언어평가에 있어서 discrete-point test와 integrative test의 효율성에 관한 연구

Abstract

구조주의 언어학에서는 언어를 기능과 요소로 세분한다. 학자에 따라 약간씩은 다르지만 발음, 문법, 어휘를 언어의 요소로 보고, 듣기, 말하기, 읽기, 쓰기는 언어의 기능별 분류라고 본다. discrete-point test는 별개의 언어요소를 한번에 하나씩 측정하므로 언어의 사용이라든가 언어상황은 무시한 채 주로 학생들의 언어학적 지식만을 세분하여 측정하는 입장이다. 평가 실시의 의의가 학생의 학업 성취도를 측정하는 데에도 있지만 학생들의 실제 언어사용을 위한 자극과 강화를 주는 데에도 있음을 생각할 때 discrete-point test는 지나치게 결과가 좋은 학생이 실제 언어는 몇 마디도 못하는 경우를 종종 본다. 시험성적이 좋다고 학생이 그만큼 그 언어를 유창하게 사용할 수 있다는 것을 의미하지는 않는다. 따라서 좀 더 종합적인 평가문항이 요구되는데 Carroll, Labo가 의미하는 intergrative test란 자연스러운 언어에서는 위에서 제시한 언어요소들이 개별로 구분되어 사용되지 않고 종합적으로 사용된다는 의미에서 언어의 요소를 개별로 측정하는 discrete-point test를 관련 있는 것끼리 모아 종합한 것도 intergrative test라 본다. Oller가 의미하는 intergrative test는 모든 요소를 종합적으로 측정함은 물론 언어기능도 동시에 한가지 이상이 사용되어야 한다고 보아 받아쓰기, cloze test를 대표적인 종합평가로 제시했다. 받아쓰기하는 과정을 살펴보면 학생들은 수용적인 과정인 듣기를 통해 종합, 분석한 내용을 생산적 과정인 쓰기로 바꾸어 한가지 기능에만 국한되지 않고 한번에 여러 기능을 동시에 사용하게 된다 cloze test, 구두면접, 듣기이해력 모두 같은 이유로 해서 동류의 평가문항으로 취급된다.;The rationale for discrete - point test is based on the structural linguistics. It analyzes language into the elements and skills. Many linguists divided language into three or four elements. Lado thinks that language is built of sounds, intonation, stress, morphemes, words and arrangements of words having meanings that are linguistic and cultural. So the variables that should be tested are pronunciation, grammatical structure, the lexicon and the cultural meaning. These elements never occur seperately in language. They are integrated in total skills of speaking, listening, reading and writing. Among these, listening and reading are receptive skills and speaking and writing are productive skills. So in testing those elements, both recognition and production of the elements should be considered. Lado insists that by comparing the linguistic structures of the native and the foreign languages, we can predict the learning problems. The problems occur because of the transfer of the native language habit patterns. And said, "testing the problems is testing the language." The problems are those units and patterns that do not have a counterpart in the native language or that have counterparts with structarally different distribution or meaning. In discrete - point approach, we need to test the elements and the skills separately. However, in the actual use of alanguage the student is faced with all the elements and skills simultaneously. Rivers says that the teacher must test the elements one by one and finally test them as part of all-round performance; speaking ability, listening comprehension, reading comprehension, writing ability. These performances are based on the underlying competence - learner's internalized grammar (in Oller's term expectancy grammar). Expectancy grammar is the chief mechanism underlying the skills of thinking, understanding, speaking, reading, writing Integrative test assesses the efficiency of that internalized grammar in integrated ways. For example, the student taking dictation not only receives auditory information, but he processes the information given in order to generate a sentence that has meaning. The student taking cloze test reads the given information and projects a word to make a complete sequence. In doing so productive (active) and receptive (passive) skills of language are used. Oller prefers integrative test to discrete - point test because of the following reasons. First, integrative tests are more effective devices for eliciting information concerning the efficiency of the learners internalized grammar. Second, it is much easier to prepare and administer an integrative test than it is to prepare and administer a discrete point test. Both cloze test and dictation have been strongly supported by empirical research as valid, integrative tests of second language proficiency. Oller showed in his research that dictation, cloze test and Listening Comprenension (in TOEFL) were highly correlated with each other. This means that test modality has a negligible effect on the results when what is being measured taps the learners underlying language competence or internalized expectancy grammar.