(SKKN 2022) Using some teaching techniques to design a test

INDEX PART 1: PAGES BACKGROUND 1.1 Reasons for choosing the topic 1.2 Descriptions of the teaching & learning of English at my school 2 PART 2: PROBLEM SOLVING 2.1 Theoretical background of your project 2.2 Procedure of my work 2.3 Data analysis 2.4 Major findings and recommendations PART 3: CONCLUSION 11 3.1 Summary 3.2 Effectiveness of the outcomes 15 3.3 Limitations 15 16 16 PART 1: BACKGROUND 1.1 Reasons for choosing the topic We have been living in the 21 st century - the century of science, technology, communication, and informatics So we need a common language in the world It is English English is a bridge for cooperation, development and exchange between countries together One important thing is that everyone wants to use English perfectly and fluently They can use it as their "mother tongue" However, to help students get what they want to be effective, teachers need to use their suitable and effective teaching methods to teach their students English is a compulsory & important subject in schools in Viet Nam But in order to learn it well, it is not easy at all It depends on many factors such as the textbook, teaching aids, teaching methods One of the very important things in teaching methodology is test designing I, therefore, choose this topic 1.2 Descriptions of the teaching & learning of English at my school My school is a Lower Secondary School It is small in the town of Nong Cong District, Thanh Hoa The foreign language which has been taught in my school is English It is also a compulsory subject in my school My school has classes (Grade 6: classes, Grade 7: classes, Grade 8: classes, Grade 9: classes) There are two teachers of English in my school All of us are in standard level & good teachers We love teaching & our students These help my students improve English better We have been teaching English with the new text book of Ministry of Education and Training (New version: 2014) Students in my school are mainly well- behaved and fond of learning They are fond of learning English, too PART 2: PROBLEM SOLVING 2.1 Theoretical background of my project a Source of materials I've studied a lot of books such as "The Practice English Language Teaching" by Jeremy Harmer, "The Methodology Course" by English Language Teacher Training Project as well as combined theory with practice to design tests, I based on: - Testing should be a positive learning experience for students which motivates them & shows them how much they have achieved - Test results should measure students' ability according to a description of language level It's not necessary to 'rank' students' results - Teachers should test all four skills as well as grammar, vocabulary, and phonology - Marks from final exams are not the only "true" indicators of learners' achievement Semester tests results and ongoing classroom achievement marks are not just a formality - It's important to link classroom tests to what has been taught that month - When designing a test, it's much better to write out a new test with parallel content and questions than to take the text & questions directly from the textbook - When designing a test, it's much better to write different test types, but depend on: The level of Ss, the skills teacher wants to test and the language points they want to test b Qualities of a good test When designing a good test, it can help students know their real ability, it can also help teacher evaluate their students' real ability So a good test needs reliability, validity, practicality & discrimination - Reliability: Every test should be reliable In other words, a test should measure precisely whatever it is supposed to measure + Reliability & size + Reliability & test item level of difficulty + Reliability & marking + Reliability & syllabus - Validity: We should actually measure what we are intending to measure Validity is often discussed under the headings: + Face validity + Content validity + Respond validity + Statistical or empirical validity - Practicality: A test must be carefully organized well in advance about: + Financial limitations + Time constrains + Ease of administration + Scoring & interpretation - Discrimination: is identified (by Heaton) as the capacity: + To discriminate the different candidates + To reflect the difference in the performance of the individual in the group c Designing & administrating the test Studying this helps me know the steps in planning a test, know how to make a fair test, marke & administrate the test and how to teach the test - Planning the test, I did the following steps: + Planning the test + Determining