An evaluative study on the current final achievement tests for non english majors at quang ninh teacher training college m a thesis linguistics 60 14 01 1

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HA NOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES & INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POSTGRADUATE STUDIES VŨ THANH HÒA AN EVALUATIVE STUDY ON THE CURRENT FINAL ACHIEVEMENT TESTS FOR NON-ENGLISH MAJORS AT QUANG NINH TEACHER TRAINING COLLEGE ĐÁNH GIÁ BÀI KIỂM TRA CUỐI KỲ CHO SINH VIÊN KHÔNG CHUYÊN NGỮ TRƯỜNG CAO ĐẲNG SƯ PHẠM QUẢNG NINH M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60 140 111 HANOI – 2016 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HA NOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES & INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POSTGRADUATE STUDIES VŨ THANH HÒA AN EVALUATIVE STUDY ON THE CURRENT FINAL ACHIEVEMENT TESTS FOR NON-ENGLISH MAJORS AT QUANG NINH TEACHER TRAINING COLLEGE ĐÁNH GIÁ BÀI KIỂM TRA CUỐI KỲ CHO SINH VIÊN KHÔNG CHUYÊN NGỮ TRƯỜNG CAO ĐẲNG SƯ PHẠM QUẢNG NINH M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60 140 111 Supervisor: Đỗ Thị Thanh Hà, Ph.D HANOI – 2016 CANDIDATE’S STATEMENT -*** I, Vu Thanh Hoa, hereby certify that this minor thesis entitled AN EVALUATIVE STUDY ON THE CURRENT FINAL ACHIEVEMENT TESTS FOR NON – ENGLISH MAJORS AT QUANG NINH TEACHER TRAINING COLLEGE is completely the result of my own work for the Degree of Master at University of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University, Hanoi and that this thesis has not been submitted for any degree at any other university or institution i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my gratitude to all those who have given me the possibility and motivation to complete this thesis First and foremost, I am deeply indebted to my supervisor, Dr Do Thi Thanh Ha, for her wholehearted guidance, invaluable suggestions, thoughtful comments and useful materials during the time of writing this thesis Second, I would also like to acknowledge my debt of gratitude to the staff members of the Faculty of Post-Graduate Studies and the lecturers at University of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University-Hanoi for their valuable lectures, which laid the foundation for this thesis and for their knowledge as well as their sympathy Third, a special thank would also go to the teachers and the non-English majors at Quang Ninh Teacher Training College, who took part in the research Without their participation and cooperation I would not be able to complete this research paper Fourth, I should be grateful to the librarians at ULIS for their constant help thanks to which I was able to access to all materials needed to accomplish the thesis Finally but importantly, I would like to express my appreciation to my family and my friends who have been continuously giving me a lot of support and encouragement for the fulfillment of this challenging work Hanoi, 2016 ii ABSTRACT The study was intended to give an evaluation on the current final achievement tests for non English majors at QNTTC from perspectives of the teachers and nonEnglish majors at QNTTC In addition, this study also investigated how the current final achievement tests for non-English majors at QNTTC aligned to the CEFR The study was carried out by means of two sets of survey questionnaires, and analysis of the current final achievement tests at QNTTC and the CEFR, using some softwares From perspectives of the students, some test items of these tests such as phonetics, vocabulary and grammatical structures were too difficult for them to The teachers found that the current final achievement tests at QNTTC were not very reasonable because they lacked two skills: speaking and listening and the writing section did not test some useful skills such as writing letters, writing cards, creating stories The analysis of the alignment between the current final achievement tests at QNTTC and the CEFR showed that most of the vocabulary and test items in these tests were in the ranges from levels A2 to B1 and some of them were at level A2 and did not reach the target level, B1 Moreover, the current final achievement tests at QNTTC differed from other international tests (PET) in terms of length and constructs The study will hopefully contribute to the test making at QNTTC by showing an example of evaluation on the current final achievement tests for non-English majors at QNTTC and the alignment between these tests and the CEFR iii TABLE OF CONTEN