8 Different Types of Language Tests

Proficiency tests usually provide a general assessment of a person's full language skillset. In contrast, diagnostic tests identify specific strengths and ... Skiptocontent Whatarethedifferenttypesoflanguagetesting? DifferentTestsforDifferentGoals Languageisacomplicatedthingtomeasure.Consequently,therearemanytypesoflanguagetesting,eachtypemeasuringdifferentskillsfordifferentreasons.Forexample,onetestmightaskyoutoreadapassageoutloud,whileanotherasksyoutoanswerquestionsaboutthepassage.Let’sreviewafewofthedifferenttypes. TypesofLanguageTesting LanguageProficiencyTestsProficiencytestingmeasuresaperson’slevelofskillinalanguage,independentofhowtheylearnedit.WhethersomeonegrewupspeakingSpanishortooklessonsasanadult,aproficiencytestshouldscorethatpersonthesame.BecausetheParrotlanguagetestisbuiltfortheworkplace,wedesignedittomeasureproficiency.Ourclientswantthebestskillstheycanfind,nomatterhowthoseskillswereobtained.AptitudeTestsAnaptitudetestdoesnotmeasurehowwellsomeoneusesaspecificlanguage,buthowwelltheyacquirelanguageskillsingeneral.Forthatreason,youmightusethistypeoftestwhenselectingcandidatesforarolethatwouldrequirethemtolearnanewlanguage.DiagnosticTestsProficiencytestsusuallyprovideageneralassessmentofaperson’sfulllanguageskillset.Incontrast,diagnostictestsidentifyspecificstrengthsandweaknesseswithinthatskillset.Usethistypeoftesttoidentifyspecificwaystoimprove.Placement&AchievementTestsThesetestsareusedexclusivelyinlanguagelearningenvironments.Aplacementtestmeasuresskillinordertogroupsimilarlyskilledlearnerstogether.Anachievementtestmeasuresalearner’sprogressoveraperiodoftime. Skill-SpecificTypesofLanguageTesting Languagecanbespoken,heard,written,read,understood,interpreted,translated,andmore.Whileacomprehensivetestthatmeasuresalltheseskillsmaybepossible,itwouldbeveryhardtoadminister.Plus,suchatestwouldprovidefarmoreinformationthanneededformostsituations.Forthatreason,mostlanguagetestsisolateoneofthefourmajorskillforms:speaking,listening,reading,andwriting. LanguageSkillForms SpeakingSpeakingreferstotheexpressionoflanguage,eithervocallyorthroughsignsorgestures.Itisthemostcommonlyrequiredskillintheworkplace.Veryfewpositionsdonotrequirespeakinginsomeform.Totestspeaking,apersonisaskedtospeakinthetestinglanguage,usuallyinresponsetoprompts.Dependingonhowthepromptsaredelivered,aspeakingtestmayalsorequirethosebeingtestedtolistenorread,butnotnecessarilyinthelanguagebeingtested.ListeningSimplyput,listeningisthereceptionofspeech.Alisteningtestisdifferentfromahearingtestinthatahearingtestmeasureshowwellyourearsreceivesoundingeneral–notnecessarilylanguage.Youcantestlisteningbyhavingsomeonelistentospeechanddemonstrateunderstanding.Forthatreason,alisteningtestalmostalwaysrequiresaminimumlevelofspeakingorwritingskill,butnotnecessarilyinthespecificlanguagebeingtested.WritingIfspeakingistheexpressionofthoughtthroughlanguage,writingistheexpressionoflanguagethroughsymbols.Awritingtestgathersandanalyzeswritingsamples,usuallyinresponsetopromptsprovidedbythetest.Asfaraslanguageskillisconcerned,there’snomeaningfuldistinctionbetweenhandwritingandtyping.ReadingReadingistheinterpretationofwrittenlanguage.Areadingtestprovidespassagesofwritingandgathersthetesttaker’sresponses,eithertothepassagesingeneralortospecificquestionsaboutthepassages. AdditionalResources ParrotforBusinessInfoSheet WebuiltParrottohelpbusinesseshirecandidateswiththelanguageskillsthosebusinessesneedtogrow.Readthisinfosheettolearnmoreabouthoweasyyourtestingprogramcouldbe. DownloadtheInfoSheet TestQuality&Validity Bycombininganinnovativemethodologywithmoderntech,we’recreatinganewstandardforevaluatinglanguageskills.However,noneofthatwouldmatterifourresultsweren’talsounquestionablyvalid.Thisreportshowshowwe’vefine-tunedourmethodtomeetandexceedkeyindustrystandardsforvalidity. DownloadtheReport Wanttoknowmore? ContactUs