the purpose of the tests + Selecting items & task + Administering the test + Scoring & rating + Analyzing the test items & task + Report the test result + Improving the course & teaching methods - Designing the test When designing a test should have validity, clarity and do- ability - Marking tests + This is an important part but a complicated part in the testing structure, the last step of the whole test designing process to enable the tester to have the extract & true valuation of the testees' performance in the test + Closely related to all criteria of a good test + Contain the keys, marking instructions, marking scale needed for each item & the whole test - Ways of marking + Subjective (requires subjective judgment of the markers) + Objective (not require subjective judgment of the markers) depending on the test designer's intention + The balance of marks distributed to the different parts of a test should reflect the balance of the syllabus + The weighting of marks should take into consideration the difficulty of a test item + The proportion of the overall test time + Giving careful proportion of the total marks for the test, & the criteria to be used for assessing the element which has to be marked subjectively + Marking should be done according to guideline of one form or another - Making fair tests + Ask enough questions to test accurately + Write clear directions for the test & use examples + Test what has been taught in class + Write clear test items + When writing multiple choice questions, use realistic distractors + Score tests consistently with a key + Avoid traps for Ss 2.2 Procedure of my work I have been a teacher for 16 years, so I have designed a lot of different tests for my students At the beginning I had a lot of difficulties in choosing how to design a good test for my students because my school didn't have good teaching aids as cassettes, videos … Besides, there were or students sitting on a stool, it was easy for my students to copy each other Therefore, the real quality of my students was very low Moreover, my students did not appreciate English, it did not use to be regarded as a main subject at schools, they didn't try to study hard That was my anxiety But now my country's policy of education has been changed and so have people's view points My students parents are more interested in English This is a motivation for me to try harder in my teaching I like teaching & I am interested in teaching much more This concludes designing good tests I have found out & made a lot of experiments in designing tests Finally, I have found the way to make a good test for my students and for my school's conditions The following tests are examples of my test designing for the th grade students in my school in the first term of this school year Period: 24 45 minute written test I Objectives: Check students’ knowledge about: * Language focus: + Do exercises using the present simple tense and the present continuous tense + Pronunciation: distinguish some different sounds + Some phrases, prepositions, in Unit 1,2,3 * Reading: Read and exercises True or False and answer the questions * Writing: Describe one of the rooms in the house * Listening: Listen to the tape and choose the right pictures and T/F II Matrix: Theme Language focus Reading Knowledge MC WA 15 Understanding MC WA Total 10 5 Total 20 Writing Listening Application Low High 10 10 25 20 5 A LISTENING Question 1: Listen and choose the right pictures (5 marks) Which is Ba’s dream house? A B Which sports does Lan like? C A B Where did Hoa go last night? C 50 10 A B Which is Nga’s favorite TV program? C A C B Question 2: Listen and answer T/F (5 marks) In the USA, New Year is the most important Few people go to the parties on New Year’s Eve People often give their friends and relatives wishes on New Year Children usually dress as witches or ghosts on New Year’s Eve Children often go from house to house asking for money The children usually play a trick on the people B PHONICS I Choose the word having the underlined part pronounced differently from the others (5 marks) a great b beautiful c teacher d means a wet b better c rest d pretty a horrible b hour c house d here a party b lovely c sky d empty a stove b moment c sometime d close C VOCABULARY & STRUCTURE I Put the verbs in brackets into the correct form (6 marks) He often (play) ……………… volleyball in his free time Mai (do) ……………… her homework at the moment 3.Trang (not be)…… in her room at the moment She……… (cook) in the kitchen You (be) ………… free next Sunday morning , Tan ? -No I and my brother………… (visit) our grandmother II Choose the best answer (10 marks) Would