英语测试学论文.doc

An Evaluation to Current College English Testing in China Abstract: There are several large English tests in Chinese universities, such as the College English Test Band 4 and Band 6, Test for English Majors-4, Test for English Majors-8, Public English Test System, and so on. Inevitably, some problems exist in these tests. Based on theories of modern language testing, this paper discusses the problems existing in current college English testing, then put forward some advice to improve college English testing in China. Test designers are expected to make tests diversified and choose appropriate test questions and topics so that students’ language level can be evaluated fairly and scientifically. Key words: English testing, validity, credibility. Introduction College English testing is an important part of college English teaching. Students can have a better understanding of their own language competence and language shills though this kind of tests. And of course, they can also find their weakness and problems about English learning. According to these problems and weakness, students can adjust their learning plans or ways of study to improve their language skills and language competence. Anyway, college English testing is very important to college students because it is not only a way to test their language ability, but also a way to find problems and make a progress. Therefore, it is essential for us and test designers to make it clear about what language competence is and how to test, as well as the problems in current college English testing. 2. What Language Competence is Just as we know, the main purpose of language testing is making a scientific and fair evaluation about the language competence of students. However, different people hold different opinions about what language competence is. In 1960s, Chomsky put forward the notion of language competence and language performance. However, the language competence which Chomsky referred to is abstract. Many lingu