4
extra exercises for homework that target
the areas of weakness, or even allow the
students to do homework assignments
tailored to their needs instead of doing all
of the generic homework assignments. Part
of being selective in reporting feedback
(you can’t report everything) is to focus
on things that you know how to address.
Diagnostics are based on content covered
in instruction—or content soon-to-be
covered
This is simple. At the beginning of the
course, it will be based on “content soon-
to-be covered.” After that, it could be either
recently covered or soon-to-be covered—
diagnosis can be an ongoing feature of the
course. In principle, content for diagnos-
tics could also be based on theory, but
second language acquisition scholars are
still working on that!
Diagnostics are less likely to be “authen-
tic” then are proficiency tests; more likely
to be discrete-point, focused on specific
elements
Language use in proficiency tests should
be as authentic as possible, but once you
attempt to find out “why” a particular
performance is weak, you pretty much
have to look at language forms. For this
reason, many people think of diagnostic
assessment as something that is more
useful for lower levels than for advanced
learners.
Self-Assessment
Diagnostic assessment informs teaching
and guides learning, and yet it is free of
the horrible anxiety associated with high-
stakes testing, grading, and pass-fail deci-
sion-making. It is low stakes in the sense
that the results are not used for judgmental
or evaluative purposes such as assigning
grades or selecting students for particular
opportunities. This lowers stress levels
and opens the door for the use of various
“self appraisal” techniques since students
would most likely be honest in providing
information about areas in which they
needed help.
Some people feel that self-assessment is
actually central to learning. In his book,
Alderson (2004), citing examples from
the DIALANG project (an Internet-based
assessment project that covers many
European languages) explains how self-
appraisals can be compared with actual
performance assessments to help students
to develop the ability to recognize their
own limitations, and their progress.
Another example of the use of self-
appraisals is the found on the website
for the Federal Court Interpreter
Certification Examination (FCICE). This
latter resource helps aspiring courtroom
interpreters to determine their own readi-
ness to take the FCICE with respect to
English and Spanish language proficiency
and interpreting skills. Learners whose
self-assessment results indicate that they
are not ready for the test are directed to
resources to help them to develop the
requisite skills. While this example is
highly specialized, it provides a good
illustration of the usefulness of self-
assessment and action that can be taken
based on a self-assessment outcome.
Student Profiles
Once a diagnosis has been made, it is
very important, and very challenging, to
find a way to communicate the outcome
to the student (and to parents in some
cases). This report should summarize the
findings in as useful a way as possible. I
will illustrate such a report with an
example from an interesting and very
specialized area of diagnostic testing
known as “language aptitude” testing. I
have already mentioned Paul Pimsleur,
who dedicated much of his career to
diagnosing language learning abilities.
He designed his Pimsleur Language
Aptitude Battery so that scores could be
reported in five categories. The first cate-
gory was simply a reflection of the stu-
dent’s overall school performance (not
specific to language study). The second
category was the student’s own estimate
of his motivation or interest in studying a
foreign language. The third category was
“verbal ability” and included such things
as first language vocabulary knowledge
and the ability to induce grammatical
rules when presented with examples in a
new language. The fourth category was
“auditory ability” and included sound
discrimination and the ability to retain
sound-symbol relationships. The final
category was a summary
of the other
parts. Figure 1 illustrates how
scores from
these different categories can be used to
construct an individualized profile with
implications for counseling the student.
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