assessment

PRINCIPLES of assessing children’s language learning a. Assesment should be seen frrom a learning-centred perspective b. Assessment should support learning and teching If learning is our central concern, then, in all ideal world, assessment should contribute to the learning process, for both an individual child and for the class. From the three examples in the first secsion of the impact of assessment, we caan see that, even when a supportive relationship between assessment and teaching/learnign is attended, social realities can rapidly push the relationship into something quite different. In order to be more in control of the relationship between assessment and learning, teachers need to have a clear understanding of language learing processess and of the socio-cultural context in which they operate. They can predict the impact of assessment on their teaching and plan accordingly. If the picture of language learning can be communicated to learners and their parents, then it may also help parents to understand what assessment can tell them and what its limits are. c. Assessment is more than testing A skilled teachers continuosly assesses pupils’ learning through what they notices and how they interpret these observation This is a summary of the paper I gave at the Amazing Young Minds conference in the first part of the session, I raised some issues about assessing young learners and see how they fit into people’s perceptions and experiences of teaching young learners in different countries. In the second, we looked at some of the techniques of assessment that have been experimented with around the world to see if they offered some good ideas for development. Definitions and examples Assessment is a wider concept than ‘testing’ and a different thing from Evaluation. For me the following definition works well: ‘Any systematic way of finding out about learners’ level of knowledge or skills’ Systematic ways can include the following: •Observation and systematic record-keeping of learners during everyday normal learning activities •collection and scrutiny of children’s course wo rk •possible special ‘set-piece’ events such as pencil and paper tests. Assessment can be for a number of different purposes •formative purposes (directed towards helping you to adjust your own teaching to support the learners better, or towards advising learners how to adjust their own approaches) and this would take place throughout a course of teaching. and/or •summative purposes – to see how well learners have done at the end of a period of teaching. The results of summative assessment are often used to affect learners’ chances (selection or rejection for the next stage of learning, deciding who’s ‘top’, a report to the children’s next teacher/school). Different assessment ‘cultures’ Different societies seem to vary in their practices and attitudes towards basic issues such as who receives the results of assessment and how they are reported. Some of the variations I have found are summarised in the list below. WHO GETS AND USES ASSESSMENT RESULTS? •Nobody except the teacher •The teacher and the school administration •The teacher, the school administration and the education authorities •The parents? •The children Different teaching cultures also vary over what is considered to be success in an assessment ‘event’. Number 1, in the list below, The ‘ipsistic’/ ‘good for that child compared with his or her previous performance’ judgement is one that we may all be familiar with when writing a verbal report on a child, but in some cultures this is ‘translated’ also into a letter or numerical grade. So for example child 1 who has struggled and produced medium quality work after heroic efforts might in some cultures be awarded an ‘A’ whereas his or her companion who is perceived as being able to achieve good standards effortlessly might be given a punitive ‘B’ for work at the same or slightly higher standard. If this offends you it means that you do not share the values of this particular assessment culture. Many assessment cultures are still interested in who is ‘top’ as in number 3. Sadly for most parents who care deeply where their child figures on this particular ladder of success, we know that not everyone can be ‘top’. Number 2, in which everyone can gain praise and receive a good grade provided that they meet certain criteria, seems healthier for the children themselves and more likely to focus teachers’ efforts on getting everyone ‘there’. The criteria themselves can provide useful guidance as to what is to be taught, whereas in the raw world of no. 3 it is easy to lose sight of what it is important to teach, because one way or another someone is always going to be ‘top’ whether or not they are being asked to do anything worthwhile. WHAT IS A ‘GOOD’ RESULT? 