Changes of English Syllabuses and Textbooks in High schools vis-a-vis Assessment: The Case of Grade Eleven English Tests
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Date
2001-06
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
In the last three decades there have been lots of changes in the language
teaching profession. These changes are mainly the results of the broadening of
views about the nature of language and language learning. This worldwide
phenomenon is also reflected in our country in that new English syllabuses and
textbooks are now in use.
In this study, an attempt was made to explore whether testing has also changed
in accordance with changes of the syllabuses. To investigate this, contents of
the new Grade 11 English textbooks were compared with contents of the 1992
E.C. test papers of four sample high schools in Addis Ababa. The comparison
was made in terms of grammatical components, communicative functions,
skills/sub-skills included, and test formats employed. Additionally, two sets of
questionnaire were distributed to 208 students and 20 teachers to gather
information regarding the skills/sub-skills and test formats emphasized in
classroom teaching and testing.
The study revealed that contents of the syllabus/textbooks and the test papers
vary greatly. Moreover, it was found out that grammar, vocabulary, and reading
comprehension are the most emphasized language areas in classroom lessons
and classroom tests; multiple choice is the most dominant test format employed
in testing. In sum, changes in the syllabus do not seem to have been
accompanied by innovations in testing.
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Keywords
English Syllabuses