Two kinds of objective tests are discribed which are fairly easy to construct and which stress overall language ability and language predictability. Cloze tests involve filling in passages from which every nth word is missing; noise tests the interpretation of recordings on which noise is superimposed. (RM)

In any field of study, teaching and learning go hand in hand with testing. In foreign language teaching, the testing of skills development has become a specialized area requiring the combined efforts of linguists, psychologists, statisticians, and educators. Teachers must constantly ask: What kind of progress are my students making in this second…

Discusses diversity which has arisen in testing of productive skills at GCE O level. Criteria to apply in assessment of foreign language acquisition, and writing and speaking tests in particular, are discussed, as well as the weighting of writing and speaking at O level. (RM)

The persistent problems in foreign language testing are considered under four headings: (1) validity, (2) scope, (3) efficiency, and (4) the problem of how tests relate to the wider context of instruction. The first consists of insuring that the measurements and assessments obtained reflect what they are intended to reflect. The problem of scope…

Aural comprehension deserves more emphasis. Various test types are critically discussed. Suggestions are given for producing and applying one's own tests. An account is given of two examples in the author's experience. (Text is in German.) (IFS/WGA)

Tests which the foreign language competence of the learner are the chief focus of the discussion, and the following aspects of such tests are discussed: purpose level, type, selection, form, gradation, order, number of items, administration of test, correction, and validation. (FB)

Though speaking ability receives priority in FL teaching, grades are given with little attention to it. Tests in current use are examined; a new one is proposed. The individual test is preferred to group tests. Various aspects of the individual oral test are discussed. (Text is in German.) (IFS/WGA)

Some of the pitfalls in the construction of multiple choice tests are discussed and examples of invalid questions given. (RM)

This study inquired into the effect of testing on foreign language learning. The main question was: Do tests of communicative proficiency, when administered in lieu of currently prevailing discrete-point item tests, further the student's spontaneous communicative ability? Discussion of results indicates uses for both types of tests. (CHK)

Addresses modern language teachers, especially of French, on the notions of objectivity and subjectivity, and the problems of testing knowledge. Specific written and oral measures are discussed, and a glossary of testing terms is provided. (Text is in French.) (MSE)