TESTING LANGUAGE COMPONENT : GRAMMAR

PAPER

Submitted to complete the task of Language Testing

Lecturer:

Prof. Dr. Idham Kholid, M.Ag.

Arranged by:

Alifa Putri Pidia Sari 2011040014

Riska Nur Hasanah 2011040196

ENGLISH EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM

TEACHER AND TRAINING FACULTY

RADEN INTAN ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY LAMPUNG

2022
 PREFACE

First of all, thanks to Allah SWT because of the help of Allah, writer finished
writing the paper entitled "TESTING LANGUAGE COMPONENT : GRAMMAR" right
in the calculated time.

The purpose in writing this paper is to fulfill the assignment that given by Mr. Prof.
Dr. Idham Kholid, M.Ag. as lecturer in language testing major.

In arranging this paper, the writer truly get lots challenges and obstructions but
with help of many individuals, those obstructions could passed. Writer also realized there
are still many mistakes in process of writing this paper.

Because of that, the writer says thank you to all individuals who helps in the
process of writing this paper. Hopefully Allah replies all helps and bless you all. The writer
realized this paper still imperfect in arrangement and the content. Then the writer hope the
criticism from the readers can help the writer in perfecting the next paper. Last but not the
least hopefully, this paper can helps the readers to gain more knowledge about phonology
major.

Bandar Lampung, November 20, 2022

The Writer

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 TABLE OF CONTENT

COVER ................................................................................................................... i

PREFACE .............................................................................................................. ii

TABLE OF CONTENT ....................................................................................... iii

CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION .........................................................................1

A. Background of Paper ....................................................................................1

B. Problem Statement .......................................................................................1
C. Purpose Statement ........................................................................................1

CHAPTER II: DISSCUSSION .............................................................................2

A. Definition of Grammar .................................................................................2

B. Definition of Grammar Test ..........................................................................3
C. Benefits of Grammar Test ................................................................................... 3
D. Purpose of Grammar Test................................................................................... 3
E. Types of Grammar Test ...................................................................................... 4
F. Preparation of Grammar Test ............................................................................ 4
G. Techniques of Grammar Test ............................................................................. 5
H. Criteria Assessing Grammar Test ...................................................................... 7
I. Scoring Productive of Grammar Test ................................................................ 8

CHAPTER III: CLOSING ....................................................................................9

A. Conclusion ....................................................................................................9

REFERENCES .....................................................................................................11

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 CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

A. Background of Paper

Grammar testing is discussed in the context of grammar engineering (i.e., software

engineering for grammars). We propose a generalization of the known rule coverage for
grammars, that is, context-dependent branch coverage. We investigate grammar testing,
especially coverage analysis, test set generation, and integration of testing and grammar
transformations. Grammar recovery is chosen as a subfield of grammar engineering to
illustrate the developed concepts. Grammar recovery is concerned with the derivation of a
language’s grammar from some available resource such as a semi-formal language
reference. This work proposes a generalization of the known rule coverage for grammars,
that is, context-dependent branch coverage, and investigates grammar testing, especially
coverage analysis, test set generation, and integration of testing and grammar
transformations.

B. Problem Statement
1. What is the definition of grammar test?
2. What is the techniques of grammar test?
3. How is the scoring productive grammar test?

C. Purpose Statement
1. To know the definition of grammar test
2. To know the techniques of grammar test
3. To know how the scoring productive grammar test

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 CHAPTER II

DISCUSSION

A. Definition of Grammar

English grammar is the set of structural rules of the English language. This includes
the structure of words, phrases, clauses, sentences, and whole texts. Grammar is the study
of the rules governing the use of language. The set of those rules is also called the grammar
of language, and each language has its own distinct grammar. Grammar is part of the
general study of language called linguistic. Since the arousal of communicative language
teaching in 1960’s, grammar is no longer becoming the core of language study. Studying
grammar helps someone learn more the language. A grammar should serve as a reference
by helping correct deviation from standard usage and by improving clarity and style.

According to Barbara Dykes (2007: 5) in her book Grammar for Everyone, it states
that the simplest definition of grammar is. According to him, "grammar is a language to
talk about language" or it can be interpreted that grammar is a language to learn languages.
Why is that? Because from grammar, he further explained, we can learn how to
communicate with language is inseparable from learning grammar; starting from the
vocabulary and its functions, sentence patterns, expressions, and food.

According to Goeffrey Leech (1982: 3) in his book English Grammar for Today defines
grammar as "Grammar refers to the mechanism according to which language works when
it is used to communicate." That is, grammar refers to the mechanism in accordance with
the work of language when used in communication. From this understanding we can
understand that grammar is a science that studies how a language works to communicate.

