Testing in the Foreign Language Classroom

I am writing this blog post after having spent close to four hours grading my Spanish 401 class’ most recent exams, and so the issue of testing in the foreign language classroom is fresh on my mind. As was previously mentioned, my students’ exams really do not tell me anything new, as I, having known them now for almost a semester, had a fairly good idea of how they would perform. Those who clearly come to class prepared earn high grades, while those who seemingly put little effort into the course struggle on the exams. In many cases, I think that my exam grades, more than anything, tell me how mature my students are and how well they navigate life as a college student. I have several students who seriously struggle as language learners, and yet earn A’s and B’s on the exams due to their perseverance, hard work outside of the classroom, and commitment to seeking out extra help when need be. On the other hand, I also have students who I know (due to their performance in class) do not struggle with memorizing vocabulary or comprehending grammatical structures but who do not study, as well as students who do struggle but never seek out extra help despite my constant urging.

I’ve come to the conclusion that doing well on our Spanish 401 exams has much less to do with being a good language learner than it does with putting in the time and effort that is necessary to succeed on such an assessment. My “A” students are not necessarily smarter or better language learners that my “D” students; they simply have a better grasp of what it takes to earn high grades on this type of assessment. In some cases, those who have a very natural ability to learn languages will obviously have an advantage over those who do not, but, in my opinion, everything comes down to how well a student prepares for and acquaints him or herself with the given exam format. When studying for the exam students are not necessarily honing their language abilities, but rather are attempting to prepare themselves to answer the questions asked by the exam, and many of such questions are seemingly unrelated to “authentic” or realistic uses of the language. Testing, therefore, asks students to regurgitate information in order to asses how well they have absorbed such material.

Although I am often frustrated by our exam’s ability to test real language competencies, I struggle to think of a better way to assess our students given the fast pace of Spanish 401 and relative lack of time in the semester for more creative types of assessments. I like that our exams force students to be accountable for the material that we have covered, but at the same time I very much dislike the idea that students are simply memorizing material for a test. I wonder how much my students are truly retaining, and whether or not the material is actually meaningful to them. Will they actually remember any of what they have learned once the 401-402 sequence is over, or did they only learn parts of the language temporarily in order to boost their GPA? I also obviously worry that such assessments create far too much anxiety and therefore discourage students who are already struggling in the class. Students who are seasoned test-takers and who are accustomed to life as a college student know exactly how to prepare and what to expect, while those who have testing anxiety, are not “good” test-takers, or who are new to UNH seem to become quite nervous upon being given an exam and therefore hinder their own ability to show what they know. I guess, more than anything, I am unsure if a solution exists that responds to all of my concerns but that also fits well within the time constraints of the Spanish 401 classroom. Any ideas?