Language Assessment: Principles and Classroom Practices - Softcover

Brown, H. Douglas; Abeywickrama, Priyanvada

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0138149313 ISBN 13: 9780138149314

Publisher: Pearson Education, 2010

Synopsis

 

Language Assessment: Principles and Classroom Practices, offers a clear, comprehensive survey of the essential principles of assessing second language learning, as well as the critical tools teachers need to evaluate performance fairly and effectively.  This invaluable resource joins Brown's classic texts, Principles of Language Learning and Teaching and Teaching by Principles, in providing indispensible guidance for second language instruction.

Language Assessment provides a working knowledge of the principles of assessment and their practical application in the classroom. This concise, comprehensive treatment of all four skills includes classification of assessment techniques ranging from controlled to open-ended item types, while a discussion of standardized tests examines their design, purpose, validity and utility.

Additional key features:

• Clearly framed fundamental principles for evaluating and designing assessment procedures
• A focus on classroom-based assessment at all levels of proficiency
• A thorough examination of standards-based assessment and standardized testing
• A wealth of practical examples to illustrate principles and guidelines
• An exploration of the ethics of testing in an educational and commercial world
• Comprehensive treatment of alternatives in assessment
• A chapter devoted to guidelines and practical suggestions for assigning grades
• End-of-chapter exercises and suggested additional readings

About this title

About the Author

Dr. H. Douglas Brown, a professor in the MA-TESOL program at San Francisco State University, has written many articles, teacher training books, and textbooks on language pedagogy. A past president of TESOL and recipient of the James A. Alatis Award for Distinguished Service, Dr. Brown has lectured to English language teaching audiences around the world.

From the Back Cover

Language Assessment provides teachers with a clear presentation of the essentials for assessing second language learning fairly and effectively. This updated second edition includes new research and information on standardized tests, a new chapter on form-focused assessment, and a concise glossary of terms.

 

With a focus on the most common pedagogical challenge – classroom-based assessment – Language Assessment delivers useful tools for evaluating and designing practical, effective assessment techniques.

 

Features:

• Updated references and new information reflecting recent advances and current challenges in the field.
• Classification of assessment techniques ranging from controlled to open-ended item types on a specified continuum of micro- and macroskills of language.
• Systematic treatment of assessment for all four language skills (reading, writing, speaking, and listening) as well as grammar and vocabulary.
• Discussion of large-scale standardized tests, the ethics of testing, letter grading, and overall evaluation of student performance.
• Comprehensive presentation of alternatives in assessment, such as portfolios, journals, conferences, observations, interviews, and self- or peer-assessment.

 New Features

• Chapter objectives that preview content and goals
• A new chapter on form-focused assessment
• An appendix of commercially available tests
• A concise glossary of assessment terms

Edition details

• Publisher: Pearson Education
• Publication date: 2010
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0138149313
• ISBN 13: 9780138149314
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 400