Understanding Language Testing

__Understanding Language Testing__ presents an introduction to language tests and the process of test development that starts at the very beginning. Assuming no knowledge of the field, the book promotes a practical understanding of language testing using examples from a variety of languages. While grounded on solid theoretical principles, the book focuses on fostering a true understanding of the various uses of language tests and the process of test development, scoring test performance, analyzing and interpreting test results, and above all, using tests as ethically and fairly as possible so that test takers are given every opportunity to do their best, to learn as much as possible, and feel positive about their language learning. Each chapter includes a summary, suggestions for further reading, and exercises. As such this is the ideal book for both beginning students of linguistics and language education, or anyone in a related discipline looking for a first introduction to language testing. Cover 1 Half Title 2 Title Page 4 Copyright Page 5 Dedication 6 Table of Contents 8 Acknowledgements 11 Preface 12 1 Introduction: the rubber ruler 14 1.1 Why test language learning? 14 1.2 What is a language test? 15 1.2.1 What are the properties of measuring devices? 15 1.3 The rubber ruler 16 1.4 Tests, measurement and evaluation 18 1.4.1 Evaluation without measurement 18 1.4.2 Measurement without a test 18 1.4.3 Tests 19 1.5 Ethical uses of language tests 22 1.5.1 Reliability 23 1.5.2 Validity 23 Further reading 26 Exercises 26 2 Measuring language ability and making decisions 30 2.1 Measuring language ability 30 2.2 Making decisions about learners, teachers, programmes, and policies 32 2.3 Contexts of language use 33 2.3.1 Contextual features 34 2.3.2 Authenticity 37 2.4 Making valid interpretations of test performance 39 2.4.1 Consistency of measurement 39 2.4.2 Validity: evidence for interpretations of test performance 42 2.5 Conclusion: bias for best 47 Further reading 48 Exercises 48 3 Test development 51 3.1 What do I need to test? Needs analysis 51 3.1.1 Define the purpose of the test 53 3.1.2 Conduct a preliminary investigation 53 3.1.3 Collect primary data 53 3.1.4 Collect secondary data 55 3.1.5 Analyse target language use task and language characteristics 57 3.2 How am I going to test language abilities? Turning target language use tasks into test tasks 61 3.2.1 Developing a test task 61 3.2.2 Developing a blueprint for the test 62 3.2.3 Options for test tasks 62 3.3 How am I going to give the test? Test administration 67 3.3.1 Test environment 67 3.3.2 Personnel 67 3.3.3 Procedures 68 3.3.4 Scoring 68 3.4 How can my computer assist me in test development? Computerbased tools 69 3.4.1 Hot Potatoes 70 3.4.2 Moodle 73 3.4.3 WebCT 73 3.5 Conclusion 76 Further reading 77 Exercises 77 4 Alternatives in assessment 80 4.1 Norm-referenced and criterion-referenced tests 80 4.2 Communicative language tests 82 4.3 ‘General’ and ‘specific purpose’ language tests 83 4.4 Discrete-point and integrative tests 83 4.5 Formative and summative assessment 85 4.6 Alternative approaches to assessment 86 4.6.1 Conference assessments 87 4.6.2 Portfolio assessment 87 4.6.3 Self- and peer-assessments 88 4.6.4 Task-based and performance assessment 89 4.6.5 Dynamic assessment 92 4.6.6 Summary 93 4.7 Conclusion 93 Further reading 94 Exercises 94 5 By the numbers: a statistics mini-course 98 5.1 Introduction 98 5.2 Normal distribution 100 5.3 The average or mean 101 5.4 Standard deviation 103 5.4.1 Standard deviation as a unit of measurement 105 5.5 Correlation 106 5.6 Probability and statistical significance 110 5.7 The t-test of the difference between two averages 112 5.8 Analysis of variance 114 5.9 Reliability 117 5.9.1 Split-half method 118 5.9.2 Internal consistency method 119 5.9.3 Standard error of measurement 121 5.10 The reliability of human raters 123 5.11 Conclusion 124 Further reading 125 Exercises 126 6 Technology and language testing 128 6.1 Introduction 128 6.2 Issues in technology and language testing 129 6.2.1 Technology and test taker attitudes 130 6.2.2 Language performance and different media 130 6.2.3 Technology and the construct to be measured 131 6.2.4 Technology and assessment tasks 131 6.2.5 The limits of automated scoring 132 6.3 Technology and language task types 132 6.3.1 Listening tasks 132 6.3.2 Integrated listening and speaking tasks 135 6.3.3 Writing tasks 138 6.3.4 Reading tasks 138 6.4 The promise and threats of automated scoring 140 6.4.1 Examples of current automated scoring programs 140 6.4.2 Concerns about automated scoring 142 6.5 Test feedback and reporting 143 6.6 Online and computer-based resources for statistics 145 6.6.1 Microsoft® Excel 148 6.6.2 Online resources 150 6.7 Conclusion 152 Further reading 152 Exercises 153 Afterword: the rubber ruler revisited 157 References 159 Index 166

Beginning with Julius Caesar, who is still considered to be the best solider-writer of all time, history has witnessed a strong tradition of warriors mixing the pen with the sword. In I Am Soldier John Keegan has compiled over 50 stories of soldiers on campaign, from Biblical times through the war in Yugoslavia.

