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Assessing Language Ability in Young Adults and Adults


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Detail

The course explores why language assessment is important and considers how teachers can assess language skills on an ongoing basis. Course participants learn how to design, construct, score, and evaluate different language measures, including listening, speaking, reading comprehension and written expression. The course also addresses test-taking strategies, as well as the importance of interpreting and reporting scores responsibly. Also, students who successfully complete this course will receive a TESOL Certificate of Completion.

About The Instructor


Andrew D. Cohenwas a Peace Corps Volunteer in rural development with the Aymara Indians on the High Plains of Bolivia (1965-67). He taught in the ESL Section at the University of California at Los Angeles and was a professor of language education for 17 years at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Since 1991, he has been teaching applied linguistics at the University of Minnesota, where he is currently Chair of the MA in ESL Program and Director of Studies for the Undergraduate ESL Minor. He was awarded Scholar of the College in the College of Liberal Arts from 2002 to 2005 at University of Minnesota. He has published numerous research articles on language teaching, learning, and assessment, and on research methods, as well as books on language assessment, bilingual education, language learner strategies, and research methods.

Tamara Collin-Parks will be your facilitator in the Discussion Areas. She works with bilingual teacher training at a college and taught ESL for 5 years at an adult school.


Syllabus

A new session of each course starts monthly. If enrolling in a series of two or more courses, please be sure to space the start date for each course at least two months apart.

All courses run for six weeks, with a two-week grace period at the end. Two lessons are released each week for the six-week duration of the course. You do not have to be present when lessons are released. You will have access to all lessons until the course ends. However, the interactive discussion area that accompanies each lesson will automatically close two weeks after the lesson is released. As such, we strongly recommend that you complete each lesson within two weeks of its release.

The final exam will be released on the same day as the last lesson. Once the final exam has been released, you will have two weeks to complete all of your course work, including the final exam.


Requirements

• Internet access
• Email
• One of the following browsers:
o Mozilla Firefox
o Microsoft Internet Explorer (9.0 or above)
o Google Chrome
o Safari
Adobe PDF plug-in (a free download obtained at Adobe.com .)