• Offered by School of Literature, Languages and Linguistics
  • ANU College ANU College of Arts and Social Sciences
  • Course subject Linguistics
  • Areas of interest Asian Languages, European Languages, Linguistics and Applied Linguistics, Latin American Languages
Assessing Language (LING2029)
How we assess language ability is a critical issue.  Language testing is prominent in policy matters, for example in immigration and education, and it can have profound effects on institutional practices such as teaching and learning, as well as on the lives of individuals. Language assessment has a broad remit; it is relevant across age groups, languages and teaching and learning contexts.  It involves determining the nature of the language that is to be assessed and using methods which allow fair representations of test-takers’ language abilities.
 
This course introduces theoretical and practical aspects of language assessment.  It covers key concepts in language testing, such as reliability, validity, fairness, usefulness and models of communicative competence, as well as practical aspects, such as test design, test analysis and item writing. Illustrative examples of existing language tests and frameworks will be used throughout the course. Students will be encouraged to make connections to their own work contexts and/or language assessment experiences.

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:

Upon successful completion of this course, students will have the knowledge and skills to:
  1. Develop an awareness of the key concepts in language assessment
  2. Critically evaluate language assessment practices
  3. Understand the social and political dimensions of language testing
  4. Apply principles of test design, analysis and evaluation
  5. Understand the relationship between language assessment and language teaching

Indicative Assessment

Critical review of an existing language assessment (2000 words) (LO 1, 2, 3, 5)
Test development project
     Stage 1: Test specifications, test/task materials design and rationale (1000 words) (LO 3, 4, 5)
     Stage 2: Test trial, analysis and evaluation (2000 words)  (LO 1, 2, 4, 5)

The ANU uses Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. While the use of Turnitin is not mandatory, the ANU highly recommends Turnitin is used by both teaching staff and students. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the ANU Online website.

Workload

130 hours of total student learning time made up from: a) 36 hours of contact over 12 weeks: 24 hours of lectures and 12 hours of tutorials; b) 94 hours of independent student research, reading and writing.

Requisite and Incompatibility

You are not able to enrol in this course if you have previously completed LING6029.

Majors

Minors

Fees

Tuition fees are for the academic year indicated at the top of the page.  

If you are a domestic graduate coursework or international student you will be required to pay tuition fees. Tuition fees are indexed annually. Further information for domestic and international students about tuition and other fees can be found at Fees.

Student Contribution Band:
1
Unit value:
6 units

If you are an undergraduate student and have been offered a Commonwealth supported place, your fees are set by the Australian Government for each course. At ANU 1 EFTSL is 48 units (normally 8 x 6-unit courses). You can find your student contribution amount for each course at Fees.  Where there is a unit range displayed for this course, not all unit options below may be available.

Units EFTSL
6.00 0.12500

Course fees

Domestic International
Domestic fee paying students
Year Fee
2017 $2856
International fee paying students
Year Fee
2017 $4080
Note: Please note that fee information is for current year only.

Offerings, Dates and Class Summary Links

ANU utilises MyTimetable to enable students to view the timetable for their enrolled courses, browse, then self-allocate to small teaching activities / tutorials so they can better plan their time. Find out more on the Timetable webpage.

The list of offerings for future years is indicative only.
Class summaries, if available, can be accessed by clicking on the View link for the relevant class number.
2018

Second Semester

Class number Class start date Last day to enrol Census date Class end date Mode Of Delivery Class Summary
8876 23 Jul 2018 30 Jul 2018 31 Aug 2018 26 Oct 2018 In Person N/A

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