PLANNING AND PREPARING A LESSON OR SEQUENCE OF LESSONS.
Assessment noun, assess verb
To discover, judge, test or form an opinion on learners’ ability, proficiency or progress either formally or informally.
Continuous assessment
A type of testing which is different from a final examination. Some or all of the work that learners do during a course is considered by the teacher on a regular basis and contributes to the final grade given to learners. It may also include regular monitoring of classroom performance and contribution.
Diagnostic assessment
A type of testing aimed at identifying – diagnosing – aspects of language and skills where learners have weaknesses (or strengths) which subsequently informs the teachers’ future lesson planning. See teacher roles.
Formal assessment
When a teacher judges learners’ work through a test and then gives a formal report or grade to learners, to say how successful or unsuccessful they have been.
Formative assessment
When a teacher uses information on learners’ progress during a course to adapt their teaching and/or to give learners feedback on their learning.
Informal assessment
When a teacher decides whether a learner is doing well or not, or whether a course is successful or not, by observing learners rather than setting a test or writing an official report or giving a grade.
Peer assessment
When learners give feedback on each other’s language, work, learning strategies, performance.
Performance assessment
Typically this involves observation of classroom performance to assess how well learners express themselves during specific tasks by checking performance against criteria. Teachers can evaluate if learners achieved the purpose of the task.
Portfolio assessment
This is a type of formative assessment and also continuous assessment. It consists of a collection of learners’ work done over a course or a year which shows evidence of development of their language skills.
Self-assessment
When learners decide for themselves how good they think their progress or language use is.
Summative assessment
A type of assessment done at the end of a course where the focus is on learners receiving a grade for their work rather than receiving feedback on their progress.
Assessment chart/Assessment profile
A chart designed by the teacher and used for diagnostic purposes. The chart includes learners’ names and assessment criteria. The teacher uses it to monitor and record comments on learners’ progress and achievement in English. The comments are based on observation of learners working during class time, and/or on samples of written work done for homework.
Assessment criteria
The qualities against which a learner’s performance is judged for assessment. For example, assessment criteria for judging learners’ writing may be: accuracy of grammar, use of vocabulary, spelling and punctuation, organisation of ideas.
Multiple-choice questions
A task-type in which learners are given a question and three or four possible answers or options. They choose the correct answer from the options they are given.
Gap-fill
An activity in which learners fill in spaces or gaps in sentences or texts. This is often used for restricted practice or for focusing on a specific language point. This is different from a cloze test which can focus on reading ability or general language use. See cloze test.
True/false questions
A task-type in which learners read or listen to a text and decide whether statements are correct (true) or not correct (false).
Matching task
A task-type in which learners are asked to pair related things together, e.g. match two halves of a sentence, or a word with a picture.
Cloze test
A task-type in which learners read a text with missing words and try to work out what the missing words are. The missing words are removed regularly from the text, e.g. every seventh word. A cloze test is used for testing reading ability or general language use. It is different from a gap-fill activity, which can focus on practising or testing a specific language point. See gap-fill.
Information-gap activity
A classroom activity in which learners work in pairs or groups. Learners are given a task, but they are given different information and, to complete the task, they have to find out the missing information from each other.
Information transfer
An activity in which learners move information from one source to another, e.g. reading an explanation then completing a diagram with key words from the explanation.
Correction
Echo correction –
When learners make a mistake, the teacher repeats the mistake with rising intonation encouraging learners to correct themselves, e.g.
Learner: Teacher: Learner:
He don’t like it. Don’t?
He doesn’t like it.
Finger correction –
A way of drawing attention to where a learner has made a mistake. The teacher counts out the words a learner has said on her fingers. The fingers represent words and the teacher can show clearly in which word (finger) the mistake was made. A teacher may use her fingers to show that a mistake has been made with word or sentence stress, word order, grammar, pronunciation of sounds etc.
Self-correction –
When learners correct language mistakes they have made, perhaps with some help from the teacher.
Error
A mistake that a learner makes when trying to say something above their level of language or language processing.A developmental error is an error made by a second language learner which could also be made by a young person learning their mother tongue as part of their normal development, e.g. I goed there last week (I went there last week).A fossilised error is an error that has become a permanent feature of a learner’s language, the error has become a habit. Fossilised errors cannot easily be corrected.When a learner makes a slip they make a language mistake but they are able to correct themselves.
Correction code
A series of symbols a teacher may use to mark learners’ writing so that they can correct mistakes by themselves, e.g. P = punctuation mistake, T = tense mistake.
Feedback noun + verb, give, provide feedback.
Evaluation noun, evaluate verb
To assess or judge the quality, importance or effectiveness of something. Teachers may evaluate learners’ progress or strengths and weaknesses.
To tell someone how well they are doing. Teachers might give learners feedback at a certain point in the course, or after an exercise that learners have just completed. In addition, learners can give feedback to teachers and teacher trainers give feedback to trainee teachers.
To communicate to a speaker that you understand (or not) what they are saying.
Peer feedback
Feedback given to a learner by another learner in the class.