Discrete-Point and Integrative Language Testing Methods
언어관에 따라 평가를 두가지 관점으로 나누어 볼 수 있습니다. 언어를 discrete하게 보면, 평가도 discrete–point testing, 언어를 전체적이고 통합적인 것으로 보면, integrative testing을 지지합니다.
Within language testing, there has arisen over time at least two major viewpoints on assessment. Originally, the view was that assessing language should look specific elements of a language or you could say that language assessment should look at discrete aspects of the language.
A reaction to this discrete methods came about with the idea that language is wholistic so testing should be integrative or address many aspects of language simultaneously. In this post, we will take a closer look at discrete and integrative language testing methods through providing examples of each along with a comparison.
1) Discrete-Point Testing (분리평가)
(1) Discrete-point tests are constructed on the assumption that language can be broken down into its component parts and that those parts can be tested successfully. These components are the skills of listening, speaking, reading, and writing, and various units of language (discrete points) of phonology, graphology, morphology, lexicon, syntax, and discourse. It was claimed that an overall language proficiency test, then, should sample all four skills and as many linguistic discrete points as possible.
(2) Discrete-point testing works on the assumption that language can be reduced to several discrete component “points” and that these “points” can be assessed. Examples of discrete-point test items in language testing include multiple choice, true/false, fill in the blank, and spelling.
(3) What all of these example items have in common is that they usually isolate an aspect of the language from the broader context. For example, a simple spelling test is highly focused on the orthographic characteristics of the language. True/false can be used to assess knowledge of various grammar rules etc.
(4) 비판: The primary criticism of discrete-point testing was its discreteness. Many believe that language is wholistic and that in the real world students will never have to deal with language in such an isolated way. This led to the development of integrative language testing methods.
Oller (1979) argued that language competence is a unified set of interacting abilities that cannot be tested separately. His claim was that communicative competence is so global and requires such integration (hence the term "integrative-testing) that it cannot be captured in additive tests of grammar, reading, vocabulary. and other discrete points of language.
2) Integrative Language Testing Methods (통합평가)
(1) Proponents of integrative test methods soon centered their arguments on what became known as the unitary trait hypothesis, which suggested an "indivisible view of language proficiency: that vocabulary, grammar, phonology, the four skills and other discrete points of language could not be disentangled from each other in language performance. The unitary trait hypothesis contended that there is a general factor of language proficiency such that all the discrete points do not add up to that whole.
This is in complete contrast to discrete-point methods which supports dividing language into specific components. Two common integrative language assessments include cloze test and dictation.
① Cloze test involves taking an authentic reading passage and removing words from it. Which words remove depends on the test creator. Normally, it is every 6th or 7th word but it could be more or less or only the removal of key vocabulary. In addition, sometimes potential words are given to the student to select from or sometimes the list of words is not given to the student. The student’s job is to look at the context of the entire story to determine which words to write into the blank space. This is an integrative experience as the students have to consider grammar, vocabulary, context, etc. to complete the assessment.
A cloze test is a reading passage (perhaps 150 to 300 words) in which roughly every sixth or seventh word has been deleted; the test-taker is required to supply words that fit into those blanks.
Oller (1979) claimed that cloze test results are good measures of overall proficiency. According to theoretical constructs underlying this claim, the ability to supply appropriate words in blanks requires a number of abilities that lie at the bean of competence in a language: knowledge of vocabulary, grammatical structure, discourse structure, reading skills and strategies, and an internalized "expectancy" grammar (enabling one to predict an item that will come next in a sequence). It was argued that successful completion of cloze items taps into all of those abilities, which were said to be the essence of global language proficiency.
② Dictation is simply writing down what was heard. This also requires the use of several language skills simultaneously in a realistic context.
Dictation is a familiar language-teaching technique that evolved into a testing technique. Essentially, learners listen to a passage of 100 to 150 words read aloud by an administrator (or audiotape) and write what they bear, using correct spelling. The listening portion usually has three stages: an oral reading without' pauses; an oral reading with, long pauses between every phrase (to give the learner time to write down what is heard); and a third reading at normal speed to give test-takers a chance to check what they wrote.
(2) 비판: Integrative language testing also has faced criticism. For example, discrete-point testing has always shown that people score differently in different language skills and this fact has been replicated in many studies. As such, the exclusive use of integrative language approaches is not supported by most TESOL scholars.
3) Conclusion
As with many other concepts in education, the best choice between discrete-point and integrative testing is a combination of both. The exclusive use of either will not allow the students to demonstrate mastery of the language.
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# Cloze #ClozeTest # MiltipleChoice #영어교육론진미주 #임용시험영어교육론 #진미주