LANGTCHG 742

Language Assessment


Please note: this is archived course information from 2018 for LANGTCHG 742.

Description

Assessing learners is an essential part of what language teachers do as they deliver their courses. In some situations, teachers are free to design appropriate assessments that relate directly to the curriculum and classroom learning objectives. However, it is perhaps more common worldwide that teachers are preparing their students to take a national examination or one of the international tests like IELTS, TOEFL, TOEIC or a Cambridge exam. In both cases, it is important that teachers understand the basic principles of assessment and know what the options are for designing appropriate measures of learners’ knowledge and ability. This in a nutshell is what the course offers in terms of content.

The course is delivered in two modes: on-campus and online. Typically in Semester 1 it is taught as a standard postgraduate LANGTCHG course with a two-hour class each week in the 4-6pm timeslot, whereas in Semester 2 it is delivered online through the University’s learning management system. In online mode, students contribute to a weekly Discussion Forum and participate in a chat session, as well as working through the web-based study guides.

In both modes, the first assignment involves an evaluation of a test or assessment procedure. In Semester 1, the second assignment is based on a class project to develop a test (usually an academic reading test), which is tried out with learners at the University’s English Language Academy. In Semester 2, students work individually on designing and writing a test or assessment procedure, which they can try out in their own context if they have the opportunity.

This course is taught online

View the course syllabus

Availability 2018

Semester 1

Lecturer(s)

Coordinator(s) Professor John Read

Reading/Texts

McNamara, Tim Language testing. Oxford, 2000.

Points

LANGTCHG 742: 15 points

Restrictions

LANGTCHG 401, 704