you like……… volleyball? A play B playing C to playing The doctor takes care sick children A.on B.of C in D to play D at I live 24 Tran Hung Dao street A on B of C in D at Her new shool is than her old school A very big B big C biggest D bigger is it from your house to school? A.How far B.How high C How long D How old That apartment is of the three A.a cheapest B.the cheaper C.the cheapest D cheaper I’m a new student - A So am I B I am so C Yes, I am D I do,too What awful party! A an B the C a D some They will .soccer next Sunday A play B to play C playing D plays 10 What is your date ……………… birth, Nam? A in B of C from D at III.Fill in each blank with the correct form of the word given in capital ( marks ): There are about 200 ………………….in this company EMPLOY She often feels …………………when she gets bad marks HAPPY My sister is a stamp ……………… COLLECT I have time to play than my friends LITTLE D READING Read the passage and the tasks below John Robinson is an English teacher from the USA He teaches English in a high school in HaNoi Now he is looking for an apartment near the school There are three empty apartments The first one is a big apartment It’s comfortable,but it’s very expensive.the second one is also a lovely apartment,but it’s quite expensive ,too.The last one is smaller than the other two,but it’s the cheapest of the three It has a bright living room,two bedrooms and a large,mordern kitchen Mr Robinson thinks the third apartment is the most suitable for his family I Answer the questions (5 marks) What does Mr Robinson ? …………………………………………………………………………………… … Where is he from ? …………………………………………………………………………………… … What is he looking for ? …………………………………………………………………………………… … Which is the cheapest apartment ? …………………………………………………………………………………… … Which is the most expensive ? …………………………………………………………………………………… … II Decide whether the sentences are T (true) or F (false) (5 marks) John Robinson is an English teacher from the USA ……… He teaches English in a secondary school in HaNoi ……… Now he is looking for a house near the school ……… There are empty apartments ……… He chooses the last one because it’s not expensive ……… E WRITING I Rewrite the following sentences, beginning with the words given (5 marks) We have a two-month summer vacation - Our summer vacation lasts………………………………………………… It takes me about two hours each day to my homework - I spend……………………………………………………………………… 3.Hoa is a hard student - Hoa studies ………… 4.How lovely the dress is! - What ! 5.Tuan is more intelligent than any students in his class - Tuan is the Period: 41 45 minute written test I Objectives: Check students’ knowledge about: * Language focus: + Do exercises using the present simple tense and the present continuous tense + Pronunciation: distinguish some different sounds + Some phrases, prepositions, in Unit 4, * Reading: Read and exercises True or False and answer the questions * Writing: Rewrite the sentences and reorder the words into the right sentences * Listening: Listen to the tape Number the pictures and choose the best answers II Matrix: Knowledge MC WA 15 Theme Language focus Reading Writing 10 Listening 30 Total Understanding Application Total MC WA Low High 20 10 5 10 1 10 15 50 10 A LISTENING Question 1: Listen and number (5 points) Example : a b a c d e f Question 2: Listen and circle the correct answers There is an example (5 points) Susie is ………… years old A ten B eleven C twelve Susie …………… …… being at a girls’ school A doesn’t like B likes C like Susie’s favourite teacher is her …………… teacher A English B science C maths Today , Susie …………… …… A is wearing her uniform B isn’t wearing uniform C wears her uniform Susie studies ………… For three hours a week A Vietnamese B Chinese C English Susie does her homework ……………………………………….…… A at break time B in the morning C in the evening B PHONICS I Choose the word having the underlined part pronounced differently from the others (5 points) A houses B misses C glasses D mixes A chicken B coach C orchestra D change A relax B lazy C teenager D vacation A teenager B Together C guess D.regular A plays B looks C wants D helps C VOCABULARY & STRUCTURE I Put the verbs in brackets into the correct form (5 points) Where are you? + I am upstairs I (have)……………… a bath I will send him the message as soon as he (return)……………… Trang ( not be )………… in her room at the moment She (cook) ……… in the kitchen She ( not play )…………………….games very often II Choose the best answer (10 points) My father takes care…………….sick children A about B.of C.with D for 2.We learn………… to use a computer A.How B.the way C.what way D a way 3.Vietnamese students have ………….vacations than American