ASSESSING PRODUCTIVE SKILLS

SPEAKING AND WRITING

COALA GIMNAZIAL
NR. 1Teachers:
PANIC
English
5TH DECEMBER 2016
Tams Andrea Amlia

WHAT DO WE MEAN BY TESTING, ASSESSMENT AND

EVALUATION?

They are used to measure :

how much of the assigned materials
students are mastering,
how well students are learning the
materials,
how well students are meeting the
stated goals and objectives.

LANGUAGE TESTING AND EVALUATION

Testing is an integral part of the process of teaching.

Both are interrelated and interdependent.
Teaching begins with clear specification of the objectives.
The objectives are realized through the course material.
Evaluation decides whether the objectives of the course are reached or not.

all this determines the validity of the course.

This co-relation is first explained by Furst (1990) in the following diagram:

Objectives

Evaluation

Material

THE OBJECTIVES OF TESTING

Is

to judge whether any learning is

materialised after teaching or not.
The feedback through evaluation
helps us to update teaching materials,
to change our strategies of teaching,
to develop better learning in the
classroom.

TEST

EVALUATION ASSESSMENT

TEST

measures the level of skill or knowledge that has

been reached.
EVALUATION

is the process of making judgements

based on criteria and evidence.
ASSESSMENT

is the process of documenting knowledge,

skills, attitudes and beliefs, usually in measurable terms.
The goal of assessment is to make improvements, as opposed
to simply being judged.
In an educational context, assessment is the process of
describing, collecting, recording, scoring and interpreting
information about learning.

WHY IS ASSESSMENT IMPORTANT?

By this point in our life we have discovered that learning
CAN BE FUN! We have realized that we are constantly learning
whether we are in a classroom, a car or a kitchen.

ASSESSMENT HELPS YOU BUILD CONFIDENCE IN

YOUR ABILITY TO LEARN.
In order to be successful, our students will need to have
confidence in their ability to learn and they will need to become
lifelong learners.
ASSESSMENT plays a key role in developing their confidence in
their ability to learn, as well as in developing their lifelong
learning skills.

https://
www.youtube.com/watch?v=xb60
9JC3_QU&t=146s

STUDENT DIALOGUE LEARNING TO BAKE COOKIES

Jose: Hi, Brian. What`s in the bag?

Brian: These are my world famous chocolate chip cookies. Here, try
one.
Sage: Hey guys! What are you doing?
Jose: Brian made some cookies. Here, try one.
Sage: Wow, Brian! These are great. How did you learn to make
these?
Brian: I used to help my mum bake cookies when I was a kid. Then,
when I came to college, I brought the recipe with me and started
making them for myself. At first they didn`t turn out very well, but
the more I practiced, the better I got. I have Even made some
changes to the recipe that I think have improved the taste.

Brian used
what he
learned from
each batch of
cookies to
improve the
next batch.
When we are
learning a
skill, feedback
is automatic.
The feedback
process needs
to be made
visible through
ASSESSMENT .

FIVE THINGS TO THINK ABOUT BEFORE USING AN ASSESSMENT

1. Begin with consequences

What beneficial consequences do I want to bring about?
Answer the following questions:
a. How will using an assessment help my students improve their learning?
b. How will using an assessment help me improve my teaching?

2. Consider decisions
What decisions do I need to make?
a. What decisions do I need to make to help my students improve their learning?
b. What decisions do I need to make to improve my teaching?

3. Identify the information you need

4. Consider the quality of the information
5. How can I get the information I need?

ASSESSING WRITING AND SPEAKING

How to evaluate speaking and writing?
I assess my students speaking and writing
skills by..
________________________________.
The criteria I used to assess students
communication skills are _____________.
The problems and challenges I have with
evaluating my students skills are _______.

WHAT ARE WE TRYING TO MEASURE?

The students` ability to interact in

the target language in written and
spoken form.
This involves comprehension as
well as production.
(Hughes, 1991)

WHY IS IT SO DIFFICULT TO ASSESS

PRODUCTIVE SKILLS?

Difficult to elicit behaviour in early stage

Tasks should elicit a representative
sample of the students` ability
Formal formats tend to elicit unreal
behaviour
Teachers tend to score by impression
Scoring criteria is often inconsistent
among testers

WE CAN MEND THESE PROBLEMS BY

Setting appropriate tasks

Testing only writing or speaking
abilities, and nothing else
Restricting the students response
Selecting appropriate test formats
Obtaining reliable scores

SETTING APPROPRIATE TASKS MEANS

Considering questions like these:
What is the communicative function I
want to elicit from the student?
(expressinggivingdescribing?)
What

is the form of interaction expected?

(letter, postcard, email, voice chat,
interview, oral presentation)
What

is the context for the interaction?

