Assessing Students Language Proficiency

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Assessing Students Language Proficiency

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Contents
1. Introduction
2. What is Language proficiency
3. Types of Language Assessment
4. What skills are assessed
5. Challenges in Assessment
6. Conclusion

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Who am I!
Gulshan Aliyeva
MA in Foriegn languages and literature
TESOL holder
IELTS score 7.0

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Language proficiency assessment is crucial
for guiding instruction, placement, and
evaluating learning outcomes.
It involves measuring skills across listening,
speaking, reading, writing, and use of
language.
This presentation explores assessment types,
tools, frameworks, and challenges in assessing
English proficiency.
Introduction

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What is Language Proficiency?
Definition: The ability to use
language accurately and fluently
across various contexts.
Core skills:
Listening
Speaking
Reading
Writing
Grammar & Vocabulary

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Why AssessLanguage Proficiency?
To identify learning needs
To monitor progress
For placement or certification
To inform instruction

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Types of Assessment
Diagnostic – Before instruction (e.g., entry test)
Formative – During instruction (e.g.,quizzes,observations)
Summative – After instruction (e.g., final exams)
Placement – Determine appropriate level
Proficiency – Measure against a standard (e.g., CEFR, IELTS)

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Assessing four skills
Reading: Comprahention questions, Finding facts, opinions, Summarising the text
Listening: Audios, Comprehention tasks, note taking, summarizing
Writing: Essays, Grammar focused Tasks, Creative writing
Speaking: Interviews, Interactive oral presentations, Pronunciation tasks

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– Multiple-choice questions based onaudio
– Note-taking tasks
– Summarizing spoken input
Assessing Listening

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– Lectures and presentations
Listening to formal academic lectures pre presentations, followed by short-answer questions ore multiple choice questions
Assesses ability to understand main ideas, note-taking, and ability to follow complex discource
Assessing Listening

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– Type of listening skills:
Audio clips/ Conversations:
Listening to dialogues, converstion or inteviews then answering questions basec on the content.
Tests comprehension, ability to understand key details and content.
Assessing Listening

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– Discussions and Debates
Students listen to group discussion or debates and then summarize or respond.
Evaluates listening comprehension, the ability to distinguish viewpoints and critical thinking
Assessing Listening

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– Task based listening:
Asking students to listen a clip and perform a specific task like summarizing, inferring meaning, or completing a chart based on the listening material.
– Listening for specific info:
Use tasks where students must pick out specific details (names, dates, facts)
– Listening for gist or main idea:
Evaluate the ability to undestand the general idea or overall meaning of a spoken text, without focusing on specific details
Listening strategies for effective Assessment

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– Comprehencion
– Accuracy
– Inferences and Critical thinking
Evaluation Criteria

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– Different Accents and Dialects
– Background noise and Speed
Tools: Use varied types of audio: podcasts, interviews, radio shows, news broadcast
Allow students to listen to the audio more than once, particularly in higher-level assessments.
Challenges in Assessment and Effective Listening Assessment tools

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Reading Comprehencion tests:
– Multiple Choice Questions (MChQ)
– Short Answer questions
– True/False/Not given
– Yes/No/Not given
– Summary or Note Copletion
Assessing Reading

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– Use graded texts that match the student`s proficiency level
– Include texts of varying genres (literary, informational, scientific) to assess range of skills
-Ask students to identify the main idea, supporting details, and themes
Strategies for effective reading assessment

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– Contextual Vocabulary:
Understanding words in context, as seen in advanced reading comprehension tasks.
Tasks that ask student to infer meaning from the context ar a key part of assessing vocabulary skills
Assessing Vocabulary Knowledge

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– Essay Writing
Evaluate the ability to form structured arguments, develop ideas, and present them clearly
Assess the organisation, coherence and logical flow of ideas
Assessing Writing Skills

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– Creative Writing
Focus on creativity, language use, and structure
Assess narrative skills, vocabulary and the ability to engage reader

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– Reports and Research paper
Evaluate clarity, organization, argument structure, grammar, and Citation practices
Focus on formal writing styles, appropriate tone and coherence of ideas

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– Grammar and Synax:
Correctness of sentence structures, use of tenses, punctuation and subject-verb agreement
– Vocabulary Use:
Range and apropriateness of vocabulary used in contexts
Criteria for Assessment

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– Coherence and Cohesion:
How well ideas are logically organized and connected within paragraphs and across the text
– Spelling and punctuation:
Accuracy in spelling and puctuation affects readibility and clarity
Criteria for Assessment

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– Interviews (one-on-one)
Conducted between teacher and student
Tests fluency, coherence and the ability to respond appropriately
Example: Tell me about your favoutite book.
Why do you like it?
Assessing Speaking

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– Picture discription
– Role-plays
– Discussion
– Debates
Assessing Speaking

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– Fluency
– Pronunciation and Intonation
– Grammar and Accuracy
– Vocabulary Range
– Coherenc and Cohesion
Evaluation Criteria for Speaking

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– Subjectivity:
Teacher bias or inconsistency without a clear rubric
– Performance Anxiety:
Students may struggle to perform well in formal speaking tasks
– Limited time:
In large classrooms, it can be difficult to assess all students individually
Challenges in Assessing Speaking

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– Variety of Assessment types:
use a combination of tests, projects and activities
– Clear Rubrics:
Provide students with criteria for evaluation in advance
– Regular Feedback:
Help students to improve
– Encourage Reflection:
Have students reflect on their performance and areas for improvement
Best practices for effective Assessment

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English language proficiency
assessment is essential for academic
and personal growth.
A balanced approach combining various assessment methods helps accurately measure proficiency. Ongoing assessments, feedback, and reflection ensure continuous
improvement.
Conclusion

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THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION!
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