrator.
 What is a test
• Second, a test must measure. Some tests
measure general ability, while others focus on
very specific competencies or objectives. A multi-
skill proficiency test determines a general ability
level; a quiz on recognizing correct use of definite
articles measures specific knowledge. The way
the results or measurements are communicated
may vary. Some tests, such as a classroom-based
short-answer essay test, may earn the test-taker
a letter grade accompanied by the instructor's
marginal comments.
 What is a test
• Next, a test measures an individual's ability,
knowledge, or performance. Testees need to
understand who the test-takers are. What is
their previous experience and background? Is
the test appropriately matched to their
abilities? How should test takers interpret
their scores?
 What is a test
• A test measures performance, but the results
imply the test-taker's ability, or, to use a
concept common in the field of linguistics,
competence. Most language tests measure
one's ability to perform language, that is, to
speak, write, read, or listen to a subset of
language.
 What is a test
• Finally, a test measures a given domain. In the
case of a proficiency test, even though the actual
performance on the test involves only a sampling
of skills, that domain is overall proficiency in a
language-general competence in all skills of a
language. Other tests may have more specific
criteria. A test of pronunciation might well be a
test of only a limited set of phonemic minimal
pairs. A vocabulary test may focus on only the set
of words covered in a particular lesson or unit.
 What is a test
• Tests are prepared administrative procedures
that occur at identifiable times in a curriculum
when learners muster all their faculties to
offer peak performance, knowing that their
responses are being measured and evaluated.
A test is an essential part of assessment, thus it is
important that their functions are clearly identified:
• In learning
- Tests are used to measure students’ language
ability to discover how much they have been
learning, to diagnose students’ strengths and
weaknesses in learning, to diagnose students’
strengths and weaknesses, and to motivate
students in learning.
 to test language proficiency
 Conduct placement test
 Administer periodic test
A test is an essential part of assessment, thus it is
important that their functions are clearly identified

• In teaching
- As a means to ensure effective teaching to
improve teaching quality, to obtain feedback on
students’ learning.
- Test can have a backwash effect, which means
that they may result in changes of instructional
programs or teaching practices to reflect the test
contents because language teachers want their
students to do well in high stakes tests for many
different reasons.
A test is an essential part of assessment, thus it is
important that their functions are clearly identified

• In Research
- Language test have a potentially important
role in virtually all researches, both basic and
applied, that is related to the nature of
language proficiency, language processing,
language acquisition, language attrition and
language teaching.
 What is an assessment?
• Assessment, on the other hand, is an on-going
process that encompasses a much wider
domain. Whenever a student responds to a
question, offers a comment, or tries out a new
word or structure, the teacher subconsciously
makes an assessment of the student‘s
performance. Written work-from a jotted-
down phrase to a formal essay-is performance
that ultimately is assessed by self, teacher, and
possibly other students.
 What is an assessment?
• Tests then, are a subset of assessment; they
are certainly not the only form of assessment
that a teacher can make. Tests can be useful
devices, but they are only one among many
procedures and tasks that teachers can
ultimately use to assess students.
• But now, you might be thinking, if you make
assessments every time you teach something
in the classroom, does all teaching involve
assessment? Are teachers constantly assessing
students with no interaction that is
assessment-free?
• Tests, then, are a subset of assessments; they are
certainly not the only form of assessment that a
teacher can make. Tests can be useful devices, but
they are only one among many procedures and tasks
that teachers can ultimately use to assess students.
• Teaching sets up the practice games of language
learning: the opportunities for learners to listen,
think, take risks, set goals, and process feedback
from the “coach” and then recycle through the skills
that they are trying to master.
But now, you might be thinking, if you
make assessments every time you teach
something in the classroom, does all
teaching involve assessment? Are teachers
constantly assessing students with no
interaction that is assessment-free?
• The answer depends on your perspective. For
optimal learning to take place, students in the
classroom must have the freedom to
experiment, to try out their own hypotheses
about language without feeling that their
overall competence is being judged in terms of
those trials and errors.
 The Importance and Necessity of Assessment

• In the field of education, “some form of assessment is

inevitable; it is inherent in the teaching – learning
process” (Hopkins, Stanley, & Hopkins, 1990, p.194).
• Stoynoff and Chapelle (2005) stated that “teachers
are involved in many forms of assessment and testing
through their daily teaching and use of test scores”
(p. 1), but they also noted that many teachers find
principles of assessment an aspect that is difficult to
update and apply efficiently.
References:

Brown, H., & Abeywickrama, P. (2010). Language

assessment: Principles and classroom practices (Vol.
10). White Plains, NY: Pearson Education.

Freeman, D., & Freeman, Y. (1988). Whole Language

Content Lessons for ESL Students.

Nunan, D. (1991). Language teaching

methodology (Vol. 192). New York: prentice hall.
Activity:

1. Complete the table below.

Differences

Testing Assessment

Definition

Purpose

Characteristic

Examples

Importance
Required Reading:

Click this link to download the article