According to Jeffry Coghill, "Grammar of language is the set of rules that govern its
structure. Grammar determines how words are arranged to form meaningful units." That is,
the grammar of a language is a set of rules that govern the structure of the language itself.
Grammar determines how words are arranged to form meaningful language units.
Grammar here is defined very clearly where grammar is defined as a set of rules to form
language so that it has meaning or can be understood.

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 According to Michael Swan (2005:xix) in his book Practical English Usage, he
expressed his opinion regarding the definition of grammar. According to him grammar is
"The rules that show how words are combined, arranged or changed to show certain kinds
of meaning."

B. Definition of Grammar Test

Grammar tests are designed to measure student proficiency in matters ranging from
inflections to syntax. Syntax involves the relationship of words in a sentence, including
matters such as word order, use of negative, question forms, and connectives. The testing
of grammar is one of the mainstays of language testing, since it can be argued that a basic
knowledge of grammar underlies the ability to use language to express meaning.

In general, grammar tests try to assess students’ use of language in its totality as well
as various parts and rules of language. Grammar tests might focus on skills such as sentence
structure, using and identifying parts of speech, punctuation, spelling and capitalization.
They might also focus on complex and compound sentences and sentence corrections as
well as writing correct sentences and paragraphs.

C. Benefits of Grammar Test

• Help to compose correct sentences

• Developing the art of translation,
• Helping to acquire vocabulary,
• Increasing knowledge of understanding actual sentences,
• Building conceptual thinking about the structure of the English language

D. The Purposes of Grammar Test

• Help construct sentences correctly

• Support in speaking and writing English
• Helps in understanding many phrases and sentences in English

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 E. Types of Grammar Test

There are a variety of types of grammar tests, such as fill-in-the-blank, multiple choice,
and composition-based.

1) Fill-in-the-blank

One of the types of grammar tests is fill-in-the-blank tests in which students are asked
to provide the appropriate word. For example, they might be asked which form of a word,
such as "their," "there" or "they’re". A certain sentence requires and then be asked to fill in
the blank. For this type of test, students might not be provided with a list of words from
which to choose.

2) Multiple Choice

Multiple choice (MC) is a form of an objective assessment in which respondents are

asked to select only correct answers from the choices offered as a list. Multiple choice test
items can be used to test factual recall, levels of understanding, and ability to apply learning
(analyzing and evaluating). Multiple choice tests can also provide an excellent pre-
assessment indicator of student knowledge as well as a source for a post-test discussion.
Multiple choice test items contain a stem which identifies the question or problem. The
response choices contain the correct answer and several distractors.

3) Composition-based grammar

These tests are another way to check for students’ learning and mastery of grammar
concepts. For these types of tests, students might be asked to write sentences, paragraphs
or even a short essay in which they incorporate various rules and types of grammar
elements correctly. On this kind of test, for example, students might be asked to take two
sentences and combine them correctly. They also might be asked to take a paragraph that
is written incorrectly and write it in a grammatically correct fashion.

F. Preparation for Grammar Test

1) Begin by Learning the Rules

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 Grammar rules are so important because they categorize (group) a lot of language
situations and give you information you can then apply to many contexts (situations).

2) Practice Each Rule One at a Time

To practice each grammar rule well, you will want to (a) create your own examples
and (b) complete grammar exercises.

3) When in Doubt, Always Return to the Rules

Practicing grammar is not always a smooth process. Expect to make mistakes, and to
feel like you are right when an exercise says your answer is wrong. In this case, you need
to go back to the rule and relearn it. You may want to read your own examples again and
create some more examples.

4) Learn from Your Favorite Mistakes

Mistakes are actually a very important part of learning. Every time make a mistake,
you can see it as an opportunity to learn or relearn something. Many students have a mistake
which they keep making again and again because at one point they learned a rule incorrectly
or incompletely. So when you identify a mistake, that’s why you need to go back to step
one and study the rules again.

5) Give Yourself Time

Learning grammar is a long-term objective, and generally the more rules you learn
and practice, the better you get. The trick is to decide how much time you can spend each
day on grammar. Be consistent and persistent.

6) Make Grammar Practice Fun.

Studying grammar can be more fun than books and exercises. You can use videos to
help you understand the rules, and then practice in groups of friends.

G. Techniques of Grammar Test

There are 4 techniques in testing grammar:

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 1) Gap filling

Gap filling items should have just one correct response. An item with two possible
correct responses may be acceptable if the meaning is the same, whichever is used. But an
item is probably rejected if the different possibilities give different meanings or involve
quite different structure, one of which is the one that is supposed to be tested.

• One correct response: Ex. He arrived late, _______ was a surprise. (which)
• Two correct response: Ex. He displayed the smile______ had charmed so many
people before. (which, that)
• Rejected: Ex. _______ let her cry. She’ll stop in the end. (Just, I’d. Well, Then,
etc.)

2) Paraphrase

Paraphrase items require the students to write a sentence equivalent in meaning to one
that is given. It is helpful to give part of the paraphrase in order to restrict the students to
grammatical structure being tested.

