English teaching and test

English teaching and test

1. Introduction

English language education plays an important role in social education and cultural construction in China. Although China has made enormous achievements in various aspects of theoretical study, syllabus construction, curriculum designing, textbook compilation etc., there are still problems in its developing process. Reforms of English education are necessary and imperative whatever the agenda for the present and the future. Among many factors, testing has a vital function in the English education system - a comprehensive, objective and deeper understanding of testing will thus benefit the decision-making process with regards to the reform of English education.

2. English Language Testing and Teaching

2.1 Testing

Testing is the running of a system or a program against a predetermined series of data to arrive at a predictable result for the purpose of establishing the acceptability of the system or program. Testing includes testing target, testing contents and testing approach. The target of College English Testing in China, by which we normally refer to as classroom testing, is to check how students learn the language, such as their abilities of using the language. The contents are firmly limited in what they have learnt, we should never test over or under their learning,

or the testing would be anamorphic. The Testing Approach includes written tests, oral tests and practice tests.

2.1.1 Teaching and Testing

Davies (1968:5) argued that “the good test is an obedient ser vant since it follows and apes the teaching”. The proper relationship between teaching and testing is surely that of partnership. Testing is a way to review what students have learnt, and to train their abilities of putting what they have learnt into effect, to help them learn more. Teaching for teachers is a means to transmit knowledge, information, or whatever related, to learners. Testing is one of the standards, to weigh teaching, whether successfully or unsuccessfully, but it is not the last word on the subject. Teaching, of course, is not only for testing; to consider it that way would be to falsely promote the achievement of high scores as our aim. 2.1.2 Learning and Testing

Testing is useful as a means of judging learning, although it is not the only way. However, until now it is still the most effective way, especially in China. Besides that, the society, students’ parents, schools evaluate the scores as the result of the students’ learning in schools, that’s why the students regard capturing the high scores as their studying aim. In addition, there are not sufficient approaches to judge whether the students are leaning or not, so the scores have always been the first important element of their study. This phenomenon is very much concerned with the

education history of China and Chinese cultural traditions.

2.1.3 Teachers and Testing

The process of constructing tests itself is beneficial because it “helps teachers put their courses in perspectives and encourages the clarification of meaningful object ives”. The writing of items forces instructors to think again about the really essential course content and objectives, and makes the content and objectives as clear as possible. Meanwhile, if they want students to learn facts, they test them on their ability to recall information. Their tests try to send a message to students, telling them these are the essential things to learn from this course.

Tests also provide teachers with useful feedback about what students have and have not learned. Knowledge of what students know and do not know is very important to the teachers and a lack of this knowledge is likely to bring about ineffective instruction. If teachers can make good use of test information, better teaching can be achieved. Feedback from tests can help the teacher provide more appropriate instructional guidance for individual students as well as for the class as a whole.

2.1.4 Students and Testing

During the learning process, students can benefit greatly if they are clear of what they know and what they do not know. Test results can provide them with this information. Therefore, tests can aid their self-assessment. Periodic tests and feedback of the results can help

students “gain insight into what they can do well, the misconceptions that need correction and the degree of sill they have in various areas”. Such information provides the students with a more objective basis for assessing their own strengths and weaknesses. Therefore, well prepared and properly used tests serve as effective means of fin ding out students’strong points and weak points.

A well-prepared test can provide a worthwhile learning experience in itself. Tests provide an opportunity for students to show what they have learned and to discover the scope and depth of their knowledge. They also tell students what they do not know and serve as a guide to further study. Therefore, the close interrelationship among teaching, learning and testing must be integrated in language teaching and learning. A correct arrangement of these three aspects does help with the development of education, otherwise both teachers and students are doomed to blind themselves and to go in the wrong direction. It is far from China’s new policy of education of quality.

3. Functions of Evaluation and Measurement of Testing

From the analysis about the relationship among teaching, learning and testing, we know that measurement in English testing is a means of telling learners what are their scores in the test and what level they have comparatively in a group or a unity. Evaluation in testing refers to the explanation of the scores. The function of measurement and evaluation is

to prompt learners to learn; after an objective analysis of the scores the learners have, we can find out whether they have learnt something or not, what they are not well learnt, and so on. In details, the functions are: For students: First of all, teachers are encouraged to expatiate more clearly of their teaching object, and students are naturally and correspondently encouraged and improved. Secondly, before the schedule of testing, students are required to review, consolidate, and comprehend what they have learnt. On the other hand, it also helps learners to revise their knowledge. Thirdly, testing is also helpful for students together to compare and compete. Last but not least, self-evaluation after having known the scores of tests is also very useful for students to know themselves to learn and improve gradually. For teachers: testing is a feedback of their effect ad efficiency in teaching, especially their teaching skills and methodology, etc.

