1. TESTING GRAMMAR
ERTAN YAZICI

2. What is grammar?

3. The whole system and structure of a language or of languages in general, usually taken as consisting of syntax and morphology (including inflections) and sometimes also phonology and semantics.
“English grammar is chiefly a system of syntax, that decides the order and patterns in which words are arranged into sentences.” (Close, 1982)
Crystal (1995) says it is "... that branch of the description of language which accounts for the way in which words are combined to form sentences.”

4. Why does grammar matter?

5. Grammar is important because;
it is the language that makes it possible for us to talk about language,
it names the types of words and word groups that make up sentences not only in English but in any language,
as human beings, we can put sentences together even as children—we can all do grammar,
to be able to talk about how sentences are built, about the types of words and word groups that make up sentences—that is knowing about grammar,
knowing about grammar offers a window into the human mind and into our amazingly complex mental capacity.

6. Why do we test grammar?

7. There was a time when controlling of grammatical structures was seen as the very core of language ability and it was unthinkable not to test it.
Now whether or not grammar has an important place in an institution’s teaching, it has to be accepted that grammatical ability, or rather the lack of it, sets limits to what can be achieved in the way of skills performance.
The successful writing of academic assignments, for example, must depend to some extent on the command of elementary grammatical structures.
The diagnostic tests of grammar are very useful for the individual and the group.

8. WHY ARE GRAMMAR TESTS POPULAR?
Much ESL teaching has been based on grammar,
Unlike various measures of communicative skills, there is general agreement what to test,
As with vocabulary exams, either passive or active skills can be checked,
Grammar can be tailored to beginners or advanced learners.

9. Components of Grammar

11. TESTING GRAMMAR
The testing of grammar is one of the mainstays of language testing. While such tests test the ability to either recognize or produce correct grammar and usage, they do not test the ability to use the language to express meaning.
However, it can be argued that a basic knowledge of grammar underlies the ability to use language to express meaning, and so grammar tests do have an important part to play in language programs.
Grammar tests are designed to measure student proficiency in matters ranging from inflections (bottle-bottles, bake-baked) to syntax.
Syntax involves the relationship of words in a sentence, including matters such as word order, use of negative, question forms, and connectives.

12. FOUR GENERAL KINDS OF GRAMMAR TESTS
1. Limited Response
2. Multiple-Choice Completion
3. Simple Completion
4. Cloze Tests

13. 1. LIMITED RESPONSE
The grammar of students with very little ability in English can be checked without having them speak or write anything.
This can be done by means of directed physical responses and visuals.
Individual Testing (Testing them one at a time)
Limited Response
Group Testing (Testing them in groups)

14. Individual Testing
You can test students individually by using oral requests.
These requests can ask for easy spoken replies or simple for nonverbal actions.
When teaching students who know almost no English, you can even permit answers in their native language.
E.g.:
(Sts hear in English) ‘’How many books are on the table?’’
(Sts answe in their L1) ‘’[There are] six.’’

15. To use familiar vocabulary in your test questions as well as structures that students have been taught.
For example, you may want to test understanding of preposition ‘’between’’; so you tell a student to ‘’Put the red folder between the two green ones.’’ But if he/she doesn’t know what a folder is or what put means, he will miss the question-even though he/she knows the preposition.
When the numbers, colors, and familiar classroom objects are learned, then you can test, for instance, wh- questions confidently. You might ask ‘’Where are the three yellow notebooks? or ‘’Which two pens are red?’’ The beginning student can answer simply by touching or pointing to the objects.

16. Pictures like this one can be used to test sts individually or in groups.
To test preposition recognition, we can ask, ‘’Is the lady on the house?’’ or ‘’Point to the child behind the car.’’

17. They can also be used to test other matters such as verb tense.
E.g.: What is the cat doing? (checking the Present Progressive)

18. Group Testing
You can test students in groups by using directed physical responses.
E.g.:
Explain and illustrate any new words
Have students make a drawing according to your spoken instructions:
1. Draw an airplane in the middle of the paper. (Pause while students draw)
2. Now draw a house below the airplane. (Pause)
3. Next, draw a cloud in front of the airplane.

