Online Placement Tests of Arabicasa Foreign Language

Abstract

The issue of assessment is of a paramount essence in the field of education and especially in teaching foreign languages. In our globalized and ever-changing world, numerous studies have highlighted the necessity of designing electronic placement tests for foreign language learners and particularly Arabic non- native speakers. Accordingly, we have chosen Arabic Language Placement Tests for their importance as they offer the opportunity for evaluators to place students effectively into their proper level of Arabic proficiency in all the Arabic language skills, and thus devise appropriate lessons and activities that will tailor their learning requirements. Add to this, they are very advantageous in the sense that they are easy to administer, time-saving and give AFL learners immediate feedback on their performance in these tests.Fundamentally, our project attempts to bring in electronic placement tests that involve interactive questions, miscellaneous questions’ forms and skills in addition to immediate scoring and feedback. Therefore, our project will be a platform- based. Equally important, our project sets out to keep up with the CEFR’s newly added recommendations, the rapid technological breakthroughs in education and further to boost the Arabic typing skills to the AFL learners through making them familiar with the Arabic keyboard. Moreover, the intent of this project is to describe, analyze and discuss samples of paper-Arabic placement tests in terms of their administration and scoring for Arabic L2 learners and drawing on the limitations of these tests, we will design some alternative oral and written computer-based tests.OPTAFL which stands for Online Placement Test of Arabic as a Foreign Language will be primarily the label of our innovative project. Our team is highly aware of the significance of the task and we are very motivated to come up with the up-to-date thoughts to contribute to the progress of teaching Arabic to speakers of other languages.IntroductionForeign Language teaching is an applied linguistic field of study that is independent in terms of its methods, techniques, strategies, syllabi, content textbooks and on top of that assessment. The teaching of foreign languages must be based on well-studied scientific grounds, which is a relatively new field, in which every significant attempt and every meaningful study can be made, and this field faces considerable difficulties in determining the language levels of students, which affects their language proficiency while learning the language.

Assessment is the central element that accompanies the educational process in all its stages

and it is used to judge the performance of the learners, measure their levels, determine the extent of progress and achievement. Accordingly, it uses a number of tools, the most important of which are tests. The types of tests vary in terms of goals, that is, achievement tests, proficiency tests, diagnostic tests and placement tests. Placement tests are one of the tools used to determine the students’ language level, and they are then placed at the appropriate level, whether at the beginner, intermediate or advanced level, and for this reason that language tests are designed.The focal area of our, collaborative and practical, action research is improving placement tests of Arabic as a Foreign Language through the use of the internet. Without the integration of information and communication technology, Placement tests of Arabic as a Foreign Language will be only a language center bound and will not keep up with the worldwide development. Paper and pen tests are currently outdated and they can’t address the large public at the same time. By using Online Placement Tests of Arabic as a Foreign Language, many candidates or test- takers all over the world will have access to the placement tests and they will not be obliged to move to a particular language to see which level of Arabic Language will be placed at.

The Research Problem:The problem of this research is the scarcity or better still the void of Online Placement Tests that determine the level of AFL. We, as a research team, found that there is an urgent need to electronically standardize the levels of testing Arabic in the following levels: (Beginner A1.1/A1.2/A2.1/A2.2)-intermediate (B1.1/B1.2/B2.1)- advanced (C1.1/C1.2/2.1/2.2).The Purpose of the Study:The aims of this Practical Research Project are:To report an analysis of pen and paper Placement Tests designed by Moroccan AF language centers or institutions to evaluate their effectiveness as a tool of assessing AFL linguistic proficiency according the CEFR new recommendations.To design placement tests that include the newly added CEFR levels and sub-levels.To develop a platform for creating web-based Placement Tests of Arabic as a Foreign Language.The Significance of the Study:This study is primarily significant for the following reasons:For AFL learners:This research will help place AFL learners from all over the world at their appropriate level of Arabic according the newly recommended CEFR levels and sub-levels.For AFL teachers:This research enables AFL teachers to design interactive Online Placement Tests that keep up with the rapid development of ICT.Importantly, our collaborative project will determine the basis for the preparation of Placement Tests for foreign learners who enroll in Arabic language courses , and enable Arabic language centers, institutions and all the stakeholders to develop educational programs that correspond to the language level that the foreign students are placed inwhile learning the language, and classify students to language levels and sub-levels ( Beginner – Intermediate – Advanced).

The Research Questions:The study aims at answering the following questions:Do Moroccan language Centers and Institutions of Teaching Arabic as a foreign language adopt the newly added version of the CEFR in placing the learners into the right level or sub-level?Do language Centers or Institutions use Online Placement Tests?

Methodologies:Critical discourse analysis will be exploited as a method to investigate the validity of testing students’ linguistic competence at all levels. Patterns within data will be elicited to identify necessary relationships for further interpretations. The intended participants in this study are test designers in TAFL institutions and centers who are required to complete the survey as the main instrument used to investigate the issue after getting their approval and applying all the necessary ethical principles. Assigning codes, defining themes and discovering associations are the fundamental stages for developing logical analysis and interpretations.Descriptive statistics will be also employed to examine the data and draw conclusions about the design of placement tests and the means of their administration to test takers. The data will be presented in a meaningful way and describe its basic features through statistics and graphs to allow for evident and trustworthy interpretations.

Literature Review:This section of the research sheds lights on the golden components in foreign language teaching andlearning: Testing, Evaluation, Assessment and measurement.

