Here are suggested answers to the Think About It items in this chapter of the Online Learning Center website.

1. Based on this chapter, argue for or against the existence of tests. In your opinion, are some types of tests better than others?

Teacher’s Note: Response should include the following:


• Tests are necessary in that they make learners responsible for what happens in class. The inevitable washback effect of not having tests is that students will have less motivation to pay attention to course content. Tests that reflect the instructors’ approaches to teaching and learning are better than tests that do not, simply because test formats that learners have never seen before will be deemed irrelevant and unacceptable (using Carroll’s criteria). For example, a course that regularly introduces structured input and structured output activities should definitely have both types of sections on a given test.

2. How might you test first person singular past tense verb forms (“I went…”, etc.) in the language you teach? How many items would you need to include to assess your students? What type of items would you include? How would it be scored?

Teacher’s Note: Response should include the following:


• I would design sections requiring interpretation and production of past tense forms. For Spanish, I would create a section in which learners heard utterances containing first person forms and matched each utterance with normalmente (“normally”) or ayer (“yesterday”). Afterwards, learners would produce three or four sentences describing their weekend. Of course, they would not be permitted to use forms from the interpretation section. The interpretation scoring is pretty straightforward (right or wrong). The production section would be graded based on correct/incorrect use of the past tense form. However, if their response were illogical (despite being grammatically correct), they would receive no credit.

3. Is it necessary to test information (messages) exchanged in class? Or is it sufficient to test the textbook material alone?

Teacher’s Note: Response should include the following:


• What an instructor tests always has implications for what learners pay attention to on a daily basis. If only the textbook material is tested, students may feel that class time is of little or no value. That is, they will believe that student-student and student-instructor interactions are only for “going through the motions” and that the content of these exchanges is of no real importance. In a communicative classroom environment, meaning should always be kept in focus. If the textbook is the only source of information used for testing, than the focus on communication will inevitably be lost.