1. Good for that child, compared with past performance, perceived ability [‘Ipsistic’] 2. Good because the child has met the required criteria 3. Good because the child has ‘done better’ than others 4. Good because the teacher’s description of his/her performance has brought out special strengths as well as areas of need and difficulty Some other big issues Transparency If summative assessment results are being used to influence children’s chances (e.g. when they change schools) it is of course vital that they should be based on good evidence. Not only that, they need to be seen to be based on good evidence (parents, authorities) in the principle of transparency. This means that to be safe, theassessment needs to be traceable/visible. This might suggest ‘pencil and paper’ testing, but not necessarily. Less intrusive informal methods of assessment have many advantages but they are inherently less transparent, and the danger of biased judgements or perception of bias is one always to be aware of. So, the burning issue is: how to ensure that less formalized methods of assessment are As transparent as possible? Compatibility Compatibility with assessment in other parts of the school curriculum. Assessment procedures used for school English need to be recognisable or at least not too exotic compared with those for other curriculum subjects. However, language proficiency is a complicated construct. It involves an element of knowledge, but is strongly connected with the ability to operate a variety of complex skills. That means that the most appropriate means of assessing language in children may also be somewhat unfamiliar to teachers and children used to the ‘handling bits of knowledge’ model of assessment that might exist in other curriculum areas. Feasibility Assessment procedures need to be do-able in reasonable amounts of time that do not interfere with teaching too greatly and in ways that do not take up too much of the teacher’s precious time to devise or to analyse. There are documented cases of countries in which following the ‘normal’ procedure of testing once a week (see ‘compatibility’ above) has halted teaching to the extent that progress through textbooks has taken more than twice as long as intended. Child-friendliness This isa crucial area. Procedures that are well known for older learners are not all suitable for younger ones. There is much work left to be done in the field of finding imaginative and possibly even playful ways of allowing children to show what they can do. The serial mystery story of the ‘Missing Elephant’ used in Norway and described in the article by Hasselgren is a very good example of the type of thing that can be achieved. I have recently also heard of ingenious role plays involving children being given the chance to produce known chunks of language in new contexts in response to a teacher playing one of the roles, for example Winnie the Witch is showing the child guest round her castle to elicit comments from the child on the rooms. Adults’ versus children’s perceptions of assessment We all need to feel competent and to be self-determined – to feel that we can make choices. It is important also to see success and failure from a child’s point of view. It is not just a question of a ‘good’ result increasing motivation but of the way in which the children are enabled to see that the results are actually linkable to actions on their part rather than just ‘luck’ or the teacher’s whim. The work by Deci and Ryan on attributions of success or failure is important in this area success – attributed to good luck, and the fact that the task is ‘too easy’, (bad for self-esteem) – attributed to hard work and a systematic approach (good for selfesteem) failure – attributed to lack of preparation, task being too difficult, being badly taught (self- valuing reasons) – attributed to bad luck, being ‘slow’/dyslexic, being bad at... (selfdevaluing reasons) Deci and Ryan claim that it is very difficult to motivate children if they have no control over the outcome, and they will go to many lengths to avoid the activity. Technical details of assessment procedures Many EYL teachers especially ‘new’ ones are very unclear about the technical side of assessment. During the session we looked at several simply remedied ‘bad’ testing items. For example, the very popular matching task [pictures to words, first halves of sentences to their completions] can be answered by elimination once the child is sure of one or two answers. It also ‘forces’ results which are either mostly right or disastrously wrong since a mistake, once made will be compounded as future choices are limited by it. Assessment and Evaluation Administrators who want to evaluate a Young Learner’s programme are often looking for ‘objective’ proofs of the benefits of the enterprise. There is a tendency to see assessment results as the ‘best’ kind of evidence, and to pay less attention to other instruments such as observation or interview data with children and teachers. Tests linked with Evaluation programmes can come with the danger of the ‘glass ceiling’ effect. Some that I have seen are so unchallenging that most pupils are scoring high. This may seem good news in a climate of anxiety to demonstrate success, but if such tests do not allow the full range of achievement to show itself precious information is being lost. The effects of international exams for Young Learners Parents are also keen for evidence of achievement but also possibly avid for trophies of success. It is important for responsible exam providers to steer the difficult path between this and creating exams which are demotivating because they discriminate too strictly. A very important issue is that exams have exam syllabuses and these can have very strong effects not only on the teaching of Young Learners but possibly on the contents of future published materials. We need to ask how the exam boards arrived at their syllabuses in the first place. A major source in at least one case was existing YL textbooks. There seems to be the danger of a ‘closed and possibly vicious circle’ here. Examples were show during the talk and many of them were drawn from publications listed in the following reading list. ASSESSMENT OF YOUNG LEARNERS Suggested reading list of sources Collections of articles and papers 1. Allen, D. (ed.) (1995) Entry Points – papers from a Symposium of the Research, Testing and Young Learners Special Interest Groups Cambridge 17th – 18th March 1995 Whitstable, IATEFL. 2. Clapham, C. and Corson, D. (eds.) (1997) Encyclopedia of Language and Education Volume 7, Language Testing and Assessment, Dordrecht. The Netherlands, Kluwer Academic Publishers. 3. Rea-Dickins, P. (ed.) (2000) Language Testing Volume 17 no 2, special issue, Assessing Young Language Learners. 4. Rixon, S. (ed.) (1999) Young Learners of English: some research perspectives Harlow, Longman. Specially recommended single papers and chapters Cameron, L. (2001) Assessment and Language Learning in Cameron, L. Teaching Languages to Young Learners, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press. Deci, E. L., and Ryan R. M. (1985) Instrinsic Motivation and Self-Determination n Human Behaviour NY: Plenum Press. Hasselgren, A. (2000) The Assessment of the English Ability of Young Learners in Norwegian Schools: an innovative approach in Rea-Dickins (ed.) (2000). Johnstone, R. (2000) Context-sensitive Assessment of Foreign Language in Primary (Elementary) and early Secondary Education: Scotland and the European Experience in Rea-Dickins (ed.) (2000). Rea-Dickins, P and Rixon, S, 1997, The Assessment of Young Learners of English as a Foreign Language in Clapham, C and Corson, D (eds.) pp. 151–161. Rea-Dickins, P. and Rixon, S. (1999) The Assessment of Young Learners: reasons and means in Rixon (ed.). Rea-Dickins, P. and Gardner, S. (2000) Snares and Silver Bullets: Disentangling the Construct of Formative Assessment in Rea-Dickins (ed.) (2000). Smith, K. (1995) Assessing and Testing Young Learners: Can we? Should we? in Allen, D. (ed.) pp. 1–10. Smith, K. (2002) Learner Portfolios English Teaching Professional, Issue 22, January 2002. http://www.eltforum.com/forum/pdfs/assessment_ylearners.pdf