Tests:Tests can be defined as an instrument of evaluation that measures the learners’ ability, knowledge, and performance. (Richards, 1999; Allan, 1995; Genesee Apshur, 1996)Types of Language TestsAchievement TestsAchievement tests also known as attainment or summative tests are tests which are designed to measure students ‘accomplishments or progression in different specific educational subjects after a learning or training journey. According to Brown (1995, p.259) achievement tests are ‘tests that are limited to particular material covered in a curriculum within a particular time frame’.In fact, these tests play a significant role in school evaluation not only in assessing how pupils are learning and how they are progressing, but it is also a valuable means which offers language teachers the chance to judge the efficacy of their own teaching methods and strategies. By doing so, language instructors can both highlight their learners’ weaknesses and arrive at matching their instructional strategies or objectives with their learners ‘individual needs. In other words, the results obtained from such tests determine whether a student is to move to the next academic level or still needs more support when he or she underperforms. Additionally, achievement tests can be oral, written or practical, yet the most popular achievement tests are the standardized exams that students take at schools in various content areas.Cloze TestsCloze tests are comprehension tests in which language learners are highly required to demonstrate their ability to understand different vocabulary items in different contexts through filling the gaps exercise. In these tasks, students are asked to use appropriate words relying on their prior background knowledge or experiences to supply the deleted language items in various reading passages. For instance, in cloze tests, language test takers are given reading passages, in which certain vocabulary words are removed, and where students are encouraged to read and predict the missing language items.

More importantly, in cloze tests pupils have the possibility either to fill in the gaps on their own or can be given options to choose from, and they are scored depending on how well learners successfully managed to opt for meaningful language words which go hand in hand with the context in which they occurred.Diagnostic TestsDiagnostic tests are pre-tests which consist of a variety of written questions devised to determine what students already know or do not know about a particular language and assess their prior knowledge of the four basic language skills namely listening, reading, speaking and writing. They also enable language teachers to pinpoint the linguistic difficulties their learners have with a foreign language before beginning a specific language course or a new unit or topic. This helps language teachers design and opt for activities which are to cope with their learners’ language deficits and find ways to adapt the curriculum in order to respond to the pupils’ requirements in different language classes especially in mixed-ability classes. In this regard, Broughton et al asserts that:There will certainly be a large block in the middle of the ability range that can be separated off as a group for some parts of the lesson, or for some, and will form a more homogenous teaching group. If the strategy is adopted, the poor ones and the better ones must receive their due time and attention.(Broughton et al. 1980, p.189)Diagnostic tests aim at letting language pupils gain a deeper understanding of both their strengths and the areas which still need further improvements. In addition to this, they demonstrate how much work language teachers are to devote to teach students some new concepts or data, and get to develop their own teaching styles. To guarantee the success of diagnostic tests, the latter are followed by post- tests which are meant to provide learners with a constructive feedback that will make them recognize the learning progress they are making compared to the results of the pre-tests.Language Aptitude TestsBy language aptitude tests, we mean tests which measure individual language learners’ aptitude toward learning any foreign language. In other words, these tests are devised not only to test learners’ ability or inability to learn a particular language, but they predict whether they are likely to learn them successfully and comfortably. Along with that, language aptitude tests are tests which assess learners in a variety of abilities based on a bundle of suitable test items. For example, language learners can be examined in their ability to detect and memorize the sounds they hear in the target language. What’s more, such tests can measure the extent to which learners can determine the various functions of different grammatical structures or parts of speech in numerous sentences. They also predict learners’ ability to identify meanings in contexts without any provided explanation in the target language. Finally, such tests are to test students’ memorization skills; skills like recalling and remembering words, rules or sentence patterns.Placement TestsPlacement tests are primarily designed for the purpose of identifying students’ various academic and language abilities so as to place them in their appropriate level or class with respect to their potentials or language competencies. These tests can involve a number of tests such as reading passages, grammar tests, listening comprehension, grammar tests and oral interviews; all these are examples of testing procedures which are commonly used for placement intentions. After taking placement tests, language learners manage to know which particular language skills they need to improve and spend more time on, and thus maximize their language learning.Proficiency TestsLanguage proficiency tests are tests which are intended to test how much a particular language learner has reached a general mastery of a particular language. Valette claims that,’ the aim of a proficiency test is to determine whether this language ability corresponds to specific language requirements’ (Valette, 1977, p.6). In language proficiency tests, test designers make use of scales and descriptors in order to measure how much learners are likely to use the target language in different authentic communicative settings. As an illustration OPI (ACTFL Oral Proficiency Interview) is an international oral test that measures how well learners are good at speaking any foreign language in real-life contexts. The OPI test consists of a couple of questions via which examiners can succeed in identifying both learners’ strengths and weaknesses especially those which correspond to his or her general speaking ability.Concepts of Proficiency:Aggregate Proficiency: when tests include a wide range of language tasks and have several sub- tests.Specific or Applied Proficiency: it deals with testing the learners’ command of language for a specific purpose be it professional or academic such as ESP ( English For Specific Purposes).Accredited Language Proficiency Exams:Examinations can be classified according to the language content such as examinations of general language proficiency in foreign languages and examinations in LSP (Language for Specific Purposes), which deals with several professional fields such as business, tourism, diplomacy, military, computing and so on. Examinations of general proficiency measure the candidates’ current level of command via several tasks that test a complex combination of several skills and abilities, including reading, listening, speaking, writing, vocabulary and grammar knowledge etc.LSP examinations, however, assess the candidates’ language ability and control of the language for a specific purposeEducational Purposes of Testing:Buck (2001) claims that the main purpose of language testing is to offer the students a learning opportunity in which they can make useful inferences about the test taker’s Communicative Language Ability. Likewise, Tomlinson (2005) views Tests as events when the learners gain new knowledge and develop new awareness and skills while taking a test. Tests are also designed to measure and evaluate the learners’ language proficiency. (Hughes, 2003).Bachman and Palmer (1996) place a great emphasis on the advantages of the tests by pointing up that a real test is the one that embodies measurement qualities which are validity, reliability and practicality.Validity:It is defined as the extent to which the instrument measures what it sets out to measure. It, in turn, divided in two different types: Content Validity, Face Validity, Criterion-related Validity, Construct Validity, Factorial Validity, Convergent Validity, Divergent Validity and Concurrent Validity (Hughes, 2003; Bachman, 2011). For tests to be more valid, Owen argues that the following two main areas should be taken into account:Consider how closely the test performance resembles the performance we expect outside the test.Consider to what extent evidence of knowledge about the language can be taken as evidence of proficiency.(Owen 1997: 13)According to Fowler (2002), there are six guidelines to review the Foreign Language Tests for Content Validity Criteria.Clarity in wording.Relevance of the items.Use of Standard language.Absence of biased words and phrases.Formatting of items.Clarity of the instructionsTypes of Validity:a) Content ValidityContent validity is the degree to which the content of the test is compatible with the course being taken. As a matter of fact, it indicates how adequately the test items involved in a particular test match both the skills and competences the test aims at testing. In this regard, Both Bachman and Hughes claim that the main focus of content validity is to see the extent to which any given test items are in line with the curriculum’s objectives (Hughes1989: 22; Bachman1990: 306).

