Task # 14 -- Communicative Approach2

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Date Posted: 14:20:22 08/07/03 Thu
Author: Maria Juliana de Souza
Subject: Task # 14

14th Task:
Testing: Read the text below and say how we can test communicative competence.
Testing Communicative competence: http://iteslj.org/Articles/Kitao-Testing.html

Testing languages has traditionally taken the form of testing knowledge of the language, usually the testing of knowledge of vocabulary and grammar. However, there is much more to being able to use language than knowledge about it. In communicative competence, testing shall include the ability to form correct sentences and use them in appropriate times. The basic idea of communicative competence remains the ability to use language appropriately, both receptively and productively, in real situations.
Communicative language tests are intended to measure of how the testees are able to use language in real life situations. In testing productive skills, emphasis is placed on appropriateness rather than on ability to form grammatically correct sentences. In testing receptive skills, emphasis is placed on understanding the communicative intent of the speaker or writer rather than on picking out specific details. In fact, both are often combined in communicative testing, so that the testees must comprehend and respond in real time.
Tests intended to test communicative language are judged on the extent to which they simulate real life communicative situations rather than on how reliable the results are. There is necessarily a subjective element to the evaluation of communicative tests. Real life situations don�t always have objectively right or wrong answers, and so band scales need to be developed to evaluate the results.
To conclude, we can say that it is not always possible to make language tests communicative, but it may often be possible to give them communicative elements. If students are encouraged to study for more communicative tasks, this can only have a positive effect on their language learning.

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