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Post by Otaku on Feb 13, 2008 9:50:10 GMT 8
Today, I got a peek at the standardized English tests the students have to take at the end of the year. The area where the students write their names is designed for them to write their names in kanji.
I could shoot holes in these tests all day long, but why bother moving onto the second line of the test when the standardized test preparers can't even make it past the first line without screwing up...
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Post by redpanda on Nov 26, 2008 21:17:45 GMT 8
I have to make my own. Are there any online?
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Post by MES Mark on Nov 29, 2008 22:54:13 GMT 8
Why does it bother you so much that the students write their name in Kanji?
I've seen this before from you. Imagine a standardized test for Japanese language in Alaska, do you think they'd have a box for students to write their names in katakana? I'm sure the test center wouldn't have a way to deal with that. They'd write their names in English, wouldn't they?
Same goes for Japan.
I haven't seen the tests, so I don't have any idea of what you are talking about but what holes can you poke in the standardized tests? what is a better way to test knowledge of that area of English?
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Post by matt on Dec 1, 2008 8:18:07 GMT 8
Well, considering that this is Japan, it doesn't bother me for students to have to write their names in kanji on a standardized test. But it does seem ironic that students wouldn't write their name in English on an English test. Perhaps it should be part of the test to write their names properly in English. What bothers me more is that students are allowed to write their names in kanji in English class. I think it wouldn't hurt anyone to have this enforced for an hour out of their day, and it's a good way to get them used to writing their names in English.
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Post by Otaku on Dec 1, 2008 12:02:53 GMT 8
Redpanda, I'm not sure why you would have to make your own tests. The textbooks should have their own supplimentary materials, which should include tests. If you are required to make your own, keep in mind:
1. the grammar points: map out the number of grammar points you want to test and try to have an even number of questions for each grammar point. 2. keep in mind the various test patterns: fill-in-the-blank, multiple choice, true/false, choosing words from a textbox, etc.
MesMark, First of all, I'm not blasting standardized testing. You need some way of being able to test a student to see if the material is being learned. That being said, there is an argument to be made about the validity of standardized tests in a system where students are passed onto the next grade level regardless of whether they pass or fail.
Moving onto the question raised by you and Matt about the students writing their names in kanji...
The standardized tests that I've seen given at my school are not sent off to a test center but rather graded in-house. So, the point raised about the test centers having to read the students names is nil. Additionally, in America or any other English-speaking country, I think if Japanese was taught starting from elementary school, by the time they hit JHS, it would become pretty standard to write their names on EVERYTHING, including a standardized test. And, even if it wasn't popular to do so, I would make an argument that it should be. However, we can't be very well certain of this because English-speaking countries, to my knowledge, don't regularly teach a foreign language from the ES level.
I even remember when I was in HS, we would often receive a point in various subjects by simply remembering to write our names on the papers we turned in and the tests we took. Since the point of English class is to study English, I see no reason why the students shouldn't practice writing their names in English. Especially, since I regularly see students make mistakes. Call me a radicalist, but I'm under the opinion the more the students think, write, speak and read in English, the easier English acquistion becomes.
If by chance these were not 'standardized tests' I got a peek at, then I'm sorry. However, with how professionally they were done, they looked like it. However, my argument still stands that students should write their names in English in English class.
When I studied Japanese in college, once we learned hiragana, every homework item we handed in and every test we took we had to write our names in hiragana. Then, once we learned katakana, from that moment on, we had to write our names in katakana. I think this practice reinforced the subject we were studying. At the point 3rd grade students are still sometimes writing their names incorrectly in romaji, I think the more practice they receive, the better.
Also, I did a practicum in college where I was an assistant to a Japanese teacher for ES students at a public school. The students were part of an Japanese language immersion program. Much like my college Japanese classes, once the ES students learned hiragana, they were instructed to write their names on their papers in hiragana. I think the more students practice they have with the subject they're learning, the better they will become with their ability to think and perform in that subject...desho?
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Post by matt on Dec 2, 2008 12:17:01 GMT 8
The thing is, I was under the impression that these were tests which were being sent off to some kind of prefectural facility where they would be graded on some kind of national/prefectural scale or basis. So it makes sense to write kanji for that kind of situation. But if these tests are 'in-house' and being graded by the JTE, then I agree: I don't see why they shouldn't be written in English...just like writing their names in English for papers and other tests and such that are all 'in-class'.
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