11/17/2021

Chapter 8: Testing Grammar

1. Why test grammar
2. Stages of grammar test development

Why test grammar

In proficiency tests

 Large numbers of grammatical items can be tested

and scored in a short period of time

In placement tests

 Grammatical ability can set limits to skills

performance.

Grammar = useful info to place students in the

most appropriate class for skills development.

Why test grammar

In diagnostic tests
Grammar tests inform what gaps exist in students’
grammatical repertoire  T and sts fill the existing
gaps.

In achievement tests

Teaching grammar  Testing grammar

Language skills > grammar components

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Stages of grammar test development

Progress and final achievement tests
 List the grammatical structures you would like to
test
 Grammatical items can be selected from:
• course objectives or syllabus
• textbooks and other teaching materials
• grammatical errors frequently made by students
Other types of test
See [1], pp 173-174, 185

Stages of grammar test development

Sampling
 Choose the most important structures
 Not concentrate on the easiest structures on
purpose.
 Select widely from the structures specified

Stages of grammar test development

Writing items
 Testing ability
• Recognition
• Production
 Task techniques
• Multiple-choice questions
• Sentence/dialogue completion
• Transformation exercises
• Error correction
• Gap-filling

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Stages of grammar test development

Writing items

Circle the correct answer:

I _____ hard last week, and now I’m tired.
A. studied
B. study
C. have studied
D. have been studying

Stages of grammar test development

Writing items

Select the underlined word or phrase that is

incorrect or inappropriate:
1. I am worried that you will be angry to me.
A B C D
2. There are many reason for the increase in crime.
A B C D

Stages of grammar test development

Writing items

Fill the gaps in the following sentences:

A: Quiet! We ______ (study) for the test!
B: Oh, sorry. What kind of test?
A: Grammar. We _____ (have, always) a grammar
test at the end of term.

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Stages of grammar test development

Writing items

Rewrite the following sentences:

1. It’s been six years since I last saw him.
 I _______________________________.
2. She is good at tennis.
 She plays _______________________.

Stages of grammar test development

Writing items
Can you see anything wrong with the following multiple-
choice items? If so, what? Try to improve them.
1. I said to my friend '____ be stupid.'
Isn't Aren't Didn't Don't be

2. What ____ you do, if your car broke down?

must did shall

3.A. Tom ought not to tell me your secret, but he did.

B. Tom ought not to having told me your secret, but he did.
C. Tom ought not to be telling me your secret, but he did.
D. Tom ought not to have told me your secret, but he did.

Stages of grammar test development

Writing items
Can you see anything wrong with the following multiple-
choice items? If so, what? Try to improve them.
1. I said to my friend '____ be stupid.'
A. Isn't B. Aren't C. Didn't D. Don't

2. What ____ you do, if your car broke down?

A. must B. did C. shall D. would

3. Tom ought not to _____ me your secret, but he did.

A. tell B. having told C. be telling D. have told

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Stages of grammar test development

Writing items
What do you think of the language used in the following
items?
Item 1:
I want to see the film. The actors ….. (play) well.
(Key: play)

Item 2:
We can’t work with this class because there …. (be, not)
enough silence.
(Key: is not/ isn’t)

 Unnatural language

Corpus of Contemporary American English (COCA)

Corpus of Contemporary American English (COCA)

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Stages of grammar test development

Other useful websites
English grammar profile
https://www.englishprofile.org/english-grammar-profile/egp-
online
American newspapers
The New York
Times: https://www.nytimes.com/international/
The Washington Post: https://www.washingtonpost.com/
Australian newspapers
The Daily Telegraph: https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/
The Sydney Morning Herald: https://www.smh.com.au/
British newspapers
The Daily
Mail: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/index.html
The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/international

Study guide
1. Can you write grammar test specifications?
2. Can you name at least 4 test techniques to
assess grammar?
3. Can you compose items to test grammar?