dictionary

Dictionary Asalamu Alaikum Please feel free to share this page on any website. We encourage the spreading of knowledge bi’idhnillahi wa ta’ala. Barak Allahu Feekum Every Muslim should remember these essential expressions. Note: Spellings may vary when translated to English These expressions are mostly singular. For example to say ‘Jazak(i) Allahu Khair” to more than one person you would ‘Jazakum Allahu Khairan’ and to say ‘Barak Allahu feek(i)” to more than one person is “Barak Allahu Feekum” e.g. Masculine: Jazak Allahu Khair Feminine: Jazaki Allahu Khair Plural: Jazakum Allahu Khair It is fine to speak in the masculine tense when speaking to women formally. Say/When/Translation Assalamu ‘Alaikum when you meet a muslim Translation: Peace be upon you Wa’alaikum Assalam a Muslim greets you Translation: And peace be upon you Assalamu ‘alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh formal and great greeting to a Muslim Translation: May the peace, mercy, and blessings of Allah be upon you Wa’alaikum assalam wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh a Muslim greets you Translation: And peace and mercy and blessings of Allah be upon you Hiyyak Allah When greeting someone after Salaams Translation: May Allah greet you (lit. May Allah preserve your life) Bismillah arRahman arRahim before making a beginning Translation: In the name of Allah, most Gracious most Merciful Jazak Allah Khairan for expression of thanks Translation: May Allah reward you with blessings (Reply: Wa iyak(i), wa iyakum; Trans. And you) BarakAllahu feekum or Allah baraka feek(i) responding to someone’s thanks/ a way of expressing thanks Translation: May Allah bless you (Reply: Wa feek(i), Wa feekum; Trans.: And you) Fi Amanillah by way of saying good-bye Translation: May Allah protect you Subhanallah for praising something Translation: Glory be to Allah Insha Allah for expressing a desire to do something Translation: If Allah wills/Through Allah’s will Astaghfirullah Repenting for sins before Allah I beg Allah for forgiveness Masha Allah for expressing appreciation of something good Translation: As Allah has willed/Praise be to Allah Alhamdulillah for showing gratitude to Allah after success or even after completing anything Translation: Thanks be to Allah Ameen the end of a Dua or prayer Translation: May it be so Sallahu ‘alayhi wa salaam whenever say the name of Prophet Muhammad Translation: Peace be upon him (S.A.W.) ‘Alayhi salaam whenever say the name of a prophet Translation: Peace be upon him (A.S.) Radi Allah ‘Anhu whenever say name of male companion of the Prophet (Sahabi) Translation: May Allah be pleased with him (R.A.) Radi Allah ‘Anha whenever say name of female companion of the Prophet Translation: May Allah be pleased with her (R.A.) Radi Allah ‘Anhum Plural form of saying companions of the Prophet Translation: May Allah be pleased with them (R.A.) Innaa lillaahi wa innaa ilayhi raaji’oon this is uttered as an expression upon hearing the news of some loss or some one’s death Translation: To Allah we belong and to Him is our return aathama allahu ajrakom uttered to family of deceased Translation: may Allah make your ajer (reward) great Shakar Allahu Sa’yikum uttered to people who attend aaza – when friends go to send condolences upon death of a person Translation: May Allah accept that your effort La hawla wala quwata illah billah during the time of troubles Translation: There is no strength nor power except Allah _________________ A few more: Tawakkal-tu-’ala-Allah- I have put my trust in Allah-rely on Allah solving a problem Tawkkalna-’ala-Allah – we have put our trust in Allah – waiting for a problem to be solved Rahimahullah – Allah have Mercy on him – you see someone in distress Na’uzhu-bi-Allah - we seek refuge in Allah – showing your dislike Fi sabeel illah – in/for Allah’s cause/way – you give charity/help people Ittaqillah-fear Allah- you see someone doing a bad deed Hayyak Allah - Allah maintain your life – you greet someone Hasbi Allah – Allah will suffice me – you are in a difficult situation Azhak Allah sinnaka - May Allah keep you cheerful – you seek another Muslim with cheerful countenance ____________________ A AL-HAMDU LILLAHI RABBIL ‘ALAMIN This is a verse from the Qur’an that Muslims recite and say many times per day. Other than being recited daily during prayers, a Muslim reads this expression in every activity of his daily life. The meaning of it is: “Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds.” A Muslim invokes the praises of Allah before he does his daily work; and when he finishes, he thanks Allah for His favors. A Muslim is grateful to Allah for all His blessings. It is a statement of thanks, appreciation, and gratitude from the creature to his Creator. ALLAHU AKBAR This statement is said by Muslims numerous times. During the call for prayer, during prayer, when they are happy, and wish to express their approval of what they hear, when they slaughter an animal, and when they want to praise a speaker, Muslims do say this expression of Allahu Akbar. Actually it is most said expression in the world. It’s meaning: “Allah is the Greatest.” Muslims praise Allah in every aspect of life; and as such they say Allahu Akbar. ASSALAMU ALAIKUM This is an expression Muslims say whenever