LANGUAGE

TESTING:
APPROACHES AND
TECHNIQUE
PREPARED BY: OBOGON, REALYN JANE H.

FOUR MAIN APPROACHES

1.THE ESSAY- TRANSLATION APPROACH
2.THE STRUCTURALIST APPROACH
3.THE INTEGRATIVE APPROACH
4.THE COMMUNICATIVE APPROACH

1.THE ESSAY-TRANSLATION
APPROACH
a. CHARACTERISTICS AND TYPES OF TESTS
1) Pre-scientific stage of language testing
2) No special skill required
3) Essay writing, translation, grammar analysis
4) Heavy literary and cultural bias
5) Sometimes have an oral component at the upper

b. STRENGTHS

c. WEAKNESSES

1)Subjective judgment

1)Subjective Judgment,
bias

2)Any level of examinees

3)Essentials of tests

2)Heavy literary and

cultural bias

2. THE STRUCTURALIST APPROACH

a.CHARACTERISTICS AND TYPES
1)Systematic acquisition of a set of habits
2)Structural linguistics
3)Separate from another as much as possible
4)Psychometric approach ( reliability and objectivity )

b. STRENGTHS

c. WEAKNESSES

1)Students capability,
objectively

1)Complicated job,
prepare questionnaires

2)Covered in

2)Measuring nonintegrated skills than

integrated skills

3)Find their strengths

and weaknesses

3. INTEGRATIVE APPROACH
a.CHARACTERISTICS AND TYPES
1)Meaning and total communicative effect of discourse
2)Global view of proficiency
3)Functional language
4)Cloze test , dictation, oral interview, essay writing

b. STRENGTHS

c. WEAKNESSES

1)Useful

1)Students need (only)

2)Views students
proficiency with
a global way
3)Decode
interrrupted or
multilated

4. THE COMMUNICATIVE APPROACH

a.CHARACTERISTICS AND TYPES
1)How language is used in communication
2)Often emphasized (language usage)
3)Divisibility hypothesis
4)Relevant to real- life situation
5)Assessment (quantitative and qualitative)

b. STRENGTHS

c. WEAKNESSES

1)Measure all
integrated skills of
students

1)Dont emphasize
learning structural
grammar

2)Real life

2)Cultural bias

3)Measure all language

skills
4)Increase the
reliability of scoring

QUESTIONS

TEST
TECHNIQUE
S

1. DIRECT VS INDIRECT TESTING

2. DISCRETE POINT VS INTEGRATIVE TESTING
3. NORM- REFERENCED VS CRITERION
REFERENCED TESTING
4. OBJECTIVE VS SUBJECTIVE TESTING

1. DIRECT VS INDIRECT TESTING

DIRECT TESTING
(MEASURES)
DIRECT- PERFORM THE
SKILL
DIRECT TESTINGPRODUCTIVE SKILLS,
STUDENTS ABILITY
1. ABILITIES
2. PRODUCTIVE SKILLS
3. BACKWASH EFFECT

ABILITIES
UNDERLIES ON
SKILLS (INDIRECT
TESTING)
SEMI-DIRECT:
STIMULATE DIRECT
TESTING

2. DISCRETE POINT VS INTEGRATIVE TESTING

DISCRETE POINT
* ONE POINT OR
OBJECTIVE
INDIRECT
DIAGNOSTIC TESTS

INTEGRATIVE
MORE THAN ONE POINT
OR OBJECTIOVE AT A
TIME
DIRECT
CLOZE PROCEDURE

NORM- REFERENCED VS CRITERION

REFERENCED TESTING
NORM- REFERENCED
INTERPRETED
RELATIVE TO
EACH OTHER IN A
NJORMAL
DISTRIBUTION
SCHEME
(CONTINUUM
KNOWLEDGE/
ABILITY)

CRITERION REFERENCED
PREDETERMINED
ABSOLUTE
LANGUAGE
COURSES(ACHIEVEMEN
T, STRENGTHS AND
WEAKNESSES)

REFLECTION

OBJECTIVE VS SUBJECTIVE TESTING

OBJECTIVE
NO JUDGEMENT
MULTIPLE
CHOICE TEST
ONE RIGHT
ANSWER

SUBJECTIVE
JUDGEMENT
SERIES OF
FACTORS