The ways of using traditional tests and alternative forms of assessment of foreign language communication skills

Abstract

One of the most challenging tasks for language instructors is finding effective ways to determine what and how much their students are actually learning. Instructors need to think carefully about what kinds of knowledge their tests allow students to demonstrate. This article provides guidance on ways of using traditional tests and alternative forms of assessment. Traditional pencil-and-paper tests ask students to read or listen to a selection and then answer questions about it, or to choose or produce a correct grammatical form or vocabulary item. Such tests can be helpful as measures of students' knowledge of language forms and their listening and reading comprehension ability.