TESTING READING

SPECIFYING WHAT THE CANDIDATES SHOULD BE ABLE TO DO

Operations:1. Expenditious reading operations

Skimming Obtain main ideas and discourse topic quickly and

efficiently Establish quickly the structure of a text Decide the relevance of a text to their needs

Search readingThe candidate can quickly find information on a predetermined topic.

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ScanningThe candidate can quickly find :

Specific words or phrases

Figures, percentages

Specific items in an index

Specific names in a bibliography or a set of references

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2. Careful reading operations

Identify pronominal reference Identify discourse markers Interpret complex sentences Outline logical organisation of a text Outline the development of an argument Distinguish general statements from examples Identify explicitly stated main ideas Identify implicitly stated main ideas Recognise writer’s intention Recognise the attitudes and emotions of the writer Identify addressee or audience for a text Identify what kind of text is involved ( e.g.editorial,diary,etc) Distinguish fact from opinion Distinguish fact from rumour or hearsay.

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Make inferences: Infer the meaning of an unknown word from context. Make proposional informational inferences, answering

question beginning with who, when, what. Make proposional explanatory inferences concerned with

motivation, cause, consequence and enablement, answering questions beginning with why, how.

Make pragmatic inferences. http://ethemes.missouri.edu/themes/1675 http://

search.sweetim.com/search.asp?q=making+inference+in+reading+skill&ln=en&src=10

http://www.suite101.com/content/making-inferences-a89667

TEXT

Text that candidates are supposed to be able to deal with can be specified along a number of parameters :1. Text types2. Text forms3. Graphic features4. Topics5. Styles :

Intended readership Lenght Readability Range of vocabulary Range of grammar

SPEED

Reading speed may be expressed in words per minute. Different speeds will be expected for careful and expenditious reading. In the case of the latter, the candidate is, of course, not expected to read all of the words. The expected speed of reading will combine with the number and difficulty of items to determine the amount of time needed for test, or part of it.

CRITERIAL LEVEL OF PERFORMANCE

Norm-referenced testing Criterio-referenced approach

This book encourages a broadly criterion-refenced approach to language testing

SETTING THE TASKS

SELECTING TEXTS:All the points below are often overlooked.

1. Keep specifications constantly in mind and try to select as representative a sample as possible.

2. Choose texts of appropriate lenght.3. Content validity and acceptable reliability of the tasks.4. Passages which contain plenty of discrete pieces of information.5. Find texts which have the specified elements.6. The text has a clearly recognizable structure.7. Choose texts that will interest candidates but which will not disturb them.8. Avoid texts made up of information that may be part of

candidates’general knowledge.9. Do not choose texts that are too culturally laden.10. Do not use texts that students have already read.

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WRITING ITEMS

The items that will measure the ability in which the testers are interested

The items that will elicit reliable behaviour from the testers The items that will permit highly realiable scoring.

POSSIBLE TECHNIQUES Multiple choice Short answer Gap filling Information transfer

WHICH LANGUAGE FOR ITEMS AND RESPONS

The wording of reading test items is not meant to cause candidates of comprehension

The items should always be well within candidates’capabilities

The items should be Less demanding than the text itself.

The respons should make minimal demands on writing ability.

PROCEDURES FOR WRITING ITEMS

PRACTICAL ADVICE ON ITEM WRITING PRESENT ITEMS IN THE ORDER IN WHICH THE ANSWERS CAN

BE FOUND IN THE TEXT. DO NOT WRITE THE ITEMS FOR WHICH THE CORRECT RESPONS

CAN BE FOUND WITHOUT UNDERSTANDING THE TEXT. DO NOT INCLUDE ITEMS THAT SOME CANDIDATES ARE LIKELY

TO BE ABLE TO ANSWER FROM GENERAL KNOWLEDGE MAKE THE ITEMS INDEPENDENT OF EACH OTHER BE PREPARED TO MAKE MINOR CHANGE TO THE

TEXT TO IMPROVE IN ITEMS.