Chapter 2
Approaches to language testing
Language tests are chronologically classified
according to four main approaches:
(1) the essay translation approach;
(2) the structuralist approach;
(3) the integrative approach; and
(4) the communicative approach
(1) the essay translation approach
Characteristics:
No special skill or expertise in testing
Subjective judgment of teacher
Essay writing, translation & grammatical
analysis (comments about the language)
Disadvantages:
tests a heavy literary and cultural bias
an aural/ oral component at the upper
intermediate & advantage levels as
something additional & not an integral part
of the syllabus or examination
(2) the structuralist approach
Language learning chiefly concerned with
the systematic acquisition of set of habits.
Focusing the importance of contrastive
analysis & the need to identify & measure
learners’ mastery of separated elements of
L2:phonology, vocabulary & grammar
Listening, speaking, reading & writing are
separated from one another & it’s essential
to test one skill at a time.
The need for statistical measures of
reliability & validity - important in testing
multiple choice item