Traditional testing of foreign language learners usually consists of specific questions that tap into limited cognitive processes and skills. Although foreign language students will continue to sit traditional tests and formal examinations, such tests do not assess adequately or play a part in enhancing the higher-order thinking skills of any students including foreign language learners.
Traditional Testing Easier for Foreign Language Teachers
The reasons why these types of tests continue to exist in the foreign language classroom fall into two main categories - teaching and pragmatics.
Firstly, one of the most important factors affecting teaching is time. Time has become an even bigger issue as the classrooms have grown larger and foreign language teachers have to find efficient methods of assessing learning at a particular point in time. For the foreign language teacher, traditional tests are easy to write and mark since they have set standards for rating or judgment.
In addition to the time factor, certain information needs to be checked using discrete facts. For example, verb forms, vocabulary knowledge, and spelling.
And, no matter how much foreign language teachers might like to use less formal tests, many foreign language students have not been taught how to respond to questions using the higher thinking skills that alternative forms of assessment require.
What's more, many of the traditional tests provide a framework for the weaker learners or learning disabled students who are used to certain test formats that provide familiar contexts and content.
Foreign Language Assessment - Pragmatics
Besides factors affecting teaching and testing methodologies and students, there is the wider issue of pragmatics.
Firstly, traditional tests are inexpensive. They are easy to construct and since widely accepted formats already exist - little time has to be spent developing new systems and re-training foreign language teachers.
Secondly, they are easy to administer in that they are easy to track and follow up.
Furthermore, systems of standardising data and aggregating and reporting traditional testing already exist.
Traditional Tests Remain in Foreign Language Teaching Methods
To conclude, although there is definitely a place for alternative assessment in our foreign language classrooms, traditional testing will remain a part of the assessment process for at least three reasons. Firstly, it is useful for assessing certain aspects of language acquisition. Secondly, teachers need valid information for decision-making and thirdly, traditional forms of examinations are still perceived as the most effective, fully-recognised assessment systems that exist.
A huge investment of time and money would be needed to completely reconstruct the evaluation system. However, in the meantime, teachers can 'revamp' assessment in their foreign language classes by turning traditional testing into more informal testing by considering and reviewing:
- the way foreign language students are prepared for tests;
- test setting, environment and administration;
- test results, their evaluation, their use, and usefulness.
Lesley Lanir - Freelance writer, lecturer and teacher trainer Lesley Lanir, writes on foreign language learning disorders, linguistics, and literature.
