1 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES LÊ THỊ HƯƠNG THẢO A SUGGESTION ON DESIGNING A FINAL ACHIEVEMENT TEST FOR GENERAL ENGLISH 2 TO NON-ENGLISH MAJORS AT HANOI UNIVERSITY OF INDUSTRY (MỘT ĐỀ XUẤT THIẾT KẾ ĐỀ THI HẾT HỌC PHẦN TIẾNG ANH CẤP ĐỘ 2 CHO SINH VIÊN HỆ KHÔNG CHUYÊN TẠI TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC CÔNG NGHIỆP HÀ NỘI) M.A THESIS Training course: MA. in TEFL No 1 Code: 60.10 HA NOI, 2010 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com 5 TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATIONS ………………………………………………. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS …………….……………… vi LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES. vii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS.
viii PART A: INTRODUCTION ……………………………………. AIMS OF THE STUDY ……………………………………………………… 3 3. SCOPE OF THE STUDY …………………………………. THE RESEARCH QUESTIONS …………………………………………….
DESIGN OF THE STUDY …………………………………………………. 6 CHAPTER I: LITERATURE REVIEW ……………………………………… 6 I. BASIC CONCEPTS OF TEST AND TESTING …………………… 6 I. TYPES OF TEST AND TESTING ………………………………….
Direct versus Indirect testing ……………………………… 9 I. Discrete point versus Integrative testing ……………. Norm-referenced versus criterion referenced testing ……. Objectives testing versus Subjective testing ……………….
10 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail. Communicative Language Testing ………………………. CHARACTERISTICS OF A USEFUL TEST ……………………… 11 I. Receptive test items ………………………….
Productive test items ……. 16 CHAPTER II: METHODOLOGY ………………………………………………… 17 II. DATA COLLECTION INSTRUMENTS …………………. SUBJECTS OF THE STUDY ……………………………….
General view of the population ………………………. The representative of the population involve in the study …. DATA COLLECTION PROCUDURES …………………………. 21 CHAPTER III: DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION ……………………….
Current final achievement test for GE2…………. Proposed final achievement test for GE2 ………………. MAJOR FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION ………………………… 30 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail. 33 CHAPTER IV: THE PROPOSED FINAL ACHIEVEMENT TEST FOR GE 2 TO 34 NON-ENGLISH MAJORS AT HAUI IV.
OBJECTIVES OF THE TEST ……………………………………. THE DETAILED CONSTRUCTION OF THE TEST …………. THE SAMPLE TEST FOR GE2 …………………………………. Administration of the sample test ………………………….
Marking and Test Result analysis …………………………. 36 PART C: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS ………………… 37 1. 39 APPENDICES LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com 8 LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES FIGURES Figure 1: Usefulness …………………………………………………………………. 11 Figure 2: Role of English result to students‟ learning ……………………………….
24 Figure 3: Students‟ attitude towards the existing final achievement test for GE2 …. 25 Figure 4: Students‟ complete percentage of the existing test ………………………. 25 Figure 5: Students‟ attitude towards time allowance ………………………………. 26 Figure 6: Teachers‟ opinion about time allowance ………………………………….
29 TABLES Table 1: Teachers‟ attitude towards the Current final achievement test for GE2 …. 23 Table 2: Students‟ difficulties in doing the test ……………………………………… 26 Table 3: Teachers‟ favorite types of test items ……………………………………… 28 Table 4: Teachers‟ opinion about the test maker ……………………………………. 28 Table 5: Students‟ favorite language skills …………………………………………. 29 Table 6: Students‟ favorite types of test items ………………………………….
30 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com 9 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS GE : General English ESP: English for Specific Purposes MA: Master of Art TLU: Target Language Use HaUI : Hanoi University of Industry ULIS: University of Languages and International Studies LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com 10 PART A: INTRODUCTION 1. RATIONALES English is the language of international communication; it is spoken in many parts of the world. In Vietnam, especially since the time of the application of the open-door policy, English has been widely used in many fields and it has become a compulsory subject at many schools and universities. Hanoi University of Industry (HaUI) was officially established in December 2005 on the basis of Hanoi Industrial College, one of the leading vocational colleges in Vietnam where thousands of skilled workers and engineers are trained every year.
HaUI is a big university which is in the process of developing to reach the aim of being one of the great universities of Southeast Asia. In Vietnam, English is considered an international language. It is a compulsory subject in schools of all levels as well as universities and colleges. Have awareness of the importance of English, the university authorities have paid due attention to the matter of improving the quality of teaching and learning English.
The ultimate aims are to enhance the training quality and increase the standard of graduate students with good job opportunities. Once program objectives have been establishes, testing is, or should be a natural next step in the process of curriculum design and assert it important role in language teaching. As Nga (1997) indicates that “tests are assumed to be powerful determiners of what happens in classrooms and it is commonly claimed that they affect teaching and learning activities both directly and indirectly". Over the years, four different categories of tests have traditionally been discussed in language testing books (for instance, Alderson, Krahnke, & Stansfield 1987): proficiency, placement, diagnosis, and achievement.
