Fording the Inclusive Testing Gulf
Written By Phillip Schrank
When I was doing my MA in English Education, I had to work hard to apply the things I learned to the Korean context. The program I did was America-centric and focused on teaching to bilingual and culturally diverse classrooms. In Korea, we don’t have the same demographic of bilingualism or cultural diversity, so I spent much of my time using the research to help better understand problems in Korea. One of those things was “democratic” or “inclusive testing.” Here the question of democratic or inclusive testing lies squarely within the gulf between rich and poor.
One of the main problems in making your tests inclusive is to think about and try to incorporate a student’s cultural awareness. I studied history for my undergraduate degree and spent a great deal of time studying and reading about the Korean War. When I came to Korea, one of the first places I visited was the Korean War Memorial. This was my first experience seeing how culture changes fact. The Korean War, as I knew it, was a completely different thing to Korean people. Everything I knew about the Korean War was challenged by a history written from a different perspective.
Another example is a Korean student who may have a test question that references the American Revolution. Wright (2010) tells us that an English language learner (ELL) would have to “unpack” the term by explaining certain facts and events that a [Korean] student may not be familiar with (p. 256–257). So culture, economics, and where you were born most surely affect facts as we know them. The history and meaning behind a question can take away from a student’s ability to answer the question well.
Elana Shohamy (2005) contends, “Adoption of a more democratic or inclusive approach to testing implies mostly considerations of different groups of test takers from a variety of multicultural groups so that the different knowledge will be acknowledged and not be viewed as deficient” (p. 109). When she is talking about democratic or inclusive approaches to testing, she is looking at five principles. We must:
1) monitor and limit the uses of tools of power, especially those with the potential for exclusion and discrimination;
2) have citizens play a participatory and active role, and for elites to transfer and share power with local bodies;
3) hold those who develop tools of power responsible for their consequences;
4) consider the voices of diverse groups in multicultural societies;
5) protect the rights of citizens from powerful institutions.
Shohamy contends in the fourth item on her list that democratic testing will consider the input of the people they serve.. Shohamy explains further, “The application of democratic principles in this case implies a need to consider different groups in the process of test construction and to consider their knowledge as legitimate knowledge” (2001, p. 384). The way we as native English speakers view things may not be the same way that other nationalities and cultures view things. Not only do we need to consider these viewpoints, but we also need to consider them to be true and valid.
A few years ago, the National English Ability Test (NEAT) was being produced to help alleviate the problems with inclusive testing in Korea. The foreign English teacher community was quite excited for the implementation of the NEAT. Renowned applied linguist, Lyle Bachman wrote about the efficacies of NEAT in an opinion piece in The Korea Times (2013). His sentimentalities reflected the excitement of the foreign English teacher community. This was the culmination of President Lee, Myung-bak’s inaugural promise to change English education to a more communicative method and mirror the testing to that method. Unfortunately, the NEAT currently ceases to exist.
As I stated earlier, democracy in testing in Korea is a problem that does not necessarily mirror America. In Korea, there is no problem of lack of inclusivity of CLD (culturally and linguistically diverse) students and parents. The problem in Korea is the exclusion of poor and “country” Koreans. Research has shown that test scores are directly associated with wealth. The CSAT (college scholastic aptitude test) also does not mirror the national curriculum. If you want to do well on the CSAT, you must invest thousands of dollars in after school tutoring in order to be able to answer the questions that are on the test.
As teachers, we can do our small part by selectively choosing not only what we teach, but also what we put on our tests. We can choose books that don’t try to force Western culture into a lesson on past-participles. It will be much easier for the students to learn the lesson if they are not focused on understanding the cultural or historical references. Also, take time to learn Korean culture and sentimentalities! Including Korean culture into your lessons will help the students understand better and may give them a sense of ownership of the things they are learning.
References
Bachman, L. F. (2013, April 10). NEAT to have positive impact on English learning. The Korea Times. Retrieved from http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2013/11/181_133721.html
Shohamy, E. (2001). Democratic testing as an alternative. Language Testing, 18, 373-391.
Shohamy, E. (2005). The power of tests over teachers: The power of teachers over tests. In D. J. Tedick (Ed.), Second language teacher education (pp. 101–111). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Wright, W. E. (2010). Teaching English language learners: Research, theory, policy, and practice. Philadelphia, PA: Caslon.
Phillip Schrank moved to Korea in 2009 and spent the first four years living and working in Gwangju. He considers Gwangju to be his Korean hometown and visits often. Currently, he lives in Seoul, teaching at the Korea Military Academy, and is working toward a PhD in Peace and Security Studies at Korea University. On behalf of the Gwangju-Jeonnam Chapter, Phil invites you to participate in the teacher development workshops at their monthly meetings and special events, as well as at the upcoming annual Korea TESOL International Conference in Seoul October 9-11.
Upcoming KOTESOL Events
Gwangju-Jeonnam KOTESOL
Monthly Chapter Meetings
Date & Time: 2nd Saturday of month (usually), 1:45 pm
Place: Gwangju National University of Education
EFL Presentations and Discussions
Morning (11:00) Reflective Practice Session
Admission: No Charge
For more details:
Website: http://koreatesol.org/gwangju
Facebook: Gwangju-Jeonnam KOTESOL
Email: gwangju@koreatesol.org
The Korea TESOL International Conference and English Expo
Friday Pre-conference Workshops (Oct. 9)
Main Conference (Oct. 10-11), COEX, Seoul
For details: http://koreatesol.org/ic2015