Challenges and New Directions in Teaching Grammatical Ability

Challenges and New Directions in Teaching Grammatical Ability

1. Lesson 8: Challenges and
New Directions in Teaching
Grammatical Ability
Presented by: Group 3

2. Table of Contents
Introduction
Learning-Oriented
Assessment of Grammar
01
Challenge #1
Defining Grammatical
Ability
02
Challenge #2
Scoring Grammatical
Ability
03
Challenge #3
Assessing Meanings
04
05
Challenge #4
Reconsidering Grammar-
Test Tasks
06
Challenge #5
Assessing the Development
of Grammatical Ability

3. Introduction
01

4. It is an approach that focuses on using
assessment to improve learning, rather than
simply measuring achievement. It emphasizes the
use of both formal and informal assessment
techniques to provide teachers and learners with
information about progress, identify areas for
improvement, and inform instructional decisions.
What is Learning-Oriented Assessment of
Grammar?

5. Real-world application of knowledge and skills where
students engages in tasks that are meaningful and
relevant to their lives or future careers. Wiggins, G.
P. (1998)
3 TYPES OF ASSESSMENT
Authentic Assessment
Alternative Assessment
It refers to any method of evaluating student learning
that differs from traditional, standardized tests. It
emphasizes a variety of ways for students to
demonstrate their knowledge and skills, often through
performance-based tasks or projects. Brown, H. D. (2004)

6. Students demonstrates their learning by completing
a task or creating a product, rather than simply
recalling information. It focuses on evaluating the
process of completing the task as well as the
product created. Popham, W. J. (2018)
3 TYPES OF ASSESSMENT
Performance Assessment

7. Performance Assessment
Bachman (2002) characterized language performance
assessment as typically:
(1) involving more complex constructs than those
measured in selected response tasks.

(2) utilizing more complex and authentic tasks and;
(3) fostering greater interactions between the
characteristics of the test-takers and the
characteristics of the assessment task than in other
types of assessments.

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9. Challenges and New
Directions in Teaching
Grammatical Ability

10. Challenge 1
Defining Grammatical Ability

11. It's difficult to define grammatical ability because it goes
beyond simply understanding language rules. It also
involves having the capacity to communicate effectively using
those rules.
Despite a strong focus on meaning in communicative
language teaching and learning, none of the models of
language competency have defined or described the role of
meaning or its relationship to linguistic form, making it
difficult to determine its function.
The challenge is that it's difficult to define "good grammar
use" exactly. Saying grammatically right sentences is only one
aspect of it.

12. Consider the following sentences:
Sentence 1: I am not going anywhere.
Sentence 2: I’m not going nowhere.
Sentence 3: My computer is very hungry.
Sentence 1 is perfectly correct. Sentence 2 is
grammatically incorrect. However, what about the
third sentence? It is meaningless even though it
complies with grammar standards. This demonstrates
that grammar encompasses more than simply
structure; it also involves meaning.

13. The challenge then arises: How can we assess a
person's grammar ability when it is related to
meaning? Simply counting the number of correct
phrases they produce is not good enough. We also
need to think about whether or not what they're
saying is acceptable for the context and if it makes
sense.

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15. Challenge 2
Scoring Grammatical Ability

16. Scoring Grammatical Ability [How to Measure It]
Scoring the grammatical ability of learners
can be a little tricky as sometimes, some
wrong answers may reflect partial
development either in form or meaning.
Therefore, language educators need to
adapt their scoring procedures to reflect
the two dimensions of grammatical
knowledge (form and meaning).

17. Example:
"Yesterday, she go to the library to study."
Scoring Consideration: The sentence
conveys meaning, but errors in grammar
affect accuracy. A partial score may be
given.

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19. Challenge 3
Assessing Meanings

20. The third challenge revolves around 'meaning' and
how 'meaning' in a model of communicative language
ability can be defined and assessed.
Communicative language ability and use must not be
limited to dictionaries and grammar only.
Why 'Assessing Meanings' is considered as a challenge?

21. Examples of challenges in assessing meaning
1. Interpreting a sarcastic comment.
2. Understanding jargon in a specialized field.
3. Evaluating the meaning of a poem.

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23. Challenge 4
Reconsidering Grammar-Test Tasks

24. Why 'Reconsidering of Grammar Test-Task' is considered as a
challenge?
The fourth challenge relates to the design of test tasks
that are capable of both measuring grammatical ability
and providing authentic and engaging measures of
grammatical performance.
Reconsidering a grammar test-task is challenging
because language is complex, and different people use
it in different ways. A test that works well for one group
of learners might not be fair or useful for another.