In other words, content validity involves some strategies whose main concern is the content or topic of the tests. This entails that it is through various content validity strategies that testers are to assess the extent to which the test content and mainly test items truly correspond to the test’s specifications. To assure tests ‘content validity, test designers coordinate and collaborate withmany test professionals to investigate the degree to which the test objectives go hand in hand with the test items.b) Face ValidityFace validity is referred to as the views and attitudes of test designers, test takers, teachers and administrators toward any given test (Brown, 2004; Hughes, 2003). Both examiners and students’ opinions are very essential to get to know what issues are to positively or negatively affect students’ general performance in a specific test let alone the grading process as a whole.More importantly, face validity points out whether a test appears to measure what it was intended to measure (Mausavi, 2002cited in Brown, 2004). For Dempsey &Dempsey (1992), face validity is the first and quickest tool that is used to see whether all the items in a measurement scale seem to be relevant and reasonable. Similarly, (Payton, 1988), claims that face validity is closely tied to ‘subjects of the text’. Unlike the other types of validity, face validity is not a scientific measurement which involves statistical procedures. By contrast, anyone who is involved in the testing process be they teachers, administrators, test developers or takers can give his or her opinion about whether the measurement scale in the test appears to be relevant and more acceptable or not. In brief, the more the scale is acceptable, the more it is efficient.c) Criterion-related ValidityCriterion-related validity is a validity type which involves the correlation of the test scores with another external measure having the same goals. Indeed, it is useful in the sense that it helps test designers and developers assess how successfully one scale is to anticipate results for another standard of the same interest. By studying how these two measures correlate with one another, this can help in predicting learners’ present or future behaviors or performances. For instance, when testers want to anticipate students’ achievements, they depend on the results obtained recently by the test and try to study the relationship existing between the test scores and students’ current performance. The latter is what is being referred to as the criterion and the present results are called the prediction.d) Construct ValidityBachman explains that “the so-called construct validity is subordinate to the sense and rationality of interpretation of the language test scores, which means this interpretation is the assessment of language skills of the subject” (Bachman &Palmer, 1996, pp. 254-271).

In the same way, the American Educational Research Associate (1999), defines construct validity as” the degree to which evidence and theory support the interpretations of the test scores entailed by proposed uses of tests”. In fact, the two above definitions imply that construct validity intends to interpret the test results and based on that logical interpretation, it tries to test both the subject’s language skills as well as the test takers’ language proficiency. For example, to show the construct validity of an intelligence test (IQ) , testers are to correlate the scores of the test to the widely used standards of IQ tests.e) Factorial ValidityFactorial validity is referred to as the degree to which several factors correlate with in a given test. It includes a statistical procedure called factor analysis; the latter is responsible for explaining the connections existing between all factors which make up a specific test. In other words, it involves methods to study the relationships between tests and the factors which constitute them. These inter-connections with every single factor is measured to identify the impact of each factor on the whole test.f) Convergent Validity and Divergent ValidityConvergent validity is one of the basic types of construct validity which indicates that tests measuring the same construct or concept are to highly correlate with one another, and thus yield the same outcomes. This argues that when the relationships between tests of similar constructs are very strong, this proves that tests abide by the criteria of convergent validity. Furthermore, when testing convergent validity, testers are either to examine the correlations of scores between the tests involving or measuring the same concepts or investigate the strong connections holding between various constructs and numerous measurements. By contrast, divergent validity also known as discriminant validity which is also another subset of construct validity demonstrates that tests measuring dissimilar constructs are not to correlate with each other. For this, divergent validity aims at discriminating between scales testing different concepts.g) Concurrent ValidityConcurrent validity is one of the major types of criterion-related validity, and stands for the extent to which the results obtained from a particular test are linked to the results of another one: a test which was already set up and administered simultaneously. To elaborate more on this, testers could replace an old test with a new well-established test; in both tests, measurements are accomplished at the same time. Concurrent validity is mainly used to demonstrate the extent to which a test agrees with an outside criterion taking place at the same time. When the two tests’scores are closer, this means they were administered concurrently. However, if the results obtained from both tests diverge, this implies that timing elapsed between the two tests.Examples of Factors which Influence Test ValidityUnclarity of instructionsInappropriate test sampleItems’ ambiguityIrrelevant test administrationScoring subjectivityThe limited number of test items not helping in further analysis and interpretationReliability:It can be defined as the constituency of scores of time or across raters. It is subdivided into three main aspects, that is, equivalence, stability and internal constituency (Miller, 2005).