they meet one another. It is a statement of greeting with peace. The meaning of it is: “Peace be upon you.” Muslims try to establish peace on earth even through the friendly relation of greeting and meeting one another. The other forms are: “Assalamu ‘Alalikum Wa Rahmatullah,” which means:”May the peace and the Mercy of Allah be upon you,” and “Assalamu Alalikum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh,” which means:”May the peace, the mercy, and the blessings of Allah be upon you.” ASTAGHFIRULLAH This is an expression used by a Muslim when he wants to ask Allah forgiveness. The meaning of it is: “I ask Allah forgiveness.” A Muslim says this phrase many times, even when he is talking to another person. When a Muslim abstains from doing wrong, or even when he wants to prove that he is innocent of an incident he uses this expression. After every Salah (payer), a Muslim says this statement three times. A’UDHU BILLAHI MINASHAYTAN IRAJEEM This is an expression and a statement that Muslims have to recite before reading to Qur’an, before speaking, before doing any work, before making a supplication, before taking ablution, before entering the wash room, and before doing many other daily activities. The meaning of this phrase is: “I seek refuge from Allah from the outcast Satan.” Allah is the Arabic name of God. Satan is the source of evil and he always tries to misguide and mislead people. The Qur’an states that Satan is not an angel but a member of the Jinn, which are spiritual beings created by Allah. So the belief that Satan is a fallen angel is rejected in Islam. B BARAKALLAH This is an expression, which means: “May the blessings of Allah (be upon you).” When a Muslim wants to thank to another person, he uses different statements to express his thanks, appreciation, and gratitude. One of them is to say “Baraka Allah.” BISMILLAHIR RAHMANIR RAHIM This is a phrase from the Qur’an that is recited before reading the Qur’an. It is to be read immediately after one reads the phrase: “A’uzu Billahi Minashaitanir Rajim.” This phrase is also recited before doing any daily activity. The meaning of it is: “In the name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful.” I IN SHA’ ALLAH When a person wishes to plan for the future, when he promises, when he makes resolutions, and when he makes a pledge, he makes them with permission and the will of Allah. For this reason, a Muslim uses the Qur’anic instructions by saying “In Sha ‘ Allah.” The meaning of this statement is: “If Allah wills.” Muslims are to strive hard and to put their trusts with Allah. They leave the results in the hands of Allah. INNA LILLAHI WA INNA ILAHI RAJI’UN When a Muslim is struck with a calamity, when he loses one of his loved ones, or when he has gone bankrupt, he should be patient and say this statement, the meaning of which is: “We are from Allah and to whom we are returning.” Muslims believe that Allah is the One who gives and it is He takes away. He is testing us. Hence, a Muslim submits himself to Allah. He is grateful and thankful to Allah for whatever he gets. On the other hand, he is patient and says this expression in times of turmoil and calamity. J JAZAKALLAHU KHAYRAN This is a statement of thanks and appreciation to be said to the person who does a favor. Instead of saying “thanks” (Shukran), the Islamic statement of thanks is to say this phrase. It’s meaning is: ” May Allah reward you for the good.” It is understood that human beings can’t repay one another enough. Hence, it is better to request Almighty Allah to reward the person who did a favor and to give him the best. K KALAM Talk or speech as in “kalamu Allah”; has also been used through the ages to mean logic or philosophy. L LA HAWLA WA LA QUWWATA ILLA BILLAH The meaning of this expression is: ” There is no power and no strength save in Allah.” This expression is read by a Muslim when he is struck by a calamity, or is taken over by a situation beyond his control. A Muslim puts his trust in the hands of Allah, and submits himself to Allah. LA ILAHA ILLALLAH This expression is the most important one in Islam. It is the creed that every person has to say to be considered a Muslim. It is part of the first pillar of Islam. The meaning of which is: ” There is no lord worthy of worship except Allah.” The second part of this first pillar is to say: “Mohammedan Rasul Allah,” which means:”Muhammad is the messenger of Allah.” M MA SHA’ ALLAH This is an expression that Muslims say whenever they are excited and surprised. When they wish to express their happiness, they use such an expression. The meaning of “Ma sha’ Allah” is: “Whatever Allah wants.” or “Whatever Allah wants to give, He gives.” This means that whenever Allah gives something good to someone, blesses him, honors him, and opens the door of success in business, a Muslim says this statement of “Ma Sha’ Allah.” It has become a tradition that whenever a person constructs a building, a house, or an office, he puts a plaque on the wall or the entrance with this statement. It is a sign of thanks and appreciation from the person to Almighty Allah for whatever he was blessed with. MUHAMMADUN RASULULLAH This statement is the second part of the first pillar of Islam. The meaning of this part is that Prophet Muhammad is the last and final