19. By using a picture like that again, you can test your sts’ understanding of prepositions.
E.g:
You can say:
‘’Draw a circle around the person on the house.’’
‘’Draw an X on the boy behind the car.’’

20. (Nonverbal) ‘’Circle the picture that illustrates this sentence: The boy is as big as the girl.’’
(Yes-No) ‘’Look at picture B. Is the boy as big as the girl?’’
(True-False) ‘’Look at picture C. The girl is taller than the boy.’’

21. Try to use one type of question on a test – all yes- no or all true- false, for example.

22. Advantages of Limited Response
Puts sts at ease and avoids unnecessary stress.
Avoids skills such as reading and writing that have not yet been developed.
Can be scored easily and objectively.

23. Limitations of Limited Response
Individual testing takes longer than group testing.
It is difficult to find suitable pictures (although the teacher can make needed sketches).
Only a limited number of grammatical structures can be tested.

24. 2. MULTIPLE-CHOICE COMPLETION
It includes an incomplete sentence stem followed by four multiple-choice options for completing the sentence.
E.g.:
She is ____ her breakfast.
*A. eating B. ate C. eats D. eaten

25. It’s an efficient way to test grammar, but you need to be careful about the temptation to use this kind of item for all of your testing needs.
Any given test is a kind of tool; it may be useful for some jobs but not for others.
E.g.: Multiple-coice tests can be used successfully in testing grammar. However, they don’t seem to work as well in testing conversational ability.

26. Preparing Procedure
1. Choose the grammar points that you need to test.
2. Prepare the right kind of sentence context (or stem) for the grammar structure.
3. Select three logical distractors.
4. Prepare clear, simple instructions.

27. Grammar Choice
You should determine what structures you have taught since the last year.
The results on quizzes or homework assignments can show those things that sts have learned well and those things that need reviewing.
The points they know well can be largely ignored. (A few of these could be included at the beginning of the test to encourage sts)

28. How do we decide to give different ‘’weight’’ to various grammar points?

29. If you spent three times longer on modal auxilaries than on two-word verbs, you could prepare two or three times as many questions on the modals.
Before starting to write questions, you need to decide how many of each grammar type to include.

30. Context Preparation
Choose a structure and then use it correctly in a sentence.
Don’t forget, a good context is very important!
Sometimes a few words are enough, such as ‘’I don’t want to go’’ (in testing ‘’to + verb’’), but notice how much context is needed for other grammar points.

31. it is used to express a conclusion or deduction
When many of your test items require a lot of context, you will want to use a two-sentence approach.
E.g.: ‘’Jimmy hasn’t eaten anything, and he won’t talk or play. He must be ill.’’
it is used to express a conclusion or deduction

32. Distractor Preparation
Distractors: The incorrect options which we put with the correct word or phrase to complete the sentence.
Experienced teachers usually have a good sense for what to use, but inexperienced teachers need some help.
E.g.: ‘’could of’’ has sometimes been used as a distractor for ‘’could have’’. This won’t work, because it is a native English-speaker error and is almost never made by non-native English speaker.

33. Avoid using distractors that sound alike. E.g:
___ the ones who know the answers.
*A. They are B. There *C. They’re D. Their
(It might be used on a writing test, but not on a grammar test. Another problems is that the question has two correct options.

34. You can get it from the lady ___ he sold it to.
Avoid items that test divided usage, or items that only test different levels of formality.
E.g.:
You can get it from the lady ___ he sold it to.
which B. who *C. whom D. why
Debatable items like this just confuse non-native speakers. ‘’C’’ is in the ‘’correct’’ case, but ‘’B’’ is closer to what native speakers would say.

35. Don’t confuse or tire your sts by having them reread unnecessary material. Take out any repeated words from the distractors and put these in the stem.
E.g:
If I had a new fur coat, ___
A. I showed it to everyone *B. I’d show it to everyone
C. I’ve shown it to everone D. I’ll show it to everyone
If I had a new fur coat, ___ it to everyone
A. I showed *B. I’d show C. I’ve shown D. I’ll show

36. Don’t mix categories.
E.g.:
They just bought ___ furniture
A. a few B. several *C. some D. with

37. How can inexperienced teachers write distractors that sound right?

38. Look at the errors that students make on exercises or cloze passages
Look at the errors that students make on exercises or cloze passages. These errors can be used as distractors.
Errors on compositions.