Reliability of Scoring:There are two main aspects of scorer reliability: intra-rater reliability and inter-rater reliability. Intra-rater reliability is realized if the same score is given by the same scorer to the same oral or written test. Inter-rater reliability, however, designates the degree of constituency of scores provided by two or more scorers to the same oral or written test.Test Reliability can be quantified in the form of a reliability coefficient. It can be done through two main methods: Test-Retest Method and Split Half Method.Test-Retest Method can be achieved by administering the same test to the same group of test takers twice. Split Half Method refers to splitting the test into two equivalent halves and giving separate scores for the two halves, then correlating the scores and the more similar are the two scores, the more reliable is the test. (Alderson, 1995).Practicality:It is defined as management system in that the test should be easy and economical to construct, administer, score and interpret.The Forms of Test Items:Wolfe (2004) emphasizes that test questions take different forms.Selection QuestionsMultiple Choice.Matching.Gap -fill or Cloze Test item.Jumbled Sentences.As for the four major skills, they entail various procedures in the testing process.In speaking, for instance, creating a natural and authentic conversation is challenging. However, an oral test can reach the highest degree of authenticity through using different techniques such as interview, question and answer, using a picture or picture story and so on. Underhill (1987) points out that the interview is the most common of all oral tests on the account of its focus of exchanging information between the student and the interlocutor. Reinmann (2003) uses role play in his study so as to adopt communicative means for exposing the learners to hands-on and authentic language. “This means of testing was used because it provided a way to replicate the real-life qualities of language and other non-linguistic factors, which are necessary for successful communication” (Reinmann, 2003).Testing and Language Education:Testing is unquestionably an essential part of language learning and teaching and it is a tool of generating data to illuminate issues in education. Testing contributes to further language learning. It provides crucial feedback to teachers on how their students are developing.Technology and Testing:Thanks to the mounting accessibility of the internet, there has been a hugely noticeable interest in internet-based Tests. They have a lot of advantages in that they are very compatible with language pedagogy and they offer easy access that traditional paper-based tests don’t. The internet-based tests can be continuously updated. Also, with the internet-based tests, there is much access to larger database of items. Besides, the results can be obtained quickly and automatically.The chief advantage of internet- based tests is that of immediate feedback to the students, either, after answering each item, or at the end of a sub-test or after completing the whole test. Immediate feedback is rather more meaningful than the feedback that is delayed. Therefore, internet-based tests offer gradually continuous learning. Besides, Internet-based Tests can store a large amount of data, including the correctness of the response, the time taken to respond to an item and much more.

Evaluation and Assessment:Evaluation and Assessment represent outstanding and crucial elements in teaching and learning. With an effective evaluation and assessment, we can know to what extent learning has taken place. Therefore, we know how relevant we can address the students’ learning needs. Further, the learners’ performance is tightly linked to the quality of evaluation.Evaluation:Trochim (2006) defined evaluation as a systematic acquisition and assessment of information to provide useful feedback about some object. Similarly, Iseni (2001) makes another definition as follows: “Evaluation is the wider process of interpreting data to make judgements about a particular program or programs. In other words, it is the process of gathering, analyzing and interpreting information about teaching and learning so that it can make informed decisions that improve students’ achievement and the success of educational programs.”Evaluative Information can take two forms: Quantitative for instance Test scores and Qualitative such as comments and opinions in form (Bachman, 1990 Lynch, 1996) and can be gathered using various methods that necessitate the use of different data collection tools or instruments namely the questionnaires, interviews, tests and so on.Assessment:According to Hanna Dettmer, 2004 assessment is the process through which teachers collect data about their teaching and their students’ learning. It, thus, measures progress. Admittedly, assessment is not only important for the teachers and the students, but it is also very beneficial for other participants namely the parents and the school or institution as a whole.The terms assessment and evaluation are sometimes used interchangeably as they are integral parts of the same process. Assessment is the process of collecting evidence of what the learners can do. Evaluation is the process that takes place after collecting the data and it involves analysis, reflection and decisions based on the data.

Forms of Assessment:There are two distinct forms of assessment which are typified in the Formative as well as the Summative Assessment. On the one hand, Formative Assessment aims at monitoring the learners’’ progress during a course, to make sure how much learning has taken place and, thus, on the basis of this information there would be a necessary modification and improvement. It uses informal tests, quizzes or feedback. On the other hand, Summative Assessment is carried out at the end of the year, term, or semester so as to measure how much has been achieved by individuals or groups. It is primarily realized by using formal tests.Assessment of the Receptive Skills: (Reading and Listening)There are two types of test items or tasks, discrete point and integrative or global point. Discrete point items test one single element of the language. Integrative point items or tasks are techniques that make it necessary for the test taker to mix or combine many elements of the language to perform the task at handReceptive skills can be assessed objectively through using objective test techniques. Yet, there are other techniques that can be viewed as semi-objective because they require the candidate to do some writing.Task Types used:Multiple ChoiceMatching TaskInformation Transfer:Dictation:Gap FillingCloze ProcedureOpen-ended QuestionsTranslation:Assessment of the Productive Skills: (Speaking and Writing)Speaking and writing are assessed subjectively and they belong to the integrative point tasks. Scoring the productive skill can vary from one test taker to another as it is a matter of judgment.