prophet and messenger of Allah to mankind. He is the culmination, summation, purification of the previous prophets of Allah to humanity. P P.B.U.H. These letters are abbreviations for the words Peace Be Upon Him which are the meaning of the Arabic expression ” ‘Alaihis Salam”, which is an expression that is said when the name of a prophet is mentioned. This expression is widely used by English speaking Muslims. It is to be noticed here that this expression does not give the full meaning of “Salla Allahu ‘Alaihi Wa Sallam”. Therefore it is recommended that people do not use (p.b.u.h.) after the name of prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.); they should use “Salla Allahu ‘Alaihi Wa Sallam” instead, or they may use the abbreviated form of (s.a.w) in writing. R RADHIALLAHU ‘ANHU This is an expression to be used by Muslims whenever a name of a companion of the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) is mentioned or used in writing. The meaning of this statement is: “May Allah be pleased with him.” Muslims are taught to be respectful to the elderly and to those who contributed to the spread and success in Islam. They are to be grateful to the companions of the prophet (s.a.w.) for their sacrifices, their leadership, and their contributions. Muslims are advised to use this phrase when such names are mentioned or written. S SADAQALLAHUL ‘ADHEEM This is a statement of truth that a Muslim says after reading any amount of verses from the Qur’an. The meaning of it is: “Allah says the truth.” The Qur’an is the exact words of Allah in verbatim. When Allah speaks, He says the truth; and when the Qur’an is being recited, a Muslim is reciting the words of truth of Allah. Hence, he says: “Sadaqallahul ‘Azim.” SALLALLAHU ‘ALAIHI WA SALLAM When the name of Prophet Muhammad (saw) is mentioned or written, a Muslim is to respect him and invoke this statement of peace upon him. The meaning of it is: “May the blessings and the peace of Allah be upon him (Muhammad). Another expression that is alternatively used is: “Alaihissalatu Wassalam.” This expression means: “On Him (Muhammad) are the blessings and the peace of Allah.” Allah has ordered Muslims, in the Qur’an, to say such an expression. Muslims are informed that if they proclaim such a statement once, Allah will reward them ten times. S.A.W. These letters are abbreviations for the words “Salla Allahu ‘Alaihi Wa Sallam”. SUBHANAHU WA TA’ALA This is an expression that Muslims use whenever the name of Allah is pronounced or written. The meaning of this expression is: “Allah is pure of having partners and He is exalted from having a son.” Muslims believe that Allah is the only God, the Creator of the Universe. He does not have partners or children. Sometimes Muslims use other expressions when the name of Allah is written or pronounced. Some of which are: “‘Azza Wa Jall”: He is the Mighty and the Majestic; “Jalla Jalaluh”: He is the exalted Majestic. S.W.T. These letters are abbreviations for the words of “Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala”. W WA ‘ALAIKUM ASSALAM This is an expression that a Muslim is to say as an answer for the greeting. When a person greets another with a salutation of peace, the answer for the greeting is an answer of peace. The meaning of this statement is: “And upon you is the peace.” The other expressions are: ” Wa Alaikums Salam Wa Rahmatullah.” and “Wa ‘Alaikums Salam Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh.” ————— If there’s an Islamic phrase/ word that’s not included above, feel free to share with us down in the comments below inshallah!! The more knowledge you give, the more rewards! Also please include the translation, and when its commonly used. I’m human, so if you’ve found I made a mistake, feel free to correct me. If you have any questions on any of the terms, don’t be shy to ask inshallah!! Jazakum Allahu Khair fi aman Allah w’salaam

all out love - westlife lyric

All Out Of Love lyrics

I'm lying alone with my head on the phone
Thinking of you till it hurts
I know you hurt too but what else can we do
Tormented and torn apart
I wish I could carry your smile and my heart
For times when my life seems so long
It would make me believe what tomorrow could bring
When today doesn't really know, doesn't really know

[Chorus:]
I 'm all out of love, I'm so lost without you
I know you were right believing for so long
I 'm all out of love, what am I without you
I can't be too late to say that I was so wrong

I want you to come back and carry me home
Away from this long lonely nights
I'm reaching for you, are you feeling it too
Does the feeling seem oh so right
And what would you say if I called on you now

And said that I can't hold on
There's no easy way, it gets harder each day
Please love me or I'll be gone, I'll be gone

[Chorus:]
I 'm all out of love, I'm so lost without you
I know you were right believing for so long
I 'm all out of love, what am I without you
I can't be too late to say that I was so wrong

Oh, what do you thinking of?
What do you thinking of?
Oh, what do you thinking of?
What are do thinking of?

[Chorus: 3x]
I 'm all out of love, I'm so lost without you
I know you were right believing for so long
I 'm all out of love, what am I without you
I can't be too late to say that I was so wrong