students A Less B.little C.lesser D fewer 4.My father is the in my family A tall B taller C tallest D most tall 5.Washington DC is the of the USA A city B capital C country D street 6.Would you like to play basketball? Good idea! A I like B I love it C I’d love to D I want 7.It me about hours a day to my homework A takes B has C have D gives I will Uncle Ho’s Mausoleum next year A visiting B to visit C visit D visits 10 We always need more players Why don’t you come ………………? A on B along C with D after 10 I _ back at tomorrow A is B am C will be D D READING Read the passage and the tasks below Hanh is a student in class 7A Her full name is Ha Bich Hanh She is 13 years old now , but she will be fourteen on her next birthday Hanh lives with her parents at 2/34 Nguyen Du street Hanh’s house isn’t large but it’s very comfortable It has a bright living room, two lovely bed room and a large , modern bathroom and kitchen There is a small yard in front of her house Hanh ’s mother grows flowers in the yard According to Hanh,herhouse is the nicest house a Answer the questions (5 points) What does Hanh ? Which class is Hanh in ? What’s her family name ? What’s is her address ? Is Hanh’s house big? b Decide whether the sentences are T (true) or F (false) (5 points) Hanh is a student in class 8A ………… She will be fourteen on her next birthday ………… Hanh lives with her parents at 34 / Nguyen Du street ……… Hanh’s house is n’t big ………… It has a bright living room, three lovely bed rooms ………… E WRITING I Rewrite the following sentences, beginning with the words given (5 points) 1.I get to work in half an hour => It takes 2.How much is this dictionary? => How much does 3.Ba is the best swimmer => Ba swims 4.Noone in the class is taller than Nam => Nam There are twenty students in my class 11 => My class II Reorder the following words to make meaningful sentences (5 points) lunch / o’clock / going / it’s /and / the / twelve / we’re / to /room stop/ can/ the/ bus/ you/ the/ way/ tell/ me/ get/ to/ to/? dinner / like / come / would / to house / you / to / for / my? play / the / is / room / the guitar / Ba / in / learning / music / to travelling/ air/ is/ by/ by/ travelling/ faster/ train/ than/ THE END 2.3 Data analysis a Searching the real conditions of my students, my school There are some kinds of tests In lower secondary schools It is difficult to plan skills in each test because it is not enough time It is more difficult in my school because there are not enough equipments such as labs, video recorders, even cassettes However, it is better to plan skills in a test, especially listening skill – one of the skills that the English textbook (New version 2014) tends to improve With a lot of thought & reading many books on teaching methodology, it is better to plan a subjective and objective exercises in a test I, therefore, have planned this kind of test for my students b Determining the purpose of the test When I determined the purpose of the tests basing on my school's real conditions & my students' knowledge, I started planning a test For example, the purpose of the first term test is: - To measure students' ability & progress for the first term - An motivation for students & me to learn & to teach in the second term - To explore my students' difficulties & shows gaps in their knowledge - To help my students review course content for the first term - To help me to know how much my students have learnt/ understood in the first term - To tell me what areas need to be taught in the future c Selecting test items and tasks Selecting item and task is very important When we selecting them correctly, we can get the students' real abilities & the test can reflect their knowledge of language So before planning a test, I have determined the item and task for the test For example, what the language focus of the test is, how to design or what is the task I try to write clear directions for the tests, use examples write clear test items and use realistic distractors At the beginning, I let my Ss try types of 12 exercises I want to test them I also try to design the tests which are not too difficult with no trap questions My tests include both easy & difficult items but I make one or more of the difficult ones optional d Select materials from sources to complete the test I think when designing a test, it's better to take the text & questions directly from the textbook than to write out a new test with parallel content & questions So I have to take them from many exercise books e Give the test to the teachers in my school for comments & improvements After reading my test, teachers in my school gave me comments & I