Types of Testing Written Performances:There are three main types of writing tasks. First, the controlled Writing Tasks which require a full control over both language and content. For example, multiple- choice sentence completion, translation, editing error, proof-reading and so on. Guided Writing Tasks where the test takers can get sufficient information so as to deal with the task as a real-life activity. To illustrate, form filling, describing a picture, agreeing or disagreeing with an issue. Third, Free Composition Writing which refers to the written task in which the test takers express their ideas or thoughts freely.As for speaking, it is not easy to assess it because there is an interdependence of speaking and listening skills. Also, during the oral exam, there is a time pressure in that the examiners are obliged to make subjective judgement as quickly as possible.There are also three main types of tasks that are used to assess the oral performance. First, the linguistic or controlled speaking tasks: it places a great emphasis on some aspects of the spoken language, that is, pronunciation, the use of relevant conversational exchanges. Examples of controlled speaking tasks include reading aloud, simultaneous translation and so on so forth. Second, Guided Speaking Tasks issue detailed information about the context or situation. This kind of tasks includes summarizing a conversation, problem-solving, role-play, discussion over an issue. Third, Free Speaking Tasks which provides control-free tasks such as an already prepared presentation on a subject chosen by the test takers, description of a picture chosen, discussion of personal information about the test takers.Purpose of Assessment and Evaluation:The main aims of assessment and evaluation are:To encourage learning.To inform teaching.To promote the learners’ growth.To provide useful data for the teachers.Measurement:It refers to the process of quantifying the characteristics of persons according to explicit procedures and rules (Bachman, 1990). That means, we attribute numbers to different mental characteristics and abilities such as intelligence, aptitude, fluency, motivation and so on. There are several types of measurement tools:A rubric: a measurement tool that describes the criteria against which a performance, behavior, or product is compared and measured. Rubrics include four basic parts:A task description.The characteristics to be rated.Levels of mastery/scale/columns.The description of each characteristicAlso, rubrics constitute two main types. First, Analytic Rubric which describes each level of achievement for each criterion and it offers a separate score for each criterion. Further, it provides detailed feedback on the learners’ performance. Second, Holistic Rubric which describes each level of achievement and provides a single score on the basis of an overall impression of the learners’ performance on a particular task (Carriveau, 2010).

The CEFRThe CEFR stands for the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.Thus, it provides a thorough elaboration of language syllabuses, textbooks and on top of that examinations. It describes what learners are required to learn to do so that they can use language communicatively. Also, the Framework highlights the levels of proficiency that permits to measure the learners’ language knowledge. It describes foreign language proficiency at 12 levels for several categories of language use, skills and sub-skills with very detailed descriptors of the language ability entailed at a particular level: Basic User A 1.1, A1.2, A2.1, A2.2,Independent UserB1.1, B1.2, B2.1, B2.2Proficient UserC1.1, C1.2, C2.1, C2.2 . Thus, the CEFR’s Scale starts from A1.1 and ends at C2.2.Common Reference Levels of Language Proficiency:performance on a particular task (Corriveau, 2010).Ethical Considerations in Language Testing:What is Ethics in Language Testing?Before dealing with the ethical standards and principles in language testing. Let us first clearly explain what is exactly meant by ethics. Ethics has been defined by the Concise Oxford English Dictionary as ‘the science of morals, treatise on this, moral principles or rules of conduct’ (1964: 415). The term ethics is derived from the Greek word étikos which stands for ‘of or for morals. The latter means the ability to discriminate between what is good or bad; between what is socially and culturally appropriate or what is not. In every domain, ethics such as honesty, responsibility, respect and trustworthiness are compulsory in our lives as they govern the decisions or choices, we make because our own choices may have either a positive or a negative impact on our lives as well as others’ lives in the short, medium and long run. Therefore, ethics is highly required in teaching and learning foreign languages, and particularly in language testing. A lot of studies have shed light on the greatest value of ethics in language testing. Ethical practices in testing like fairness, consistency, equity, justice, and transparency have been considered as key references or guidelines for various members involved in teaching and testing to adopt before judging or evaluating students’ behaviors or performances. Because the goal of tests does not lie solely intesting students’ knowledge or skills in one or different content areas. Yet, it goes beyond that to helping instructors, test designers or advisors to reconsider the curricula, test objectives, instructional strategies and evaluation tools. In short, to ensure ethicality in language testing, the above-mentioned guidelines should be accounted for.b)How can we implement ethics in language testing?While teaching and learning foreign languages, testing constitutes an essential component we cannot dissociate from these two processes. In fact, tests are tools which mirror the educational experiences that every single student goes through in his or her ongoing learning.

Therefore, everywhere testers, and especially language testers are to respect and follow certain widely accepted ethical standards or principles when devising, administering, or scoring tests. Because when tests are prepared, administered and interpreted appropriately, the test outcomes will undoubtedly make students as well as their parents aware of how much knowledge and how many skills have been acquired and the skills they still need to develop over time. Additionally, tests inform language teachers, test designers and advisors about the strengths and weaknesses of the curriculum and the teaching methodologies so as to address students’ needs, and consequently resolve all the teaching and learning difficulties they are likely to face. Taking all these into account, tests should be designed and developed in a fair and ethical way which considers the following elements:SecuritySince test results represent valuable means which provide a comprehensive picture of both the teachers and students’ performances and achievements. For this, to ensure security and students’ confidentiality in testing, all test materials ought to be controlled and maintained before, while testing students and after scoring or reporting the results.PreparationBefore administering and delivering tests, language testers are to plan and devise the tests appropriately beforehand in a way that is compatible with the international ethical standards for testing languages. This implies the fact that language examiners are highly recommended to set clearly the tests’ objectives, the test items should be constructed in a way that takes all the learners’ learning styles and strategies into account. What’s more, the test instructions should be clear to all test-takers and the questions should be varied moving from easy to more complex ones for the sake of challenging students’ thinking and encouraging them to use both their critical and creative thinking skills.AdministrationWhen administering tests, several guidelines should be taken into consideration. For example, before handing out exam papers, test takers should be provided with clear instructions with respect to timing, test items, warnings against students’ cheating or misbehavior during the test and other issues like bringing unauthorized documents or any other technological devices when sitting for tests. While taking tests, invigilators are to make sure whether all the above-mentioned guidelines are respected and no single teste is violating any rule, and thus no cheating is taking place. At the end of examinations, invigilators are to pack the exam sheets that will scored later, write and submit a detailed report explaining all the circumstances under which the test took place along with the test incidents.4)Scoring, interpreting and reporting the resultsWhile scoring tests, in this process examiners should correct and score students’ papers in a fair manner regardless of their age, ethnicity, and race, social, cultural or religious backgrounds. Actually, testers are to properly use and interpret the test results. The interpretation of testees’ scores is to be done in correlation with other scores and scales and hence reported ethically. When the results are released, the testing staff is highly required to report the test results through explaining how the test was constructed along with the scoring procedures and materials used to interpret every individual learner’s grade.Some Issues on Ethics in Language Testing:When constructing tests, test designers and developers are to take into account students’ learning environments, styles and multiple intelligences, and opt for different means of measurement. The latter are essential ethical standards which should be implemented so as to avoid a number of issues relating to testing and particularly testing foreign languages. Below are two issues which constitute the major dilemmas that language testers should pay attention to in the process of testing.Fairness in Language TestingMany scholars have defined the term fairness differently according to different settings. For Kunnan (2000), fairness is” the quality of treating people equally or in a way that right or reasonable”.

