Week 13 Reflection: Testing and CALL

One topic that I found interesting from this week's readings and discussions is whether or not testing students' English through technology privileges some students over others. The fact that it does privilege some students was made obvious during the PIE's placement test last summer. We had two new students from southern Africa who were completing their speaking tests in the CALL lab and it was apparent that this was their first time ever interacting with a computer. They did not know how to type or use a mouse or navigate electronic folders. The TA's administering the speaking tests waited until the other students in the group, who were mostly from Saudi Arabia and needed almost no instruction on opening files, using the mouse, pressing record, etc., had finished recording their tests to give personal help to the two new students. They did not understand what was going on and the language barrier made the situation even more difficult to explain. Luckily, we were in a situation where we could take the time to give individual help to them. I helped to administer the listening test to the same group of students, and filling in bubbles on the scantron was also a new concept. As much as we tried to explain, the students did not see the connection between the tiny circles with letters on the scantron, the questions on their paper test, and the passages they were listening to. When you think about it, that type of testing is so ingrained in Western culture that it is second nature for us, but is really a bizarre and complicated way to test, all for the sake of expediting the process. Our two new students were placed in the lowest level, despite having decent English skills, due largely to the complications that the technology caused. As I've tried to add technology to my lessons here and there, I've found that it becomes less about learning language and more about learning technology. This becomes very dangerous when it involves testing. A student who has never used a computer in their life is, of course, going to experience additional stress and difficulties during a computerized test than one who has grown up around technology, and in this way, the test is unfairly assessing their technology skills on top of their English skills. It's like asking someone who only knows how to drive an automatic to take their driving test on a stick shift.