learned by experience & corrected the test f Analyzing the test items & task I find that I have to change some test items I should take some easier questions so that good students have a chance to it Designing this type of test takes the teachers more time than other types and they also spend more time correcting their students’ mistakes However, it has more strong points that subjective and objectives tests have Therefore it will check and judge students’ knowledge better g Writing a marking instruction & marking scale for my test At the beginning I thought "Should I give the equal mark for the questions?" and I decided I should it This is, for example, the marking scale for the above Tests: Test 1: Period 24 A LISTENING Question 1: (5 marks) A C Question 2: (5 marks) F F A A T T F F B PHONICS I (5 marks) a great sometimes d pretty b hour c sky c C VOCABULARY & STRUCTURE I (6 marks) plays doing 3.isn’t / is cooking Will you be / is visiting ( am going to visit ) II (10 marks) D to play B.of D at A.How far C.the cheapest A So am I A play 10 B of 13 D bigger A an III.Fill in each blank with the correct form of the word given in capital ( marks ): employees unhappy collector less D READING I (5 marks) He is an English teacher He is from the USA He is looking for an apartment near the school The last one is the cheapest of the three The second one is the most expensive II Decide whether the sentences are T (true) or F (false) (5 marks) T F F T 5.T E WRITING I (5 marks) Our summer vacation lasts two months I spend about two hours each day doing my homework Hoa studies hard What a lovely dress ! Tuan is the most intelligent in his class II (5 marks) Students’ answer Điểm bào thi = Tổng điểm câu đúng/5 Test 2: Period 41 A LISTENING Question 1: Listen and number (5 points) 1.f 2.c 3.e 4.b 5.d Question 2: Listen and circle the correct answers (5 points) 1.B 2.C 3.B 4.A 5.A B PHONICS I Choose the word having the underlined part pronounced differently from the others (5 points) A houses C orchestra A relax A teenager A plays 14 C VOCABULARY & STRUCTURE I Put the verbs in brackets into the correct form (5 points) am having returns isn’t / is cooking doesn’t play II Choose the best answer (10 points) B.of A.How D fewer C tallest 5.B capital C I’d love to 7.A takes C visit B along 10 C will be D READING a Answer the questions (5 points) She is a student at 2/34 Nguyen Du street She is in class 7A No, it isn’t It is Ha b Decide whether the sentences are T (true) or F (false) (5 points) F T F T T E WRITING I Rewrite the following sentences, beginning with the words given (5 points) It takes me in half an hour to get to work How much does this dictionary cost ? Ba swims best Nam is the tallest in the class My class has twenty students II Reorder the following words to make meaningful sentences (5 points) It’s twelve o’clock and we are going to the luch room Can you tell me the way to the bus stop ? Would you like to come to my house for dinner ? Ba is learning to play the guitar in the music room Travelling by air is faster than travelling by train Điểm thi = Tổng điểm câu đúng/5 h Administering the test This part is very important If we don't this well, this can exercise students' influence when doing tests For example, if you are too strict, you always shout also makes students not motivate to the test Before the test, I usually inform my students of having the test in advance I tell my students about the criteria for the marking & maybe some information the time, place, any limitations or rules i Scoring and rating 15 This is also an important part in teaching If teachers not score & rate fairly, students won't believe in themselves This makes them unconvinced and they are not fond of learning that subject If we this well, this will give students a motivation to try harder Teacher should score tests consistently with a key I also decide exactly how I will assess each section of the test & write in the numbers of points allotted after the instruction for each question In my tests, it is convenient for me to score & rate because the difficult sentences have also the same mark as the easy ones and students will not be afraid that teacher is unfair j Write a report about the test results This will show students what they have done their tests and draw experience in their wrong answers They will try to study harder It also helps me to see how much my students understand Here is my students' result of the above tests: Period 24: Test Marks Students 160 0–2 SL % 0.6 3–4 SL % 40 25 5–6 SL % 69 43.1 7–8 SL % 50 31.2 - 10 SL % 0 3–4 SL % 20 12.5 5–6 SL % 65 40.6 7–8 SL % 65 40.6 - 10 SL % 10 6.2 Period 