ABSTRACT LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS LIST OF TABLES CHAPTER INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale of the study 1.2 Aims of the study 1.3 Research questions 1.4 Scope of the study 1.5 Significance of the study 1.6 Methodology 1.7 Outline of the thesis CHAPTER LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Basic concepts of testing/ Language testing 2.2 The role of testing in teaching and learning 2.3 Types of tests according to test purpose 2.3.1 Diagnostic tests 2.3.2 Placement tests 2.3.3 Proficiency tests 2.3.4 Achievement tests 2.4 Criteria of a good test 2.4.1 Validity 2.4.2 Reliability 2.4.3 Practicality 2.4.4 Discrimination 2.4.4.1 Item difficulty 2.4.4.2 Item discrimination 2.5 The CEFR 2.5.1 What is the CEFR? 2.5.2 Levels of the CEFR 2.6 Target level for the non-English majors 2.7 Review of related studies 2.8 Summary of Chapter iv CHAPTER METHODOLOGY 3.1 Setting of the study 3.1.1 English teaching and learning of non-English majors at QNT 3.1.2 Brief description of the materials used for non-English majo 3.1.3 The testing practice at QNTTC 3.2 Informants 3.3 Data collection instruments 3.4 The alignment framework 3.5 Data collection and data analysis procedure 3.6 Summary of chapter CHAPTER FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 4.1 The current tests at QNTTC 4.1.1 Students’ comments on the existing tests 4.1.2 Students’ opinions towards the improvement of the tests 4.1.3 Teachers’ comments on the existing tests 4.1.4 Teachers’ opinions towards the improvement of the tests 4.2 The alignment between the current tests at QNTTC and the tests accor the CEFR 4.2.1 In terms of their constructs 4.2.2 In terms of contents 4.3 Summary of Chapter CHAPTER CONCLUSION 5.1 Summary of the study 5.2 Concluding remarks 5.3 Limitations and suggestions for further study REFERENCES APPENDIXES APPENDIX 1: KEY POINTS FOR THIRD SEMESTER APPENDIX QUESTIONNAIRE FOR NON-ENGLISH MAJORS AT QNTTC PHỤ LỤC BẢNG CÂU HỎI ĐIỀU TRA DÀNH CHO SV KHÔNG CHUYÊN NGỮ TRƯỜNG CAO ĐẲNG SƯ PHẠM QUẢNG NINH APPENDIX v QUESTIONNAIRE FOR TEACHERS AT QNTTC APPENDIX FINAL ACHIEVEMENT TEST FOR NON-ENGLISH MAJORS APPENDIX FINAL ACHIEVEMENT TEST FOR NON-ENGLISH MAJORS vi QNTTC TTI CEFR The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching, Assessment TOEFL IELTS TOEIC KNLNN RMM vii LIST OF TABLES Table 2.1: Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) .19 Table 4.1: Analysis of the degree of difficulty of the test items in phonetics in Test number 37 Table 4.2: Analysis of the degree of difficulty of the test items in phonetics in Test number 37 Table 4.3: Analysis of the degree of difficulty of the test items in grammar and vocabulary in Test number 38 Table 4.4: Analysis of the degree of difficulty of the test items in grammar and vocabulary in Test number 39 Table 4.5: Analysis of the degree of difficulty of the reading texts in Test number 41 Table 4.6: Analysis of the degree of difficulty of the reading texts in Test number 41 Table 4.7: The analysis of question items of the reading texts of Tests number and 42 Table 4.8: The comparison between Tests number and 43 Table 4.9: Comparison of the length between the current tests at QNTTC and the reading – writing tests of PET 43 viii APPENDIX QUESTIONNAIRE FOR TEACHERS AT QNTTC This survey questionnaire is an attempt to some research on how to design a suitable English achievement test for non-English majors at Quang Ninh Teacher Training College (QNTTC) Your assistance in completing this questionnaire would be highly appreciated and of great used to my study You can be confident that you will not be identified in any discussion of the data Please respond to each statement or question and complete all of them as frankly and accurately as possible Thank you very much for your valuable contribution! Please circle or write your answers where necessary (more than one option may be needed) How long have you been teaching English? A - years B - years C - 10 years D > 10 years Do you think that an English achievement test at the end of the each semester is necessary for non-English majors at QNTTC? A Yes B No What you think of the content of the current English achievement test for nonEnglish majors at QNTTC? A Very reasonable B Reasonable C Not very reasonable D Unreasonable Have you ever made a final achievement test for non English majors? A Yes X B No How many tests have you made? A – tests B – 10 tests C > 10 tests How can you make this English achievement test for non-English majors? A