39. Alternate Forms of Multiple-Choice Completion
1. Space Saver: Put distractors inside the stem.
E.g.: Tom lives (A. at, *B. on, C. in, D. --) Center Street.
2. Dialogue Context
E.g.:
‘’Did she ask you to go with her?’’
‘’No, she asked someone ___ instead.’’
*A. else B. another C. other D. ---

40. 3. Error Identification: Sts have to find the part containing an error
3. Error Identification: Sts have to find the part containing an error. This kind of test question is particularly useful in testing grammar points for which there are few logical options, such as the choice between ‘’few’’ and ‘’a few’’, ‘’little’’ and ‘’a little’’, ‘’some’’ and ‘’any’’, or ‘’this’’ and ‘’that’’. It’s also possible to have sts give the correct form.

41. Advantages of Multiple-Choice Completion
It’s impossible for sts to avoid the grammar point being evaluated.
Scoring is easy and reliable.
This is a sensitive measure of achievement (and like other multiple-choice language tests, it allows teachers to diagnose specific problems of sts).

42. Limitations of Multiple Choice Completion
Preparing good items is not easy.
It is easy for sts to cheat. (You can create a second form of the test by rearranging the items, but this is time consuming for the teacher.)
It doesn’t appear to measure sts’ ability to reproduce language structures (although in actual fact this kind of test is a good measure of the grammar subskill).
This can have a negative influence on classwork if used exclusively. (Sts may see no need to practice writing if tests are objective.)

43. 3. SIMPLE COMPLETION (SENTENCES)
They are used for testing grammar consist of a sentence from which a grammatical element has been removed.
E.g.:
‘’He went _to_ school.’’  Elementary Item
‘’I would have gone if _he had invited me_.’’  Advanced Item

44. Sts may be asked to
decide what word or phrase to write in the blank
write in an option from a list
change the form of a key word (write – wrote)

45. Three steps to follow in preparing simple-completion grammar tests:
1. Select the grammar points that need to be tested.
2. Provide an appropriate context.
3. Write good instructions.

46. Simple Completion (Sentences) 1. The Option Form 2
Simple Completion (Sentences) 1. The Option Form 2. The Inflection Form 3. The Free-Response Form These three forms vary not only in difficulty but also in objectivity and in the degree of active or passive response that is required, so you can tailor the test to the sts that you have.

47. Your advanced planning will determine which general question type to use…
Simple completion is ideal if you want a quick way to check the mastery of a few specific points for only one or two classes of sts.

48. 1. The Option Form
The easiest simple-completion items are like multiple-choice questions with only two options.
E.g.:
Complete the following sentences with ‘’do’’ or ‘’make’’.
1. He _made_ a lot of money last year.
2. I always _do_ my best.
Sometimes a pair of options is given for each sentence.
- The _lost_ chil was crying for her mother. (losing, lost)
- The magician performed some _astonishing_ tricks. (astonishing, astonished)

49. Often there are three or four choices listed, and at times even more.
E.g.: Nine-option completion
Choose the best question word from among the following: who, whom, where, what, when, why, how many, how much, how.

50. 2. The Inflection Form It provides for a productive response.
These vary from simple comparatives to verb tense questions.
E.g.:
He’s the _tallest_ (tall) person in the class.
They _were_ (be) in Colorado last week.
You have to be careful about context. Give part of the verb or giving more context in order to prevent several other answers.
He _is singing/sings/sang/will sing/etc._ (sing) a song.
He is _singing_ (sing) now. / He _is_ singing now. (ADD ONE WORD)
‘’What’s Tom doing now?’’ ‘’Oh, he _is singing_ (sing).’’

51. You can also use a separate blank for each word in the verb phrase.
E.g.:
He ___ ___ ___ (sleep) for nearly an hour.
(Answer) He’s been sleeping / He has been sleeping
Don’t use grammatical terminology such as ‘’Rewrite the sentence using the present perfect progressive’’, accept any correct answer or to use multiple-choice questions instead.

