Microsoft Word language assessment theory with practice

(2) A chain question-answer session 
a) Write three questions related to the formative assessment of 
speaking and writing that are able to answer after reading this 
chapter.
b) Choose a classmate and ask him/her one of your questions. If you 
are satisfied with the answer, now it is that classmate’s term to ask 
a third classmate a question. The chain continues until all of the 
questions are shared and discussed in class. 
(3) Paraphrasing
Paraphrasing is an important skill that we frequently use in spoken and 
written interactions. Mastering this skill is not easy in our mother 
tongues and even more complicated when attempted in a foreign 
language. However, it is a skill that foreign language students should 
learn and will benefit from using. Paraphrasing training can start with 
beginner level students and should continue with progress across the 
proficiency levels.

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Language Assessment - Theory with Practice
204 
 
Practice corner (2) 
Form groups of 4-5 students and work on the following mini-
project:
a) Target learner group 
Describe in detail the context and the characteristics of the 
language learner group whose paraphrasing skills you are going to 
assess (e.g., age, gender, level of proficiency, why they are 
learning English, what kind of school they attend, what kind of 
equipment is available in the teaching context etc.).
b) Select the material to be paraphrased 
=Depending on the level of proficiency of the assessed students, 
they can be asked to paraphrase a sentence or a paragraph. 
=Following the objectives of the course, students can be asked to 
focus more on vocabulary or grammar or both. 
=The selected material should be similar but not identical to the 
one examined in class. 
(iii) Formative assessment task(s) 
=Research the relevant literature, and considering the age and 
level of proficiency of your students as well as the objectives of 
the unit, find the most appropriate classroom formative assessment 
tasks for the group. 
=Present in detail the topic, aims, and procedures to be followed 
before, during and after the assessment task. 
(iv) Rubrics 
Create formative assessment rubrics that will help you objectively 
assess your students’ performance.
Some criteria could be similar in meaning between the original 
and reported text, correctness of grammatical structures, 
appropriateness of vocabulary, discourse.

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