I Am Soldier covers all the famous wars and many of the most-famous types of warriors throughout time. There's the Roman Centurion, the Spartan hoplite, the Greek Satrap, the Byzantine Horseman, the Serban Jannisary, the Christian Crusader, and the American Revolutionary. In the modern period there's the Confederate soldier, the French Poilu of the First World War, the American Paratrooper of WWII, and the US Marine of the Korean War.

Each chapter describes what life was like from the point of view of an actual soldier. In the ancient period, where the written record is sketchy, the chapters draw on archaeology and the surviving chronicles from the time. Beginning with the medieval period, where it began to be possible for common soldiers to also be literate, chapters draw on combatants' memoirs.

A particularly poignant story recounted in I Am Soldier is that of Marie Magdelaine Mouran. In the 17th Century, few avenues were open to a woman bent on adventure. A hard home life and the threat of life of menial peasant labor—or worse—caused Marie to don a soldier's cloth and sign-up to serve a company commanded by Captain Destone of the Royal Walloon Regiment in France. Marie soldiered as 'Picard' for a year and a half, ending up in the garrison at Sisteron, a fortress guarding the Durance river in Provence. After a serious wounding in battle, her secret was discovered. A captain pressed charges against her and had her imprisoned—not because of her deceit, but because she had deserted his regiment for one with higher pay. Although the record is unclear, it appears that Marie never emerged from her prison cell.

The picture that emerges from I Am Soldier is not of the differences between fighters of different periods, but of the principles that unite them: discipline, valor, the importance of good leadership, and human limit to which soldiers on campaign are pushed in every age.

'Down in the Delta is where the dying began. ... Now we met real enemy units, in company and battalion size, got into day-long fights, and lost people in serious numbers. By late spring more than two-thirds of our original men had gone ... There is no training that prepares a solider for all of this.' -John Young, The Vietnam War, 1956-1975

Beginning with Julius Caesar, who is still considered to be the best solider-writer of all time, history has witnessed a strong tradition of warriors mixing the pen with the sword. In I Am Soldier John Keegan has compiled over 50 stories of soldiers on campaign, from Biblical times through the war in Yugoslavia. I Am Soldier covers all the famous wars and many of the most-famous types of warriors throughout time. There's the Roman Centurion, the Spartan hoplite, the Greek Satrap, the Byzantine Horseman, the Serban Jannisary, the Christian Crusader, and the American Revolutionary. In the modern period there's the Confederate soldier, the French Poilu of the First World War, the American Paratrooper of WWII, and the US Marine of the Korean War. Each chapter describes what life was like from the point of view of an actual soldier. In the ancient period, where the written record is sketchy, the chapters draw on archaeology and the surviving chronicles from the time. Beginning with the medieval period, where it began to be possible for common soldiers to also be literate, chapters draw on combatants' memoirs. A particularly poignant story recounted in I Am Soldier is that of Marie Magdelaine Mouran. In the 17th Century, few avenues were open to a woman bent on adventure. A hard home life and the threat of life of menial peasant labor--or worse--caused Marie to don a soldier's cloth and sign-up to serve a company commanded by Captain Destone of the Royal Walloon Regiment in France. Marie soldiered as 'Picard' for a year and a half, ending up in the garrison at Sisteron, a fortress guarding the Durance river in Provence. After a serious wounding in battle, her secret was discovered. A captain pressed charges against her and had her imprisoned--not because of her deceit, but because she had deserted his regiment for one with higher pay. Although the record is unclear, it appears that Marie never emerged from her prison cell. The picture that emerges from I Am Soldier is not of the differences between fighters of different periods, but of the principles that unite them: discipline, valor, the importance of good leadership, and human limit to which soldiers on campaign are pushed in every age. 'Down in the Delta is where the dying began. ... Now we met real enemy units, in company and battalion size, got into day-long fights, and lost people in serious numbers. By late spring more than two-thirds of our original men had gone ... There is no training that prepares a solider for all of this.' -John Young, The Vietnam War, 1956-1975 I am Soldier brings together the profiles of sixty soldiers who have fought over the past 2,500 years.These vivid accounts graphically depict the role of the soldier in battle often using the soldiers'own words to reveal what they felt during the chaos of war and its aftermath.From the Spartans at Thermopylae to the war in the Persian Gulf, this book shows the lives of the individual men and woman who made up the great armies that changed the world. "Since the dawn of time there has been war. Men, and women, from Ancient Greece to modern Iraq have fought for their country, their beliefs and their lives. Using soldiers' own words to portray the changing realities of war and the evolution of warfare, I Am Soldier brings together the profiles of seventy soldiers whose lives span 2,500 years, providing a glimpse into the great armies of history."--Front flap Assuming No Knowledge Of The Field, This Book Promotes A Practical Understanding Of Language Testing Using Examples From A Variety Of Languages.