Test as the method to improve students’ English writing abilities

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Test as the method to improve students' English writing abilities

As the computers and the Internet have rapidly found their ways into classrooms activities around the world at all levels of education, teachers are trying to find effective ways to integrate this technology into their curriculum. There is growing interest in those factors which affect the test performance of the students' learning English. Some of it is motivated by a desire to detect and eliminate test features which check the tester's attempts to achieve accurate assessment of learners' language level. A number of researchers investigate influence of testing in the process of students' learning English writing at university. The mentioned information outlines the actuality of the researching.

There is no perfect modern methods of teaching writing for a particular degree of English learning at university, there is neither a developed effective system of tasks and exercises, tests for teaching writing, nor formulated guidelines for teachers. The existence of the above-mentioned problems requiring immediate solutions, and the students' lack of mastery in writing determine the relevance of this study. The results can improve the effectiveness of teaching writing at university using tests.

The object of the article is the process of teaching English writing at university using tests. The subject is student-oriented approach in teaching English writing on communicative basis using tests.

Research goal is to justify methods of teaching writing and using writing tests. The set goal necessitates to fulfill the following tasks:

1. To examine the current state of teaching writing at university.

2. To justify a system of tests for teaching and managing of English writing.

3. To describe the training model of written communication.

4. To formulate guidelines for teaching English writing of the students.

The results of the study give the opportunities to apply a system of tests, aimed at building skills of written expressions in order to improve the effectiveness of teaching English. Formulated guide© О.М. Литвинюк lines for teaching writing at university promote individualization, differentiation, student-oriented approach in teaching English.

This investigation reports a study in which 25 students were interviewed, they were asked to do self-monitoring and to check other students' writing, the same texts were commented by the teacher. The findings show that some students may not have developed the ability to see their own mistakes. All students favoured teachers checking and saw the teacher as a figure of authority that guaranteed quality. The role of peer comments which contributed positively to the writing process was identified. They enhance a sense of audience, raise learners' awareness of their own strengths and weaknesses, encourage learning, and foster the ownership of text.

Teaching writing requires clarity of expression and therefore simplicity of language. Writing is intent on expressing certain key concepts so that these may be understood as easily as possibly by the intended readers. Writing in a clear, concise manner makes not only understanding the text easier for the reader, it also makes your life easier - especially when you are not a native speaker of English.

When talking about algorithms, or sequences of events in writing, absolute clarity of it is needed in the code discussed. We need to attain the same level of clarity of expression our thoughts, otherwise readers will not consider the written work, writing should be more accessible on the level of understanding and therefore easier to use or extend. In this researching, we will cover some of the basic concepts that lead to good writing on the basis of using tests.

Students will certainly discover more such rules and concepts as they practice the writing skills gained at the classes. Having their own writing read and criticized by friends and teachers students are to pay attention to these criticisms.

The understanding of written text depends on three distinct components:

• Legibility

• Readability

• Comprehensibility

Using testing as a quick, reliable and accurate way of assessing language skills has its pros and cons. Tactful correction of students' writing is essential. Written correction is potentially damaging to confidence because it's very visible and permanent on the page. Teacher should make positive comments and respond to the content, not just the language. He is to focus on helping the student clarify the meaning of the writing.

There are endless opportunities to teach and practice writing skills in the classroom. Some may be immediately relevant and applicable to everyday life and others may be simply an enjoyable and interesting way to teach English writing skills. Some ideas include:

• describing someone the student knows well;

• writing a letter for a job application;

• writing an answer to a letter of complaint;

• writing a book report;

• writing a book review;

• writing an instruction sheet for something the student knows how to do;

• describing a view;

• writing a news report on something current;

• writing a menu for an imaginary restaurant;

• designing posters for a party, play or concert;

• writing e-mails to pen pals around the world;

• writing invitations to an imaginary event;

In the research work the theoretical basis and practical solution to the problem of teaching writing and written communication in English are presented. The specified goals and objectives of the research were reflected in the definition of theoretical assumptions for teaching writing and in making out exercises and tests aimed at studying the written communication and guidance on teaching this kind of language activities.

The importance and feasibility of teaching writing is claimed to be independent type of speech as the means to help the formation of skills in other types of language activities. Some objective laws, which develop well-formed written statement in its various forms were identified.

Teaching writing at university is a necessary component of the educational process, without it teachers don't manage to prepare highly educated students. Teaching written communication includes the following components:

• written communication areas (scientific, business, educational, neutral);

• language and speech material, text-forming means;

• the skills required for written communication;

• the skills required to create written statements, such as: writing business and personal letters, e-mail letters, messages, ads, filling in questionnaire form and application form, writing an autobiography, resume, annotation.

The mentioned above components of training content were the basis for the development of tests and exercises to teach written communication. In developing the tests and exercises we based on communicative approach, which has led to the need for communicative intentions in written communication. When writing a business letter such intentions appear to be informing, encouraging, expression (score), contacting; while filling in questionnaire forms - informing; in writing autobiography, summary - information and motivating. Communicative intention while writing the composition are the information, motivation, expression, assessment, sharing experiences, evidence.

Testing English at university is the whole multi-functional system that for all its characteristics correlates with the overall system of educational process in English. To identify the knowledge and skills is necessary for writing expressions in different types of expression.

The main purpose of testing is to manage the learning process in teaching foreign communicative competence via operational obtain objective and reliable data. Depending on the purposes tests perform various functions: managing, motivational directing, controlling, correcting assessment, training, educational, developmental and predictive.

In order to successfully imply these functions tests are organized being based on the following principles: authenticity, continuity of practice, objectivity of results; privacy, taking into account age-related psychological characteristics of the testees, taking into account previous experience.

The system of tests and exercises to teach written communication was based on the communicative intentions and actions of their implementation. It consists of 5 groups of exercises and tests: 1. Exercises aimed at teaching spelling. 2. Vocabulary exercises for teaching writing. 3. Exercises aimed at developing skills of written communication. 4. Speech-writing exercises to work with typed text. 5. Speech-writing exercises to teach foreign language activities.

To confirm the effectiveness of the research a set of tests was carried out through the pilot study. The results of the experiment showed the difficulties the students faced when writing text in English, and showed the effectiveness of the set of tests.

The tests should be introduced in the practice of teaching English by means of cyclic-helical model. This model reflects the cumulative feature of foreign language communicative competence, due to its cyclical development of students throughout the period of the learning process of English. Thus, the model of the system tests has cyclic structure and provides two directions - spiral (current, topical, final testing) and linear (gradual complication of each test from beginner to senior level of education).

The guidelines were formulated to be practical for organization and implementation of training written communication. Their application in practice will enable teachers to provide effective teaching writing. Theoretical and practical results of this work can be used in research on the problems of teaching written communication at university.

Bibliography

teaching english writing

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