( formal, informal, real, unreal, school

context, the street, home, abroad)

Obtaining a representative
sample means

Setting a flexible context

Considering a variety of tasks
Asking for authentic and
meaningful answers
Setting the criteria for
production (1. Paragraph, the
following aspects)
Giving the student enough time
to complete the task

TESTING THE SKILL ONLY MEANS

AVOIDING THE ASSESSMENT OF

Opinions
IQ
Creativity or imagination
Previous/general knowledge
Other skills ( reading, listening)

TYPES OF ASSESSMENT
Assessment is divided, for the sake of
convenience, into the following distinctions:
formative and summative
objective and subjective
referencing (criterion-referenced, normreferenced)
informal and formal

FORMATIVE AND SUMMATIVE

Formative
assessment
Gradi
ng

Usually not graded

Summative
assessment
Usually graded

Purpo Improvement: to give

se
feedback to
instructor and
students about how
well students
understand specific
material

Judgment: to derive a
grade, and to allow
students to work
intensively with course
material

Focus Very focused on

whether students
have acquired
specific skills or
information

Less focused on
specific skills or
information; instead,
allows students to
demonstrate a range
of skills and knowledge

Effort Requires little time

Requires more time

https://
www.youtube.com/watch?v=vN9x

HOW DO WE ASSESS CHILDREN?

Children usually do not choose to learn a foreign language. The decision is made for them either by
their parents or by the school. They need other reasons to motivate them and to keep them learning. A
friendly environment can offer such motivation. You can make learning as enjoyable as possible
through drawing, games, songs, puzzles and drama.
Our hard work in establishing a motivating atmosphere and positive attitudes towards learning
English can be severely damaged when it comes time for assessment. To avoid this we have to carry
out assessment in a way that protects the positive atmosphere and attitudes towards English and
learning in general.
METHODS:
Structured assessment, activities/ tasks
Take home assessment tasks
Portfolio assessment / method that includes all the others
Projects
Self-assessment
Peer assessment
Traditional tests
Learner developed assessment tasks
Observation
Conferencing

PORTFOLIO ASSESSMENT

A collection of work products by the child over a period of

time
Creates a complete picture of a child`s achievement

PROJECTS
Suitable for assessing mixed ability groups

They involve assessing both groups work and individual

contribution to the group

PEER ASSESSMENT
Learning and assessment can be more fun when it is done

with friends
Children learn to respect and accept each other through

assessing each other`s work

LEARNER DEVELOPED ASSESSMENT TASKS
Children can create a task of their own. It encourages

responsibility and maturity

OBSERVATION
Teachers observe children every single lesson and make

dozens of judgement every day (Are the children following

the instructions? Are they performing the task correctly?)
These observations are not usually systematically recorded

and so cannot be used for assessment purposes

To record observations systematically, we can make short

notes soon after the lesson and keep them on file

STRUCTURED ASSESSMENT , ACTIVITIES/ TASKS

Tasks organized by the teacher in order to assess

knowledge, skills and attitudes, as well as the ability to

apply these to new situations
Demonstrate understanding by doing (drawing activities,

for example, allow children to respond to a question or

solve a task)
SELF ASSESMENT
It promotes invaluable learning skills such as monitoring

one`s own progress, reflecting on one`s abilities and

learning styles, and setting personal goals
TRADITIONAL TESTS
They are objective, easy to mark and easy to prepare.

These tests don`t tell us much about what children can

actually
They usually give the children as feedback a grade or a

mark
TAKE HOME TASKS
Children can complete at home after discussion with the

teacher
They are given a deadline to meet

CONFERENCING
Informal and friendly chats with the students

We can use conferencing to assess speaking skills

ASSESSMENT FORMATS FOR

SPEAKING

Oral questionnaire
Free interviews
Peer interaction/ role plays
Picture-cued tasks
(describing a picture,
structuring a story, giving
directions, giving
instructions)
Response to recordings
Paraphrasing a story, a
situation
Prepared monologue
Reading aloud

WRITING

Essay questions
Guided writing (a letter, a
postcard, email, note, form,
advertisement)
Picture cued tasks (describing
a picture, structuring a story,
giving directions, giving
instructions)
Response to written/spoken
stimuli
Paraphrasing a story, a
situation
Prepared written production
Dictation

HOW TO GIVE FEEDBACK?

ASSESSMENT IS NOT COMPLETE AS SOON AS YOU
COLLECT THE CHILDRENS WORK!!!!
Offering feedback is an integral part of the assessing process and
should follow as soon as possible after the assessment task is carried
out. The longer we delay giving feedback, the less meaningful it
becomes and the less impact has on the children.
FEEDBACK can be given:
Individually
To group of children
To the whole class

FEEDBACK helps children to discover

their strengths and weaknesses
motivates
helps them to persist in
their learning

OBTAINING

RELIABLE SCORES MEANS

Having a well-structured criteria

based on bands and descriptors

5
4
3
2
1

Excellent writer
Good writer
Average writer
Substandard writer
Poor writer

HOWEVER, ONE QUESTION ARISES

What makes a student an 'excellent'

writer?

Is
Is
Is
Is

it
it
it
it

comprehensibility?
grammatical accuracy?
spelling?
the way they organize the text?