Likewise, in the Merriam Webster Dictionary (2005), fairness is referred to as” marked by impartiality and honesty: free from self-interest, prejudice, or favoritism” (p.342)This means that tests’ fairness is determined by its ability to treat all test takers on an equal basis and no single examinee is to be privileged over the other examinees. A test is fair when the” construct-irrelevant personal characteristics of test-takers have no appreciable effect on test results of their interpretations” (Educational Testing Service, 2000: 17). That is to say, tests are fair when the examinees of similar abilities and being tested through the same measures obtain the same scores regardless of the cultures they naturally belong to. Taking all what has been mentioned before about the issue of fairness in testing, when testing learners, language examiners should construct tests which would not involve test items which are likely to disadvantage students of dissimilar cultural backgrounds. For instance, if the test’s objective is to assess students’ grammatical competence, then all test items are to measure only students’ grammatical performance and nothing else.Bias in Language TestingAlong with fairness, bias also represents another issue which should be given a greater attention by all members involved in the testing procedures. A test is said to be biased when the test scores are interpreted in a way that makes one group’ results completely different from another group in the sense that one group is given advantage over another group. The scores may be different due to factors like learners’ race, ethnicity, and social or cultural backgrounds. The latter can have a negative influence on the testees’ scores.

Therefore, it is the responsibility of examiners and developers of tests to determine bias in tests and address the reasons why some test-takers perform better than their peers, and thus get higher scores in a specific test.Bias SourcesBias in a given test is not the result of the test itself or questions, yet it is the outcome of numerous sources such as the ones below:administration procedures,test direction,test content,test knowledge selection,testing method,rating/scoring,score interpretation,And norm sample selection (McNamara, 1991).Conclusion:Online Placement Tests in languages is growing rapidly and they need to be carefully evaluated. Importantly, Arabic Online Placement Tests will provide the learners with the chances to test their knowledge and skills. Based on sound pedagogical principles, OPTAFL will show an unquestionable quality. Equally important, OPTAFL will involve interactive skills as well as an effective formative feedback. Besides, the use of Arabic Online Placement Tests will not be confined to having access to the computer, but they will be applied and embedded in the smartphones, I Pads, tablets and so on. Hence, OPTAFL will prove its capability to replace paper and pencils or pens placement tests.The OPTAFL project is timely in its objective to create a platform resource to be used by the Centers and institutions of Arabic as a Foreign Language to design tests that align with the CEFR newly added levels’ descriptors’ guidelines.The OPTAFL will open the doors for better distance testing programs allowing those in remote areas to have access the Placement Tests platform. Therefore, it makes placement tests available to a wide range of Arabic learners. It includes interactive audios and videos that allow for a real time communication. In addition, the OPTAFL caters for different learning styles as well the multiple intelligences.Advantages of ICT based assessment:Online Placement tests present a set of advantages. First, they will facilitate, contextualize, and enhance the assessment of linguistic abilities (Winke & Isbell, 2017).

Also, they will provide reports with detailed information about the learner or test-taker (Chapelle & Voss, 2016). Besides, they will offer immediate test analysis, scoring and feedback.Brown (1192, P.48) states that the advantages of using technology in language testing can be sub-divided into two distinct categories: Testing Considerations: Technology based tests are more accurate at scoring selected-response tests, reporting scores, automatic grading, rapid correction, easy editing and on top of that economy. Human Considerations: technology-based testing has proved to be less frustrating, less overwhelming. Added to that, many students technological testing process because they like to use the computer.In the case of Arabic as a foreign language, the incorporation of ICT hasMultimedia provide valuable opportunities for the learners’ creativity. They also boost the learners’ confidence and motivation. Added to that, multimedia encourage experimentation in a stress-free context not to mention the instant gratification they offer to the learners.Foreign language Approaches: a brief history of Foreign language Learning and Teaching:An effective foreign language testing requires a thorough knowledge of current theories and approaches in foreign language teaching, learning and testing. It also necessitates deep examinations of current theories and practices in the use of Information and Communication Technologies in foreign language testing.We have gone through an in-depth study of foreign language learning, teaching and especially assessment. Besides, we studied the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). Also, we examined testing model designed by different National and international Centers or Institutions of Arabic as a Foreign Language. Hence, we set up a basic background and frame of reference for the theoretical basis required for the Online Placement Tests of Arabic as a Foreign Language. Generally, current theories in foreign language test development call for the following:Foreign language Assessment:To maximize the exploration of the learners’ strengths, a broad range of students’ performance is covered. Students are called upon to show what they can do in the form of precise and clear tasks. Further, they are given opportunities to take part in the communicatively interactive use of the target language in a variety of activities. Thus, language assessment deals with the assessment of language performance through communication activities.Great emphasis is placed on all language components namely reading, listening, speaking, writing, vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation in various authentic, contextualized and interactive situations. Added to that, the communicative, comprehensible and relevant data that caters for the learners’ different needs, learning styles, multiple-intelligences and interests. Equally important, culture is an integral factor which is embedded within the target language and where students can develop their linguistic and cultural awarenessAssessment helps students and teachers check progress in both the process and product of learning (Scarrio et al, 1988). The purpose of assessment is: First, it encourages both learners and teachers. Also, it informs the teaching and learning process. Furthermore, it guides future curriculum planning. In addition, assessment can inform other relevant people and encourage cooperation, responsibility and involvement. (Clark 1987).Assessment requires to account for the principles and practices in learning in general and those in foreign language learning, in particular, so that it can align with the chief aims of learning. That’s why, new principles and practices in foreign language learning and teaching have become an integral part of a foreign language teaching and learning which can make it more meaningful and successful.