Using a complete test from a test book B Making your own test C Both A and B D Others In terms of marking scale of this test, in your opinion, it is A Very reasonable B Reasonable C Not very reasonable D Unreasonable According to you, the time allowance for this test is A Very reasonable B Reasonable C Not very reasonable D Unreasonable In your opinion, should we change the construction of the current test in terms of its content? A Yes B No XI Reasons: 10 In your opinion, should we change the construction of the current test in terms of its marking scale? A Yes B No 11 In your opinion, should we change the construction of the current test in terms of its time allowance? A Yes B No 12 Please give further comments or suggestions towards the improvement of the current test? ……………………………………………………………………………………… …… ………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………….……………… ……………… .…………………………………………………… Thanks for your cooperation! XII APPENDIX FINAL ACHIEVEMENT TEST FOR NON-ENGLISH MAJORS Time allowed: 60 minutes NUMBER 01 Chọn phương án A (hoặc B,C,D) ứng với từ có trọng âm nhấn vào vị trí khác với ba từ lại Câu A decide Câu A lemonade B camel C direct D replace B permission C equipment D obsession Chọn phương án A (hoặc B,C,D) ới từ có phần gạch chân phát âm khác với ba từ lại Câu A invite Câu A watched Câu A canal Chọn phương án A (hoặc B,C,D) để hoàn thành câu Câu She usually sits A in Câu Quang Ninh Teacher Training College A locates Câu A The/ the Câu At a.m last Sunday, when I A was coming/ was sleeping C came/ slept Câu 10 He spends a lot of time A to playing Câu 11 We A definitely won’t Câu 12 Tuan Chau Island A is belong to Câu 13 We haven’t met each other A since we leave school C since we left school Câu 14 She has got a sister but she has A no Câu 15 You A pass/ study 16 I’ll finish this report soon if A necessary Câu 17 Many people A didn’t use to washing Câu 18 At that time, he A was Câu 19 It’s A in VIII Câu 20 Do you know ? A where does he live C where he lives D where he is live B where does he lives Xác định sửa cho lỗi câu sau Mỗi câu có lỗi Câu 21 There used be a hospital here Câu 22 At p.m yesterday? I did my homework Câu 23 I don’t have enough money to go on holiday this year so I’ll have to stay at the home Câu 24 Promise to tell me the news as soon as you’ll hear anything Câu 25 I’ve just saw a friend of mine on TV Đọc đoạn văn chọn phương án A( B,C,D) cho chỗ trống Helsiki’s City Bike Program operates 26 bike stands in the center of Helsiki Anyone can use them The bicycles are simple but comfortable They have (21) special design, and they are painted bright green, so it is easy (22) them The program is very popular .(23) many people, a City Bike is a practical way to get around All kinds of people use the bicycles: shoppers, elderly people, and students (24) There are free bike programs in several other Orlando Câu 26 A a Câu 27 A seeing Câu 28 A In Câu 29 A go Câu 30 A city Đọc đoạn văn trả lời câu hỏi I never go shopping myself – well, not very often – I really hate it All those crowds of people, and you can never find exactly what you want That’s what gave me the idea for the Internet company, you know, buy clothes, things for the house, presents, etcetera over the Internet, and the things were cheaper, too, of course I was so surprised when the business grew so quickly – I suppose there are lots of people out there who hate shopping too! I still can’t believe that the company is only a year old and it’s already worth one and a half million! I don’t really think of myself as a businesswoman – it was just luck, really I think I’ll probably sell the company in two or three years’ time Then I can stop work and have that great big family that I’ve always wanted, and go and live in a huge house in the countryside Câu 31 Why does the writer hate going shopping? Câu 32 Did she have the idea of buying things over the Internet? Câu 33 Do many people hate shopping? Câu 34 Why doesn’t she think of herself as a businesswoman? Câu 35 Why does she want to sell this company? Dùng từ cho sẵn để đặt thành câu hoàn chỉnh Câu 36 If you/ be/ late for/ class again/,/ teacher/ get/ very annoyed Câu 37 People/ not used/ brush/ their teeth/ very much Câu 38 At this time/ last Sunday/ she/ play chess/ with her brother Câu 39 He/ start/ working/ this company/ years ago Câu 40 There/ be/ small village/ the bottom/ the mountain HẾT IX APPENDIX FINAL ACHIEVEMENT TEST FOR NON-ENGLISH MAJORS Time allowed: 60 minutes NUMBER 02 Chọn phương án A (hoặc B,C,D) ứng với từ có trọng âm nhấn