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Dinh Cong Triet

Adapted from "Language testing"-Dr. Chan Yue Weng

Language testing

Levels of Test QuestionsBloom’s & Barrett’s

Taxonomy

Adapted from "Language testing"-Dr. Chan Yue Weng

What makes a task / activity difficult?

THINKING LEVELS

Bloom’s Taxonomy

Barrett’s Taxonomy

(Productive skills)

(Receptive skills)

Adapted from "Language testing"-Dr. Chan Yue Weng

BLOOM’S TAXONOMY.

Knowledge (Kno)

Comprehension (Com)

Application (App)

Analysis (Ana)

Synthesis (Syn)

Evaluation (Eva)

Arrange, define, list, memorise, name, relate, recall, repeat, state

Classify, describe, discuss, explain, express, recognise, identify, report

Apply, choose, demonstrate, illustrate, solve, use, interpret

Analyse, calculate, categorise, criticise, contrast, distinguish

Arrange, collect, compose, plan, construct, create, design, develop

Argue, assess, justify, judge, rate, support, value, evaluate

SPEAKING, WRITING, GRAMMAR

Adapted from "Language testing"-Dr. Chan Yue Weng

Useful verbs Sample questions stems

TellListDescribeRelateLocateWriteFindStatename

• What happened after….?• How many…..?• Who was it that……..?• Can you name the …….?• Describe what happened at…..?• Who spoke to…..?• Can you tell why….?• Find the meaning of …..?• What is …….?• Which is true or false…….?

Bloom’s taxonomy – Knowledge level

Adapted from "Language testing"-Dr. Chan Yue Weng

Useful verbs Sample questions stems

ExplainInterpretOutlineDiscussDistinguishPredictRestateCompareTranslateDescribe

• Can you write in your own words….?

• Can you write a brief outline….?• What do you think could happen

next….?• Who do you think….?• What was the main idea…..?• Who was the key character…..?• Can you distinguish between….?• Can you provide an example of …..?• What do you mean ….?• Can you provide a definition for….?

Bloom’s taxonomy – Comprehension level

Adapted from "Language testing"-Dr. Chan Yue Weng

Useful verbs Sample questions stems

Solve ShowUseillustrateConstructCompleteExamineClassify

• Do you know another instance where….?

• Could this have happened in ….?• Can you group by charateristics such

as….?• What factors would you change if…..?• What questions would you ask of…..?• From the information given, can you

develop a set of instructions about……?

• Would this information be useful if you had….?

Bloom’s taxonomy – Application level

Adapted from "Language testing"-Dr. Chan Yue Weng

Useful verbs Sample questions stemsAnalyseExamineCompareContrastInvestigateCategoriseIdentifyExplainSeparate

• Which events could have happened….?

• What do you see as other possible outcomes…?

• How was this similar to….?• Can you explain what must have

happened when…?• What are some of the problems of ….?• Can you distinguish between….?• What were some of the motives

behind….?

Bloom’s taxonomy – Analysis level

Adapted from "Language testing"-Dr. Chan Yue Weng

Useful verbs Sample questions stems

CreateInventComposePredictPlanConstructDesignImaginePropose devise

• Can you design a…..to….?• Can you see a possible solution to ….?• If you had access to all resources how

would you deal with….?• What would happen if …..?• How many ways can you……?• Can you write a new recipe for a tasty

dish?• Why not compose a song about…..?

Bloom’s taxonomy – Synthesis level

Adapted from "Language testing"-Dr. Chan Yue Weng

Useful verbs Sample questions stems

JudgeSelectChooseDecideJustifyDebateVerifyArgueRecommenddetermine

• Is there a better sollution to ….• Judge the value of….• Can you defend your position

about…..?• Do you think……is a good or bad

thing?• What changes to ……would you

recommend?• Do you believe….?• Are you a …..person?• How would you feel if….?• How effective are…..?• What do you think about…….?

Bloom’s taxonomy – Evaluation level

Adapted from "Language testing"-Dr. Chan Yue Weng

BLOOM’S TAXONOMY. Skills Subskills Question types Levels

BLOOM’S TAXONOMY.

Adapted from "Language testing"-Dr. Chan Yue Weng

BARRETT’S TAXONOMY.

Literal comprehension

Re-organization

Inferential comprehension

Evaluation

Appreciation

Label, list, name, relate, recall,

Classify, regroup, rearrange, assemble, collect, categorise

Predict, infer, guess

Analyse, appraise, evaluate, justify, criticise, judge

Critique, appraise, comment, appreciate

READING & LISTENING

(LC)

(RO)

(IC)

(Eva)

(Appr)

repeat

Adapted from "Language testing"-Dr. Chan Yue Weng

BARRETT’S TAXONOMY.

Literal comprehension

Re-organization

Inferential comprehension

Evaluation

Appreciation

All easily found in the text. No thinking involves

Organize ideas, put … into a table

“The beginning of a good reader”. See sth between the lines.

“Do you agree with the writer that….?

Why or why not……?

Comment, criticise sth usually in teaching literature: poem, story…

(LC)

(RO)

(IC)

(Eva)

(Appr)

Adapted from "Language testing"-Dr. Chan Yue Weng

Adapted from "Language testing"-Dr. Chan Yue Weng

Skills Sub-skills Question types Question levels

Reading Identifying main facts & details (FD)

Recognizing cause & effects relationship (CE)

Inferring meaning from contextual context ( ICC)

Predicting outcomes (PO) Sequence of events (SOE) Evaluating writer’s attitude &

view

True/ false Re-arrangement Structured Open-ended (subjective

response, free writing) MCQ (wh-question,

matching, completion with options)

Cloze procedure

Barrett’s scale

1. LC 2. RO3. IC4. Eva5. Appr

Listening Identifying facts & details relate cause & effect identify sequence of events Inferring meaning from

contextual clues. Predicting out comes Inferring speaker’s attitude &

emotion (sad, happy, worried) Inferring relationship between

speakers.

MCQ with pictures or without pictures.

Fill in the blanks/ completion item.

Labelling. Matching True / false. sequencing

BARRETT’S TAXONOMY.

Adapted from "Language testing"-Dr. Chan Yue Weng

BARRETT’S TAXONOMY.

Adapted from "Language testing"-Dr. Chan Yue Weng

Table of Specifications

Question levels

Bloom’s(Know,Comp, App, Ana, Syn, Eva)

Barrett’s (LC, RO, IC, Eva, Appr)

Skills & subskills

Mark allocationQuestion

Sections/numbers

Time allocation

Curriculum specs

knowledge

Question types

(MCQ, T/F, gap-fill, matching, sequencing, open-ended)

LSRW

Adapted from "Language testing"-Dr. Chan Yue Weng

Adapted from "Language testing"-Dr. Chan Yue Weng

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Dinh Cong Triet