Foreign Language Testing:Testing is an essential part of teaching and it should be a mirror that reflects the process and expected outcomes of learning. Heaton (1998, p 8) mentions ways of assessing performance in the four major skills:Listening Comprehension (auditory): short utterances, dialogues, talks and lectures.Speaking: interview, picture description, role-play, problem solving tasks.Reading Comprehension: it involves understanding the gist of a text and extracting information on specific points in the text.Writing: letters, reports, memos, instructions, messages and accounts of past events.Generally, test sections involve: structure, vocabulary, reading comprehension, writing and sometimes speaking (Heaton 1998). Test items in the theory of Foreign language testing include the following:Reading Comprehension:Vocabulary:Grammar:Listening Comprehension:Writing:Speaking:Language Test Design:The testing approaches and their limitations in terms of validity, reliability and efficiency are the mainstays of an appropriate test design. Language testing approaches cover three main approaches; the psychometric or the structuralist approach, the psycholinguistic or the sociolinguistic approach and the communicative approach. The distinction among the aforementioned approaches identifies testing in terms of the specific focus each approach exhibits (Weir 1990).

The psychometric or the structuralist approach:The psycholinguistic or the sociolinguistic approach:The communicative approach:Foreign Language Testing and computers:Albeit computers have been incorporated in in the field of language teaching since the 1960s, the use of ICT in language teaching and learning has only taken place over the last three decades especially in the developed countries (God-Win Johnes,2007. Davis,1998) thanks the mounting importance of the internet as well as the multi-media resources. Along with the considerable focus on e-learning, the improvements have been finding their ways towards assessing learning electronically and more effectively.There have been numerous computer programs developed for foreign language electronic testing.Project AccountIn the first chapter, we initiated the action research methodology and data collection techniques required for our project. This chapter offers an in- depth information on the process of realizing the project including the analysis of the needs, the development as well as the implementation of the Online Placement Test of Arabic as a Foreign Language (OPTAFL), and the piloting.The project, as mentioned earlier on, has come out after a deep study of theories, approaches and practices in foreign language testing and more specifically on the study of the currently adopted Arabic Placement Testing practices in different Moroccan centers or institutions of Arabic, as a Foreign Language, so that we can use them to set up a solid background required for the development, implementation and evaluation of the OPTAFL.The project account is shown through the sub-headings that follow:Needs AnalysisOPTAFL Test SpecificationsTest DevelopmentOPTAFL implementationNeeds Analysis:The specific academic setting in which this project will be carried out will be studied. The context, in which this Arabic Placement Test will be carried out, and the characteristics of the students, the teachers, the Arabic programme and its accordance with the international equivalences. These points decide on the type of tests needed to meet the current needs. Added to that, theresults of the APT help place students in the six different levelsranging from A1 to C2 according to the first version of the CEFR .The need for change and amelioration is due to the mounting interests in learning Arabic as a foreign language all over the world, the changes in current practices of foreign language testing where the use of ICT is the cornerstone.Practically speaking, the project aims at improving efficiency placing students through an online program. From the research view, the project offers an opportunity to conduct a practical research study which is based on solid theoretical background to gain insights into the development, implementation and evaluation of an effective online placement test of Arabic as a foreign language.This announced the urgent need to develop a complete set of descriptors, for the Arabic, that would be fully compatible with the CEFR ‘s newly added levels.Tests Design Approach:We decided to adopt the Communicative Paradigm as the approach on which we designed the Online Placement Test of Arabic as a Foreign Language. This entailed that the OPTAFL to involve the following:OPTAFL should be context-bound, that is, it has to meet the specific needs of AFL learners as well teachers. Also, it should reflect communicatively authentic situations where the learners use the Arabic language in everyday situation and academic setting. Importantly, Communicative Language tests assess language in a way that shows how language is used in real communication (Kitao and Kitao 1966). Though it is impossible to design 100 % communicative, we managed to design Online Arabic Tests that involve communicative tasks and activities.OPTAFL includes texts which are authentic and they cover motivating topics, vocabulary, grammar and socio-cultural elements from the CEFR newly added descriptors and the literature.OPTAFL assesses writing following two distinct approaches.

OPTAFL assesses a contextualized vocabulary and structure knowledge in which the test-takers are given sentence level with four multiple- choice items, matching, dragging, highlighting, underlining or drop-down menu selections. Reading comprehension is tested in the situational and contextualized manner and also with multiple-choice questions, gap-filling, writing answers. Finally, writing is assessed through direct, communicative and integrative tasks. All the aforementioned test areas are automatically assessed and the results also automatically recorded and put together to place the test-takers into the suitable level of Arabic language proficiency.The adoption of the Communicative Approach was due to the fact that the new tests (OPTAFL) would not be totally different from the existing pen-and -paper tests. Therefore, it will be welcomed by students, teachers and administration. That’s why, we decided to design an Online Placement Test which would bring about improvements in delivery, content, form, added levels descriptors, interactivity, administration, scoring and results reporting.A draft of the OPTAFL Test specifications was written down. It encompasses chiefly the following components: Purpose, Test Description, Format, Content, Item Criteria Selection, Test Methods, Test Items, Kinds of Tasks, Topics, Text Types, Timing, Criteria Level of Performance, Scoring, Results, Description of the Electronic Test Function.OPTAFL Purpose:The online Arabic Placement Test (OPTAFL) is developed primarily to assess the Arabic language proficiency of students, and place them in relevant level Arabic courses that match their level of Arabic performance.OPTAFL Description:OPTAFL takes the form of Computer-Based Test (CBT) and includes all the language areas respectively: Vocabulary, Listening Comprehension, Speaking, Reading Comprehension, Grammar and writing which are computerized.

