--- Forwarded Message from "Waid, Alexander Ph.D." <[log in to unmask]> ---
>Disposition-Notification-To: "Waid, Alexander Ph.D." <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: RE: #7845Evaluating a Second Language acquisition
>Date: Wed, 16 Mar 2005 11:49:18 -0500
>Thread-Topic: #7845Evaluating a Second Language acquisition
>Thread-Index: AcUqKjEuKsWGhb66Rbu7XZhSEWE3rgAGy2Vw
>From: "Waid, Alexander Ph.D." <[log in to unmask]>
>To: "Language Learning and Technology International Information Forum"
<[log in to unmask]>
Hola Emma,
I use a wide variety of assessments with my students. I'll put some of them
down in bullet fashion here:
-low/no stakes writing: free-writing journals for which they get credit for mere
completion (no grade: they are done, or they are not)
-skill-specific homeworks, credit for completion AND self-correction (they buy
the answer keys for their text and THEY correct the HW before class)
-skill-specific quizzes: these are, at least in part, grammar-driven. Can they
finish a parragraph with the right form of the verbs? Can they choose correctly
between por and para?... (5-10 minutes in class)
-quizzes of a more integrative nature: these are a little longer and ask them
to communicate using particular structures: "tell me what you do on a typical
Saturday", might be part of one of these quizzes. Grammar is about 1/2 the
grade and communication is the other 1/2 (15-20 minutes)
-tests: much more communicatively driven (can you explain what a particular
word means? can you explain (in Spanish) the difference between two or three
similar words? Can you write more extended narrations in a particular
time-frame?)
-oral interviews: I use the ACTFL guidelines and start at, roughly,
intermediate mid for the B range and stick to grammar/vocab that we've covered.
I've made a SOPI-type set of questions available online for them based on the
grammar and vocab for our book _!Arriba!_ and broke them down by chapter. They
have access to these in .mp3 format and the .doc scripts in case they can't
follow the recording 24/7. They use these to prep/practice for the interviews
and also for quizzes/tests because these always have at least one oral section,
often more.
-pronunciation recordings: graded on pronunciation/intonation (very, very small
part of the overall grade: two of them combine for 5% of the overall grade)
-Presentations: they prepare a cultural presentation on a topic of their
choosing (or from alist I give out). The grade is mostly on communication, but
also cultural relevancy and grammar/pronunciation/breadth of vocab, presence
before the class...
-Compositions (one in-class, one out of class): communication and grammar factor
in. Although, as with the oral interviews, I don't give a grade lower than a C
if there were no communication breakdowns (no matter how poor the grammar).
There's more, but that's a lot to swallow in one bite. Hope it's handy! You'll
want to talk to others in your dept. about materials they've generated: no sense
rebuilding the wheel, especially when the guy/gal next door has built 354 of
them over the last three years!
cheers,
alex
Alexander Waid, Ph.D.
Professor of Spanish
Department of Humanities
United States Coast Guard Academy (dh)
Department of Humanities
27 Mohegan Avenue
New London, CT 06320-4195
860-701-6866
-----Original Message-----
From: Language Learning and Technology International Information Forum
[mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of LLTI-Editor
Sent: Wednesday, March 16, 2005 8:15 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: #7845Evaluating a Second Language acquisition
--- Forwarded Message from "Emma Fernandez" <[log in to unmask]> ---
>Reply-To: [log in to unmask]
>Date: Tue, 15 Mar 2005 09:15:12 -0600
>From: "Emma Fernandez" <[log in to unmask]>
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Evaluating a Second Language acquisition
For first time in my life I am teaching Spanish as a Second
Language at the Southern Illinois University. My students are
beginners although some of them already studied Spanish at High
School. My question is about how to evaluate them. Although I
consider grammar important, I consider more important the fact
that they are able to understand and to communicate in another
language no matter if they commit grammar mistakes. Could anyone
on LLTI list help me with any orientation or suggestions in this
sense?, am I right in evaluating other factors apart from
grammar?
Emma Fern$E1ndez
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