vào vị trí khác với ba từ cịn lại Câu A apply Câu A operation invitation D journey B protect C canal B restoration (khong co) C evaporate (khong co) D Chọn phương án A (hoặc B,C,D) ới từ có phần gạch chân phát âm khác với ba từ lại Câu A wake Câu A design Câu A closed Chọn phương án A (hoặc B,C,D) để hoàn thành câu Câu Ha Long Bay A located Câu He A used to Câu Before that time, he A works Câu It has rained A since hours Câu 10 I have A lot of Câu 11 We can’t go to A the/ a Câu 12 Turn right A at Câu 13 She A won’t probably Câu 14 I A will study/ am Câu 15 Quang Ninh’s natural land A consists of Câu 16 Up to now, I A have worked Câu 17 When he A arrived/ had C arrived/ were having Câu 18 I wonder if she still A remember Câu 19 Do you know X A where Quang Trung street is C where Quang Trung street B where is Quang Trung street D where Quang Trung street it is Câu 20 If you’ve got ., take an aspirin A the temperature B some temperature C a temperature D temperature Xác định sửa cho lỗi câu sau Mỗi câu có lỗi Câu 21 If she is here now, I would tell her the truth Câu 22 What did you when I phoned you at 10 p.m last night? Câu 23 I don’t have many free time during the week Câu 24 If we drive quickly, we probably will get home before it gets dark Câu 25 This book is very interesting I’ve readed it many times Đọc đoạn văn chọn phương án A( B,C,D) cho chỗ trống You are late (21) work, and you don’t have a car The bus is too slow What you do? If you live in Helsiki, Finland, you (22) a green bicycle from the street and ride (23) to work Helsiki’s City Bike Program operates 26 bike stands in (24) .center of Helsiki Anyone can use them You take a city bike from a stand and leave a small deposit After you finish with the bicycle, you return it to a stand and get your money Câu 26 A at Câu 27 A can take Câu 28 A them Câu 29 A a Câu 30 A in Đọc đoạn văn trả lời câu hỏi I used to be the director of a large finance company I had a really good salary, nice house, big car, all those things, but I was just working all the time, and I never saw my wife, or had any time for my great passion – cooking So, I decided, and one day – about three years ago – I just left my job and we moved to a small house, got a smaller car, you know, and my wife and I opened a small restaurant I did all the cooking at first, and it was very hard work – I thought “I’ve made a mistake,” but then we started to make some money, and we got a chef, and it was easier Nowadays, I decide the menus, and I go to the market every day, to get fresh vegetables, fish and I some cooking We’re certainly not as rich as we were, and we work long hours, but I think we’re much happier Maybe next year we’ll have a holiday – our first one in three years! Câu 31 Was the writer the director of a large finance company? Câu 32 Why did he leave his job? Câu 33 Did he or the chef the cooking at first? Câu 34 Does the chef all the cooking now? Câu 35 Did they have a holiday two years ago? Dùng từ cho sẵn để đặt thành câu hoàn chỉnh Câu 36 Families/ used/ be/ much larger/ than/ they/ be/ now Câu 37 At 10a.m./ last Saturday/ we/ have/ party Câu 38 If you/ not take/ a map/,/ you/ get/ lost Câu 39 We/ not meet/ each other/ since last week Câu 40 your name/ be/ the top/ this page? .HẾT XI APPENDIX 6: DESCRIP Level Level group  Can understand and use familiar everyday expressions and very basic phrases aimed at the satisfaction of needs of a concrete type A B XII C XIII APPENDIX : EXAM FORMAT OF PET Paper Content Reading and Writing (1 hour 30 minutes) Reading: parts/ 35questions Writing: parts/ 7questions Listening (36 minutes, including minutes' transfer time) parts/ 25questions Speaking (10–12 minutes per pair of candidates) parts Kỹ PAPER Đọc - Viết Reading & Writing PAPER Nghe Thời gian 1g 30 phút Reading 35 questions parts Writing questions parts Khoảng 35 phút 25 questions parts Listening PAPER 10 – 12 phút Nói parts Speaking Tổng cộng 2g 05 phút XV ... achievement tests for non- English majors at Quang Ninh Teacher Training College? ?? 1. 2 Aims of the study The study aims at evaluating the current final achievement tests at QNTTC To achieve this aim,... description of the material used for non- English majors and the current testing situations at QNTTC; the informants; data collection instrument and data collection and data analysis procedure - Chapter... laid the foundation for this thesis and for their knowledge as well as their sympathy Third, a special thank would also go to the teachers and the non- English majors at Quang Ninh Teacher Training