Prep for TOEFL Primary Step 1
國際兒童英語能力認證標準
TOEFL Primary season is fast approaching! Are your students ready? Almost all of you have heard about TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) brought to you by ETS, the same company that brought us SATs, GREs, ISA, PISA, etc. Surprisingly, very few of the native English speaking teachers (NESTs) I run into know about TOEFL. It's been around for decades. It's an oldie but goodie test that international students aspiring to study in America have had to take to qualify for entrance since....well forever. But now in order to diversify markets, ETS has created a kids version called TOEFL Primary that comes in 2 levels--Step 1 and Step 2.
You don't need me to tell you all about it. Read more at the official websites:
OK, you're back, and I'm sure you barely got past the sample test questions. Maybe you started drifting off around the scoring scales. For now take a look at these Quizlet, Kahoot and Quizizz sets below.
There are sets made from vocabulary found on the TOEFL sample practice exam (模擬考). There are also generic vocabulary development sets, like antonyms, past tense forms, and even vocab from our regular English curriculum that appears roughly at Step1-Step2 level. Many items have picture prompts to facilitate comprehension of vocabulary. It is best to start with Quizlet if the kids still need more vocabulary development.
These two sets practice reading comprehension more intensely using long paraphrased meanings of words and authentic public notices/signs. Be sure to always play these sets with randomized question and answer order because kids will attempt to memorize answers, especially kids who did not master the vocabulary appearing in the Quizlet sets above. Also slow down between plays and review questions by asking the students how they know that a particular answer is correct.
This set is a mix of simple vocabulary practice and more intense reading comprehension practice. Always set the play options to randomized question and answer order to thwart memorization. Authentic reading uses menus: knowing food classification and understanding particular information on a menu.
OK, have some cappuccino with extra shot and get ready for the following blah blah blah... I'm going to talk at length about test content and necessary skills/knowledge and maybe go on about why your school needs to register for TOEFL Primary. I might move this to a new bloggy section later, but I'll tell you my thoughts about TOEFL here for now.
The easiest way to analyze the content of a test is to look at 1) vocabulary knowledge 字彙項目 2) comprehension of details 理解項目 and 3) inferencing skills 推理項目. I use this framework when designing my own tests at Hot Spring Elementary. I recommend everyone to do the same because it lets you make tests that cover higher order thinking skills (應用 & 高層次思考 ) without overthinking and making yourself crazy. I examined the TOEFL Primary Step 1 listening and reading Practice tests 模擬考 using this framework.
1) Vocabulary Knowledge 模擬考的字彙項目
The listening test has 8 items (including the example in Part 1) that I classified as mostly dependent on vocabulary knowledge. The format of this section shows 3 pictures which are similar. The testee must listen carefully and identify the picture that matches the statement. In one sense it is like listening for comprehension of details (Who, what, where, when, why, how) but the item stem does not ask these questions. Successful responses are dependent on knowing a few key vocabulary. The testees might hear: the plane is IN the clouds; or the plane is ABOVE the clouds, or the plane is ON the ground.
The reading test has 17 items (including 2 examples in Part 1) that I classified as mostly or wholly dependent on vocabulary knowledge. The format of this section shows one picture with 3 options. Some are simple word selections: <picture of bee> a) bird b) butterfly c) bee ; others are sentence selections: <picture of woman writing on blackboard> a) She is reading from a book. b) She is sitting at a desk. c) She is writing on a board. These items require knowledge of phrases, but still vocabulary knowledge nonetheless.
2) Comprehension of Details 模擬考的理解項目
The listening test has 8 items (including the example in Part 2) that I classified as mostly dependent on comprehension of details. Again, the format of this section shows 3 pictures which are similar. The testee must listen carefully and identify the picture that matches the statement. In one sense it is like listening for inferences because the testees must apply real world knowledge to help them choose the best matching picture, but sufficient details of the picture are directly stated in the item stem. Successful responses are dependent on understanding whole sentences. The testees might hear: John, the pizza is ready to eat. Can you get the plates and put them on the table? Testees should have real world knowledge/experience of helping to set the table and then apply 應用 this experience and listening comprehension of plates, put on table to choose the correct picture.
Part 4 consists of conversations between 2 people. Here testees must listen for information which is directly stated in the conversation, like When is the party? (this weekend), What will you eat? (cake), etc.
Part 5 is a monologue. Testees will hear a phone message or someone making an announcement. Usually these questions ask the details that are explicitly mentioned, What does he want? Why did he call?
Items testing comprehension of details also appear on part 3 of the reading test. Signs/notices/schedules/tables and emails/letters appear as text prompts. Then the following items will ask details, like What time is the blah blah blah, or Who will blah blah blah...
3) Inferencing Skills 模擬考的推理項目
The listening test has 10 items (including the example in Part 3) that I classified as mostly dependent on inferencing skills (推理). This part has neither pictures nor text and consists of a dyad: A question or statement followed by a response. The testees must listen carefully and choose the response that matches the statement. Testees must apply different types of skills knowledge and apply them together-interactive processing of top-down and bottom-up listening. They may need to grammatically analyze 分析 and infer the correct match , or make pragmatic inferences 語用推理 or both. An example might be: Good morning, John. How are you? a) My name is John. b) I'm fine, thanks. c) Yes, it's morning. Testees only see " (a) (b) (c) " in the test book and choose their answer based on what they hear and understand.
Inferencing questions may also appear in Part 4 conversations and Part 5 monologues. Maybe the test will ask why someone is saying that message, but the exact reason is not stated directly-the testee must infer the speaker's intention (推斷對話者的意涵).
Part 2 of the reading test is comprised of 8 items (including the example) which are quite unique among standardized English tests. These items ostensibly test vocabulary knowledge, but I classify them as inference because the item stem describes or defines a word without mentioning it. The testees must read this short description and infer which word is the correct answer.
Part 3 of the reading test is comprised of questions based on signs/notices/letters/emails. If the information necessary to answer the question appears in the text, it is a comprehension question, but occasionally a question will require testees to infer a conclusion.
Why your school should register students for TOEFL Primary or other international English proficiency exams
Do you remember test validity 效度 ?
Do you remember the types of validity: construct validity構念效度, content validity內容效度, criterion validity 效標關聯效度, face validity 表面效度 ?
Basically, your school should be interested in determining how well the students are learning English, but if you use only your own 月考, you have no way of knowing for sure. If your students' scores are good, that's nice, but maybe your 月考 is too easy and not testing the right types of English knowledge and skill. That is a problem of construct and content validity. If your students' scores are bad, maybe their English is actually OK, but your 月考 is too hard. Again, it's a problem of construct and content validity. You need a neutral third-person's perspective (中立的第三人觀點)--- That is the TOEFL Primary test (or other international standardized tests, like Cambridge Young Learners Exams, TOEIC Bridge, Oxford Young Learners English Exams). Using a test from a trusted, outside source lets you see how well your students do on an internationally standardized scale. Based on these results, you can modify your own English curriculum to improve your students' abilities in certain areas. Also, the international standardized tests provide the criterion validity to help you improve your own test design.
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