Language teaching and language testing:synergies and tensions
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| Year of publication | 2016 |
| Type | Appeared in Conference without Proceedings |
| Citation | |
| Description | Probably in connection with the publication and wide use (or abuse?) of the CEFR, a growing tendency to use tests as tools for measuring quality – of teaching, teachers, schools, students, methods, etc, can be observed. On the one hand, standardized test can provide valuable information – if they are designed, developed, used, analysed and interpreted in a proper way and if the social consequences of the test results are beneficial. But what is known about these tests and about the philosophy (if any) behind them: its purpose, construct, interpretation, consequences…? On the other hand, there is a criticism asserting that testing (especially standardized testing) is an expensive nonsense, that each student should be assessed individually, alternative forms of assessment should be preferred, etc. But are we able to do it properly? And is the individualized assessment the right information we need? Where is the information about the quality of Education in general? In this paper, the nature of language teaching and language testing (both classroom and standardized) and their theoretical and practical interconnectedness will be discussed. The purpose(s) of teaching and testing will be analysed in order to show how close they are in terms of their objectives and methods. Assessment literacy will be presented as one of the key tools a) to understand the current tensions between teaching and testing and b) to show why and how a synergic co-existence of both could be useful. The paper will try to enlighten a) why teaching and testing should be considered as complementary and mutually beneficial, b) how testing could help teachers to make more valid and fair decisions about their teaching processes and learning outcomes, and c) how an informed use of quality tests could provide us with useful information about the educational system in general. |