25. Reconsidering of Grammar Test-Task
Imagine a school creating a grammar test for students
learning English. The test includes a question like:
Choose the correct sentence:
A) She go to school.
B) She goes to school.
For students who have been taught standard grammar
rules, this question is straightforward.
Example:

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27. Challenge 5
Assessing the Development of
Grammatical Ability

28. The fifth challenge revolves around the argument,
made by some researchers, that grammatical
assessments should be constructed, scored and
interpreted with developmental proficiency levels
in mind.
Imagine two students taking the same grammar test:
Student A is a beginner in English, just starting to
learn basic sentence structure and simple tenses.
Student B is an advanced learner, who can use
complex sentences, advanced tenses, and idiomatic
expressions.

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30. Lesson 9: Approaches and
Methods in Teaching
Grammar
Presented by: Group 3

31. Table of Contents
Introduction
Approaches to Language
Testing
01
02 Approach
The Essay-Translation Approach
The Structuralist Approach
The Integrative Approach
The Communicative Approach
03
Test Techniques
Direct vs. Indirect Testing
Norm-Referenced vs. Criterion
Referenced Testing
Discrete Point vs. Integrative Testing
Objective vs. Subjective Testing
Lesson 9: Approaches and Methods in Teaching Grammar

32. INTRODUCTION
Language tests can be categorized according to four main approaches to testing. They are
The essay-translation approach, The structuralist approach, The integrative approach
and The communicative approach.
Approaches to Language Testing
Language testing is essential in assessing learners’ proficiency, progress, and overall
competence in a language. Various approaches have been developed to evaluate different
aspects of language ability, ranging from discrete-point tests that assess specific skills to
communicative and performance-based assessments that measure real-world language
use. The choice of testing approach depends on factors such as learning objectives,
test reliability, practicality, and the need for authentic language assessment.
Understanding these approaches helps educators select the most appropriate method for
evaluating students effectively

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34. Lesson 9: Approaches and Methods in Teaching Grammar
1. The Essay-Translation
Approach

35. The Characteristics and Types of Tests
This approach is commonly referred to as the pre-scientific
stage of language testing.
No special skill or expertise in testing is required.
Tests usually consist of essay writing, translation, and
grammatical analysis.
Tests have a heavy literary and cultural bias.
Public examinations resulting from the tests using this
approach sometimes have an oral component at the
upper intermediate and advance levels.

36. Strengths and Weaknesses of Essay-Translation Approach
Strengths Weaknesses
This approach is easy to
follow because teachers will
simply use their subjective
judgement.
The essay-translation
approach may be used for
testing any level of
examinees.
The model of tester can
easily be modified based on
the essentials of the tests.
Subjective judgment of
teachers tends to be biased.
As mentioned, the tests have a
heavy literary and cultural
bias.

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38. 2. The Structuralist
Approach
Lesson 9: Approaches and Methods in Teaching Grammar

39. The Characteristics and Types of Tests
This approach views that language learning is chiefly
concerned with a systematic acquisition of a set of habits.
The structuralist approach involves structural linguistics
which stresses the importance of constructive analysis and
the need to identify and measure the learners’ mastery of
the separate elements of the target language such as
phonology, vocabulary and grammar.
Concerned primarily with meaning and involves functional
language

40. The Characteristics and Types of Tests
Testing the skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing
is separate from another as much as possible.

41. Strengths and Weaknesses of Integrative Approach
In testing students’ capability,
this approach may objectively
and surely be used by testers.
Strengths Weaknesses
Many forms of tests can be
covered in the test in a short
time.
It tends to be complicated job
for teachers to prepare
questionnaires using this
approach.
This approach considers
measuring non-integrated skills
more than integrated skills
Using this approach in testing
will help students find their
strengths and weaknesses in
every skill they study.

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43. 3. The Integrative
Approach
Lesson 9: Approaches and Methods in Teaching Grammar

44. The Characteristics and Types of Tests
Involves the testing of language in context and is
concerned with a global view of proficiency
Assess the learners’ ability to use two or more skills
simultaneously
Concerned primarily with meaning and involves functional
language
Characterized using cloze zone testing, dictation, oral
interviews, translation, and essay writing.