ONE SOLUTION IS

Either produce overall descriptions of writing

and spoken ability
Or concentrate on different aspects of writing
and speaking and then separate these
aspects out into individual scales.

Holistic scales: those containing

different features of ability
Analytic scales: Those which separate
out different aspects of ability

HOLISTIC SCALES

Constructs grammatically correct sentences and phrases and shows full

mastery of appropriate vocabulary. Text is organized coherently. Correct
spelling at all times. Excellent content and presentation. Message wholly
relevant
In general, grammatically correct sentences and phrases but some errors
which do not affect understanding. Does not use. appropriate vocabulary at
all times. Some difficulties with organization of text. Some errors in spelling.
Good content and presentation. Message mostly relevant.
Grammatical errors and use of vocabulary affects understanding as does
organization of text. Many errors in spelling. Satisfactory content and
presentation. Message not always relevant.
Text understood with difficulty due to inaccurate grammar and inappropriate
use of vocabulary. Poor content and presentation. Message generally lacks
relevancy. .
Impossible to understand text due to frequency of grammatical errors and
incoherence of organization. Poor spelling Message irrelevant.

ANALYTIC SCALES
Grammar
6. Few (if any) noticeable error of grammar or word order.
5. Some errors of grammar and word order which do not
interfere with comprehension.
4. Errors of grammar or word order fairly frequent; occasional
re-reading necessary for full comprehension.
3. Errors of grammar or word order frequent; efforts of
interpretation sometimes required on readers part
2. Errors of grammar and word order very frequent; reader
often has to rely on own interpretation.
1. Errors of grammar or word order so severe as to make
comprehension virtually impossible.
Score: Gramm____ Voc____ Mech____ Form____ TOTAL____

SPEAKING
Speaking can be the most rewarding and motivating skill,
especially for children, who get excited when they are able to
express a few things in the target language.
Speaking can also be frightening and intimidating for shy children.
It requires great care in the choice of speaking assessment tasks
and overall assessment procedure , to ensure that children have
opportunities to perform in ways and situations that are informal
and non threatening.
Give them opportunities to work and speak in pairs or groups, and
to speak individually only when they are ready.
Speaking assessment tasks must be realistic( communicative
interactions)
- contextualized( familiar and interesting context to children)

SPEAKING ASSESSMENT PLAN

IN CLASS:

FEEDBACK:

1.

Write the worksheet on the board, or put it on the overhead projector.

2.

Explain to the children that they have to fill in this form by asking four of their classmates questions.
Make sure they ask children they dont sit with or know too well.

3.

Tell them that they can get up and walk around the room to find the 4 classmates and talk to them. Ask
them not to make too much noise or disturb others. If you have a very large class, have the students sit at
a different place than usual. Then they can ask classmates near them and not have to walk around.

4.

If there is any information they are unable to write, they can ask their classmates to spell it for them.

5.

Give out the worksheet.

6.

The children go around asking their classmates, then fill in the form.

1.

Invite children to tell you how they think they did, what difficulties they experienced, and how they dealt
with them. Then give general feedback or how well you think they carried out the task, for example how
polite they were, whether they used only English Tell them gently how they can improve, focusing on
the general aims of the activity and not on accuracy.

2.

When all the children have finished, ask them to look at their worksheets and choose one piece of
information they didnt know about one of their classmates. The children take turns to say what they
learnt.

3.

If you have chosen to observe and assess a small group of children, give them more detailed feedback on
how they performed, in private.

ASSESSMENT Select a number of children to observe while they are carrying out the task.
OF OUTCOME:
PORTOFOLIO: The children prepare a visual presentation about their classmates or a group of friends. If possible they
should bring a picture of their classmates to accompany the report. Alternatively, they can draw their
pictures.

WRITING

Writing in a foreign language is difficult. It presupposes mastery of a

number of language areas, such as spelling, grammar, and
vocabulary, as well as skills like handwriting and punctuation.
This is probably why writing is usually not a favorite activity with
young learners.
For this reason writing needs to be made creative, communicative,
and enjoyable. Although childrens language can be very limited,
they can still do interesting and creative writing activities.
TASKS FOR ASSESSING CHILDRENS WRITING ABILITIES
should represent realistic and authentic situations and generate
interest and enjoyment.

3RD GRADE PROJECTS

1ST GRADE PROJECTS

6TH GRADE PROJECTS

BIBLIOGRAPHY :
Weir, C. (1990). Communicative Language Testing. Prentice Hall.
Brown, D. (2004). Language Assessment, Principles and Classroom Practices
Longman
Bailey, K.M., & Savage, L. (1994). "New ways in teaching speaking." Alexandria,
VA: Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages.
Burns, A., & Joyce, H. (1997). "Focus on speaking." Sydney: National Center for
English Language Teaching and Research.
Sophie Ioannou- Georgiu, & Pavlos Pavlov. Assessing young learners, Oxford
Jeremy Harmer - The Practice of English Language Teaching,
Longman Publishing House,2001

VIDEO LINKS

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