Çiğdem+Testing+Statement

. What tasks will you use to test specific elements within the domain? (e.g., if the domain is 'language instruction' in terms of academic writing, tasks may include summarizing, paraphrasing, choosing best topic sentences, etc.) || * I think the domain in this exam will be primarily on 'language instruction'. Because the emphasis is on the learning of the grammatical usage of gerunds and infinitives. It is quite hard to put the grammatical structures into the real life situations but I am going to try to relate the topic and the questions to the lives of the students, so that they won't get bored and will easily understand the contex. GOOD
 * ~ Criteria ||~ General explanation. ||~ Your detail about your particular test ||
 * ~ Purpose of the test || Why are you testing?
 * Think in terms of making inferences about the language ability of the test takers, and specific decisions that you will make based on these inferences.
 * Also consider the potential washback. || * With the help of this exam I am going to get an idea about the studets' level of the understanding on the subject, which is 'gerunds and infinitives'. Moreover, this will show them their own level on the subject and we will try to fix any deficiency together according to the results. These exam will not only test the grammar subject but there will also be some kind of assesment on their reading, and writing abilities.
 * I will see if my techniques of the classroom is working well in the classroom or not. Accordingly, I will change or adapt some techniques, materials,etc.
 * In terms of washback, I may say that the questions will let them consider what have been covered in the classroom and after the exam the answers will be provided to make them understand their faults and this will give a second chance to learn what they couldn't understand before. GOOD DETAIL AND RATIONALE ||
 * ~ Describing the TLU domain || In what domain will you test the TLU (target language use): is the domain
 * 'real-lfe' (i.e., situations where language is used primarily for communication) or
 * 'language instruction' (i.e., situations where language is used for the purposes of teaching and learning of language.)
 * The task will be:
 * 1) filling the blanks,
 * 2) multiple choice questions,
 * 3) forming sentences with the target grammatical structure,
 * 4) skimming and scanning will be included in terms of finding the structures in a small text,
 * 5) match activities. ||
 * ~ Defining the construct || What is the basis of your test? Is it
 * 1) syllabus-based (e.g. define the construct according to the components of languge ability as given in the course syllabus, or linked to learning objectives and outcomes)
 * 2) theory-based (i.e. define the construct according to components of language ability based on a theoretical model of language ability; linked to descriptors of ablity in context, e.g. ALTE 'can do' statements of ability) ||< I don't think that I can strictly say that my test will be syllabus-based or theory-based, because I think both of them will be included in the test. Of course, I will relate the test to my teaching objectives and to the syllabus, however there will be the theoretical components in it, too. The most important think that I will take into consideration is that the students should understand what is expected from them clearly. OKAY...YOU HAVE TO BE CAREFUL NOT TO CONFUSE THE STUDENTS ||
 * ~ Characteristics of the test-takers || These will include:
 * 1) Personal characteristics (age, gender, L1, nationality, etc.) and educational context (primary, secondary, higher, vocational, etc.)
 * 2) Backround knowledge (i.e. will the test make assumptions about the test-taker's world knowledge, language functions, e.g. register, intonation, language skills, e.g. making inferences, etc. that may contribute to a test bias)
 * 3) General level and profile of language ability (link to CEF)
 * 4) Potential affective response to test (i.e. how will students feel about doing the test. What factors might make lead to positive or negative affective responses.) || # My test takers will be Turkish Cypriot students in TRNC. They are studying in Güzelyurt Kurtuluş High School. There are 12 students in the classroom. 8 of the students are girls and 4 of them are boys. The class is a language class and the students are 15-16 years old.
 * 5) I think these students are in a language classroom because of not getting enough credits to study another field such as maths or sciences. Except one or two of them, they generally give the impression that it is something cumpolsory to be in that classroom and that they don't like English a lot. I really don't think that they are very successful in their other courses, too. VERY PERCEPTIVE
 * 6) Coming to the level of their language abilities, I may easily say that their level is very low if we compare them with some other language classes in Turkey. Their understanding of language is somehow limited with 'getting the high grade and passing the course'. They don't really know much about the language. The grammar parts of lessons are more smooth than the discussion, or pronunciation parts. They really have some problems about pronunciation and they generally don't participate in the discussions. Their language generation is on sentence level and they just do not go beyond it when the teacher asks something, or tries to make them comment on something.
 * 7) I think the students won't like being tested. ( If I were in their shoes I wouldn't like it, too :) ). They will probable feel stressed and will be unwilling to solve the questions without studying the subjects beforehand. I will try to solve this problem by adding some pictures in the test and using simple and undertandable instructions. I will assure them that this examination is not a factor in their general course garde. I WONDER WHAT THE WASHBACK WILL BE. UNFORTUNATELY, IF A TEST IS NOT GRADED, STUDENTS DON"T TAKE IT SERIOUSLY. Then first I won't say anything about the grades, after the exam I will tell them that it is not going to be included in the total grade. :) DEVIOUS ;) ||
 * ~ Plan for evaluating test usefulness || What factors will you take into consideration to evaluate the usefulness of the test according to reliability, validity, practicality, authenticity and washback. How will you collect the data and analyze the usefulness? || I think my test will be useful bacuse I am going to consider the level of the test-takers and apropriacy of the questions. In terms of practicalitiy, I wiill try to use some basic kind of exercises that they are accostomed to and may understand what is required ( like fill in the blank activities). The authenticity part of the test may not be very successful but I am going to try to choose an authentic reading text and I will relate the questions to the students' own life. Face validity is really important, I think. I am going to give more importance to that. I am going to use some sources for collecting the data. For example BBC news may be helpful in choosing an authentic reading text. I will choose and analyze the text and questions according to student level. ||
 * ~ List of resources you will use in developing the test ||< List the explicit resources (who will be involved in designing the test, what materials/equipment/sources will you use, how much time will it take you to design the text.) || Resources: I will prepare the test but I may use an ınternet site or some books to look for an authentic reading text. I will also use some images and I am planning to find the pictures by using flicker. It will probably take an hour for me to prepare the test. GOOD IDEA TO CITE YOUR SOURCES, ESPECIALLY FOR FUTURE REFERENCE. ONE HOUR--THAT"S GREAT! FLICKER 'COMMONS' IS A GOOD SOURCE FOR COPYRIGHT FRIENDLY PICTURES. ||