52. 3. The Free-Response Form
It requires the most real productivity of all.
It provides flexibility.
It’s perhaps the most communicative.
It takes longer to correct than other completion types.
It takes more language skills to evaluate properly.

53. Advantages of Simple Completion (Sentence)
These are generally easier to prepare than are multiple-choice items.
These give the appearance of measuring productive skills.
There is no exposure to incorrect grammatical forms.
These provide a sensitive measure of achievement.

54. Limitations of Simple Completion (Sentence)
These are usually more time consuming to correct than multiple-choice questions. Not only can poor penmanship be a problem but also ‘’irrelevant’’ errors beyond those being tested.
Occasionally sts can unexpectedly avoid the structure being tested.

55. 4. CLOZE TEST
Cloze tests are prose passages, usually a paragraph or more in length, from which words have been deleted.
The student relies on the context in order to supply the missing words.
Teachers like it because it’s integrative – it requires sts to process the components of language simultaneously, much like what happens when people communicate.
It’s a good measure of overall proficiency.
In cloze tests, the overall meaning and surrounding grammar help us replace the missing parts.

56. Preparing a Cloze Test
1- Select an appropriate passage (from the reading material in your class)
2- Decide on the ratio of the words to take out
3- Write the instructions and prepare an example

57. Selecting the passage Choose a story or essay on the right level.
The length of the selection depends on the number of blanks you plan to have, but most are not longer than 300 to 400 words.
Ignore a passage that is full of proper nouns, numbers, technical words and quotations.

58. Which words to take out?
Leave the first sentence or two and the last one. (They help sts understand the overall meaning.)
Words are taken out at regular intervals.
The shortest is every fifth word deleted. (Not enough context)
The longest one is ten. (Inefficient)
The most frequently used deletion is one in seven.
If you use the test by itself, 50 blanks (a passage of just over 350 words)
More blanks make the test increasingly stable and reliable.

59. An alternate form is called ‘’selected-deletion’’ cloze.
Approximately the same percentage of words is removed, but now you can choose which words you want to leave out (the only content words or only the function words).
Another application is to take out every seventh word except for duplications and proper nouns or numbers, when you find these, you can skip to the next word.

60. Instructions
In taking a cloze test, sts can do better if they look over the whole passage first. Therefore, it is good to prepare instructions that mention this.
A set of directions for sts who have done cloze exercises:
‘’First, read over the whole story quickly. Then read it carefully and fill in the blanks. Finally read it again to see that your words make sense.’’
A sample set for those who haven’t had practice with cloze:

61. Scoring The Cloze
1. Give credit for only the exact word from the story.
2. Allow full credit for equivalent words as well.
Sts think that the second method is more fair.
Misspellings and bad handwriting: If the teacher cannot recognize, no credits.
If the instruction says ‘’one word’’, and the student’s answer contains two words, even though it is correct, no credit again.

62. Adapting the Cloze to Test Grammar
Certain kinds of selected-deletion cloze can measure grammar.
One way is simply delete the prepositions, or you could delete some other grammar item that has been studied.
For a measure of general grammatical ability, take out function words (pronouns, articles and determiners, auxilary verbs, prepositions, and conjunctions).
In preparing a selected-deletion grammar cloze test like this one, it isn’t necessary to have exactly the same number of words between each blank and be careful not to delete the same word too many times.

63. Alternate Forms of Cloze
1. Multiple-Choice Cloze
2. Selected-Deletion Cloze
3. Inflectional Cloze

64. Advantages of Cloze It is easy to prepare and quite easy to score.
It is a good measure of integrative English skills
Standard cloze is a good measure of overall ability in English

65. Limitations of Cloze It isn’t a sensitive measure of short-term gains.
It’s difficult for teachers who are non-native English speakers to choose acceptable equivalent words.

66. REFERENCES
Hughes, A. (1992). Testing for Language Teachers. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Ijaz, S. (2014) Testing Grammar. Retrieved from
Kitao, K. (1996) The Internet TESL Journal, Vol. II, No. 6, June 1996
Madsen, H. S. (1983). Techniques in Testing. Oxfords: Oxford University Press.
Nordquist, R. (2017). Why Does Grammar Matter? Retrieved from

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