Example : Testing present perfect with for.

It is six years since I last saw him.

I ________________________ six years.

3) Completion

This technique can be used to test a variety of structures. Simple completion items used
for testing grammar consist of a sentence from which a grammatical elements is removed.

There are 3 steps to follow in preparing simple-completion grammar test.

• Select the grammar points that need to be tested.

• Provide an appropriate context.
• Write good instructions.

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 4) Multiple Choice

In this test, an incomplete sentence is followed by four multiple choice options for
completing the sentence.

Example : A. They left at seven. They _______ be home by now.

B. Yes, but we can’t count on it, can we?

a. can b. could c. will d. must

H. Criteria Assessing Grammar Test

Criteria Explanations
Content Manner The assessment paper chosen is closely related to the
content of the subject. (places as a noun)
Illustration(s) Series of illustrations are used to help students to
identify the correct answer.
Prior Knowledge Content used in the assessment paper are closely related
to student’s prior knowledge. E.g.: places like bank,
post office, market and florist.
Option for answer There are at least 2 options of answer for students to
choose.
Sentence type/ Most the sentences use in the assessment sample are
sentence structure simple sentences with fixed structure.
Vocabulary Words use are simple and appropriate for level 3
students.

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I. Scoring Productive Grammar Test

• The important thing when scoring other types of item is to be clear about what each
item is testing, and to reward points for that only.
• There should be one element, such as subject- pronoun-verb inversion, and all
available points should be awarded for that.
• If two elements are being tested in an item, then points should be assigned to each
of them.
• In this case both elements have to be correct for any points to be rewarded.

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 CHAPTER III

CLOSING

A. Conclusion
• Grammar is the study of the rules governing the use of language. This includes
the structure of words, phrases, clauses, sentences, and whole texts. Studying
grammar helps someone learn more the language. A grammar should serve as
a reference by helping correct deviation from standard usage.
• Grammar tests are designed to measure student proficiency in matters ranging
from inflections to syntax. Syntax involves the relationship of words in a
sentence, including word order, use of negative and question forms. Grammar
tests might focus on skills such as sentence structure, using and identifying
parts of speech, punctuation, spelling and capitalization.
• There are 5 benefits of grammar test 1). Help to compose correct sentences, 2).
Developing the art of translation, 3). Helping to acquire vocabulary,4).
Increasing knowledge of understanding actual sentences, and 5). Building
conceptual thinking about the structure of the English language.
• The purposes of grammar test are : 1). help construct sentences correctly, 2).
support in speaking and writing English, and 3). helps in understanding many
phrases and sentences in English.
• There are a variety of types of grammar tests, such as fill-in-the-blank, multiple
choice, and composition-based.
• To prepare student for grammar test : 1). Begin by Learning the Rules, 2).
Practice Each Rule One at a Time, 3). When in Doubt, Always Return to the
Rules, 4). Learn from Your Favorite Mistakes, 5). Give Yourself Time., 6).
Make Grammar Practice Fun.
• There are 4 techniques in testing grammar : 1). Gap Filling, 2). Paraphrase, 3).
Completion, 4). Multiple Choice.
• Criteria assessing grammar are : content manner, illustration, prior knowledge,
options for answer, sentence type/sentence structure, and vocabulary.

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• There are 4 steps to scoring productive grammar test : 1). The important thing
when scoring other types of item is to be clear about what each item is testing,
and to reward points for that only, 2). There should be one element, such as
subject- pronoun-verb inversion, and all available points should be awarded
for that, 3). If two elements are being tested in an item, then points should be
assigned to each of them, 4). In this case both elements have to be correct for
any points to be rewarded.

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 REFERENCE

https://www.academia.edu/36404642/Testing_Grammar#:~:text=Ijaz%2C%
202006).-
,Grammar%20tests%20are%20designed%20to%20measure%20stud
ent%20proficiency%20in%20matters,%2C%20question%20forms%
2C%20and%20connectives.

https://pintarbahasainggris.com/community/grammar/pengertian-grammar-
menurut-para-ahli-bahasa-inggris/

https://www.languagehumanities.org/what-are-the-different-types-of-
grammar-tests.htm

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_grammar

https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED398256

https://text-id.123dok.com/document/1y96v4xly-definition-of-grammar-test-
characteristics-of-a-good-test-validity-reliability.html

https://sites.google.com/site/evaluationandlanguagetesting/testing-grammar-
and-vocabulary

https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/3-540-45314-8_15

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multiple_choice#:~:text=Multiple%20choice%
20(MC)%2C%20objective,choices%20offered%20as%20a%20list.

https://www.languagehumanities.org/what-are-the-different-types-of-
grammar-
tests.htm#:~:text=There%20are%20a%20variety%20of,parts%20an
d%20rules%20of%20language.

https://www.fluentu.com/blog/toefl/toefl-grammar-practice/

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