4. Types of the Tests

There are many different types of tests, each with a specific purpose, and a particular criterion to be measured. They fall into four main categories: aptitude tests, diagnostic tests, proficiency tests and achievement tests. An aptitude test is a test given to a person prior to any exposure to the second language, which predicts a person’s future success. It is designed to measure a person’s capacity or general ability to learn a language. A diagnostic test is designed to diagnose a particular aspect of

particular language and see which aspect poses difficulty for a learner. A proficiency test is not intended to be limited to any one course, curriculum or single skill in the language. Instead, it is designed to tap global competence in any language. An achievement test, which is also referred to as an attainment test, is a test “designed to measure the extent of learning achieved by a candidate in relation to a particular course of i nstruction, textbook, etc. i.e. a curriculum dependent test”. According to Jacobs and Chase, an achievement test is “a systematic procedure for measuring students’ achievement in the classroom”.

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THE MILLION POUND BANK NOTE Act I，Scene3 NARRATOR: It is the summer of 1903.Two old and wealthy brothers, Roderick and Oliver, have made a bet.Oliver believes that with a million pound bank note a man could survive a month in London.His brother Roderick doubts it.At this moment, they see a penniless young man wandering on the pavement outside their house.It is Henry Adams, an American businessman, who is lost in London and does not know what he should do. RODERICK: Young man, would you step inside a moment, please? HENRY: Who? Me, sir? RODERICK: Yes, you. OLIVER: Through the front door on your left. HENRY: (A servant opens a door) Thanks. SERV ANT: Good morning, sir. Would you please come in? Permit me to lead the way,sir .OLIVER: (Henry enters) Thank you, James. That will be all. . RODERICK: How do you do, Mr ... er ...? HENRY: Adams. Henry Adams.

牛津英语必修二课文原文及中文翻译1

M1U2Home alone Act One Mom and Dad arrive back from vacation a day earlier than expected. The curtains are closed and the living room is dark when Mom and Dad enter. Dad: It’s so nice to be home! Mom: Yes, I can’t wait to surprise the boys! Suddenly the door opens and a soccer ball flies through the room. Eric runs in after it, followed by a big dog, walking very slowly. Eric: Mom! Dad! You’re back early! (looking around room, sounding frightened) But, but … you weren’t supposed to come home until tomorrow! The dog slowly walks to Mom and Dad. Mom: (bending to touch dog) Eric, he’s so tired and hungry! (looking at table) The money for dog food is gone, but Spot looks like he is starving! What did you do with the cash we left? Dad: And look at this room—garbage all over the place! Where is your brother? (shouting angrily) Daniel! Daniel: (running into room) Mom, Dad, I can explain … Dad opens the curtains and light comes into the room. The room is in a mess, with pizza boxes on the floor and dirty dishes in the sink. In the corner, there is a garbage can around which are pieces of garbage and waste paper. Mom and Dad both turn towards Daniel. Dad: (sounding very angry) Listen to me, young man—we left you in charge! We thought you could act like an adult, but look at the mess! I don’t know why the house is so dirty ... Mom: Daniel, we thought you were an adult, a person who would make good decisions ... Dad: How can we trust you any mo re? We won’t tolerate such behavior in our house! Daniel: (shouting) Stop shouting at me. I’m still a teenager! Why is everything always my fault? Daniel runs into his bedroom and shuts the door angrily. Mom and Dad look at each other as lights go out. End of Act One Act Two, Scene One Daniel and Eric’s bedroom. Eric sits on his bed. Daniel has his arms crossed and looks upset. Daniel: They never even gave me a chance to defend myself. I hate them! Eric: You don’t h ate them. I can tell them we had an emergency. Then they won’t be mad any more. Daniel: No, don’t tell them anything. Anyhow, they didn’t trust me. They don’t deserve an explanation. Let them think what they want. Eric: But Daniel, if they knew that Spot was sick and we used the money to take him to the clinic ... Daniel: And that we spent all of yesterday waiting there for him, and that is why we had no time to clean the house ... but no, Eric, why didn’t they ask me what happened instead of shouting at me? Act Two, Scene Two