Over the Wall of Silence

26 Over the Wall of Silence

as rote memorization and comprehension take time to adjust to learning based on producing language. It’s a new style of learning for them, and so we should give them time to adjust. W HAT MAKES A GOOD TEST ? Our friend Jerry Talandis Jr has written a thorough yet approach able book called How to Test Speaking Skills in Japan , published by Alma Publishing in this series. In it, he outlines the four criteria of a good test: Ÿ Validity: Does the test fit with what you are trying to do with the class? Ÿ Reliability: Is it fair to all students? Ÿ Practicality: Is the result worth the effort? Can this be sus tained? Ÿ Washback effect: Does it help your students to learn? Although we don’t want to get too technical in this book, this is a helpful framework to keep in mind as you bring testing to the fore in your classes. You’ll find yourself focusing on various aspects, de pending on where you are on the journey of developing your ap proach. It’s vital to experiment, and find what works best in your context and with your own teaching style. In all honestly, we have changed the ways in which we teach and test quite radically over the years, but the basic framework has stayed constant: test, and test regularly.