These four categories are probably emphasized because they fit neatly with four of the fundamental types of decisions that must be made in language programs. In this study, the author focuses on the achievement category for the following reasons: LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com 11 The achievement test helps teachers to have some idea of the amount of language that each students attain in a given period of time with very specific reference to a particular program. The result of the final achievement test has decisive role in the result of the subject in each semester; therefore, it must be designed directly linked to the program and objectives. The information gained in an achievement test can also be put to good use in reexamining the need analysis, in selecting or creating materials and teaching strategies, and in evaluating program effectiveness.
The development of systematic achievement tests is crucial to the evolution of a systematic curriculum From the reasons above, an achievement test assures its important role in evaluation of an English course. However, the English testing for General English 2 to non-English major at Hanoi University of Industry (HaUI) has the following characteristics: It has not been given adequate attention to and carefully studied. Test content is sometimes found to be unrelated to the objectives of the course and very often many test items included in some tests have not been covered in class. It has been complained that there is still a gap between what is taught and what is tested.
An instant for this would be the case when tests designed for pre-intermediate level are given to students of elementary. In fact, such tests are not valid and reliable. They are so difficult that only few students can accomplish. Using tests exclusively for grading, there is no feedback about the tests Next, it is the problem of reusing again and again tests from years to years, from class to class, hence these tests may lack validity and reliability.
Students may know the right answers from those who have taken the same test before. Finally, the last testing problem at HaUI is that some of the tests may lack reliability because they are not pre-tested anywhere else for the sack of confidentiality. Ironically, for the sack of “confidentiality” test designers are often informed to write test at short LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com 12 notice, just some time before it is administered. In such circumstances who can say for sure that the required standards, criteria will be met by the test writers.
On the ground of the problems already mentioned, it is thought that another achievement test for the GE2 at HaUI should be designed to assure the accuracy and justice for all students so that they can produce good backwash in the teachers‟ teaching and give students satisfaction and encouragement in study. Therefore, the author choose the thesis “A suggestion on designing a final achievement test for General English 2 to non-English majors at Hanoi University of Industry” with a hope to contribute a small part in improving the quality of testing and assessment of General English 2 at Hanoi University of Industry. AIMS OF THE STUDY The study aims to report a research, which examines the current testing situations and language tests at HaUI. It puts high emphasis on analyzing the HaUI teachers‟ comments and perceptions of the present English test for pre-intermediate students and their suggestion towards its improving.
The study also focuses on proposing an Achievement English Test Construction for the pre-intermediate level at HaUI and a Sample Test, as an illustration, will be designed basing on the proposed construction. In addition, some practical suggestions for the improvement of testing situations at HaUI will be recommended. The specific aims of this study are: To investigate the HaUI teachers‟ assessment of the main shortcoming of the existing achievement tests for pre-intermediate students, concerning its contents, time allowance and its format. To investigate the HaUI teachers‟ suggestions towards improving testing situations and language tests at HaUI To propose an Achievement English Test construction for pre-intermediate students at HaUI and a sample test as an example will be designed, basing on the proposed test construction.
To offer some practical suggestions for the improvement of testing at HaUI. SCOPE OF THE STUDY LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com 13 The study focuses on analyzing the existing testing situations at Hanoi University of Industry, especially the present achievement tests for the first semester students. The design of the Final Achievement Test for pre-intermediate students at HaUI is another great emphasis of the study. METHODOLOGY To achieve the above aims, a study has been carried out with data collected from different sources: - A survey questionnaire carried out on 25 teachers of the English Department, HaUI to investigate their comments of the existing achievement tests for the pre-intermediate students and their opinions about the designing of a Sample Test.
- A survey questionnaire carried out on 125 students in eight different departments at HaUI to investigate their viewpoints on the existing achievement tests for the pre- intermediate students and their opinions about the designing of a Sample Test - The Sample Test will be administered in eight different classes in eight different departments with 70 pre-intermediate students of HaUI. The results of the Sample Test will be analyzed statistically in details. Besides, the survey and the sample test, more information or data needed for the study has been gathered by other methods such as formal and informal discussions with students and teachers as well as classroom test observation and critical reading. Moreover, the study employs a combination of qualitative and quantitative methodology that includes cross- tabulation data and statistical analysis of the survey questionnaire‟s results.
THE RESEARCH QUESTIONS In order to achieve the above aims of the study, the following questions will be addressed: 1) What are the attitudes of teachers and students towards the current final achievement test to GE2 at HaUI? 2) Is there a significant difference between the results of the current final achievement test and that of the proposed final achievement tests? LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail. DESIGN OF THE STUDY This part has introduced rationales, aims, scope, methodologies and research questions Chapter one deals with theoretical back ground concerning the features of testing in general, types of tests and testing and characteristic of a useful test. Chapter two tells about the plan and describes the activities necessary for the completion of the study. Chapter three indicates the analysis of the data, major findings and discussion.
Chapter four proposed a sample test and analysis of the result of the sample test. The conclusion presents the review of the study, recommendations for further study LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com 15 PART B: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER I: LITERATURE REVIEW I. BASIC CONCEPTS OF TEST AND TESTING Testing is a universal feature of social life.