How Using Technology For Proper Language Testing Affects Training
In 2015, over 1 in 4 UK businesses and more than 1 in 6 US businesses reported that they lost business opportunities due to a lack of foreign language skills. How can businesses ensure that proper training and assessment is in place to ensure that they don’t miss out on such opportunities? Current evaluation metrics look at the basics of language skills such as spelling, proper grammar, etc. which don’t always translate well *pun-intended* in a conversational setting.
Start with having the proper evaluation metrics, not building the perfect test.
Evaluation Leaves Little For Experimentation
Historically, and by definition, evaluation has remained an area that requires some stability. As the evaluator, it’s important to remain unbiased while positioning evaluations on a stable scale over time to make it easy to compare against other results. Meanwhile, those being evaluated expect fair evaluation criteria with the ability to compare themselves against others to understand their own skill-level and competencies.
This makes it all the more risky to change evaluation methods due to its intricacies. While changing the learning method might be precarious, it is important to maintain a stable evaluation process to measure the effectiveness and efficiency of these learning methods. But what can we do to improve evaluation methods without disrupting the effective purpose of evaluation?
The Curious Case Of Foreign Languages
Foreign language testing is a particularly relevant example of a test format designed to be analyzable but not representative of test-takers’ language skills. Without the proper evaluation criteria in place, proper testing, or training cannot take place.
The purpose of foreign language tests is to know if a person can communicate in a specific language. Previous evaluation criteria only accounted for grammar, spelling, and understanding, testing only the limited areas of language competency. The chasm between language tests and practical language skills could not be more apparent due to the focus on the actual testing versus what is being evaluated.
Therefore, individuals are currently evaluated on their ability to understand from a closed set of words, whereas their language competence in a business setting may require the ability to express ideas and feelings on open topics or situations.
Digital To The Rescue
The digital age has ushered in a new era of learning: eLearning. The eLearning market, as a whole, was worth $165 billion back in 2015 and, with a projected 5% growth rate, is set to hit $182 billion by the end of 2017. While eLearning continues to grow and influence the way organizations do train those within, not much has changed in evaluating how effective these training programs are. eTesting, for a lack of a better term, has long been overlooked and ignored. When it comes to learning and evaluating foreign language skills, eLearning has made it easier and more effective but the lack of proper eTesting has limited its efficacy.
Until recently, assessing the ability to express oneself in a foreign language meant a lengthy appointment with a language teacher. Not only was such a process complex and an expensive logistical headache, but it also limited its availability and efficiency. Going digital may have addressed most of these issues but leveraging digital technology correctly can be the difference between proper language mastery that accounts for cultural factors, and basic language proficiency.
3 Tips To Help You Develop Suitable Foreign Language Assessments
So, where do we go from here? Here are 3 tips you can have in mind before creating foreign language assessments:
1. Utilize Native-Language Speakers
Native-language speakers may be your most valuable asset in evaluating language competencies. Not only do these native speakers know the strict use of language (i.e. spelling, grammar, punctuation, etc.), but they also have the knowledge of a conversational language.
Conversational language is more than the know-how of how to communicate verbally with peers. Knowing how to speak informally can signal to others a level of cultural understanding which, in turn, leads to more natural and organic business interactions.
2. Separate Test-Takers From The Test-Grader
Often times, language tests put a tremendous amount of stress on both the test-taker and the evaluator. For the evaluator, they must constantly take into account what they observe with what they hear and what they feel during their conversation. Are they using proper grammar? Do responses feel formulaic and impersonal? Does their body language affect the message they are sending?
We have found that this stimulation overload can make it difficult to perform a proper assessment as an evaluator. But this overload can also be detrimental to the test-takers' typical performance, leading to an improper display of language skills. In the same way that an evaluator must account for multiple variables during this interaction, the test-taker must consider not only what they are saying but how they are saying it while also attempting to read the evaluator to gauge how they are doing.
Keeping the test-taker and the test-grader separate leads to a more objective assessment of language skill. By utilizing recorded and written responses, the assessment can focus solely on language use, thereby leading to an appropriate evaluation of language skill. And likewise, for the test-taker, the specific focus on language skill will lead to a more natural display of language ability, leading to an effective and proper assessment.
3. Use Role-Playing Scenarios
Communication in another language is a two-way street: one must be able to understand and interpret what is being spoken or read, but it is also important that they are able to communicate their thoughts and opinions as well. The ability to carry or create organic and natural conversations should be the goal of any training program or testing assessment. The best way to test and evaluate an individual’s ability to express ideas and thoughts on open topics, which are bountiful in a professional setting, is to utilize role-playing.
Role-playing has been an effective method for teaching and learning languages but it has rarely been used when evaluating language skills. Often times, these role-playing scenarios require more deep and thoughtful responses that take time to prepare before actually conveying the message as a test-taker. Not only is this unnatural and formulaic in a personal conversation, but it is disruptive in replicating natural communication.
Using role-playing against a limited timeframe is a perfect method for assessing an individual’s true ability in a language. Creating scenarios that reflect typical types of interactions within an organization can also lead to a stronger assessment of an individual’s language skills with respect to organizational needs.
A Few Final Words
In view of the efforts made by businesses today centered around training, it seems important to discuss the subject of evaluation. A good measure of skills will help guide learners better. How can one verify that training has been effective without a relevant and objective evaluation?
Digital technology gives us access to a wide array of intelligence that is available at all times. Rather than using technology for the sole purpose of process automation, we must use digital technology to take a step back and completely rethink specific ways of operating. In the case of evaluation, it would be a shame not to take advantage of technology and continue evaluating today’s learners the same way we have for the past 50 years.