45. Strengths and Weaknesses of Integrative Approach
The approach to meaning and
the total communicative effect
of discourse will greatly help the
students.
Strengths Weaknesses
Can view students’ proficiency
with a global view
Cloze test used, measures the
readers’ ability to decode
interrupted or mutilated message
by using contextual clues
Uses dictions test to measure the
students’ listening comprehension
skills
Even if measuring integrated
skills are better, sometimes the
teacher should consider the
importance of measuring skills
based on need, such as writing
only, speaking only.
The scoring is not efficient and
not reliable

46. Summary
The integrative approach is designed to
assess the learners’ ability to use two or more
skills together and measures the learner’s
competence rather than performance.

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48. Lesson 9: Approaches and Methods in Teaching Grammar
4. Communicative
Approach

49. Communicative Approach
Communicative Approach is a teaching approach that
highlights the importance of real communication for
learning to take place.
Main principles of communicative approach:
Grammar should be taught in context rather than isolation.
Learn grammar through meaningful communication, real-life
interaction, and practical usage.
Focuses on how grammar functions in actual communication, helping
learners develop fluency and accuracy naturally.
Integrates grammar with speaking, listening, reading, and writing to
develop overall language proficiency.

50. Characteristics and Types of Test
Communicative tests are concerned primarily with how
language is used in communication.
Communicative tests measure different language skills
based on the idea that language can be divided into
separate skills. This idea is called the divisibility
hypothesis.
The test content should totally be relevant for a particular
group of examinees and the tasks set should relate to real-
life situation.

51. Strengths and Weaknesses of Communicative Approach
Measures all language skills.
Strengths Weaknesses
Prepares students for real-life
situation.
Helps students strengthen
weak areas.
Increases scoring reliability
with clear criteria
Doesn’t focus on learning
structural grammar.
Achieving communicative
competence may be
challenging without grammar
mastery.
Cultural bias may affect test
reliability.
(speaking, listening reading, and writing)

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53. TEST TECHNIQUES

54. Direct versus Indirect
Testing

55. Direct versus Indirect Testing
Testing is said to be direct when it requires the candidate to
perform precisely the skill that the test wishes to measure.
It requires the students to complete some sort of productive skill
or authentic action and make them as realistic as possible.
Ex.
Presentations
Written Compositions

56. Direct versus Indirect Testing
Indirect testing attempts to measure the abilities that underlie
the skills in which the test is interested.
It contains underlined items that the student needs to identify as
erroneous or inappropriate in formal standard English.
Ex.
MCQ
Paraphrasing

57. Discrete Point versus
Integrative Testing

58. Discrete Point versus Integrative Testing
A completely discrete-point item would test simply one point or
objective, such as testing for the meaning of a word in isolation.
Discrete point testing refers to the testing of one element at a
time, item by item.
Ex.
Choose the correct meaning of the word paralysis.
(A) Inability to move
(B) State of unconscious
(C) State of shock
(D) Being in pain

59. Discrete Point versus Integrative Testing
Integrative testing requires the candidate to combine many
language elements in the completion of a task.
An integrative test refers to an integrative item that would test
more than one point or objective at a time. (e.g., comprehension
of words and ability to use them correctly in context).
Ex.
Demonstrate your comprehension of the following words by
using them together in a written paragraph: “paralysis,”
“accident,” and “football.”

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61. Norm-referenced versus
Criterion-referenced
Testing

62. Norm-referenced Testing
Students’ scores are interpreted relative to each other
in a normal distribution scheme (bell curve).
This method is used to understand how students'
scores compare to a predefined population with similar
experience.
Ex.
College entrance exams

63. Criterion-referenced Testing
Measure student ability against a predetermined
standard, e.g., the learning objectives of a specific
course or unit of a course.
Most commonly used by teachers in language courses,
as they are used to measure achievement and to
diagnose strengths and weaknesses.
Examples: MCQ, Open-ended questions, short
response, true-false questions

64. Objective vs. Subjective
Testing

65. Objective Testing
Objective testing has no judgement required on the
part of the scorer.
Specifically, an objective test is objective in that there is
only one right answer.
Examples:
MCQ
True or False
Matching Type

66. Subjective Testing
If judgment is called for, the scoring is said to be
subjective.
Subjective- refers to a free composition which may be
more subjective in nature if the scorer is not looking
for any one right answer, but rather for a series of
factors (creativity, style, cohesion and coherence,
grammar, and mechanics).
Examples:
Essay
Performance Task

67. Thank you! :)