The
first week of my seventh semester, I was presented a lecture regarding language
assessment. My position as student of English literature which certainly
studies language as primary course, and simultaneously a freelance teacher who
occasionally got confused in testing my students makes this course very
interesting to heed.
When
my teacher explained the course, my memory was suddenly thrown to the time when
I frequently found difficult to instruct and test my student. During this time,
when I had to assess my student I only imitated the way my teachers in my
college tests their students, such as discussing the course together to get the
idea, quiz, or other kinds of formal test without studying it formally. That
time, I thought it was no problem with that although sooner or later I shall
find it necessary to learn as it will cope difficulties related to such things.
Regarding
to my experience, it was right that I need to learn this course as its aim is
to make us a good language instructor, so that soon at least I can be a good
teacher to my student and help them understand the course with proper tests.
Its objective is also in accordance with the definition of language assessment,
that is: any ways to help learners develop and gain maximum knowledge and skill
regarding language use by evaluating it with many ways.
Many
ways to evaluate one’s achievement in language use, and it divided into formal
and informal assessment. In accordance to its name, formal assessment tend to
be conducted with formal ways, such as:
make journals, portfolios, and tests. Hence, it can be said that formal
assessment is planned and systematically prepared. Otherwise, informal
assessment is unplanned, unprepared, and spontaneous such as: give either oral
or written comments. The formal and informal assessment can be given during the
process of learning as an effort to help learners gain maximum knowledge and
skills. Such way called as formative assessment. Beside formative, there is
also summative assessment which is conducted in the end of the learning process
in order to summarize the ‘end’ result of the learners. Final exam is one of
example of summative assessment.
Learning
language assessment, basically, we learn to test one’s language ability.
Throughout my life, I know several conventional tests e.g. examination,
interview, TOEIC, TOEFL, and comments. I just have known that those tests
belong to different types. There are tests which according to their purposes, such as language proficiency
tests in order to know someone’s language proficiency. Thus, TOEFL and TOEIC
are kind of the test. Regarding to proficiency, there is also tests according
to language proficiency concept that
divided into discrete-point tests that
evaluate specific skill (such as, listening test, reading test, or
pronunciation test) and integrative test
that integrates all skills, so it evaluates more than one skill. For
example: You’re given a text, and you’re demanded to answer some questions
related to the text, then summarize it, thus, the skill that is evaluated is
reading and writing. Not only that, there are tests according to their scoring. This kind of test is divided
into norm referenced test or usually
called as objective test like common
tests ( mid test, final test), and criterion-referenced
test or subjective test that has
its own criteria to score people. Music contest such as Indonesia Mencari Bakat is criterion-referenced test. There are
still two more kinds of test, namely: communicative
language test which essentially a performance
of language use that related to real life, and performance-based test that evaluate you to explain something, such
as: IELTS speaking test.
Those
things are the concept of language assessment that gives me deeper insight in
evaluating and testing language use. Directly, it teaches me how to cope with
such hinder. Now, I am not confused anymore and I know that in fact, there are
many ways to test and evaluate someone’s language proficiency. Therefore, it helps
me a lot to give proper test to my student.