Chapter 9.

Assessment
How do I assess language learning?
A language test is a systematic and practical way of eliciting some
A few key points samples of a language learner’s oral and written performance as well as
listening and reading ability to understand what the learner can and
cannot do in the language.
These tests are used to place students in the appropriate level of English
instruction, decide whether students’ learning needs would be better met
in an ESL or bilingual program, and determine students’ dominant
language for standardized testing purposes, among other uses.

Standards
These are general statements of goals for teaching English as a second
language and for world languages in order to help teachers establish
appropriate learning goals for the students.

The ESL standards for Pre-K-12 Students

These standards were developed by TESOL and include three essential
goals for English Learners:

Goal 1: it concerns the development and use of social or BICS language.

Goal 2: addresses the importance of English development to school
success and highlights the necessity of developing oral and written
academic English.
Goal3: concentrates on the cultural issues associated with language use
and recognizes the diverse cultural nature of the United States.

The National Standards for Foreign Language Learning

It includes five broad goals and eleven standards: Communication,
Cultures, Connections, Comparisons, and Communities.

Issues in Language testing:

 The competence-performance problem
 Reliability
 Validity
 Authenticity and washback

Testing approaches:
 Integrative versus Nonintegrative testing
 Direct, Indirect, and Performance testing
 Portfolios
 Assessment for learning
Testing for variety of purposes
 Norm referenced versus Criterion referenced tests
 Placement, Diagnostic, and Achievement tests

The ACTFL (American Council of Teachers of Foreign Languages) Oral

Proficiency interview (OPI): is a structured live oral interview which
uses a ten-level scale to rate learners from “novice low” to “superior”
and corresponds to the communication goal of the foreign language
standards.
The TOEFL (Test of English as foreign language): it is the principle
English examination required of international students who hope to study
in North America. It tests whether students have academic English ability
to understand context.
The IELTS (International English Language Testing System): it is a four
skills (listening, speaking, reading, and writing) English test used to
assess readiness for undergraduate or graduate study in an English-
speaking environment.
The TOIEC (Test of English for International Communication): it is
designed to test English “for daily life and the global workplace”.