41: Test Marks Students 160 0–2 SL % 0 The first term test (At the appendix) Marks 0–2 3–4 5–6 7–8 - 10 Students SL % SL % SL % SL % SL % 160 0 0.6 32 20.0 82 51.2 45 28.1 k Analyzing the test result Looking at the above tables of result, I find that the test can rank my students clearly My students have a very low result of the test, especially the first test because they did not such a test in the Primary School This is the first time they have taken a test like this Moreover, these tests have more strong points because they are both objective and subjective However, my students improve their English in the second and third tests They have been familiar to the methodology, the ways to learn English and the types of tests Therefore, the results of the latter tests are higher and higher l Suggestions & actions to improve my teaching methods basing on the analysis of the test results 16 Basing on the analysis of the test results, I suggest that we should design tests like these not only tests in schools but also in National Exams or University Entrance Exams And I think we should alternate one test for each student so that students can't copy each other & teachers or people can't give students the answer key from outside And I am very happy that the University Entrance Exams coming soon will be applied with subjective and objective ways 2.4 Major findings and recommendations In fact, I have a lot of difficulty at the beginning because the tapecripts for Listening skill in my tests are few It takes me more time to design the tests like these Besides, my school doesn't have good cassettes Sometimes, the teachers have to read the tapecripts instead of the cassettes The distances between students are short, so it is easy for the students to copy their results each other PART 3: CONCLUSION 3.1 Summary Through the tests I have done for my students in my school, I realize that these types of tests can elevate my students’ knowledge of English, their language abilities and skills equally My students can know which aspects of English they are good and which one they are not good; so they can try to improve them This type of tests also let me know my strong & weak points of my students, therefore I can adjust my teaching methods more suitably for my students 3.2 Effectiveness of the outcomes My effectiveness of the outcomes is very good and surprised Maybe I was disappointed at first, but I still believe that my type of test will be appreciated with my colleagues as well as students Gradually, I am very happy that my students are making fast progress I am gladder when the National University Entrance Examination is changing the ways to design the form of the test One of these is that it will be used this type of test except the listening skill 3.3 Limitations However, this kind of tests still has weak points Teachers have to take much time to prepare it The sources of material for listening skill are not plentiful Students still can copy each other because the distance between students is small XÁC NHẬN CỦA THỦ TRƯỞNG ĐƠN VỊ Thanh Hóa, 23/3/2022 I assure that the work is completely written by me, not copied Lê Thị Xuân 17 Acknowledgement - I would like to thank teachers in my school for giving opinions for my tests and my students in my school for doing the tests truly - I would like to thank the authors of the following books for permission to use as my material: + M A Le Thuy Linh (2006) Lesson Planning Classroom Assessment & Testing + Jeremy Harmer (2004) The Practice of English Language Teaching + English Language Teacher Training Project (2000) The Methodology Course/ Book one & two + A J Thomson & A V Martinet (1997) A Practical English Grammar/ Nhà xuất Trẻ - I would like to thank the authors of the following books for permission to use as my material in my tests: + Tiếng Anh Bài tập Tiếng Anh 7Sách giáo viên Tiếng Anh – Nhà xuất giáo dục Việt Nam 2014 + Bài tập bổ trợ, nâng cao Tiếng Anh – Nguyễn Thị Chi, Nguyễn Hữu Cương (2013) 18 + Vở tập Tiếng Anh – Nguyễn Thị Hiền, Nguyễn Thị Chi… (2014) 19 ... teacher wants to test and the language points they want to test b Qualities of a good test When designing a good test, it can help students know their real ability, it can also help teacher evaluate... classroom achievement marks are not just a formality - It's important to link classroom tests to what has been taught that month - When designing a test, it's much better to write out a new test. .. ………………? A on B along C with D after 10 I _ back at tomorrow A is B am C will be D D READING Read the passage and the tasks below Hanh is a student in class 7A Her full name is Ha Bich Hanh She