Developing English Grammar Achievement Tests for Japanese Junior and Senior High School Students

1989 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary

• Project/Area Number: 63450061
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for General Scientific Research (B)
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Research Field: 英語・英文学(アメリカ語･アメリカ文学)
• Research Institution: HIROSHIMA UNIVERSITY
• Principal Investigator: MIURA Shogo Hiroshima University, Education Assoc. Prof., 教育学部, 助教授 (40033576)
• Project Period (FY): 1988 – 1989
• Keywords: English Grammar / Authorized Textbooks / English Grammar Tests / Test Items / Item Analysis / Translation Tests / Distractors

Research Abstract

Grammar is considered to be one of the most crucial language elements in the learning of English as a second language. The aim of this project on Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B) is to do research in language tests and to develop sample tests in English grammar for Japanese junior and senior high school students in the period of 1988 to 1989.
As for the development of grammar tests, test items were considered on the basis of the teaching items stipulated in the Course of Study, and were taken from the authorized textbooks, New Horizon English Course (Tokyo Shoseki Publishing Company), Sunshine English Course (Kairyudo Publishing Company) and some other textbooks for senior high school students.
In the first year of this project, this investigator made seven Japanese-English translation tests on the basis of junior and senior high school textbooks: New Horizon English Course Book 1 and Book 2; Sunshine English Course Book 1 and Book 2; Book 3 of New Horizon English Course and Suns hine English Course; and English I and English II textbooks.
In the first year of this project, this investigator made seven Japanese-English translation tests on the basis of junior and senior high school textbooks: New Horizon English Course Book 1 and Book 2; Sunshine English Course Book 1 and Book2; Book 3 of New Horizon English Course and Sunshine English Course; and English I and English II textbooks. This investigator asked 34 teachers of English, who were the graduates from the Faculty of Integrated Arts and Sciences, Hiroshima University, and were teaching English at junior and senior high schools in Japan, to give these translation tests to their students. Twelve out of thirty-four teachers were cooperative in this projects and a considerable number of translations samples were collected from the schools where they were teaching. Those data were fed into the computer of Hiroshima University and arranged in alphabetical order in terms of each test item and the frequency of translation samples was counted. A collection of these translation samples were summarized in the Japanese-English Translation Samples by Junior and Senior High School Students.
In the second year, five multiple-choice type sample English grammar tests were developed. The choices or distractors were made on the basis of and in connection with the translation samples mentioned above. These sample tests were sent to eight teachers of English who were teaching at junior and senior high schools, and the results were processed for item analysis. From the analysis of the data some aspects of English language learning were clarified in terms of grammatical teaching items. In the future these tests need to be improved on the item analysis with a larger number of subjects or examinees and with the help of native speakers of English. This was only a 'pilot' or preliminary study of the tests, and attempts to identify and remove inefficient items from the tests will be continued from this moment.