Eureka, Michigan TESOL Online & Teaching English Jobs

In this unit we have looked at different ways of evaluating students' levels and progress, as well as some of the common external exams that teachers need to prepare students for. There are a number of ways to assess a student's language level, the are tutorials, evaluation by the students and tests. It is often appropriate to give tests at different stages in a course; at the start students may be given a placement test to assist the formation of groups of students at the same level, or a diagnostic test which is designed to tell you and the students what they do and don't know at the beginning of a course. Teachers often give a periodic progress test on the work covered. This can be in the form of a formal written test, or a more informal group activity, even a game – as long as it gives information to both you and the student as to how they are progressing. These tests may be every week, month, term, or after a certain amount of the course book has been covered. Often this decision will be dictated by the school, if not, teachers have to decide. Many teachers prefer to give regular but short tests and then a longer, formal test every term. If the students are following a course leading to an external examination, they are usually eager to do practice tests to get some idea of how close they are to the required standard, and also to get used to the structure of the examination. Another test that students might take is an achievement test, which is usually an internal test given at the end of a course. Other options include external examinations, offered by organisations such as Cambridge Assessment, and proficiency tests. I like an English language skills placement test in this unit and I am going to use it during my first lessons.