Assessing Grammar

Aims for today

To look at concepts related to assessment

of grammar
To discuss the importance of assessing
grammar in the primary ESL classroom
To discuss methods of assessing
grammar

Definitions
Teaching Versus Testing
Assessment & Evaluation

Assessment
An important aspect of the T-L
process.
One of the underlying pedagogical
principles of the Standard-based
curriculum.
We will examine assessment from
the perspective of the classroom
teacher, focusing on practical
techniques.

Why do we assess?
Diagnosing students strengths &
weaknesses
Deciding what to teach & what not to
Checking students progress
Giving students feedback
Giving students a final grade
The reason(s) for assessing will help
decide the assessment technique &
how the results will be reported.

Assessment for Learning

Continuous assessment is an integral part of
learning which enables teachers to assess
whether pupils have acquired the learning
standards taught. Formative assessment is
conducted as on-going process, while
summative assessment is conducted at the
end of a particular unit or term. A range of
activities can be utilised in order to assess pupils
performance orally or in writing. The formative
and summative assessments will be used to
gauge pupils performance.
Dokumen Standard Kurikulum Sekolah Rendah

Formative versus Summative

Formative assessment takes place during
the course of teaching, and is intended to
improve learning outcomes. It is often
relatively informal.
Summative assessment occurs at the end of
the teaching process and is carried out in order
to judge what students have achieved during
the course. It often takes place through tests
that are formally designed and administered. It
may be carried out by external agencies.

Formative assessment
When used formatively teachers can:
be aware of students strengths and
weaknesses
Give students appropriate feedback
keep track of students progress,
Give a final grade
plan activities for further development.

What to assess
DOKUMEN STANDARD KURIKULUM
SEKOLAH RENDAH
5.1 Pupils will be able to use different
word
classes correctly and
appropriately.
5.1.1 Able to use nouns correctly and
appropriately:
(a) common nouns
(b) proper nouns
(c) singular nouns
(d) plural nouns

What to assess
SUKATAN PELAJARAN BAHASA
INGGERIS KBSR
5.2Pupils will be able to construct
various sentence types correctly.
5.1.2 Able to construct
declarative sentences correctly.
Assess what is taught.

How to assess grammar

Discrete-item/point tests
Assess individual grammar items.
AsssessGrammarSampleMtrls
\DiscretePoint.JPG
Integrative tests
Assess a range of skills and abilities
AsssessGrammarSampleMtrls
\Integrative.JPG

Mode of Assessment
The test must provide enough
context for children to produce the
correct grammatical responses
through speaking or writing.
Grammar can be assessed as part of
a test of writing or speaking.

Methods of Assessment
The methods for assessing grammar
competency should reflect the
different ways grammatical structures
are learnt and the teaching focus.
Any task / exercise that is used for
teaching can be used for assessment.
(But a set of assessment criteria and a
mechanism for giving feedback must
be attached to a testing task.)

Games
Designed to restrict the language
used
Usually these games are defined by
their focus on the accurate use of a
grammatical item / structure &
limited options for communication
Observation instrument required

Split Sentences
Write out some sentences, and then
cut each sentence in half. Hand out
these pieces to the students, and ask
them to find the matching half
(among the other students).
Assess students ability in combining
sentences & grammar knowledge on
all forms of the sentences

Examples

If you eat that

If you touch the cat
If you steal my
book
If you go out now
If you dont leave
If you dont book a
ticket

youll be sick
itll bite you
Ill never speak
to you again
youll get soaked
Ill call the police
youll be lucky to
get a seat

Sentences from Pictures

Hand out a sheet of pictures. Ask
students to come out with sentences
from the pictures. Or ask students
to tell a story.
Assess grammar knowledge on
sentence type or sentence pattern.

Growing Stories
Story-building activities
Assess students ability of making
sentences with different tenses.

Methods of Assessment
We can classify the methods into two types:
Traditional methods
Child-friendly methods
Whatever test-type is chosen, it is important
that students are familiar with it in advance.
A variety of assessment methods should be
used to get a more complete and more
reliable picture of childrens achievements.

Traditional Methods
Typically pencil and paper tests such as:
Filling in gaps in sentences
Answering multiple choice questions
Matching parts
Sentence completion
Favored by teachers because they:
are easy to set
are easy to correct
reduce language knowledge to quantifiable
results.

Drawbacks:
For younger children, these isolated
exercises do not show what children
know and can do with confidence.
Children are not yet good at writing
and these tests can be stressful and
tiring.
They may pose negative influence on
teaching.

Child-friendly methods

According to Pinter (2006) assessment

techniques should be compatible with
the activities used in the classroom.
This technique consists of:
tasks/activities focusing on a
grammar point, similar to the ones
used for teaching
Assessment tool / instrument
Assessment criteria

Why child-friendly methods

Non-intrusive, reduce stress
similar to the grammar activities in
the classroom
Varying interaction modes reflecting
classroom situation
Varying situations to test the use of
grammar in context

Assessment Criteria
Assessment instrument used must go
together with a set of assessment
criteria. With KSSR the criteria is
specified in the Dokumen Standard
Prestasi:
Bahasa Inggeris Tahun 3
Bahasa Inggeris Tahun 4
Bahasa Inggeris Tahun 5

Assessment Instrument
There is a range of alternative
assessment tools which can be used
together with or incorporated into the
T-L activities in the classroom:
Observation
Self/Peer assessment
Portfolio
Project

Observation
Systematic observation can be a tool to
assess childrens performance
The same sort of task is given to
children in class again & again before
teacher observes the performance.
A simple observation checklist is
needed as an assessment instrument
when observing children.
AsssessGrammarSampleMtrls
\Checklist.JPG

Self-assessment
An integral part of a learner-centered
approach where children think about their
own performances and achievements.
Works best with certain well known tasks
and situations.
In the same sort of task, the same sort of
criteria can be used as this gives children
confidence and a sense of safety.
For younger children, teacher can start with
something simple and build it up later.

A simple self-assessment tool:

Rate yourself on
this scale
I know about common
nouns
I know about proper
nouns
I can use singular
nouns
I can use plural nouns
I can talk about my
family (using
declarative sentences)

Very
good
****

Good
**

Try
again
*

Portfolio
A collection of a students work and
evidence of achievement over a period of
time.
Children can select their best work to go into
the portfolio, with the help of the teacher.
Teacher and students work out criteria for
selection.
Childrens ability to select their best work is
linked to their ability to reflect about their
learning and develop ownership of the
learning process.

Summary
A combination of various methods of
assessment will give a more reliable picture
of students performance.
Assessment instrument can include a
variety of tasks, which can be done
individually or collaboratively in small
groups.
Assessment does not have to be stressful &
competitive
Assessment should foster learning, positive
self-image & self-esteem.

Tutorial
Design and explain how you will use (i) a
pencil and paper test and (ii) a child-friendly
assessment instrument in the classroom to
assess Year 3 - 5 students knowledge on one
of the following grammar points:
a. prepositions of time: at, in, on
b. the articles a and an
c. to ask for information using wh-question
words
d. the word order of a yes-no question form.
e. the comparative adjective.

REFERENCE
Moon, J. (2005). Children Learning
English.
Oxford: Macmillan
Pinter, A. (2006). Teaching Young
Language Leaners. Oxford: OUP
Thornbury, S. (2008). How to Teach
Grammar. Essex: Pearson