In general, the OPTAFL test includes more than 1375 questions and more thanIn the OPTAFL test-takers have the chance to move from one question to another and they are not allowed to go back to the previous questions. In listening, students are allowed to listen to the recording twice. As for writing, the OPTAFL offers a facilitating Arabic key board including perfectly selected functional buttons. Moreover, speaking is interactively computerized which allows to the test-takers to interact with the computer: The test-taker clicks on the button of listening. Once he or she hears the question, a speaking icon shows up and he or she can, then, speak. As soon as he or she finishes, his or her recording is uploaded and sent automatically to the administrators. When the test-takers complete the test, they can click on the submit button. In the OPTAFL the answers, as mentioned earlier on, are electronically recorded and the results are processed and reported automatically. Additionally, the OPTAFL test timing is very appropriate and it assesses the test-takers Arabic Language Proficiency in an efficient way at all levels. OPTAFL consists of 45 items and it lasts 50 minutes.OPTAFL Text Types:As a team of three members, we decided on the types of tests to be included in the OPTAFL. The passages we selected included well-proofread, meaningful and authentic texts excerpted from different sources including newspapers, literary books, short stories, fables, poems, articles, biographies…and some texts were modified to suit the CEFR new levels’ descriptors. Based on a communicative approach regarding testing, the writing tasks cover miscellaneous types: summative, persuasive, analytical, informative. We made some editing for length, difficulty, format to make some vocabulary, structure, texts, recordings, topics go hand in hand with the level descriptors. It is very important to confirm that the aforementioned editing took place immediately after the proofreading made by our project supervisor Dr. Yamina El Kirat El Allame.Equally important, variety is a distinguishable quality that the OPTAFL incarnated by including various topics, themes, functions, lessons, passages’ lengths, types of questions. Not to the mention that for the sake of semantic and functional explicitness, the OPTAFL placed a great emphasis on contextual clues.OPTAFL Language Skills, test methods and instructions:OPTAFL Item Criteria Selection:All the OPTAFL items were singled out following the criteria below:The OPTAFL purpose:Topic: The topics in the OPTAFL were selected to be compatible with each level and they are taken from the recommended topics of foreign language level framework which is the CEFR (New Version). Also, some topics were drawn from the learners’ social, cultural, educational and religious backgrounds.Skills: skimming/ scanning, informing, persuading, reporting, all of which are extracted from the CEFR level descriptors (New Version).Format: it includes texts, poems, verses, sayings, pictures, signs, emails, letters, audios all of which cater for the learners’ learning styles.Socio-cultural Context: the OPTAFL includes the social and the cultural aspects of Arabic language and Arabs in general as well as the Moroccan culture in particular.Test-taker background: an investigation of the cultural and religious backgrounds of the AFL learners help us choose the types of texts or recordings and sometimes the logo of the OPTAFL website.The tests of reading, listening, grammar, vocabulary are objective. Yet, the tests of speaking and writing are subjective.Language Elements:This part displays the grammatical as well as the lexical items included in the OPTAFL test.Grammatical Points:The grammatical points cover a variety of syntactic, morphological forms which are compatible with the CEFR newly recommended levels’ descriptors. (see appendixthat shows a comprehensive list of the grammatical points used in the OPTAFL at all the 11 levels).Lexical Points:The lexical points include a variety of contextualized vocabulary items that deal with different topics or themes and which are compatible with the CEFR newly recommended levels’ descriptors. (see appendixthat shows a comprehensive list of the lexical points, recommended by the CEFR, used in the OPTAFL at all the 11 levels)Topics:The OPTAFL topics involve authentic issues that are excerpted from newspapers, articles, lectures, literary books, fables, internet sites and email messages. All of which incarnate the cultural backgrounds of Arabic and also the AFL learners. (see appendixthat shows a comprehensive list of the topics, recommended by the CEFR, used in the OPTAFL at all the 11 levels)Timing:The online component of the test involves items that test vocabulary, grammar, speaking. These test components were given 5 minutes per each. The reading and listening comprehension were given 10 minutes per each. The written component of the test was given 15 minutes. The OPTAFL test, as a whole, was given 50 minutes to complete, however, the average time students took to complete the test is.

Scoring:The OPTAFL test total score is 60 points divided equally over the test components. (see the appendixthat shows the scores ‘distribution throughout the test components). If a test-taker gets equal or more than 30 points, he or she passes. Results are calculated automatically. The test-taker knows immediately the scores he or she gets in vocabulary, grammar, listening, reading as they are objectively corrected. As for speaking and writing, the answers are uploaded and sent to the OPTAFL administrative team who take charge of correcting and evaluating. Then, they combine the results of all test components and send a result report to the test-takers’ email address.It is noteworthy to confirm that assigning the same score for every test component reflects our vision regarding language as there should be no better or distinguished language area. They, all of them, make up language.Table:Detailed information about the OPTAFL Test Timing and Scoring.Test Components Timing ScoringVocabulary 5 min 10 PointsListening 10 min 10 PointsSpeaking 5 min 10 PointsReading 10 min 10 PointsGrammar 5 min 10 PointsWriting 15 min 10 PointsTotal50 min 60 PointsComputer Based Tests (CBT):Electronic techniques are used to design The OPTAFL Test. That is, the computer decides how questions are displayed in an automatic and random manner in all the 11 levels tests. This helps the test-takers answer questions in all the Arabic language areas through eleven different levels from lower to higher levels.OPTAFL Project Team:The OPTAFL project consists of the TAFL master and OPTAFL project leader and supervisor Dr.Yamina El Kirat El Allame , Mr. Redouan Baghit, Miss Ikram Bakkalou, Mme Nadia Oufhim and an Information Technology Company.